North East Festival of Languages speaks to youngsters all over the region
A pioneering UK-first festival born out of lockdown celebrates its fifth year in January.
It’s time to welcome back Express Yourself: North East Festival of Languages and another raft of free music, writing and arts projects for children and young people across the region.
Declan Baharini is passionate about languages and the lifelong learning associated with different cultures and dialects.
Speaking from her bustling base in the Northumberland town of Blyth, the CEO of Express Yourself: North East Festival of Languages is still putting the finishing touches to a packed programme of events that reflect her own love for diversity and pride in the region she calls home.
“We’re all about promoting the value of languages and inspiring a future generation of linguists,” she explains in between firing off emails to the British Council and liaising with key contacts across the globe.
“Our packed three-month programme encourages children across the North East to build their skills and confidence and we aim to nurture curiosity about the wider world.
“Beyond that our festival is about broadening horizons and widening the opportunities and career choices for our young people.
“We’ve been able to build some fantastic connections between schools and universities and local, regional and national organisations to support languages and intercultural awareness.
“There is nothing else like this in the UK and we’re very proud of what Express Yourself adds to our region’s rich cultural mix.”
Kids across the North East are encouraged to dive into a cultural melting pot as Declan and her team deliver a varied range of in-person and online projects, workshops and events celebrating the region’s diversity, ambition and inclusivity.
More than 37,500 young people, from the ages of three to 18, took part in the organisation’s pioneering (and eponymous) festival earlier this year.
And the groundbreaking event — running for three months from January to March — returns in 2025 promising to celebrate its fifth birthday in style.
Born out of a need to engage with children during the pandemic, Express Yourself has engaged more than 89,000 young people so far, providing inspiration to take up languages, build their skills and confidence and to prepare for life in a global society.
The first Express Yourself festival was staged in 2021 in response to the pandemic and to combat the drop-off in language teaching and learning.
Back then Newcastle City of Languages — a city-based partnership of local, regional and national organisations convened by International Newcastle to promote language learning and teaching — delivered online activities to more than 11,000 children and young people.
And now Declan and her partners are gearing up for their fifth annual festival after 37,633 pupils engaged with 2024’s Express Yourself programme of events.
“There’s a chance to dive into multilingual creative projects and enjoy engaging pre-recorded workshops across three months from January to March,” added Declan.
“There’s an amazing choice of in-person and online live events in March, based around world cultures and languages, as well as languages and careers.
“We encourage schools, community schools and groups to select a range of activities across the three months of Express Yourself to maximise the benefits for the region’s children and young people.”
All activities and resources are free with schools and colleges across the region encouraged to sign up now and tap into multiple opportunities for children and young people to learn through languages.
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"The Festival of Languages is a unique opportunity for schools to instil a love of language learning,” says Sarah Edgar, Education Consultant, Newcastle City Council.
“It gives children and young people a reason and inspiration for studying languages at school while celebrating the rich linguistic and cultural diversity of our region.
“At Newcastle City Council, we aim to foster this passion and the festival is a key initiative in achieving this goal. It provides a vibrant platform for promoting cultural understanding and enhancing language education in our schools.
“We are fortunate to have International Newcastle running this festival, which is nationally recognised as an exemplar event, showcasing best practices in these areas.”
The fifth annual Express Yourself: North East Festival Of Languages will encourage children to express themselves in their home languages as well as the languages they’re learning.
Fun activities facilitate conversations and intercultural understanding within schools and communities.
And children and young people will be introduced to a range of multilingual activities focused on languages from the Bangla, Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, German, Spanish, French and African speaking worlds.
“I’d urge teachers to start registering through our new website as soon as possible,” adds Declan.
“Participating schools automatically receive the British Council’s International School Award (ISA) Foundation Certificate.
“In 2024, 169 North East schools were awarded certificates — festival activities contribute to schools progressing through the ISA levels which, in turn, provide a framework to embed internationalism across the curriculum.
“Participation can also support Schools of Sanctuary work.”
For further information on the 2025 Express Yourself: Festival Of North East Languages and to register for activities from January visit expressyourselfne.com and follow the festival via Instagram, Facebook and X.