Vol/51 No/1 2012FEBRUARY/MARCHTheLinguist11FEATURESa Directive (which was more powerful becauselegally binding on all member states). Member states now have until October2013 to incorporate the Directive intonational legislation and procedures. To assistthem there is an accompanying Proposal fora Resolution of the Council and of theGovernments of the Member States,fostering the implementation of thisDirective, as well as the Reflection Forumreport on Multilingualism and (legal)Interpreter Training and the Vademecum forlegal professionals, drawn up by EULITA.5However, the most effective instrument toassist them may well be the Trafut project(JUST/JPEN/AG/1549), coordinated byLessius and EULITA, which, in a series of fourworkshops across the EU, aims to provide the relevant stakeholders in the memberstates - ministries of justice, the judiciary, thebar and police associations - with expertadvice on the issues raised in the articles ofthe Directive.6Member states nowhave until October2013 to incorporate the Directive intonational legislation The Directive on the Right to Interpretationand Translation in Criminal Proceedings is notonly the achievement of our highly esteemedcolleagues in DG JLS but also the result of theexpertise and commitment of academics andprofessional LITs from many member states.My own contribution was recognised by theCIOL in the form of the David Crystal Award,but our CIOL colleagues, who have beeninvolved in almost every project, deserve ourequal admiration and gratitude. Dr Erik Hertog was awarded the David Crystal Award 2011 for fostering the study of languages.Notes 1See under 'LIT materials' at www.eulita.eu 2See the EULITA mission statement under'About us' at www.eulita.eu 3See www.lr.mdx.ac.uk/mutual-trust 4See www.videoconference-interpreting.net 5These documents can be consulted under 'LITmaterials' > 'EU document' at www.eulita.eu 6The other partners are TEPIS, SKTL, APTIJ,EFSLI, AIIC, FIT and the universities of Ljubljanaand Heriot-Watt. For details see under 'TRAFUT'at www.eulita.eu. Three other projects within thecriminal justice programme are concerned withinterpreted police interviewing - IMPLI (JUST/2010/JPEN/ 1562/AG); BMT2 (JUST/2010/JPEN/AG/1566) - and with interpretedvideoconferencing in criminal proceedings(Avidicus 2 (JUST/2010/JPEN/AG/ 1558). Lessiusparticipates in all three, the CIOL in the last two.the strict legal sense but also, obviously, forLITs. It looked at how to do a goodprofessional job in remote or videoconferencesettings: what are the technical (sound, image,etc) as well as the interpreting strategyrequirements to be able to do a good job,and how LITs can work efficiently and reliablytogether with the legal professionals underthese conditions. The project must be seen in the light ofthe increasing importance of e-Justice in theDG JLS. One can understand the need, forinstance, to avoid, whenever possible, costly,time-consuming journeys in a criminalprocedure to other member states or toavoid risky, dangerous transportation ofcriminals from jail to court for a purely formalhearing. The project was coordinated by theUniversity of Surrey with assistance from AnnCorsellis and partners from Lessius, Polandand the Netherlands.4Firm foundationsThere can be no doubt that these seven pillarsof wisdom laid firm foundations for the futuredevelopment of LIT in the EU. In 2010, aProposal for a Framework Decision on theRight to Interpretation and Translation inCriminal Proceedings was agreed inCommission and Council, with EUParliamentary approval imminent. However,the signing of the Lisbon Treaty interfered withthis process while at the same time providingan opportunity to adapt the FrameworkDecision to the newly required legal format of© EUROPEANUNION, 2012

12 TheLinguistFEBRUARY/MARCH www.iol.org.ukFEATURESFabio Boccio on the award-winning work of Italianin Italy, including projects to develop interculturalteaching strategies and social media marketing toolsThe expansion of the European Union (EU) hascreated numerous challenges, among themthe impact of increased immigration on thenew member states. Often for the first time,these countries have to deal with a highnumber of people coming from differentcultures, searching for jobs and trying tointegrate themselves into the newenvironment, while at the same timeimpacting on the local cultures. These challenges have been a centralconcern for Italian in Italy since its inception in1997. The Rome-based association of 26language and cultural schools aims to fosterItalian language and culture among foreignstudents, and to assure high standards offoreign language teachers and schools in Italy.We organise training sessions and workshops,and our study programmes have alwaysfocused on students' social integration needs.Now, under the leadership of its President,Giuseppina Foti, Italian in Italy is leading aEuropean educational project to explore newmethods of integration and innovativetechniques for the teaching of foreignlanguages, with partners in Lisbon (CIFOTIE)and Bucharest (Asociatia pentru calificare,recalifica si formare profesionalacontinua). Funded by the adult education programmeGrundtvig, part of the European Commission'sLifelong Learning Programme, 'From aMulticultural to a Pluricultural Europe' aims todevelop the use of intercultural topics andapproaches to languages teaching in order tostimulate learner motivation. Intercultural awarenessOver the years, Italian in Italy has taught Italianto thousands of foreign learners andpromoted Italian culture around the world. We are acutely aware that language skills arenot the only competences required to makecommunication effective. Both verbal and non-verbal interactions can fail because ofignorance about cultural conventions. Yetintegration into both local communities andthe European labour market is dependent onmutual understanding between people fromdifferent linguistic and cultural realities. Through the Grundtvig project, Italian inItaly and our partners will share ourexperiences of how our countries deal withchanges linked to migration in our societies,and identify similarities and differences inpractices, especially when it comes to settingup teaching strategies. We will also analysehow stereotypes and prejudices causeinteractions to fail and what happens, forexample, if intercultural competence is notpractised in a foreign language classroom. One of the products that will arise from theproject is a book of recommendations onintercultural communication, which will beavailable to all professionals involved in foreignlanguage teaching, as well as organisationsdealing with intercultural communication andlearning processes. Italian in Italy will interviewlearners and staff in order to put together acomprehensive repository of thecommunication conventions that apply to theirprofessional lives. We will focus on situationssuch as meeting and greeting, receivingpresents and making appointments, and lookat both formal and non-formal language use.Identifying conventions in body language andsocial codes of behaviour, for example, is vital. The Grundtvig project includes manyobjectives that have always been important toItalian in Italy: promoting understanding,tolerance and more effective communication;Innovating Italian Prizewinners 2011. Follick Cup and Wordbank CPD Prizefor best Certificate in Bilingual Skills(CBS) candidate: David Bonnano. Susan Tolman Award for best Diplomain Public Service Interpreting (DPSI)candidate (law) and Susan Tolman CPDPrize for best DPSI candidate (overall):Patrycja Westgate. Corsellis Cup for best DPSI candidate(health): Marcin Walkowski. Jaffar Hamid Cup for best DPSIcandidate (local govt): Anna Pachocka. Nuffield Trophy for best group entry,DPSI: Everyday Language Solutions. Fred Brandeis Trophy for best Englishto German Diploma in Translation(DipTrans) candidate: Inke Raupach. Schlapps Oliver Shield for best DipTransgroup entry: Dom-Schule Fremdsprachen. Richard Lewis Trophy for best overallDipTrans candidate: Carla McMillan. Threlford Memorial Cup: Italian in Italy. David Crystal Award: Erik Hertog© OLYDENJOHNSON