Moldova hosts Festival of Languages’ ninth edition

12:19 | 21.03.2016 Category: Culture

Chisinau, 21 March /MOLDPRES/-The Tolerance Club of KEDEM Jewish Cultural Center organised the ninth edition of the Festival of Languages, in Chisinau on 20 March. The event was held within the European Action Week Against Racism and Discrimination.

Attending the event were representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in Chisinau and also delegates of Moldovan ethnic-cultural organisations.

The head of KEDEM Jewish Cultural Center, Stela Harmelin said the event was meant to promote tolerance in a multi-ethnic society, linguistic diversity and learning of foreign languages.

Tolerance Club head, Oxana Poleakova added that the main purpose of the festival was to find spiritual values that unite people . “We want to build a cultural bridge between various ethnic groups. The Festival of Languages proved us that intercultural dialogue helps us know better the customs and traditions of each ethnicity, in order to unite ourselves through diversity,” Poleakova emphasized.

The head of the Russian science and culture center's department for education projects, professor Victor Kostetki, noted that he was attending the festival for the seventh time already. “Knowing the language of a people that is your friend, is the best proof of tolerance,” Kostetki highlighted.

Attending the event was also Turkish Ambassador to Moldova Mehmet Selim Kartal. He praised the importance and signification the festival plays in the unification of various ethnic groups through diversity. “A Turkish poet once said that one must know at least three languages. The more languages you know, the richer you are,” the Turkish ambassador said.

For his part, Hungarian Ambassador to Chisinau Mátyás Szilágyi said he was pleased to participate in the language festival, which showed a high level of tolerance. “I am proud to represent my country in Moldova. You have a beautiful country, where languages are given the possibility to develop,” Szilágyi noted.

The Festival of Languages was first organized by the Tolerance Club of KEDEM Jewish Cultural Center in 2007. In 2016, the ninth edition of the festival was held in the eve of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, marked on 21 March.

(Reporter N. Roibu, Editor A. Raileanu)

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