I spoke last evening at the official opening of Belgrade Design Week (BDW). This is the fourth such annual event, and this year the UK (through the British Council) has supported it by helping to bring to Belgrade a large group of top UK designers and design journalists. So I ended up making a speech, together with the BDW organiser, Jovan Jelovac, and Culture Minister Bradic.
As I said in my speech, 'design' might sound like an indulgence in a time of global economic crisis, but in fact nothing could be further from the truth. In the UK the creative industries contribute about €25 billion a year to the UK economy and employ some half a million people - one in five of all new jobs.
Serbia is well placed to be a regional leader in this area. BDW is already not just a regional, but a global, event. And good design is not just about making things look better, it's about making things work better, to create a better world for everybody. We are pleased, for example, that this year's BDW 'DesignPark' will include an exhibition of the work that the British Council has been doing under their 'Access for All' programme, with the Belgrade Faculty of Architecture, to promote the design of better facilities for disabled people, to make it possible for them to play a fuller role in society. So we are proud to be BDW's partner this year - and we wish them every success.
Posted at 08:54 26 May 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth | Comments[1]
- Share this with:
-
-
-
-
-
I gave an opening speech, on 22 May, to the annual English Language Teachers Association Conference, meeting this year, for a change, in Novi Sad. This was the third time I have done this, and each year the event gets bigger and better. Worldwide demand for English language skills is growing all the time, as English becomes ever more firmly established as the global business language, and the dominant language on the Internet.
The UK, through the British Council, is doing a lot here, and around the world, to help improve teaching methods and curricula, and provide other support to teachers of English. The teachers attending the Conference were all very much aware that the future of the children they teach will be profoundly affected by how well they do their job, not just in teaching, but in encouraging their students to develop a real passion for learning and using the language.
As I have said many times, I am constantly impressed by the level of English language skills among young people here in Serbia, particularly bearing in mind that few of them have had the opportunity to visit an English-speaking country. This will be a very important factor in Serbia's economic growth in years to come.
Posted at 08:38 26 May 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth | Comments[2]
- Share this with:
-
-
-
-
-
Goodby-ee, Goodby-ee, Wipe a Little Tear from Your Ey-ee...
On Tuesday evening - 10 March - I
spoke at a farewell reception hosted by my Defence Attaché for James
Sutherland-Smith. James has been
working here for some six and a half years, supported by the British Council, to
develop English language teaching for the Serbian armed forces. English has become the international
language of military cooperation.
When I was working for NATO, in the early years of the Partnership for
Peace (PfP) scheme, I saw how important it was for officers and non-commissioned
soldiers in a multi-national force to be able to communicate effectively. Serbia is now a PfP member, and it will be
important for Serbian soldiers to have a good command of English, if
Serbia is to get the full benefit of
its membership. James has worked
with the Serbian Ministry of Defence, training teachers, developing curricula,
and training a highly effective testing team. Much of the work has been with
garrisons, developing Self-Access Centres for computer-based training. Now the scheme is up and running, and
James is moving on. But the
contribution he has made will continue to serve
Serbia
well for many years. Any Comments? - in Serbian or in
English?
Posted at 14:01 12 March 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth | Comments[1]
- Share this with:
-
-
-
-
-
On 25 February I went for a short drive today down to Smederevo, a city about an hour away down the Danube. I had visited before, as a tourist - the town is most famous for its castle, which has a fantastic location right by the river. It was built very quickly, in the first half of the 15th century, as Serbia's rulers tried to survive between Hungary and the Ottoman Empire. It finally fell to the Turks in 1459, which marked the end of the medieval Serbian state.
This time I wanted to find out more about the town from the official point of view - what the plans of the city's government are, what opportunities there might be for business and investment. I had a good meeting with Mayor Umićević and his team, and learned a lot about their ideas for the development of education, industry and tourism. I even learned that one small British company is based there - I hadn't been aware of them before, although I know now that they have been working there for some time. Some of the town's plans involve, or could involve, the UK - we agreed that I would look into what we could do. It was a really good meeting - I hope we can build on that.
Posted at 19:49 28 February 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth | Comments[3]
- Share this with:
-
-
-
-
-