Understand the biggest benefits and challenges to multilingual workplaces – and how to deal with them.

• Do you work in an organisation where many languages – or perhaps only English – is spoken?
• Is your organisation planning to use English as its corporate language?
• Are you considering creating a language policy for your organisation?

Photo: Jette Schrum / University of Copenhagen

Listen as Kamilla Kraft, researcher at Centre for Internationalisation and Parallel Language Use, University of Copenhagen, presents the latest research from the field and suggests how you might apply it at your place of work. Her talk covers different kinds of workplaces: those employing manual workers with a variety of backgrounds and languages as well as large international corporations employing knowledge workers and using English as their corporate language. She will also present tailored questions that will help you think constructively about multilingualism in your workplace – whether you are an employee or an executive.

Afterwards, Valerio Violo, Senior Commercial and Contract Manager at Femern A/S, will share his experiences from over 20 years in leadership positions at multilingual companies all over the world – including overseeing tunnelling for the Copenhagen Metro ‘Cityringen’. He argues that a small open society like Denmark needs to open up to competencies and labour force from abroad. But it is important to understand the cost involved with having a multilingual workplace – or choosing not to.

Kamilla Kraft’s talk is in Danish and Valerio Violo’s is in English. Afterwards there is plenty of time set aside for debating the subject. You are welcome to comment or ask questions to either or both speakers in English or Danish.

Time and place:
Thursday 30 September 2021, 9:00 – 10:30
Studieskolen, Borgergade 14, 1st floor, room 131

You can grab a coffee, a croissant and a seat from 8:45. The session starts at 9:00.

The session is free and open to all. We kindly ask you to register below.