On October 26th and 27th, the UPF’s Multilingualism Unit attended the III Conference of the Pompeu Fabra Chair under the title "The feeling of belonging and the language". Along two days, language experts and writers met to discuss how language has an effect in the adaptation to a new community.

During the inauguration, which took place at the Institut d'Estudis Catalans (IEC), Carme Junyent, professor at the University of Barcelona and director of the Endangered Languages Research Group (Grupo de Estudio de Lenguas Amenazadas, GELA) pronounced a critical keynote speech about the situation of Catalan. "Currently 12% of Catalans no longer have neither Catalan nor Spanish as their mother tongue", she explained, "it is basic that the University helps to transmit the feeling of belonging to a community."

The following day, Gagandeep Singh, spokesperson and disseminator of the Sikh community in Barcelona and intercultural mediator at the Barcelona City Council, gave an introduction of Sikhism in Catalonia and shared his experiences about his reception in Catalonia. "Knowing Catalan has opened the door to the hearts of the people here," he said excitedly.

After that, Matthew Tree, a British writer and great defender of the Catalan language, related his personal history with languages. "I studied Catalan to be able to communicate with my in-laws and because at that time Catalan was language oppressed by a dictatorship. Learning it made me understand that a language is much more than a communication tool," he said. In his speech, Tree demystified topics such as "it makes more sense to study large languages ​​than small ones".

Finally, Najat El Hachmi, an awarded writer with the Ramon Llull novel prize in 2008, made an elaborate literary review of Catalan works and female writers that have influenced her throughout her professional career. "My rooting element to Catalonia has been, without any doubt, the literature of Catalan writers," she concluded. "Every book I have read has given me a window into Catalan society."

The Pompeu Fabra Chair, directed by Teresa Cabré, President of the Philological Section of the IEC, promotes actions in favor of the use and quality of the Catalan language in the University, participates in Catalan language and culture-related activities and promotes activities around the scientific figure of engineer Pompeu Fabra.

• III Pompeu Fabra Chair Agenda