Press Release: ‘Global English is not enough for global business’: a conference in Brussels on linguistic skills and competitiveness

English alone is not enough as a catalyst for business. This is one of the main conclusions of a major conference 'Languages mean business', taking place in Brussels on 21 September 2007. The event brings together over 250 representatives of small and large enterprises, trade organisations, chambers of commerce, policy makers and language professionals. Together they explore the benefits that language abilities and intercultural skills bring to business enterprises. Although English will maintain its role as 'lingua franca' in the business world, it is additional language skills, in combination with the relevant intercultural skills that can provide a competitive edge. The conference has also launched a new Business Forum on Multilingualism, which will examine how to make operational use of multilingualism to maximise business results.

European Commission: SPEECH/07/559: Languages mean business http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=SPEECH/07/559&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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