RIYADH: Languages and laughter filled the Hyatt Regency Riyadh on Tuesday night as more than 250 guests joined the European Night of Languages, an annual celebration of Europe’s rich linguistic heritage and its growing cultural exchange with Saudi Arabia.
Now in its fifth year, the event was organized by the delegation of the EU to Saudi Arabia in partnership with the Language Exchange Club, a Saudi nonprofit that promotes intercultural understanding and multilingualism.
Christophe Farnaud, the EU’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, told Arab News: “The EU has always been in favor of the diversity of languages and to promote exchanges … in the context of this new Saudi Arabia, that is now happening thanks to Vision 2030, culture is a very important element of it.”
The evening offered guests a chance to practice European languages, interact with ambassadors and diplomatic staff from the EU delegation, and see displays from EU member states’ embassies.
Language stations featured mini-lessons in Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Ukrainian and Swedish.
