The Minister of Education, Science and Culture, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, Former President of Iceland, and Kristín Ingólfsdóttir, Rector of the University of Iceland broke ground for a new building for the University’s Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Institute of Foreign Languages. The ceremony took place on 8 March, the International Women’s Day. Constructions on campus will begin shortly and the building is to be completed by October 2016.
The International Centre for Multilingualism and Intercultural Understanding is named after Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, former President of Iceland and a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. The centre is the first language centre to operate under the auspices of UNESCO. This is an ambitious international endeavour and has been presented all over the world; successfully seeking domestic and international support.
The Minister, the Rector and the UNESCO Ambassador for Languages all expressed pride and gratitude on this occasion, and the hope that the activities which will be housed in the new building will contribute to enhanced mutual understanding between cultures; as stated on the Institute’s website.
The building will house facilities for teaching and research in the fourteen foreign languages taught at the UoI as well as facilities for guest researches and international collaborators. Furthermore, an experience centre will be founded where everyone can learn about different languages and cultures in a varied and lively fashion.