Heritage Language Blog ~ by HL Global Think Tank & FOHLC Europe

A slide showing the history and growth of the Czech School of Dublin . “Parents think it will be easy for their children to pick up multiple languages — because children are like little sponges,” said guest speaker Ivana Rocca Kovářová at the most recent FOHLC Café ( Forum of Heritage Language Coalitions in Europe ). “But then their children start school in Ireland and they see what a challenge it is.” Participants of FOHLC Café. Seeing the need for extra support, Ivana and her colleague founded the Czech School Dublin little more than ten years ago. “We started in the garden of a friend’s house, with five children,” she recalled. Not long after, the school gained access to a community center and the local library for its classes. “ We know children need to move at this age to learn and stay focused. ” Ivana manages the preschool section which contains two groups: “Talking with preschoolers” for children aged 3 to 5 and “Zero Year” for children aged 5 to 7 which she also leads as a te...

From October 23 to 26, 2025, educators, researchers, and community leaders from across the world gathered to discuss Justice and Social Inclusion in the Teaching of Portuguese as a Heritage Language (SEPOHL) in Brussels, Belgium. The symposium celebrated the power of language to connect, resist, and empower, especially when community initiatives and universities work together to create a more equitable educational landscape. Some attendees from the final day of the VII SEPOLH in Brussels, 2025. From multiverses to multivoices The opening address by Dr. Ana Souza invited us to imagine the “multiverse ” of Portuguese as a Heritage Language — diverse, overlapping, and ever-evolving. She reminded participants that “the identity of POLH reflects the identity of its teachers”, and that linguistic justice depends on redistribution and political representation. Her words resonated strongly with the experiences of community educators across Europe, many of whom operate independently, often with...