Linguistics and English Language

Edinburgh Multilingual Stories Festival

A new festival is celebrating Edinburgh’s linguistic diversity, with Bilingualism Matters as a founding partner

From Friday 30 November to Sunday 2 December 2018, the Edinburgh Multilingual Stories Festival (EMSF) will bring together artists, researchers and families to celebrate the diversity of Edinburgh’s many multilingual communities.

Edinburgh Multilingual Stories Festival

The festival is organised by the University's research and information centre Bilingualism Matters, alongside performance company Theatre Sans Accents and the Polish Cultural Festival Association. 

Bilingualism Matters

Creativity and diversity

The team at Bilingualism Matters have been delivering creative workshops and talks on bilingualism to schools and community groups throughout October and November, in preparation for this year’s inaugural festival. 

The three-day event offers an opportunity for bilinguals to creatively explore and express what it means to learn and speak more than one language, and for monolinguals to get a glimpse of the bilingual experience.

Multilingual stories: from ceilidh to theatre

The festival will showcase stories based on the experiences of multilingual children and young people from in and around Edinburgh. It aims to celebrate, empower, stimulate and create.

EMSF launch

On Friday 30 November from 7pm to 11pm, the award-winning Science Ceilidh Band will launch the festival with a ceilidh done in several different languages. 

Multilingual food festival and disco

On Saturday 1 December from 09.30am to 7pm, the EMSF day programme will offer several workshops, exhibitions and a mini food festival where you can try delicious dishes from around the world.

The evening programme on Saturday from 7pm features a multilingual silent disco as well as a commissioned musical performance by Roberto Cassani, based on the collaborations with schools and community groups in the lead up to the festival.

Storytelling, theatre and dance

On Sunday 2 December, from 10am to 6.30pm, the EMSF day programme will continue with more workshops and exhibitions, such as storytelling and a Scots songwriting and music-making session.

The evening programme on Sunday from 7pm features two commissioned performances by Daniel Orejon (theatre) and Farah Saleh (dance), based on the collaborations with schools and community groups in the lead up to the festival.

Event bookings

Tickets are £4 on the door to take part in the EMSF day programme. Evening programme tickets can be found on the Assembly Roxy website.

Assembly Roxy | Edinburgh Multilingual Stories Festival

More information

Bilingualism Matters | Edinburgh Multilingual Stories Festival