Agenda of the Committee on Cultural and Scientific Questions
Communication
| Doc. 82
| 25 September 1952
- Committee
- Committee on Culture, Science and Education
- Thesaurus
1
1. The Agenda of the Committee on Cultural and Scientific Questions comprised, in particular, the following items :
a Statement by M. Brugmans, Rector of the College of Europe, Bruges, on the European Course for Secondary School Inspectors.
b Reply to the Supplementary Report of the Third Report of the Committee of Ministers.
c Draft Recommendation concerning Anglo-French bilingualism.
d Consideration of the Report submitted to the Consultative Assembly by the Brussels Treaty Organisation.
e Draft recommendation relating to the international circulation of books, objects of art and all media of public information or education.
f Draft recommendation on methods of information and propaganda designed to foster the development of a European spirit. Items (b), (d), (e) and (/) have been the subject of separate reports laid upon the Table of the Assembly. This communication refers only to items (a) and (c).
1.1 Statement by M. Brugmans, Rector of the College of Europe.
Statement by M. Brugmans, Rector of the College of Europe. The subject of the statement was in essence the resolution adopted at the course for Secondary School Inspectors held at the College in Bruges from the 1st to the 10th September.
The Committee expressed its thanks to M. Brugmans for having taken, on behalf of the College of Europe and in accordance with an agreement concluded with the Secretariat- General of the Council of Europe, the initiative to hold a meeting of Secondary School Inspectors of the member countries to discuss practical methods of spreading the idea of a " European civic spirit "
This theme will be the subject of a work entitled " Handbook on European Civics ", which will be published early in 1953.
The Committee gave its approval in principle to this initiative and expressed the unanimous wish that the text of this work should be submitted to each of its members before publication. M. Brugmans signified his personal agreement to this suggestion.
The Committee took it for granted that the Governmental experts will also be required to give an opinion on the text.
1.2 Draft recommendation concerning Anglo- French bi-lingualism.
This motion contained a draft Recommendation to the Committee of Ministers with regard to the conclusions :
a of bilateral agreements, aimed at spreading the use of English in French-speaking countries, and conversely, of French in English-speaking countries, in particular by teaching the two languages in elementary schools.
b of an international convention by which countries whose native language is neither French nor English will adopt one or the other of the two following suggestions :
2.1 to encourage on their territory the general use of both English and French or
2.2 to select, preferably by joint agreement, one or the other of these languages, and thus be able both to communicate among themselves and to participate in the Anglo-French linguistic community.
Draft recommendation concerning Anglo- French bi-lingualism. This motion contained a draft Recommendation to the Committee of Ministers with regard to the conclusions :
Two amendments were submitted.
The first proposed the replacement of an Anglo-French bilingualism by an Anglo-French-German " trilingualism ".
The second proposed : (a) that English, French, German and Italian be adopted as the official languages of the Council of Europe; (b) that bilateral or multilateral agreements be concluded among Member States for the purpose of encouraging on a reciprocal basis the teachning of one or other of these languages in the primary schools.
