EUROCALL 2023 held in Veröld – House of Vigdís

Over 180 specialists in Computer Assisted Language Learning and related fields came together at the EUROCALL 2023 conference held on 15–18 August in Veröld – House of Vigdís. EUROCALL, the European Association for Computer Assisted Language Learning, promotes the creation and sharing of knowledge in areas such as Applied Linguistics, Corpus Linguistics, Digital Pedagogy, Digital Literacies, and Computer-Mediated Communication. 

The central theme of this year’s EUROCALL conference revolved around embracing linguistic inclusivity, reflected by the overarching theme of the event, “CALL for All Languages.” The theme was inspired by the International Decade of Indigenous Languages 2022–2032, harmonizing with the goals set forth by the United Nations for the decade. As a side event, conference guests were invited to join a guided tour of the Living Language Lab and to try out the online language courses Icelandic Online and Icelandic Online – Kids.

Keynote speakers at the conference were Júlía Guðný Hreinsdóttir, Head of Teaching (Icelandic Sign Language – ÍTM) at The Communication Centre for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Neasa Ní Chiaráin, Ussher Assistant Professor, Trinity College Dublin, Róbert Bjarnason, CEO of the Citizens Foundation and Trond Trosterud, Professor of Language Technology, Department of Language and Culture, UiT The Arctic University of Norway.

The main conference organizer of both EUROCALL 2022 and 2023 was Branislav Bédi, project manager at the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies. The event was hosted by the Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Institute for Foreign Languages, the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies and the University of Iceland. At the closing ceremony of the conference, it was announced that the EUROCALL 2024 conference will be held in Trnava, Slovakia.