Past Event 02/17/2022
Love of Languages !
Languages, Cultures, and Your Career
Thursday, February 17th, 2022
Free Webinar in English via Zoom
FACC Associate Corporate Member
Rosemont College hosted a webinar with Jamila Hassoune -- civic leader, bookseller, educator, and social entrepreneur! Hassoune explained how her knowledge of foreign languages (Italian, French, Arabic, German, and English) supported her decades-long effort to build cultural bridges between her hometown of Marrakech, Morocco and the rural villages surrounding the High Atlas Mountains.
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Claudia Brown, Adjunct Professor of French, Rosemont College, lead the discussion asking Jamila to share the role of language in her work and life.
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Meet Jamila Hassoune:
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From 1993 to 2011, Jamila ran a bookstore in Marrakech, where she discovered a glaring lack of cultural space for young people. To help fill this void, she drove her car up to the High Atlas Mountains to deliver books to underserved youth. Soon, she proposed a mobile cultural forum, now known as the Book Caravan, providing books from her family bookstore to encourage the benefits of reading for everyone. Eventually, in partnership with other international cultural organizations, she initiated and continues to lead writing workshops for these young people around books of all genres.
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“Jamila's career is a tour de force, as she continues to initiate and lead international cultural and educational organizations in French, English, Arabic, German, and Italian,” said Professor Claudia Brown, Adjunct Professor, French, who has worked with Hassoune since 1999. “She is a prime example of how the knowledge of foreign languages can open up all kinds of personal and professional opportunities.”
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The Love of Languages series is intended to explore the importance of language and culture diversity as students embark on their career journeys.
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"We started this program in 2020 with a desire to share with students how knowledge of other languages can open doors to career opportunities that students may never have even dreamed of for their futures," said Christine Hagedorn, Assistant Professor and Discipline Coordinator of the Business Department.
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This program is hosted by the Rosemont College Department of Languages, Rosemont College Business Department, and the Rosemont College Chapter of the Association of Latino Professionals for America. Co-sponsored by the student-run French/Francophone Club and the Latin American Student Organization (LASO). Funded by The Conwell Grant for Foreign Languages.