On Monday 14 November the Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIOL) and its awarding body the IoL Educational Trust (IoLET) held their annual awards evening at BMA House in London, in the presence of CIOL’s Royal Patron HRH Prince Michael of Kent, who kindly presented the awards.
The awards celebrate the highest achievements in the Educational Trust's professional language exams and recognise the significant contribution made by individuals or organisations to fostering the study of languages.
Ann Carlisle, Chief Executive of CIOL said ‘We are here to celebrate great individual excellence, collective group achievements, success in fostering the study of languages and lifetime commitment to languages and language learning.’
Awards were presented for success in the Diploma in Translation, Diploma in Public Service Interpreting and Diploma in Police Interpreting, as well as for the Certificate in Languages for Business, now in its second year.
Two special awards for a significant contribution to promoting the study of languages were also presented. The first went to Dr Lid King, an outstanding linguist who has played a leading role in language policy and education in the UK over many years. He received an award donated by and named after another great linguist, David Crystal.
The final award of the evening, the Threlford Memorial Cup, is a splendid, prestigious trophy first presented in 1935 by CIOL’s founder Sir Lacon Threlford. The award was presented to Sally Fagan. Through her social enterprise venture Business Language Champions, Sally runs events for secondary school pupils, showing how languages can open up exciting career opportunities.
Ann Carlisle described Sally as “a hugely inspiring individual and important role model for school students”.
In her acceptance speech, Sally said: “We are delighted to have been given this award which will add credibility to our organisation and our message, especially this year as we seek to expand into new geographical areas. With Brexit and uncertainties in world politics and economies, competency in other languages has never been more important.”
In his closing speech, HRH Prince Michael of Kent, a fluent Russian speaker, said “Never have languages been so important for the United Kingdom as we seek to redefine our trade relationships”.
Further information:
Debbie Butler
Communications and Marketing Manager
Chartered Institute of Linguists
deborah.butler@ciol.org.uk
+44 (0)20 7940 3105
The Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIOL), Incorporated by Royal Charter, Registered in England and Wales Number RC 000808.
The IoL Educational Trust (IoLET), trading as CIOL Qualifications, Company limited by Guarantee, Registered in England and Wales Number 04297497 and Registered Charity Number 1090263.
Registered Office: 7th Floor, 167 Fleet Street, London EC4A 2EA, United Kingdom.