Those who know me are aware that I’m the type who likes to recognize achievements, happy occasions and a job well done. So, naturally, I wanted to write a post to mark the one-year anniversary of the Our Languages blog. As manager of the Language Portal of Canada, I’m very pleased with what my team has accomplished during this great adventure.
My story in a nutshell
I’m a product of Canada’s multicultural mosaic. My mother was from Québec, and my father immigrated to Canada from Tunisia, so I was exposed very early on to different languages and cultures. As a student, I already knew that I wanted to work for the Government of Canada, and I got my first job in the public service while I was finishing my bachelor’s in business administration. I was very proud to be following in the footsteps of an uncle who inspired me through his brilliant career as a director in the public service of Canada. I’d always been impressed by the rewarding experiences his work provided him. And, like him, I’ve been rather spoiled by the experiences I’ve had to date.
The Portal adventure
In 2016, I discovered the Portal. Its mission and dynamic team immediately won me over. Taking on the management of this colossal website containing over 25 000 pages of language related content rekindled my interest in languages. What better way to serve Canadians than to provide them with resources to help them communicate, and a one-stop window to support them in their efforts to keep their language alive and thriving?
Writing tools, glossaries, terminology records, language quizzes, a collection of links to Canadian resources: whoa! I had to familiarize myself with a lot of new concepts when I started at the Portal, not to mention the fact that a new section was under construction: the Our Languages blog! I was thrilled to have a hand in creating it, and the success of the first post we published (What bilingualism means to me, by Stéphan Déry, Chief Executive Officer of the Translation Bureau) secured the blog’s place within the Portal family. In fact, during the first week, the post was read hundreds of times, and since its publication, the page has had over 30 000 visits in English and French! Well done!
I’m elated with the success of the Our Languages blog! Since its launch, the team has published over 50 articles. I thoroughly enjoyed reading these posts, many of which were drafted by 40 guest bloggers who shared their love of language with us. To date, the blog pages have been viewed over 400 000 times in English and French!
As is fitting when we celebrate an anniversary, I’d like to wish the Our Languages blog and its team a long life. I also hope that all our guest bloggers continue to be inspired!
I encourage you to read our archived posts as soon as you finish reading mine! Then, tell me: Which one did you find most interesting? Which post was the most entertaining? What topics would you like the blog to address?
Translated by Josephine Versace, Language Portal of Canada
