Dagmar Heindler was the Austrian representative in the Council of Europe’s Modern Languages Project Group formed in the mid 1970s to support and improve the learning and teaching of modern languages in Member States.
It was in this context thatthe concept of a Common European Framework of References for Languages was developed by experts and practitioners from different States and published by the Council of Europe in 2001. Today, it is a widely-used document that influences the learning, teaching and assessment of modern languages throughout Europe.
With the guidance of the Modern Languages Division in Strasbourg (Antonietta de Vigili, Joe Sheils), various formats of intensive networking, exchanges of expertise and experiences were developed, bringing together all partners involved in the learning and teaching of languages. Dr. Heindler was for many years at the forefront of a group of experts from Member States who not only contributed to conceptual development, but also aimed to ensure dissemination and implementation of emerging “new approaches” to language learning and teaching. In the early 1990s, numerous actively-involved States felt that this process of collaboration should be intensivied by creating a permanent centre linked to the Council of Europe and its work on language education.
When the European Centre for Modern Languages was founded in Graz, she was elected chairperson of the Governing board, a position she held for 10 years. Her aim was ensuring stability and continuity in the Centre’s development, especially in challenging times.
The project “75 women in 75 years of Council of Europe history” is organised by the Delegation of the European Union to the Council of Europe with the Council of Europe and the Permanent Representations of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
