BESIG Bonn: Inspirational talks, quality networking and some great beer - a personal view

Note: this is the first instalment of my report from Bonn. I'm working on some more "content-focused" reports about teaching-related material and developments, which will appear probably on the Riverstone blog and in the Milan Business English Network. This is basically an informal snapshot of my immediate impressions of the event and the experience of being in Bonn itself. RD

The 27^th IATEFL BESIG Annual Conference took place in Bonn, Germany on the 14-16^th November 2014. It was a great opportunity for business English teachers and other professionals working in the sector to meet, exchange ideas and get up to speed on all the latest developments and technology fuelling our industry.

The event was held at the Sankt Augustin Campus of the Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, just a short tram ride away from the centre of Bonn itself. The vast majority of BESIG events have been in Germany, mainly due to the fact that the most active members of the organisation are nearly all based in German-speaking countries. It may also be due to the fact that English teachers, like all expats, tend to adapt to their adopted locations and take on the characteristics of the people where they live. So, although there was a BESIG Annual Conference in Milan in 2006, the Italian presence at BESIG has been less noticeable than that of our more dynamic colleagues in the European economic powerhouse of Germany. 

Having said that, though, I did meet Richard Nicholas, who teaches English at Bocconi University in Milan, and took part in his workshop on training students to "hit the ground running" with immediately-useful spoken English skills. Richard drew extensively from his publication "Heads Up", which he co-authored with Mark Tulip and Louise Green.

The IATEFL and BESIG teams all deserve special mention, especially Cornelia Kreis-Meyer, Marjorie Rosenberg , Andrzej Stesik, Rob Szabó, Clare Hart and the many other people who helped to make the event a huge success. I’m sorry if I’ve missed out anyone really important – but I’m basing most of this on my experience as a first-time attendee gradually exploring the hinterland of IATEFL, BESIG and the many other Special Interest Groups. I think one of the interesting phenomena of the digital age is how the full picture of the activities of a group of highly professional people all working in a relatively small sector gradually emerges via various social media channels. This experience then forms the "digital backdrop" to the live international events.

Since I spend an increasing amount of time online it was interesting to make direct contact with so many people that I have come to know or know of through the proliferation of websites, blogs, Facebook pages and tweets, etc that taken together form the ecosystem or cloud of knowledge that we all inhabit these days.

I was also very impressed by the team of helpers from the university itself, who shepherded lost souls from room to room and provided the all-important information about where to find food, drink and other essential amenities.

Paul Emmerson gave a great talk on his new business English venture, BEhereBEthere, which features high quality resources for learners that the best-selling author has made available to students via a site which is 100% under his control. One of the key benefits of BEhereBEthere is the videos of Paul’s own students that he has posted along with exhaustive supporting materials, including detailed language notes and exercises. During his presentation, Paul explained aspects of his developing strategy, which is to build a unique and uniquely useful free resource for business English learners on the web and to gradually introduce premium features. This freemium model is now an established feature of many online English sites, services and apps and the whole question of business models was a recurring theme throughout the talks and chats taking place in and around the conference itself. 

Paul also shared some invaluable insights into how he uses Google Analytics to learn more about where visitors to BEhereBEthere are located. Given Paul Emmerson’s undisputed status as a major star in the business EFL publishing firmament, it was interesting to see how he is making the transition from published author to self-publishing web entrepreneur (webpreneur?). I think the key thing that was clear from Paul’s talk is the passion and commitment he brings to business English – and his genuine interest and engagement with students. Technology and social media in this context become incredibly powerful channels for content producers to connect directly with students (and fellow teachers) – much more directly than is possible through passive media, such as print or CD-ROM. However, as one audience member put it, once the content genie is out of the bottle the question of how content producers can monetize their creations (or, indeed, whether they can at all) becomes critical. 

As perhaps the “most photocopied man in the world”, Paul Emmerson knows more than most people about the problem of piracy and loss of revenue through vast armies of well-meaning teachers whacking his books under the copier. (During one of the dinners at BESIG, I suggested to Paul that he should perhaps consider some sort of deal with Canon, Xerox or any of the other companies that have helped to spread the Emmerson brand around the globe. In fact, he could even produce his own Paul Emmerson-branded photocopier, bundled with exclusive content for any language school that buys one. Another idea we kicked around was having some PE advertising on the underside of the copier’s flap – since there must be at least a million “flap views” a year in various schools around the globe. Why not have some inspirational Paul Emmerson quotes and a link to BEhereBEthere for people to read while they snag pages from Email English?)

Pete Sharma spoke about the development of the business English course book from print to digital. (Fuller report about this talk coming soon.) The last time I had the pleasure of watching Pete speak was a few years ago at the PSA Symposium at the Consulate General in Milan. As well as being one of the leading experts in the world on blended learning Pete is also a marvellous conference speaker and simply a great communicator. He has a sort of magical rapport with his audience and I think this is one of the reasons why face-to-face communication will always be important – despite the onward march of videoconferencing and Skype. His gestures are also incredibly expressive – and, like all foreigners living in Italy, I have become something of a connoisseur of how people talk with their hands. So, if you want to see and hear someone communicating cutting-edge ideas about education in a memorable, absorbing way, I urge you to check out Pete’s forthcoming speaking engagements.

Other highlights of the conference included a talk about the importance of lexical chunks by Jeanne McCarten in the plenary session. Paula Mulanovic's session was entitled "Teach like TED" and offered tips for teachers of business English. Cleve Miller of English 360 spoke about blended learning for business English: how to design it, deliver it and sell it. It was also nice to meet Valentina Dodge from English 360 too. I also ran into Bob Dignen of York Associates, who spoke about virtual teams and virtual meetings as well as presenting "Ten top tips for successful communication" with Ian McMaster. There were so many talks that it would have been impossible to do more than scrape the surface, but that's BESIG, I suppose. The overwhelming impression you get from attending a conference like this is just how diverse and constantly evolving the business English ecosystem actually is. 

One of the great things about a conference is the opportunity for chance meetings which subsequently prove providential. One such random encounter was meeting András Petz of Anglofon, a specialist legal English firm based in Budapest, Hungary. I happened to be sitting near him on the tram to the campus and overheard him asking someone which stop to get off at. I went over and we struck up a conversation, which resulted not only in meeting a really nice person and a dedicated professional but also in attending his presentation and discovering the very impressive range of resources he has created with his team in Hungary. These include a book on the Terminology of Civil Law, which is linked to a wealth of online material specially designed for legal professionals who need to improve their knowledge of English. We both agreed to stay in touch and hopefully collaborate on some interesting future projects. 

Bonn is a truly lovely city, with many historical and cultural associations. As the former capital of the Federal Republic of Germany (or West Germany as it was known before reunification) the city retains a certain gravitas as well as a legacy of imposing administrative buildings and headquarters, including almost twenty UN institutions. My hotel room had a commanding view of the Rhine and the Kennedy Bridge and the occasion also allowed me to explore the historic centre of Bonn. The classical architecture of the University buildings and the Hofgarten (Court Garden) are very impressive and the city is also a place of pilgrimage for music lovers visiting the house where Beethoven was born. The Marktplatz (market place) is dominated by the Alte Rathaus, or old town hall - simply stunning:

It was also great to spend some time chatting to other delegates in the canteen of the Hochschule as well as in some of the city locations. I had a memorable dinner with Alex Taylor of TJ Taylor, the language school based in Milan with centres in the UK and Ireland, at the First Flush Tea Room, which is also – despite the name – a restaurant serving exotic delights such as pumpkin curry (excellent). We also had tea – everyone gets a teapot of a different design – and sampled the local Kölsch beer, which was equally outstanding. We continued our conversation in Brauhaus Bönnsch, a traditional Rhineland pub serving Kölsch in strangely curved glasses, complete with finger-grips to make imbibing just that much easier. I also managed to squeeze in a visit to Cologne to see its massive and overpowering Cathedral, whose twin spires loom above the station and somewhat cramped squares below. Unfortunately, it was raining quite heavily, which just seemed to add to the sense of oppressive  weight towering overhead – and it was actually something of a relief (architecturally speaking) to be standing in front of Milan’s far more forgiving, though equally impressive, Duomo (cathedral) later the same day.

I flew back to Milan with most of the Italian contingent including freelance business English teachers Louise Goodman and Andy Townsend and our BESIG chat continued well after we had touched down. 

Based on my first experience of BESIG I can honestly say that this was a great experience and for any business English teachers - freelance or otherwise - I would strongly recommend signing up to BESIG and checking out all their events, including regular webinars with experts from the field of business English.

I'll post an update soon when I have sifted through all the notes and stacks of material I accumulated during the conference. Stay tuned!

CircleMe friends and fans celebrate the new look for the “made in Milan” app

Last week I attended the launch party of the 2nd Generation of CircleMe products for web and mobile devices. CircleMe is the “made in Italy” social network that allows you to share your passions for culture and media with a network of trusted people who share your interests.

Situated alongside one of Milan’s canals, the site of the former Richard Ginori porcelain factory, which dates back to 1830, now plays host to a cluster of creative businesses, including the Italian headquarters of CircleMe. (The company also has a London branch based in Silicon Roundabout in the City). The completely redeveloped Richard Ginori complex, which covers an area of over 60,000 square metres, also houses companies such as Strenesse, Momo Design, Della Rovere, la Fornarina and MDF as well as communications agencies and photographic studios.

Il Circolino, a chic bar located in the ex-Richard Ginori centre and a favourite haunt of CircleMe staffers, provided the perfect setting for an evening of relaxed chat with CircleMe users and friends and the chance to discover the new Second Generation apps for PCs, tablets and phones.

With the mercury hitting 36C on the hottest day of the year so far, we sipped complimentary ice-cold drinks and enjoyed an excellent barbecue from Il Circolino’s budding chefs. The CircleMe team mingled with guests at the venue, which features a glass floor through which you can watch the table football matches taking place downstairs.

Making it new
CircleMe has completely updated its interface and introduced a new user-experience that builds on the app’s existing ability to curate your passions and share them with a network of people you can “trust” (CM's equivalent of friending). The app now boasts 1 million interests that you can “love” (by clicking on the famous CircleMe heart icon). Over a thousand stories and new content items are added every day from 6,500 sources and two hundred thousand interest groups.

A brand new feature of the CircleMe experience is the Calendar, which allows you to access a customised calendar featuring all the nearest events linked to your unique set of passions. There are already 55,000 events in over 4,500 locations mapped onto the CircleMe Calendar.

As Giu D’Antonio, CEO of CircleMe pointed out as he demonstrated the new app on a widescreen Mac to guests at the party, you can flick through a virtually endless feed of stories, news and updates relating to your passions – anything from your favourite bands to the latest must-see movies. A new feature is the categories menu bar than you can swipe in from the side. This allows you to refine the view to specific groups of passions based around particular media, such as Music, Books, Movies, etc

As Startupbusiness reported recently when the network’s Android app went live, CircleMe has signed an agreement with Kiver to distribute music online in mp3 format, which users can download according to their passions and their level of activity on the network. The downloads on offer include music from leading artists. (For example, glancing at the app, I see I can download free tracks from artists such as Katy Perry, Lana Del Rey, The Killers, Queen and The Rolling Stones, etc.)

Users can also benefit from a tie-up between CircleMe and moo.com, the UK-based online business card printing service, which rewards users with 50 free cards personalised with their passions.

CircleMe has been growing steadily. According to WiredItalia it is strongest in the UK, US, Italy, France and Brazil.

Niche and easy does it

While CircleMe has expanded considerably and added a wealth of new features it remains something of a niche product in the face of the “big beasts” of the social networking world: Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, etc. However, as Giu pointed out, the aim of CircleMe is not for users to simply grow ever-larger networks of contacts, but rather to deepen and enrich the experience of sharing passions within a trusted circle of like-minded people.

I personally think CircleMe could do more in this area to build on the existing functionality of its apps, especially the ability to “plant” a passion by adding geo-location data and its under-utilised “To do” option. As I explored in an earlier post on this blog, I also think CircleMe members could have a more pro-active role in curating information and content, which uses a “push” model to provide an updated feed to users’ devices based on their passions. I would like to see more of a physical community developing around CircleMe – and I think one way they could achieve this is to have more live events, such as this excellent party, as well as providing opportunities for users to meet up at gigs and special screenings of films they have "loved". There are considerable opportunities for combining CircleMe’s ability to gather and share cultural passions with a more face-to-face experience, which would involve users and allow them to be more active.

A night to remember

So, overall this was a great evening and a nice chance to meet the lovely CircleMe team, who are all passionate and committed about their app. I’d like to say a special thanks to Giu, Elena and the CircleMe team – as well as the excellent Il Circolino – for their hospitality.

Looking forward to seeing you all again at the next event!

#bewhatyoulike

Italian students come face to face with British universities at the first Education UK Fair in Milan

A conversation that could change your life: students find out what's on offer from top British universities at the Education UK Fair, organised by the British Council

There has never been a better time to study in the United Kingdom: that was the message coming loud and clear from the first-ever Education UK Fair that took place in Milan recently.

The highly innovative - and free - event was organised by the British Council and Education UK, the official website for international students who are interested in a UK education. (In 2012 the website received two million unique visitors worldwide.)

Held over two days (28th Feb - 1 March 2014) in the comfortable surroundings of the Atahotel Executive in the rapidly-developing Porta Nuova business district of the city, the Fair was a unique opportunity for prospective university students to meet face-to-face with representatives from many of the UK’s leading educational institutions.

In Italy, personal contact is everything. So this was a great way for British universities as diverse as Oxford, Edinburgh, Leeds, and Anglia Ruskin, among many others, to explain their unique advantages to a significant number of highly-demanding Italian students and soon-to-be school leavers, as well as the parents who want to give their offspring the best start in life – and who will, in most cases, be footing the bill. (By the way, an extremely useful document provided by the organisers of this event was the list of scholarship (borse di studio) schemes on offer, which prospective students and their parents should definitely read for homework.)

Four of the top six universities in the world are in the UK (World Rankings, QS)

When I was there, on Friday afternoon and early evening, the event looked very well-attended with people queuing patiently ten deep (or more) for the opportunity of speaking directly with reps from an impressive selection of British universities  including a large contingent from the University of London, business schools, colleges and independent schools – as well as the team from the British Council itself and other education-related organisations that helped out with the event. (Click here for a full list of all the institutions that took part in the Education UK Fair.)

The Fair comprised two main sections: an exhibition of the institutions and their representatives in the main conference hall and in a smaller, adjoining hall a rolling programme of excellent presentations by speakers from universities, the British Council and educational publishers, as well as independent consultants. (See the next section for a report on the Friday presentations.)

Another very popular feature of the event was the British Council "personalised counselling" stand, where visitors had the opportunity to meet expert teachers ready to provide some tips on writing a great Curriculum Vitae and the all-important letter of presentation - in perfect English, of course.

97% of UK graduates are employed one year after finishing their course. (BC)

Presentations by expert speakers at the Education UK Fair, Milan (Friday 28th February 2014): A summary

The programme started with Michael Flynn of Oxford University Press, whose presentation was entitled “What’s new in language testing? Streamline your English test experience”. (Unfortunately, I missed this talk but if anyone reading this was attending – or, Michael, if you happen to see this – I would be very happy to receive a summary or a link to the slides, etc.)

I came in halfway through a talk by Nadia Macdonald, Deputy Director International of Coventry University’s London Campus. Nadia was showcasing Coventry University’s London Summer School, which looked excellent and very reasonably priced, too. She was also keen to point out the huge cultural benefits of studying in the UK – a theme emphasised by most of the speakers. The UK – and especially London – benefit from an enormous range of cultural activities, such as theatre, music, art galleries and museums as well as fantastic sporting facilities.

Students also had the opportunity to hear (in Italian) what university life in the UK is like “from the horse’s mouth”.  Italian students from Verona who have been studying in Britain provided some excellent insights into university life. They belong to the Ateneo Europa programme, the first “student to student” information network related to education in Europe and organised by the Fondazione Maffei, a Verona-based cultural foundation.

Students listening to students from Ateneo Europa (Verona)

The Importance of English

Jane Hoatson of the British Council, who is a Cambridge oral examiner and an experienced teacher trainer, explained how to apply to a UK university. In particular, she focused on the application procedure, which in the UK operates through a centralised system run by UCAS, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. Jane’s talk included a detailed description of the online applications process. She also spoke about the importance of English for Italian students who want to study at a British university or college. While students have to meet the entry requirements set by each university or institution as regards their final school exams (which in the case of Italy will usually require a minimum level in the maturità exams), applicants will also need to demonstrate they can speak and understand English, a theme which was picked up in the following presentation.

Jane Hoatson, British Council: Your application will depend on your personal statement

One vital aspect of applying to a UK university that can be a real “make or break” factor is the Personal Statement that potential students have to submit as part of their application. Jane stressed the absolute importance of this statement and the need for applicants to stand out from the crowd by demonstrating their unique personal qualities and their attitude not only to study but to life in general. Perhaps one of the main differences between studying in the UK and education in Italy is that British universities are really interested in the “whole person” – not just academic ability. This is especially true at the top universities, especially Oxford and Cambridge, which look at a candidates complete profile – including any distinctions in their artistic, sporting or volunteering activities – as well as academic excellence. However, without really good English, no student can progress very far in the British education system – but most universities run pre-sessional courses that can help prepare learners for the demands of studying in an English-speaking environment.

Studying in the UK is a highly rewarding experience - and it's a lot of fun too! 

The next speaker was Margaret Fowler of the British Council. As Director Examinations, British Council Italy, Margaret is responsible here for promoting and organising IELTS, the International English Language Testing System, the world’s number one English language test, taken by over 1.5 million people every year across the world.

There are several key benefits of IELTS for Italian students who intend to study at UK university. Firstly, you can register up to 14 days before the exam itself and the results will arrive in the comparatively short time of 13 days. IELTS is recognised and often preferred by universities in the United Kingdom. The exam is also recognised by Italian universities in terms of awarding credits. As well as in the UK, IELTS is recognised in other English-speaking countries including the US, Canada and Australia. (This is particularly important if you intend to study in one of these countries.) While other Cambridge exams, such as a the First Certificate, Advanced and Proficiency are intended to demonstrate a candidate’s all-round language ability, IELTS is specifically a test of Academic English. (By the way, it is very important to make sure you take the Academic version of IELTS if you are applying to a university. The General Training version is primarily intended for immigration purposes.)

Margaret Fowler, Director Examinations, BC Italy: UK universities prefer IELTS

In a detailed exposition of the exam (which I am planning to write up as a separate blog post focusing on IELTS and English language exams in general), Margaret took the audience through each part of the exam and discussed some general strategies which will be of great help to students. Perhaps the most important of these – and certainly, in my experience of preparing candidates for the IELTS exam (and most other English exams) – is what you do in the Speaking Test. Without doubt, for Italian people studying English, this is the most problematic part of the exam and the thing they dread more than anything else. Margaret’s advice on this part of the test is invaluable: the examiner is not interested in your opinion of – or even your knowledge – about the topics they ask you to talk about. Instead, they are only concerned with how you express yourself (although what you say should be relevant: don't invent your own questions). Students should use paraphrasing strategies when they can’t think of the right word or what to say (e.g. “I don’t remember the exact word for this, but it’s something you use to…”, etc). 

Candidates in the Speaking Test should also show off their knowledge of grammar and vocabulary - especially conversational phrases. As Margaret put it: the examiner can only credit you with your brilliant knowledge of English if you actually demonstrate it in the exam. While the Speaking Test is a highly contrived, artificial situation it is basically ten minutes where you need to focus on HOW you say things rather than WHAT you are saying (which is the exact opposite of most situations in life).

(IMPORTANT: Check the IELTS score you need to achieve in order to study at a particular university. This can vary from one institution to another, but typically a university will ask for a score of around 6/6.5 at IELTS. For medical students and people taking other professional courses it can be higher, e.g. 7. However, universities can also exercise some discretion, so even if you don't have exactly the right level you might still be able to study there - or you may be offered a pre-sessional course which includes English training. The main thing is to ASK before you apply.)

UK-educated international graduates achieve markedly higher average salaries (BIS)

The final speaker on Friday was Annette Duerdoth, a Consultant at the Higher Education Advisory Service. Annette’s topic was the importance of studying in the UK – particularly at top independent schools – and the main differences between “A” Levels and the International Baccalaureate. Annette started her talk by asking the audience to decide whether the top schools she highlighted, such as Stowe School, Malvern College and Charterhouse, offer students the “A” Levels or the IB. The general picture is that there is a wide diversity, with some schools offering only “A” Levels or only the IB, while at others students can take either form of exam. While the vast majority of school pupils in England and Wales (Scotland and Northern Ireland have different systems) aiming to go to university take “A” levels, the IB is only taken by students at a handful of schools, mainly private or fee-paying ones. (Confusingly, in the UK there are a number of top schools known as “public” schools that are actually private. Yes, I know: bizarre, isn’t it?)

(Note: this is not really an issue for Italian students, but there is an ongoing debate in the UK about the academic/educational "value" of "A" levels (and GSCEs, which most people take at 16). Newspapers and politicians are always concerned with "grade inflation", since there is a consistent trend for exam grades to rise every year - and an endless debate about the reasons for this: are the students getting better or are the exams getting easier? The IB has been promoted as a possible alternative to "A" levels - which are sometimes referred to as the "gold standard" in UK education. Another blog post on this, I feel...)

Annette Duerdoth, Higher Education Advisory Service: IB is rare but highly regarded.

As Annette explained, the main difference between “A” levels and the IB is that whereas “A” level students typically take exams in only three subjects (although some students take more – especially at independent/private/”public” schools), the IB has a much wider curriculum and is more similar to the broader range of subjects studied by Italian and most other European students in their school-leaving exams (such as the maturità in Italy).

The profile of an IB learner can defined as follows: they are inquirers; they tend to be more knowledgeable and open-minded than their “A” level counterparts; they are thinkers, communicators and risk-takers, who are on the whole caring, balanced and reflective. (Dare I say it, but that description could be taken as one that tends to apply more to Italians (and most other Europeans) than the British – or Americans. While our education system has evolved to produce pragmatic specialists who can go straight into narrowly-defined university courses and even more specialised careers, the Continental system has been designed to produce all-rounders: elegant thinkers who have a much wider view of the world and a longer historical perspective, especially when it comes to classical history. (Perhaps I could just interpolate into this digression - this is becoming "Tristram Shandy" -  a personal observation based on my experience of living in a country where education is still largely modelled on the classical system (and which the IB philosophy reflects). While a business meeting in the UK or the US will typically be a brisk, focused affair where people who know their onions – and have been produced by their respective education systems to operate effectively and under pressure in a specific field to do just that – and get on with it, in Italy a meeting is much more of a social affair; and one where, for example, it is not unusual for a technical manager or financial number cruncher to suddenly draw an analogy with the current situation and a moment from the First Punic War – and no-one sitting around the table will bat an eyelid; nor will the remark be accompanied by the sound of jaws dropping onto the table - or the silent squeak of eyeballs rolling in their sockets - as would happen in London or New York.))

If you've just skipped that last bit, the main point to note that here is that while the IB is obviously a higher species of exam and the fruit of a more enlightened educational approach, it is also a lot tougher than "A" levels. (Although education and exams in Italy are more punitive than "Anglo-Saxon" ones in general). Therefore, candidates intending to study at university really need to be aware of all their options and the best plan of action before they choose either “A” levels or the IB.

Annette included in her presentation a quotation from the Financial Times blog referring to the IB. It is highly pertinent to the main topic of the Education UK Fair, i.e. getting into university:

“Not subject to government tinkering, this international currency is particularly strong, with top IB scores worth the equivalent of six A grades at A level and one A at AS. Not ideal for the pupil who has always wanted to drop maths, the IB does put you significantly ahead in the global race for the best universities.”

The Education UK Fair continued on the Saturday (1st March), although I only attended the Friday session. However, many of the presentations on the first day were reprised by the speakers. You can see the full list of presentations here. I would just like to mention one talk which caught my eye: “How to write a good CV in English” with Keryn Paviour-Smith of the British Council. (Again, if you attended this or if anyone has some feedback about it, I would be very interested to hear it. Not least because of Ms Paviour-Smith’s very impressive professional background, which combines human resources roles at top companies with Business English teaching. I’m sure her talk was excellent and I will be looking forward to seeing her speak at future British Council events.)

Employers worldwide consider UK graduates among the most 'employable' (QS)

Final result: First class, with honours

Overall, then, this was a very well designed, organised and executed event of the kind that the British Council excels at. The participants I spoke to were all highly positive and it is very clear that the UK is one of the main destinations for Italian students who want to give themselves an advantage in their future career and life. If you are considering applying for a university course (or any type of study in the UK), the most important thing is to find out as much as possible before you go – and this event certainly provided a very useful starting point for serious students who are contemplating one of the most important decisions they will make in life: where to go to university.

If you are reading this now and kicking yourself that you didn’t attend the Fair, I hope my summary gives you an insight into the event – and, in any case, you can find a wealth of further information and guidance from the Education UK website and via the ever-helpful British Council itself.

I have no doubt that the Education UK Fair will become a regular feature of the Milan calendar – falling quite neatly between Fashion week and the forthcoming Salone Mobile (“Design Week”). The timing is also crucial, as Jane Hoatson pointed out, given that there are strict deadlines for applying to UK universities (and that in Britain a deadline really is a deadline).

Looking forward to Education UK 2015 in the next, critical, “EXPO” year in Milan!

A UK university education gives you a significant advantage in the job market.

The UK has a rich, diverse culture where you can gain an international perspective.

Links to related websites:

British Council
Education UK

Incidentally...

“Los Olvidados” (“The Forgotten Ones”) is a film shot in Mexico in 1950 and directed by the great Spanish visionary, Luis Buñuel, who in 1929 had made the haunting, dream-like surrealist film “Un Chien Andalou” with Salvador Dalí. “Los Olvidados” is a kind of social realist picture, at times almost like a documentary. The story concerns a group of street kids subsisting in a desolate, crumbling Mexico City. The main characters are El Jaibo, an anarchic Jack the Lad who is basically amoral and his gullible sidekick Pedro, who actually has a conscience.

The film is pretty depressing actually. Most acts of kindness or humanity are met with indifference or lead to tragedy and overall the movie paints a picture of life as nasty, brutish and short.

Now, I don’t intend here to explore the various themes of the film and Buñuel’s cinematic treatment of his subject (although I will just mention the surrealist dream sequence that seems almost out of place in the otherwise bleak realism of the film). Instead, I just want to draw your attention to one little scene which is almost inconsequential but highly memorable. A man has two dogs dressed in little costumes with hats, which he takes around the slums to entertain people with and earn a few pennies. The street children go crazy when he comes and all shout out “the dancing dogs, the dancing dogs!”. You then see a few minutes where the camera is basically held on these bizarre, absurd but poignant dogs dancing for the crowd.

I’m sure academics and film historians have written very significant interpretations and analyses of what this scene means. (It is, in fact, one of several references to and actual appearances of dogs in the film.) It is an interesting bit of cinema verité: obviously, the filmmakers must have seen the dancing dogs while they were shooting or perhaps they knew the owner or just ran into him. However, the thing that struck me most about this scene was the fact that it was really quite incidental. It just happens to be there and doesn’t really add  much to the plot. In fact, once you’ve seen it you just remember it as the bit with the dancing dogs, even if you can’t really say how (or where) it fits into the film.

There are in fact a lot of scenes, characters or things that just happened to get included in films largely at random and which don’t really drive the plot or mean much more than themselves. But somehow they stick in the mind simply because they are strange or poetic. Perhaps they function as symbols or metaphors, but often they are really just opportune (and opportunistic) bits of footage where the director of the film just thought they worked.

Here’s another one. In “Stromboli” (also made – coincidentally – in 1950), Ingrid Bergman plays Karin, a displaced Lithuanian woman who finds herself in an internment camp at the end of the Second World War. She conducts a romance with a Sicilian fisherman through the wire fence of the camp and ends up marrying him. They return to his home village, which is tiny and religiously conservative, on the island of Stromboli, near Sicily. The local women are very unimpressed by Ingrid Bergman and her free-spirited attitude to life. (At one point she is sent to Coventry and impugned for her lack of “modesty” after she decorates the fisherman’s cottage with a mural.)

Like “Cleopatra” (1963) starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, "Stromboli" is more famous for what happened off-screen than on. Bergman fell in love with the director, Roberto Rossellini, and they had an affair while they were making the film. (The US was scandalised when Bergman gave birth to Rossellini’s son – they weren’t married – in the same month as the film’s release.) The couple tied the knot later (in Mexico) and went on to have twin girls – Ingrid and Isabella. Isabella Rossellini, of course, is the woman whose main credits include her role in David Lynch’s “Blue Velvet” (which also relaunched Dennis Hopper's film career) and the fact that for many years she was the face of L’Oréal.

Now, again, this isn’t really a critical study of "Stromboli". I will just note that it’s a strangely wooden, halting piece of storytelling that never really gets going on an emotional level. Instead, what you remember when you watch it are the incidental, “background” set pieces, which include actual footage of the volcano on Stromboli erupting at the end while Ingrid Bergman is clambering over the rocks on her way to freedom. The most powerful scene, however, is where all the men of the village go out fishing. They row out to sea (at night?) and when they arrive at the fishing ground they spread out a huge circular net – and wait. This is a village where fishing is de rigeur and it’s communal. It’s also for men only (although the impudent Karin rows out to join her husband, much to the surprised delight but also social embarrassment of her husband). Eventually the fish arrive and then the men start heaving the net upwards, with all the biggest fish thrashing around as the haul nears the surface. The men sing as they work and they all (literally) pull together. Once the fish are at the surface the men then set about clubbing and spiking them in a truly horrific scene, which the uninvited Karin/Bergman is also forced to observe – along with the viewer. (This is definitely one of those films you want to watch after you've had your dinner - especially if it's tuna.)

As with the dancing dogs, once you’ve seen the Stromboli fishermen you’ll never forget them. And again, this is really an opportune bit of documentary reportage spliced into a much weaker movie. The power of the scene comes from the fact that you’re not watching actors but real people at work doing what they have been doing perhaps for centuries. In fact, although this kind of real-life scene is common in post-war Italian neo-realist film-making, it’s always surprising when you actually see it. You get the same frisson as from looking at old photos where people stare out at you from the past as if through aspic. Or when you see something personal and poignant in a museum like a child’s doll or a pair of gloves with a hole in one of them. It’s really something human, not artificial or contrived. It’s like hearing someone scream or cry: it bypasses the intellect and the rational mind and hits you in the stomach or touches your heart.

I’ll just add a third and final incidental scene from another black-and-white post-war classic. This time it’s Vittorio De Sica’s 1948 “Bicycle Thieves” (“Ladri di biciclette” in Italian) which like the other films is a story of ordinary people trying to survive in a bombed-out, post-traumatic world of concrete rubble and shattered ideals. In “Bicycle Thieves” a young married man with a small son living in Rome has the possibility of getting a job putting up film posters for the newly-resurgent movie industry – but only if he has a bike. He and his wife knock their heads together trying to think of how they can come up with the money needed. Eventually, she decides they have to pawn (or hock) their linen. Again, it’s one of those scenes that creeps up on you without warning and then sends you reeling with a sensation of shock and pity with historical fascination and poetry all mixed in.

The pawn shop is huge. It’s basically a warehouse and when the woman hands over the bundle it gets taken through a huge stack of towering shelves and carried up a ladder onto a perilously high rack. There’s linen everywhere – thousands of uniform bundles all packed onto shelves and waiting to be redeemed. Indeed, this one really is symbolic – the shock of the scene is partly that you could never have imagined such a huge pawn shop – but also historical in the blow-to-the-stomach way described earlier: it seems as if the entire working-class population of Rome have pawned their belongings (which they probably had). I suppose the place must have been well-known to the film-makers (I haven’t really looked this one up) or maybe they just heard about it as they were filming. Anyway, the effect it has on the viewer is devastating – and, although it happens in a different way – so is the ending, which of course you will have to watch for yourself. (Let me just say here that it’s one of the saddest endings of any film ever made – so have some Kleenex handy; you’ll need it.)

Well, there you have it. I’m not really sure what these scenes mean – or if they were consciously intended to mean that much, but they are all equally memorable and although you can’t imagine these films without them they don’t really function as indispensable narrative devices. In fact, that’s partly what them makes them so interesting: they’re just there. They simply sit in their respective places and will forever jump out at an unsuspecting audience or viewer and have the same or at least very similar effect for ever.

I think this is a topic I’ll be returning to – not necessarily from films, but from novels, paintings and other media. I like the idea of having a collection of memorable but inconsequential moments; of people, animals and places that just happen to have been included in a larger narrative; of odd, vivid memories that seem both random but significant and suggest a life beyond that of that the immediate film or book and its characters.

(c) Robert Dennis 2014

Incidental but memorable: dancing dogs from “Los Olvidados”, the fishing scene from “Stromboli”  and the pawn shop from “Bicycle Thieves” 

Note: I checked a few facts while writing this post (mainly dates), but I haven’t re-watched the scenes described to ensure that I have recalled them exactly. However, the emotional impact they make is unmistakable – so in this sense they’re like other trace memories in life: a feeling that stays with you, even if the exact details are slightly fuzzy.