Montreal: World Esperanto Capital in 2022!
Where?
Pavillon J.-A. DeSève
320 rue Sainte-Catherine Est
Montréal (Québec) H2X 1L7
When?
From August 6th to August 13th, 2022
What?
From August 6th to August 13th, 2022, Montreal will host, for the first time ever, the World Esperanto Congress – the 107th edition of this annual event. Originally planned for 2020 (to be held as the 105th World Congress), it had to be postponed because of the pandemic.
Held for the first time in France in 1905, the World Esperanto Congress is the largest and most important annual gathering of Esperantists from around the world. These congresses gather from 500 to 6000 people (depending on the city and year) and allow the participants to exchange their experiences, attend conferences, present their cultures, discover the host country and discover the host culture through music, dance, theatre and cinema.
In 2022, it will be 38 years since the World Congress was last held in Canada (Vancouver, 1984) and 112 years since it was held on the East Coast of North America (Washington DC, 1910).
Even if the participants come from dozens of countries, they do not need interpreters, because they all communicate in Esperanto! This planned language was first developed by Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof, a doctor of Jewish origin living in what is now Poland, and published in 1887. Dr. Zamenhof’s goal was to offer mankind a neutral language that is also easy to learn and that also facilitates fair communication between people of different languages and cultures.
Despite the two world wars and even persecutions against Esperantists, this language has been actively used by a growing global community of speakers for more than 130 years. Esperantists meet regularly through a number of of local, regional and international cultural Esperanto events. Esperanto also has a rich culture, featuring all varieties of music, theatre, literature (both original and translated). There are even international families who use Esperanto as a common language.
Currently, Esperanto is experiencing a period of rapid growth thanks to the Internet, which not only allows for easier international contacts, but also offers online courses, online literature and even apps to find other Esperantists nearby!