Meetups 2019-2020

Building a sense of community among the heritage language school organizers is one of the goals of the HLSE initiative. In the 2019-2020 school year, we chose two key moments to come together and share a drink and a chat at the Eindhoven Stadsbrouwerij in the evening. In September we met for European Language Day and in February we met for UNESCO World Mother Language Day. About 8 to 12 people attended, representing 5 to 7 different languages per Meetup. Gezellig!

The purpose of the HLSE Meetups is to give the heritage language program organizers a chance to meet in an informal setting to discuss the progress with their schools and to share experiences. And simply to get to know each other!

In September we met a new teacher from the CLO's Carrousel school for Spanish-speaking children. In February we shared ideas with the new Persian school founder about possible lesson locations, discussed questions about insurance policies, and found out that Gulsah . . . dyed her hair completely blond!

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When asked if he thought whether the HLSE activities were succeeding in forming a connection between the heritage schools, Boudewijn from the German school said, "Yes, we see we are not alone!" What the heritage language program organizers have in common is that they work very hard toward an important goal but are not always recognized for their efforts. In this setting, everyone understands the challenges that are faced and can gain some inspiration and appreciation from each other.

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We plan to continue this tradition in the 2020-2021 school year, so be on the lookout for the new dates.