The Flemish Minister with responsiblity for Brussels, Cieltje Van Achter (Flemish nationalist), has selected 10 projects to promote and strengthen the use of Dutch in Brussels. The projects will be given Flemish government funding as part of Ms Van Achter’s Total Dutch Plan for the capital. The projects will be rolled out across several sector including healthcare, employment and enterprise.
Several of the projects chosen focus on healthcare and welfare. They include initiatives to strengthen the Dutch language skills of A&E staff at the Europa hospitals group, mentoring for current and future Brussels healthcare professionals and the integration of Dutch more firmly into home care services through the home care service provider Familiehulp.
In the field of education, the ‘Reading is a Superpower’ project has been selected. This connects the Dutch-language library network in Brussels with schools, childcare services and family support organisations to promote reading among children and young people.
Debateville that organises a weekly Dutch-language after-school debate and language programme for children from the 4th of primary school, will expand its activities to the municipality Anderlecht. ‘Taalprikkels’, an initiative for youngsters in the northern Brussels suburb of Jette has been granted funding as has the art-based language project Kunstket.
Employment and enterprise
Employment and enterprise also feature prominently among the projects that have been selected. A joint initiative by Syntra Brussels and the adult education centre (CVO) Lethas will develop a practice-oriented Dutch as a second language (NT2) programme that will be tailored to the needs aspiring and established entrepreneurs in Brussels. In addition to this the ‘Taalboost’ project will provide targeted language support to jobseekers in the capital.
At a press conference on Thursday, Ms Van Achter said that “Our Flemish capital is bilingual, and anyone who lives, grows up, studies, works or needs care here should be able to communicate fully in Dutch. Dutch must be present, accessible, and functional in all areas of life in Brussels”.