“Language is all around us. You need language everywhere.”, says Astrid Van Den Bossche (26), a volunteer on our Dutch camps for non-native newcomers. “That’s why we decided to take them to the Van Eyck exhibition in Ghent during the 2020 autumn holiday.”
“Our language camps are not only about improving language skills”, says Astrid. “We try to immerse participants in our world as much as we can, so that they experience it for themselves.”
“We always have a theme for our camps for non-native newcomers. The theme for the autumn holiday camp this year was Van Eyck. The participants familiarised themselves with the Dutch language and the city with their new camp friends by playing games, putting on plays, singing songs and visiting the Van Eyck exhibition.”
Impressed
“A lot of the children in the group were really impressed by the exhibition. Many of them had never set foot in a museum before. They were absolutely mesmerised when we entered one room of the museum which has a huge painting covering an entire wall.”
Giant Pictures to Colour In
“Before the visit, we had got some booklets about the exhibition with some photos of the paintings. At the exhibition, they really enjoyed looking for the paintings which featured in the booklet. Once they found each one, they could tick it off in their booklet. There was also a workshop at the end of the exhibition – the children could take part in fun activities such as colouring in giant pictures of the Van Eyck paintings.”
Incredibly enthusiastic
“Many of the children who are born here regularly go to museums with their parents or on school trips. For them, it’s just another day out. But for these children it is another matter. They were incredibly enthusiastic right from the start. As a volunteer, this is a wonderful thing to see.”
