BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam//NONSGML v1.0//EN NAME:VU Mother Language Day 2026 METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART:20260219T133000 DTEND:20260219T180000 DTSTAMP:20260219T133000 UID:2026/vu-mother-language-day-20@8F96275E-9F55-4B3F-A143-836282E12573 CREATED:20260601T174309 LOCATION: SUMMARY:VU Mother Language Day 2026 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

What can we learn from each other's languages? How do we handle the diversity in the languag e variants we speak? We are keen to exchange experiences. At VU Amste rdam, we see diversity, including in language, as an enriching attrib ute of our community. So we are delighted to announce the third VU Mo ther Language Day on Thursday 19 February 2026.

The day will f eature a diverse programme of activities, like:

A spoke n word meeting
Your mother tongue is more than a means of communicating 'dryly'. Your mother tongue has emotional value and is about who you are. If the use and status of your mother tongue is no t self-evident, you can lose your mother tongue by adapting to the do minant language and culture, but your mother tongue can also (partial ly) merge into the dominant language and change it. Or you can start to appreciate your mother tongue even more because of its special sta tus.

In this block, musical, poetic and narrative performances will be given around this theme, by Abdelkader Benali on Tamazight (a Berber language) and by VU students on dialects in the Netherlands a nd loss of mother tongue. As a result of the contributions, we will d iscuss the meaning and appreciation of mother tongues, also in the co ntext of 'global citizenship'

Language workshops
Have you always wanted to say 'what a beautiful country this is ' on holiday in Turkey? Or wish your Iranian neighbors a good morning in their own language? Then grab your chance now! In a 45-minute wor kshop, you will be taught by a native speaker of Turkish, Farsi, Syri an Arabic and/or Russian. You can follow a maximum of two workshops. Register quickly because full = full!

Parallel language use session
The VU community is a multilingual community : VU students and staff speak more than fifty different mother tongue s. Dutch and English are the primary contact languages for official c ommunication. How can you have effective meetings with a multilingual group of colleagues? It is not always necessary to switch to English in a meeting. Are you curious about other solutions? In this worksho p, VU employees talk about their experiences with multilingual meetin gs.

Don't miss out

Sign up now for this special day and celebrate language diversity with us.

Please note, most activi ties require registration. Use the registrati on form to indicate your preferences before February 13.

We hope to see (and hear!) you on the 19th.

DESCRIPTION: The day will feature a diverse programme of activities, l ike: A spoken word meeting
Your mother tongue is more than a means of communicating 'dryly'. Your mother tongue has em otional value and is about who you are. If the use and status of your mother tongue is not self-evident, you can lose your mother tongue b y adapting to the dominant language and culture, but your mother tong ue can also (partially) merge into the dominant language and change i t. Or you can start to appreciate your mother tongue even more becaus e of its special status. In this block, musical, poetic and narrative performances will be given around this theme, by Abdelkader Benali o n Tamazight (a Berber language) and by VU students on dialects in the Netherlands and loss of mother tongue. As a result of the contributi ons, we will discuss the meaning and appreciation of mother tongues, also in the context of 'global citizenship' Language workshop s
Have you always wanted to say 'what a beautiful country this is' on holiday in Turkey? Or wish your Iranian neighbors a good morning in their own language? Then grab your chance now! In a 45-mi nute workshop, you will be taught by a native speaker of Turkish, Far si, Syrian Arabic and/or Russian. You can follow a maximum of two wor kshops. Register quickly because full = full! Parallel langua ge use session
The VU community is a multilingual communi ty: VU students and staff speak more than fifty different mother tong ues. Dutch and English are the primary contact languages for official communication. How can you have effective meetings with a multilingu al group of colleagues? It is not always necessary to switch to Engli sh in a meeting. Are you curious about other solutions? In this works hop, VU employees talk about their experiences with multilingual meet ings.
Don't miss out
Sign up now for this special day and ce lebrate language diversity with us. Please note, most activities requ ire registration. Use the registration form to indicate your preferences before February 13. We hope to see (a nd hear!) you on the 19th. What can we learn from each other's langua ges? How do we handle the diversity in the language variants we speak ? We are keen to exchange experiences. At VU Amsterdam, we see divers ity, including in language, as an enriching attribute of our communit y. So we are delighted to announce the third VU Mother Language Day o n Thursday 19 February 2026. END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR