What can we learn fr om each other's languages? How do we handle the diversity in the lang uage variants we speak? We are keen to exchange experiences. At VU Am sterdam, we see diversity, including in language, as an enriching att ribute of our community. So we are delighted to announce the third VU Mother Language Day on Thursday 19 February 2026.
The day will feature a diverse programme of activities, like:
A spoken word meeting
Your mother tongue is more than a m
eans of communicating 'dryly'. Your mother tongue has emotional value
and is about who you are. If the use and status of your mother tongu
e is not self-evident, you can lose your mother tongue by adapting to
the dominant language and culture, but your mother tongue can also (
partially) merge into the dominant language and change it. Or you can
start to appreciate your mother tongue even more because of its spec
ial status.
In this block, musical, poetic and narrative perfor mances will be given around this theme, by Abdelkader Benali on Tamaz ight (a Berber language) and by VU students on dialects in the Nether lands and loss of mother tongue. As a result of the contributions, we will discuss the meaning and appreciation of mother tongues, also in the context 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-min
ute workshop, you will be taught by a native speaker of Turkish, Fars
i, Syrian Arabic and/or Russian. You can follow a maximum of two work
shops. Register quickly because full = full!
Parallel l
anguage use session
The VU community is a multilingual co
mmunity: VU students and staff speak more than fifty different mother
tongues. Dutch and English are the primary contact languages for off
icial communication. How can you have effective meetings with a multi
lingual group of colleagues? It is not always necessary to switch to
English in a meeting. Are you curious about other solutions? In this
workshop, VU employees talk about their experiences with multilingual
meetings.
Sign up now for this special day and celebrate language diversity with us.
Please note, most activities require registration. Use the reg istration form to indicate your preferences before February 13.
We hope to see (and hear!) you on the 19th.
DESCRIPTION: What can we learn from each other's languages? How do we handle the diversity in the language variants we speak? We are keen t o exchange experiences. At VU Amsterdam, we see diversity, including in language, as an enriching attribute of our community. So we are de lighted to announce the third VU Mother Language Day on Thursday 19 F ebruary 2026. The day will feature a diverse programme of activities, like:A spoken word meeting