On arrival at VU Amsterdam, people were welcomed by a Holobox that showed twenty staff members and students sharing stories about, and in, their mother language. Thereafter, participants were invited to gather in the Aurora hall. After a warm welcome from Camille Welie, university lecturer and teacher coordinator VU-NT2 (Dutch as a second language) and researcher, author Abdelkader Benali was introduced.
‘Our language is our Home’
Abdelkader Benali began in his mother tongue, Tarifisjt. After some seconds of silence, Benali received a warm applause after he shared that this had been the first time that he got to speak his mother language, Tarifisjt, in an ‘official setting’ at a university. Benali emphasized the importance of being able to express oneself in one’s mother language; in the most dire situations, communication in one’s mother language can save lives, if only the language is heard and understood.
Subsequently, Amir Naiemi, student of Literature and Society: English, and his friend Fereyoon Valianpoor were invited to the stage to perform a retelling of One Thousand and One Nights, but this time from the perspective of Aladdin’s mother. Valianpoor and Naiemi alternated between passages in Farsi, their mother language, and passages in English. ‘Our language is our home,’ Valianpoor said, while Naiemi facilitated the piece with beautiful music.
Following this breathtaking performance, Maxime van der Reijden, student of Literatuur en Samenleving: Creatief Schrijven Nederlands, was invited to the stage to perform an ode to her grandparents’ mother language: Leids. Van der Reijden shared stories about the (negative) preconceptions people often hold against the dialect. By discussing dialects and preconceptions, Van der Reijden shed light on the issue of hierarchies of languages and dialects, which oftentimes result in preconceptions about individuals who consider these languages their mother language.
Parallel language use
After the plenary opening of the event, participants were invited to visit different language workshops—Arabic, Turkish, Russian, and Farsi—and a workshop on parallel language use at VU Amsterdam.
The workshop on parallel language use was moderated by Michiel van Drunen, Director of Education of the School of Business and Economics, and Marjolijn Witte, project manager at VU Amsterdam. VU Amsterdam’s language policy marks both Dutch and English as VU Amsterdam's official languages. During the workshop, participants shared their experiences and tips on how this policy can lead to a more inclusive (work) environment.
Language diversity
Participants were also heartily invited to join one of the language workshops: Arabic by Yousef Hasan and Ahmed Merie; Turkish by Sena Tekkoyun; Russian by Irina Giertz and Farsi by Zahra Naimi. All of the language workshops were facilitated by students of VU-NT2, who had only recently started learning Dutch as a second language and now facilitated a presentation about their language, culture, and identity.
‘Cheers to our mother languages’
To finish the day, participants gathered in the auditorium for drinks to reflect on the event, which led to many more meaningful conversations. More than a device to communicate, our mother language is part of our identity, and this day made us remember that.
Click here to read Abdelkader Benali’s reflection (in Dutch) of Mother Language Day 2026.