Embracing equity for women and the mother tongue

March 11, 2023

Books from Eindhoven Library's International Children's Book Collection

On Saturday, March 11, HLE Network representatives passed out information about heritage language education at an event organized by the CLO (Latin American Center for Orientation) for International Women's Day (IWD) at the Park Theater in Eindhoven. The event provided an excellent opportunity for women to come together to strengthen each other's network.

Global celebration

The goal of the IWD is to honor the achievements and progress of women, as well as to draw attention to the challenges that remain. The theme of IWD 2023 was #EmbraceEquity, the idea that "true inclusion and belonging require equitable action."

Latin American Center for Orientation

The CLO is an organization that has had a presence in Eindhoven for 20 years, originally supporting expat women with a Latin American background, which now has a much farther reach by bringing women in the region from all backgrounds together. The CLO organizes IWD to give women from the community the opportunity to present their creative talents and projects in the areas of art, coaching, education, and politics. At the IWD event, there is a central stage with a program of performances and presentations, in addition to information and craft booths.

Heritage language education, women, and equity

Being able to follow lessons in the mother tongue has been deemed a human right by the United Nations, and it is often women/mothers who band together to organize language lessons for their children. In a 2021 survey, HLE Network found that approximately 80% of the people working in HL education in Eindhoven are women, including the program managers, teachers, and volunteers. Due to misconceptions about multilingualism and multiculturalism, children and their mothers have unfortunately been shown to have been discriminated against in the Netherlands for speaking the home language. By bringing together and supporting the many grassroots language programs in our region and also debunking common misconceptions, HLE Network promotes inclusive and equitable education for multilingual children and fights against discrimination based on mother tongue.