April 15, 2023
On Saturday, April 15, "De Carrousel" Spanish educational program celebrated the opening of the Spanish section in the International Children's Book Collection at Eindhoven Library. Their spirited celebration is a perfect example of what makes the international book collection so special: there are many active language communities behind it that have helped build and promote it. Many of the participating language groups have years of experience educating children and stimulating reading in the mother tongue ("heritage language").
De Carrousel
The group that sponsored the Spanish books in the International Children's Book Collection is De Carrousel, an educational program which has been involved for years in the education of not only Spanish-speaking children who want to improve their Spanish, but also Dutch children who want to learn Spanish. De Carrousel started in 2006 to support Latin American migrants with their children's bilingual education. It also seeks to strengthen children's right to maintain and develop their parents' native languages.
We seek to strengthen children's right to maintain and develop their parents' native languages. - De Carrousel
De Carrousel offers Spanish lessons to children aged 4 to 11 every Wednesday from 14:00 to 15:00. Its main goal is to teach the Spanish language starting at a young age with a playful and systematic approach.
De Carrousel is affiliated with HLE Network, which together with Eindhoven Library invited the Spanish group to participate in the International Children's Book Collection. The Spanish books were delivered to the library in December 2022.
CLO
De Carrousel is part of the Centro Latinoamericano de Orientación (CLO). Through volunteer work, the CLO makes a contribution to the participation, integration, and diversity of Latin American migrants. The CLO will celebrate its 23rd anniversary on April 23, 2023, at Meneer Frits / Muziekgebouw in Eindhoven (see their Facebook page for details about the event).
The opening of the Spanish children's book collection
On April 15, at the Witte Dame location of Eindhoven Library, there was an official opening by head of the CLO and director of Eindhoven Library. One of the volunteers of De Carrousel explained to the children how to borrow books from the collection (with general membership of the library, free for children aged 0 to 18).
One of the first initiators of the CLO spoke as well: for years she has been bringing a box full of books every week to De Carrousel, so that children can borrow them. How wonderful that they can now access books whenever the public library is open!
Afterwards, the children cut the ribbon to open the collection, participated in some craft activities, and then heard some Spanish storytelling. At the end of the event, one gentleman read the children's version of Don Quixote with theatrical passion, helping get the children and parents alike enthusiastic about reading in Spanish and learning about Spanish literature.
Click here to view the work team of De Carrousel's event
Work team
Coordination: Roxana Aguirre Arredondo
Presentation: Natalia Díaz Romero
Design and Photography: Sandra Cueva Cortez
Collaboration team:
Roxana Azabache
Sally Ocana
Yaquelin Quintero Chalarca
Sasha Magali Romero
Narration: Alcira Bojórquez Segura
Trilce Garavito Badaracco
Christian Portilla Caicedo
Rich in community engagement
Eindhoven Library understands that having a multilingual collection is not only about putting books on the shelves, it's about creating a space for multilingual children and their families to feel welcome and supported. The city of Eindhoven should be proud of this achievement that not only involves thousands of books in multiple languages, but that is also rich in community engagement.
Many congratulations to our friends at De Carrousel, the CLO, and Eindhoven Library!
Comments