On the picture Els Wallenburg and Joost Scholtsz.
Behind the traditional facade of Westvest 7 in Delft, is a buzzing, lively community comprising students and staff from more than 60 countries of the world. Welcome to UNESCO-IHE, the Institute for Water Education, the largest international graduate water education facility in the world.
The students who come to UNESCO-IHE have usually left behind families and friends; sometimes they start to feel homesick, but they are very keen to get to know their adoptive country. This is where Meet the Dutch comes in. For more than 35 years, through this organisation, volunteers have welcomed students by inviting them to their homes, on sightseeing visits or just by helping them settle in. Meet the Dutch allows hosts the opportunity to meet people from other cultures, perhaps practise English or another language and develop new friendships.
On 3rd December, a new contract was signed whereby Meet the Dutch will continue to provide this invaluable service to UNESCO-IHE students. Els Wallenburg and Joost Scholtsz have co-ordinated Meet the Dutch activities for six years and they have an urgent request: ”This year, we have many more students than Dutch people and families to host them. The commitment is for six or eighteen months (depending on the course the student is following) and the frequency of meeting and greeting depends on the student. Sometimes it will only be once a month or less, other times more frequently if the hosts are willing.”
To introduce potential hosts to the work of Meet the Dutch, an open evening has been arranged at Tuesday 12 January from 19.00 – 20.00 hours in the UNESCO-IHE building. For more information visit: http://meet-the-dutch-programme.unesco-ihe.org/english-version
http://meet-the-dutch-programme.unesco-ihe.org/
UNESCO-IHE website www.unesco-ihe.org
Email: mtd@unesco-ihe.org
