TaalTrek 2024: looking back on a successful intercultural project
30 April marked the end of an enriching adventure for 90 students from UCLL and IHECS participating in the TaalTrek project of the Dutch B3 course (Advertising department) led by Catherine Lycops. This project, kicked off with a first meeting on 28 February in Leuven, offered the students a unique intercultural experience with their Flemish partners for two months.
During this period, the pairs took part in a multitude of activities: visits to their partners' universities and participation in courses, urban exploration, museum visits, cooking classes, escape rooms, movie screenings, geocaching, yoga classes, shopping, climbing, nature walks and much more. So many discoveries and memories were created by forging relationships with the other side of the linguistic border.
The closing night was a highlight of this project. A bilingual quiz on Belgian culture set the mood, bringing together the 45 pairs around their shared knowledge. Then a bilingual pitch competition allowed participants to test their creativity and language skills.
The four finalist pairs pitched their project in front of all the participants. Their presentations, by turns captivating, humorous and skillfully designed, kept the audience in suspense. Finally, it was the pair of Alexandre Frische (IHECS) and his partner Dante (UCLL) who won the students' vote.
A big congratulations to all the participants of this first edition of TaalTrek for their enthusiasm and their commitment to this new intercultural project.
We would like to thank Catherine Lycops for this magnificent project, but also our colleagues from UCLL Hannah Severijns and Peggy Leën, as well as Céline Boisdenghien, Yasmine Al Fihri, Elisa Pomponio and Hélène Sambon, teachers in the language department, who came to lend a hand during the closing evening.
