Dear students and colleagues,
I welcome you at our AP university of applied sciences & arts. I also welcome you in Belgium, and in Antwerp. The biggest city in Flanders. Flanders, the north region of Belgium. Here we speak Flemish, or Dutch, like our friends of the Netherlands. We don’t differ too much of each other. We speak the same language. Although the people of the Netherlands are more enthousiastic than we are. This doesn’t mean we are not enthousiastic, but we show it less.
Welkom aan onze buren uit Nederland!
In Belgium, in the West part, we have a sea. It’s called the North sea. For our Portugese friends, our sea is as cold as your sea, the Atlantic Ocean. I know our Portugese friends travel to the south part of the portugese country to swin in the sea, it is more warm. Well, we in Belgium don’t differ too much from them, because we also travel to the south to dive in the sea. We travel to the south of France, to the Mediterranean sea. It is more warm. You see we don’t differ too much from you.
em-vindos ao povo português aqui em Antuérpia
Beng-VEEN-doos ow POH-voo por-too-GEHZ ah-KEE eng An-too-ÉHR-pyah (welcome to the portugese people here in antwerp )
In Belgium we have strong regional identities. We have Flanders, Wallonie (in the South) and Brussels. Each with its own culture. Do you know in Greece you have the mainland and a lot of islands. They also have different regional traditions. There are even more similarities, both countries have complex political systems with many political parties and coalition governments. We don’t differ too much from them.
Kalosorísate stous Éllines stin Amvérsa. Elpízo na perásete ypérocha edó. (welcome to the greece people in antwerp. I hope you have a wonderfull time here)
At first glance, Belgium and Tanzania seem very different, one is a small Western European country, the other a large East African nation. But if you look closer at the people and social habits, there are some meaningful cultural similarities between Belgians and Tanzanians. Both countries are linguistically diverse. Belgium has Dutch, French, and German as official languages. Tanzania has Swahili and English as official languages, but over 120 dialects too. We have it too. We don’t differ too much from them.
Karibuni marafiki zangu wa Kitanzania. Natamani ningeweza kutembelea nchi yenu mara nyingi zaidi.
(welcome to my tanzanian friends. I wish i could visit your country more often)
While Uganda and Belgium are very different in size, history, and geography. We both have a strategic regional role. Belgium is at the heart of Europe and hosts the European Union headquarters. Uganda is in the heart of East Africa and is involved in regional peace. We don’t differ too much from them.
Karibuni familia yetu ya Uganda. Natumaini nitapata kuona nchi yenu. Nimesikia ni nchi nzuri sana.
(welcome to our uganda family. I hope to see your country. I heard it is such a beautiful country)
I welcome you all-in our final event of our Blended Intensive Project. A project where we developed internet of things solutions for real-life cases. We developed and still develop hardware, software and infrastructure. During this fysical week we will continue the work. We will collaborate , learn and make new friendships. In real. Not working virtually together anymore, but see each other in real life. Tell each other how your hometown looks like. Hopefully you all will have the chance to visit and see each other in real life again after this project. From my own experience I always feel myself privileged when I see my colleagues from the Netherlands, Greece, Portugal, Tanzania and Uganda again. Every time again, I learn from them. Every time again, I ‘m interested in their way of life. Every time again I feel the friendship.
This week, we will work together, we will learn, we will communicate, we will collaborate, we will be creative. Actually “the” 21st century skills youngster have to learn. It will help you succeed not only in school projects, but also in real-life situations.
First communication:It will help you share ideas clearly and avoid misunderstandings. It’s a key skill in almost every job. With this BIP you will even learn in practice what cultural differences are. How you have to communicate in a team of different nationalities. One of my good friends in Zanzibar once told me: with talking and discussing you can solve everything. Well dr. Khamis, I often think about what you told me. And I am sure you are 100% right.
Second collaboration: You will learn how to work with different personalities. How to do teamwork, have respect to your team, and take responsibility in your role, and in your work. Do you know: We are stronger together than we are alone
Third Creativity. It will encourage you to solve problems in unique ways. It helps you stand out and make your work more engaging. Promise that if someone in the team have an idea, share it. Don’t be shy. Maybe your idea is that thing what the project, the team needs. Maybe it can be the start of something unique, innovative!
Dear students,
Our blended intensive project physical week officially started now. Remember, learn a lot, collaborate a lot, talk of lot. Enjoy Belgium, enjoy each other. Don’t miss your hometown too much. You know we don’t differ too much from each other.
