The goal of Familia’s recently started Belingual Project is to enhance the well-being of under school age, intercultural children and their families by guiding and supporting the development of children’s multilingualism and intercultural identity development as well as supporting their parent’s educational work using social pedagogic methods.
The three-year project is funded by the Funding Centre for Social Welfare and Health Organisations (STEA). |
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The Belingual Family Network is a community where intercultural, multilingual families from across Finland can:
FAMILY NETWORK STEERING COMMITTEE
To ensure that all our Belingual activities meet the needs and interests of intercultural, multilingual families in Finland, we will work closely with the Family Network Steering Committee. A group of diverse parents and guardians will meet two to four times a year to ensure Belingual activities are inclusive, open and accessible to all multilingual families and that families are active decision makers in the development and realization of the BElingual project. If you are interested in joining the Belingual Family Network Steering Committee, get in touch with us at belingual@familiary.fi |
BElingual advice![]() Belingual offers on-call help and support in matters related to multilingualism, as well as information concerning early childhood educational institutions that offer multilingual care.
Telephone Advice: Mondays 13–15.00, 045 78352075 (calls, text messages + Whatsapp) Book a call apointment Book a 30 min chat with the Belingual team here. We offer support in the following areas:
For information on training for early childhood education professionals and maternity clinic staff to support bilingualism and multilingualism, contact you Belingual expert, Laura Hytti. |
Belingual language clubs are clubs lead by volunteer parents where families with under school-aged children, who speak the same language as one of your home languages come together to play, sing, craft and have fun. The clubs support children's language and identity development and give families an opportunity to experience their language and culture in a community. The clubs meet every two week for two hours. Who can take part in the clubs: All multilingual families who have under-school-aged children and want to support their children's language and identity development and get to know other families that speak the same language. The club activities are design for children aged 2-6 but the whole family is welcome and we hope the clubs will be a meeting place where families can also get to know each other. The fluency or level of language use of children and parents doesn't matter, as long as the family use the club language or want to strengthen the families relationship with the language and culture. Parents who do not speak the language of the club are also welcome to join and learn with their children. We will meet and support each other where we are and learn together. |
The Belingual Language Club has been really important for strengthening our childrens' identity, now we have a community that they feel apart of" |
BELINGUAL Language CLUBS - AUTUMN 2023
The information below may still change. If you find a club that suits your family, register and we will inform you of the specific location and any changes to the times. We will add clubs as they are confirmed. Each club meets every other week.
If you do not find a club in your home language, in a location that works for you, get in touch, we would be happy to talk about setting one up together!
Find out about our new Belingual Online Clubs here.
If you do not find a club in your home language, in a location that works for you, get in touch, we would be happy to talk about setting one up together!
Find out about our new Belingual Online Clubs here.
SATURDAY CLUBS:
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SUNDAY CLUBS
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If we don't have a club running in your language, tell us what language that you are interested in or join as a volunteer club leader and let's start a club together. The Belingual team will connect you with other parents that speak your family language, provide training, support and materials, help with finding a club space and marketing.
EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Belingual family day 9.12You are warmly invited to celebrate the end of the season, share your family’s culture and language, enjoy some yummy snacks and meet other families. Dress up in your cultural dress if you want and make it a special day!
When: Saturday 9.12 at 12.00 -15.30 Where: Naapuruustalo Matinkylä (Matinkatu 7, 02230 Espoo) Languages: All languages are welcome! Programme 12.00 -12.30 Arrivals 12.30–13.30
language in their chosen way. 14.30 -15.30 Time to mingle, eat, play and celebrate You do not need to register, just come along, but if you have a moment, you can let us know here so we can make sure we have enough space and snacks! Perform in our showcase We invite each of your 12 clubs (children and parents) to showcase their culture and language, this could be a song, teaching us some greetings and words in your own language or a dance. Each performance will have up to 5 mins to perform. If you are interested in signing up for a performance, let us know here. |
YOU are enough online course- Multilingualism in single parent familiesAre you a parent in a multilingual single-parent family? Have you wondered how best to give your child the opportunity to learn about all his/her languages and cultures?
In single-parent families, the culture and language of the child's other parent can take a back seat for a variety of reasons. Perhaps you simply don't have the linguistic resources or cultural knowledge to support your child's other language and culture. You may feel like you are alone in supporting your child's multilingualism, or that discussing the issue with your childs other parent can be really draining. This self-study course is for you! Developed by experts from Familia, Belingual and YVPL, our online course "You are enough: multilingualism in single-parent families" offers parents the opportunity to reflect on their own thoughts about their child's other language and culture and provides practical tools to support their child's multilingualism. The course will take place on Tukinet from 14 September to 30 November and will include three chats where you can talk with experts and other parents about issues that concern you. Language: the course is in Finnish, but you can also participate in the chats and discussions in English. JOIN THE COURSE In order to participate you must first register as a Tukinet user and then sign up using the form that appears when you log in to Tukinet and open the You are enough online course: multilingualism in single-parent families theme. If you have any questions about the course or need help registering, please contact: laura.hytti@familiary.fi / +358 447268752 |
Online Café for BELINGUAL VolunteerSCome and share ideas, feedback or just to meet other Belingual volunteers and find out what they are up to whilst enjoying a cup of tea or coffee from the comfort of your own home. A Teams link will be sent to all Belingual volunteers.
Our upcoming volunteers online cafes are from 17.30 -18.30 on:
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BILINGUAL LABS - PEER WORKSHOP FOR PARENTS OF BILINGUAL CHILDRENBilingual Labs are peer workshops for intercultural parents where you will discuss multilingualism and raising multiingual children. We organise the workshop three times a year.
The workshops are meant for parents of under school age multilingual children. In the workshop you will get to know about some research about multilingualism and also share your own experiences with others.
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![]() Belingual Advice: 045 78352075 (calls, text messages + Whatsapp) or book an video call here. CONTACT INFORMATION:
Familia ry, Lintulahdenkatu 10 00500 Helsinki
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