The EUREGIO is a cross-border association of 129 German and Dutch cities, municipalities, districts and water boards. The area of the EUREGIO covers about 13,000 square kilometers and is home to about 3.4 million inhabitants. On the Dutch side, the area includes Twente and Achterhoek as well as parts of northeastern Overijssel and southeastern Drenthe; on the German side, it includes Münsterland, the county of Grafschaft Bentheim, the city and county of Osnabrück, and parts of southern Emsland.
Since its foundation in 1958, the EUREGIO has been working on the development and consolidation of cross-border structures. The guiding objective is to promote both socio-cultural cooperation and the socio-economic development of the region. The EGS is also committed to these goals: Therefore, euregional contents are gradually anchored in the school profile.
The fact that the link between the two namesakes works is demonstrated, among other things, by the cooperation between the two institutions that began in mid-2018: As part of regular events, EUREGIO informs EGS students about the differences and similarities of the German-Dutch labor market and offers interested young people support, for example, in the search for and implementation of an internship in the Netherlands.
What exactly is a Euregio profile school?
The students of EGS Epe live in a region that is very special due to its border location and the associated proximity to other languages and cultures. This special situation is addressed in everyday school life: The students should feel that they live near the border, how exciting this living space borderland is and what opportunities are offered here.
Euregio profile schools implement this idea in a structured way and add a regional component to their school program. In this way, they specifically align their school offerings with the living environment of their students.
So being a Euregio profile school means:
- To anchor and live the euregional idea in everyday school life.
- To enable a lively acquaintance with the two neighboring languages.
- To actively seek personal contact with neighboring countries.
- Raise awareness of cross-border, intercultural awareness in specialized classes.
- To enable its students to obtain a Euregio competencies certificate.
What does lively acquaintance with the neighboring language look like at EGS?
Independently of its application to become a Euregioprofilschule, EGS already promotes a lively acquaintance with the neighboring languages in many areas: For example, the students not only come into contact with the Dutch language from grade 6 onwards in the compulsory electives, but also during various project days and teaching topics with a Euregional or European connection.
Multilingualism is a qualification that comes into play in everyday interactions as well as in studies and careers. The growing together of Europe and the increasing globalization demand this more and more. Learning and using another language at an early age, even apart from pure language instruction, promotes the learning process as a whole and leads to a more conscious use of language. For this reason, a bilingual course in social studies will be available to students in the 9th grade starting in the 2020/21 school year. If the enrollment numbers permit the establishment of these courses, the students of the EGS can choose the subject in German-English or German-Dutch.
With this offer we pursue several goals:
- Individual support for students interested in foreign languages and students with language skills
- individual promotion of mother tongue competences for pupils with a Dutch migration background
- Promotion of intercultural competence, a key qualification in our increasingly multicultural society
The offer responds to the situation of a school close to the border in a united Europe: children of different mother tongues and educational backgrounds learn together. It is intended for children from homes where Dutch is spoken or in whose environment Dutch is spoken; but at the same time the offer is also aimed at children who are interested in languages and who have a talent for languages and who can learn an additional foreign language in greater depth.
Do you have any questions regarding our Euregio profile? Feel free to contact our contact person Mr. Philipe-Henry Porschen(porsph@egs.gronau.de) personally or via mail.