read their stories in english
taiki papandreou lazos
Taiki Papandreou Lazos, a Japanese-Dutch student born in London, is passionate about rāmen dishes and their place in the urban food landscape. Having grown up in Japan and moving to the Netherlands, Taiki has seen first-hand how the rāmen industry has changed over the years. He is particularly interested in how rāmen businesses can create a sustainable future for rāmen, in cities such as Amsterdam, where the food scene is in constant flux.
Also available in: Japanese
andrea vargas
Through her personal project ColectivaMente (RoCur), Andrea Vargas from Ecuador seeks to motivate scientists to look beyond the academic world to share their experiences around science. A network of scientists, or in this case, curadores (curators) are in charge of the Spanish rotation curation platform for the entirety of one week. Andrea aims to bridge the gap between the science world and the general public. Showing that science shares dimensions with art, photography, and other disciplines contribute to the contextualisation of science whilst also understanding its value.
Also available in: Spanish (South American)
tala haramtan
Tala Haramtan currently resides in Rome, Italy, but will introduce us to his mother tongue: the Mongolian language. Tala shares his knowledge on the similarities and differences of Mongolian culture and language in both independent Mongolia and Inner Mongolia. In addition, Tala will display his skill in mastering both modern and traditional writing scriptures by showcasing a full translation in Mongolian.
Also available in: Mongolian
vanessa saradjzada
With the Russian language as the common denominator for Vanessa Saradjzada and her parents, Vanessa discusses the similarities and differences between the Russian and Ukrainian language, as well as how the Russian language became a lingua franca for a majority of the interregional marriages during the existence of the Soviet Union up till 1991.
Also available in: Russian
karolina miłkowska
Karolina Miłkowska from Warsaw, Poland recently graduated from two master’s programmes in both Law, as well as Museum and Heritage Studies. Karolina provides us with examples of her academic work where her interests in art history, culture, and law are coming together in an interdisciplinary academic setting. With the focus on one of her publications titled: ‘The Death of Serbia and Rulers in Serbian Iconography’, Karolina elaborates on important academic research skills in relation to Serbian culture, history, and language.
Also available in: Polish
josé vicente gualy blanco
The switcheroo between a variety of languages on a daily basis can be challenging but rewarding at the same time. José Vicente Gualy Blanco is a master’s student in Culture Mediation at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris, France who has his roots in Bogotá, Colombia. José shares his experiences with switching between languages in an international, cosmopolitan environment and gives the readers tips and tricks on how to deal with the challenge of switching between multiple languages.
Also available in: Spanish (South American)
kikumai
The protagonist in this story is Kikumai from Taiwan. Her notable life experience has formed her extraordinary life as it is. We learn about Taiwan’s history through Kikumai’s perspective. In the interview, Kikumai tells us about her childhood during the Japanese occupation, her agricultural life after the war, and interesting stories about visiting Japan in her later years. As one of the few Taiwanese who have experienced war in Taiwan today, Kikumai’s story adds a lot of authenticity, and this authenticity is also reflected in each historical event one by one, highlighting the importance of the history of Taiwan’s colonisation in the past.
Also available in: Chinese (Traditional)
nynke and wytse willem pel
Today we are welcoming Nynke Pel and Wytse Willem Pel, brother and sister. They will be talking to us about the Frisian language they speak. Hereby, they will tell us about the history of the Frisian language and the Frisian identity. Nynke and Wytse Willem were born and raised in Friesland, but currently they both live in Leiden.
durkje salman
From Potsdam, Germany, Durkje Salman talks about her love for the German language. Many historical elements can still be recognised in Berlin's streetscape. Durkje takes us on a digital tour of Berlin where she discusses her favourite buildings and monuments that have a connection with the period of the Second World War.
volkan karakaş
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual international song competition organised by the European Broadcasting Union (established in 1956) in order to unify the nations of Europe following World War II. This year (2021) the contest will be held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands following the country’s victory at the 2019 contest with the song ‘Arcade’ by Duncan Laurence. Volkan Karakaş has been actively following the contest since 2009. Within his personal network, people perceive him as a ‘walking Eurovision encyclopedia’, spilling out lots of different facts of the myriad amount of previous entries. Today, he will share his five most favourite entries from his country of origin, Turkey.
Also available in: Turkish
meng-chen tsai
All the way from Munich, Germany we have Meng-Chen Tsai with us today. His connection with the German culture and language started roughly three years ago when Meng-Chen chose to take a German language elective during his bachelor’s degree at the National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan. After one year of studying German, Meng-Chen decided to further improve and sharpen his German skills. Currently, Meng-Chen studies Materials Science and Engineering (MS&E) at the Technical University of Munich.
Also available in: German
félix sens
The new year will be kicked off with a personal story on how language can be a powerful tool to seize your opportunities. Ever since he was a little boy, Félix Sens has been passionate about fishing. Almost every summer Félix travels to France to visit his French family and to connect with his roots. Last summer, a visit to the Pyrenees in order to commemorate his French grandfather, led to an invite to travel to Réunion.
Also available in: French
mark bebawy
Mark Bebawy studies Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. His parents are from Egypt and through the Coptic Orthodox Church community, he has gained some knowledge in both the Egyptian Arabic and Coptic languages. Today, Mark will invite us to learn more about the Coptic language and how it plays an integral role in his church.
Also available in: Arabic (Egyptian)
jessica oliveira
Visual artist Jessica Oliveira is with us today to discuss local Brazilian art, as well as the incorporation of language in art. Jessica resides in Garanhuns (Pernambuco, Brazil) but is considering moving to João Pessoa (Paraíba, Brazil) in order to exhibit her art.
Also available in: Portuguese (Brazilian)
martha heuts
Our guest Martha Heuts resides in Germersheim, Germany in order to complete her Masters in Translations of English and Dutch. Martha will elaborate on her experiences of growing up in Luxembourg and experiencing multilingualism whilst being within the centre of those dynamics.
Also available in: Luxembourgish
kenneth llave
We are welcoming Kenneth Llave, who works as a business development director in an advertising agency in Metro Manila, Philippines. Kenneth will take us on a journey through the representation of the Tagalog language by interpreting some examples of Original Pinoy Music.
Also available in: Tagalog
rodrigo figueiredo
Rodrigo Figueiredo took the plunge and decided to move from Portugal to the United Kingdom to pursue his academic career in the field of psychology at Middlesex University. His master thesis was on the Age of Acquisition (AoA) effect regarding word and picture memory in European Portuguese.
Also available in: Portuguese (European)
ming-wei yen
Our guest for today is Ming-Wei Yen. Yen currently resides in Paris, France to fully focus on improving his French language skills. Yen is originally from Taiwan, where he obtained his Bachelor's degree in Sociology and Philosophy at the National Sun Yat-sen University. Yen’s plan is to apply for a Masters programme at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris.
Also available in: Chinese (Traditional)
irene kim
I am interviewing Irene Kim on dealing with language acclimatization in different urban spaces and her personal view on learning new languages under those circumstances. Irene currently resides in Amsterdam, but has been used to the idea of adapting linguistically in a new environment.
Also available in: Korean
nina brouwer de koning
In the midst of the current corona pandemic, I am speaking with Nina Brouwer de Koning about her personal experiences of being enrolled in a Korean language school. Nina is majoring in Communication Science at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. During her studies Nina developed a passion for the Korean language. Eventually, this resulted in her applying to study a semester abroad in South Korea.
Also available in: Dutch