At the start of the academic year in the European summer of 2023, the KU Leuven in Belgium organized a seminar entitled “Deep Diving into Service-learning”. This initiative, was a collaboration between the local Voorsprongfonds, a fund of the Flemish Ministry of Education and the European Union, and the Flemish Network for Service-learning in Higher Education.
Over two days, more than a hundred participants from various regions and countries dived deeper into service-learning topics such as creative reflection, strategic partnerships and solidarity.
Alongside workshops, the initiative featured an inspiring keynote speech by educationalist Prof. Dr. Gert Biesta (University of Edinburgh & Maynooth University) on service-learning, world-centred education and the question of the person. Dr Aloys Otieno Ojore also shared his rich experience and views on transforming communities based on the service-learning experiences carried out at Tangaza University, a Uniservitate hub representative in Africa.
Building on the workshop contents and experiences held during the Summer School, a Dutch Service-learning book is being written with professors, educational staff and community partners of the higher education institutions of the Flemish Network as co-authors. The book will be the first Dutch Service-learning reference work, providing the possibility to define service-learning in the regional context and further the institutionalization processes and future initiatives.