Witaj
Witaj ( Sorbian for welcome ) is a project that promotes bilingual Sorbian-German care and training at kindergartens and schools in Lusatia and thus promotes the dissemination and promotion of Sorbian. It is coordinated by the Witaj language center based in Bautzen and Cottbus and subordinated to Domowina .
history
The first Witaj group was started on March 1, 1998 in the Cottbus district of Sielow with twelve children. The idea of bilingual early education for children has already been successfully implemented in Canada and by many smaller peoples in Europe (e.g. the Bretons with the Divan schools ). The children are introduced to the Sorbian language by immersion ; they should be able to master the Sorbian language as well as German and go to Witaj classes after kindergarten. The first children from the Witaj model have been attending the Lower Sorbian grammar school in Cottbus since 2006 and have continued to have special Witaj lessons ever since. Primary schools that have joined the project and schools with a focus on Sorbian mostly teach mathematics, specialist knowledge (including regional history) and music / art / sport in the Sorbian language.
Todays situation
Today there are around ten Sorbian kindergartens, which are often church-owned and attended by around 600 children, and five Witaj kindergartens.
- Witaj kindergarten "Mato Rizo" in Cottbus-Sielow (Brandenburg) - 55 children
- Witaj Kindergarten "Villa Kunterbunt" in Cottbus (Brandenburg) - 68 children
- Witaj kindergarten "Milenka" in Rohne (Saxony) - 35 children
- Witaj Kindergarten “Pumpot” in Dörgenhausen (Saxony) - 26 children
- Witaj kindergarten in Malschwitz (Saxony) - 39 children
Following the example of the Witaj kindergartens, individual Witaj groups were also set up in eleven daycare centers in Saxony and seven in Brandenburg (as of 2009).
There are also Sorbian kindergartens, which u. a. offer the Witaj project:
- Sorbian day care center Crostwitz (Saxony) - 131 children
- Sorbian day care center Ralbitz (Saxony) - 118 children
- Sorbian day care center Ostro (Saxony) - 30 children
See also
- Sorbian school system
- Płomjo (Sorbian Children's Magazine)
swell
- www.witaj.de
- Ludmila Budar (ed.): Witaj a 2plus - wužadanje za přichod / Witaj and 2plus - a challenge for the future , Bautzen: Sorbischer Schulverein e. V. 2009