On Monday 26th November 2015, Martijn van Schaik (ISCAR secretary) took Malcolm Reed (ISCAR president) to meet Chiel van der Veen at the A Vygotskij library (part of the Vygotskij Foundation; www.vygotskijfoundation.nl) that has been set up in the Netherlands in the city of ‘s-Hertogenbosch on the premises of the Activiteit, national center for Developmental Education. This is an organisation that supports Development Education schools across the Netherlands and has been running for over sixteen years. The library is a place where groups of teachers and researchers can meet and discuss pedagogical practice and development. The Activiteit offices are located on the Molenstraat where boat tours of the underground canal system, De Binnendieze, start from, so the street is wonderfully atmospheric. Inside the offices there is a set of tables and chairs and comfortable surroundings that would support around thirty people. Most of all there are books—shelves of the works of Vygotskij and his contemporaries across the world accompanied by many books about cultural-historical and activity theory in a range of languages.
On Monday 26th November 2015, Martijn van Schaik (ISCAR secretary) took Malcolm Reed (ISCAR president) to meet Chiel van der Veen. We had lunch and discussed the background to the Activiteit and the establishment of the library, whilst exploring some possibilities for collaborative work in classrooms using the Developmental Education approach and principles. Have a look at the photos of this fascinating place.
Oh yes—before I forget—if you are having a clear out of your own library and find any copies of texts in satisfactory condition that you would like to donate to the library, please send them by post to:
De Activiteit, landelijk centrum voor Ontwikkelingsgericht Onderwijs
T.a.v. Vygotskij Foundation
Molenstraat 27b
5211 DR, ’s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands
