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N-VA MPs Nadia Sminate and Maaike De Vreese propose making more use of the Canon of Flanders in Flemish integration and integration policy. Sminate and De Vreese already touched on that proposal in their recent book ‘Foreign Flemish’ and are now also presenting the proposal in the Flemish Parliament.
The Canon of Flanders, which was launched in May last year, provides an overview of anchor points in the history, culture and sciences of Flanders. A version for low-literate people was recently published, and translations into French, German and English will soon be available.
If it were up to N-VA MPs Sminate and De Vreese, the canon would also be “an excellent educational instrument to introduce newcomers to Flanders, our history, our common story and our norms and values”.
According to the N-VA duo, the canon can not only help with integration courses, but also in other areas. “Flanders works with many partners to make integration in Flanders possible. We note that few of these partners work with the canon to introduce people with a migration background to Flanders. That could be better. The canon is an instrument par excellence that can contribute to community building,” he said.
According to both MPs, the canon can also be a lever to “promote our fundamental values as a society”. “Our Flemish society is not a blank slate. It is the result of centuries of history and social developments. Globalization and persistent migration increase the pressure on our social model. That is why it is important to emphasize our values and norms – such as equality between men and women or the separation of church and state – extra towards newcomers.”