Amsterdam museums set up immigrant integration projects

AMSTERDAM - The municipality has enlisted the help of the city’s Municipal Museum and the Historical Museum to develop orientation programs for new citizens. The project ‘City & Language’ will try to familiarize newcomers with the art and history of Amsterdam. The first ‘students’ can be enrolled in 2007. Last year, over 13,000 ’foreigners’ living in Amsterdam voluntarily attended integration courses with as principal goal to learn Dutch. The municipality wants these people also to become familiar with the rich cultural history of the city. Other museums and cultural institutions in Amsterdam could join the project.