Tillykunde: this is how you become a Rastilburger in ten lessons

The lesson has already started before the participants of the new Tillykunde course enter the classroom. They don’t know each other, but it doesn’t feel awkward. “Are you here for Tillykunde?” someone asks, and everyone immediately bursts into excitement about their bond with the city.

At MBO/VMBO school De Rooi Pannen they wanted to do something for Tilburg. “And because we are a school in Tilburg, the Tillykunde course was rolled out there, because Tilburg, the skill“, says course employee Elefteria Argyropoulos.

A few months ago a small advertisement appeared in a door-to-door newspaper. A press release was posted there with an appeal for Tillykunde students. It turned out to be a bull’s eye; 150 registrations were received. All with their own motivation letter, from which 25 lucky people were selected for this pilot.

Come for love
“I came here for love, but I think Tilburg is terrible. Hopefully I will like it a lot more after the lessons,” said a motivation letter. Although the organization had expected that mainly new Tilburg residents would register, it turned out to be mainly seasoned fellow citizens who still wanted to learn more about their city.

The ages of the participants range from 24 to 79 years. Maartje is a city guide, Jeroen works in marketing, Ingrid has just retired and Thel is a Visual Arts teacher. Thel is the youngest of the group. He is originally from Gilze and Rijen, but he has been living with his partner in Tilburg for three years. “It’s a nice city,” he says. “I can see a lot here, but I also want to discover what I don’t know yet. What’s happening on the other side of the city? I want to find out.”

Back in the moment
Tillykunde consists of ten lessons, but not all of them take place in a classroom. Today they walk through more than 200 years of history, back in the moment, in good Tilburgish. The lesson is not just about the textile city. The identity of Tilburg and the Tilburgers is also discussed. For example, many people do not know that Tilburg was home to many great artists; an exhibition in 1909 already attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors. The Tilburg national anthem should of course not be missing from class.

More appreciation
The students think that Tilburg’s self-awareness could be a bit greater. It is often about the city center, which was largely demolished by mayor Cees de Sloper in the 1960s, making it gray and ugly. According to Robben, Tilburg is also a city where people are trying to make something. With the development of the Spoorzone, Piushaven, Koningswei, Parkring, Westpoint and other buildings, a different path has been taken that Tilburg residents can be proud of.

Lesson in the construction hall
A total of nine more lessons follow, each with a different theme. For example, there is a lesson in the construction hall about carnival floats, a workshop on Tilburg catering, a lesson about sports, and furthermore about education, art, culture and a Tilburg Toalles. At the end, the students receive a Tilburg diploma as the first ambassadors

What will happen next is not yet certain. “Maybe we can expand it into a teaching package for VMBO students,” says Argyropoulos.