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Although the Ettelbruck Parents’ Forum was established in November 2023, its official inauguration took place on Friday afternoon. During the event, a report on its first year was also presented.
Over the past year, approximately 140 activities have been held at the forum, with around 1,200 parents and children participating. Service director Gilles Rod expressed satisfaction with these numbers, noting that the organisers are pleased with the turnout and the positive response to the “meeting place” the forum has become.
“It is great to see, especially in times like these, that people who may have nothing in common except having had a child at the same time, come together in this space. Friendships and connections blossom from these encounters. People meet who didn’t know each other before, even though they may have lived just a short distance apart.”
Parents who have visited multiple Parents’ Forums have commented that the one in Ettelbruck is the coziest. It is housed in a former café and is ideally located, says Mayor Bob Steichen.
“The forum is situated in the schoolyard and right next to the children’s services. It’s important to know that over the past few years, we have been developing children’s services here in Ettelbruck, creating very active projects for children from primary education and the Maison Relais. Just as a small example: On 19 March, we will be inaugurating the first children’s council in Ettelbruck.”
The proximity alone fosters excellent collaborative opportunities with the Parents’ Forum. For Minister of Education Claude Meisch, there is no doubt that offering parents access to information, support, and opportunities for exchange is crucial.
“Often, we reflect on our own childhood and wonder what our parents did when we were 5, 10, or 15 years old, and how we grew up, trying to find points of reference. However, times have changed so rapidly that much of what shaped the realities of parents and children back then no longer exists today.”
The goal of the Parents’ Forum is to become an indispensable partner for parents and, in the future, to expand from nine locations to 15 across Luxembourg.
