The new government of the Brussels Region seems determined to take on the huge linguistic challenge that faces the Brussels population. Despite the Region having no official power in the field of education, the programme of the six-party coalition PS-CdH-FDF-VLD-SPA-CD&V includes many proposals for developing the linguistic competence of Brussels children and adults.
These include linguistic immersion from the kindergarten onwards in the second national language, changing the regulations and improving the funding to make it possible to start teaching a second language in Brussels schools from a younger age than now, creating at least one bilingual teacher training school in order to pave the way for genuine bilingual schools, upgrading of the linguistic dimension of technical and professional schools, extension of access to the internet language learning platform Brulingua to all Brusselers, language training to help Brusselers qualify for federal jobs and to help local civil servants to provide services in several languages, etc..
Let us hope that the Brussels Region will find enough resources and enough goodwill on the part of both Communities to realize most of this ambitious programme in the next five years. Brussels urgently needs it.

All relevant passages in the programme have been included in attachment.

The full text can be downloaded
in French from Accord de majorité here.
in Dutch from Regeerakkoord here.