Siena as a classroom 02/02/2026

“That makes adult education more than just training for me. It is also social fabric.”

For one week, Siena became the setting for intensive learning, long-table conversations and a language that suddenly felt alive everywhere. Not only in the classroom, but also in the streets and around the table. The annual Italy trip organised by Crescendo CVO once again brought together participants from different campuses for an experience that goes far beyond vocabulary and grammar.

“With tired eyes but a deep sense of satisfaction, I look back on a wonderful week in Siena. For a year and a half now, I have been taking weekly Italian classes at Crescendo CVO in Mechelen. Every year, they take learners to Italy for a week, not only to attend classes, but also to experience the culture and gastronomy.”

What defines this trip is the combination of language education and immersion. Learning does not happen alongside the environment, but within it. The city itself becomes teaching material.

“Together with around forty participants from Halle, Sint-Genesius-Rode, Mechelen and Tervuren, I not only sharpened my Italian this week, but above all found myself saying ‘che bello’ at every beautiful view.”

Learning across generations

The group in Siena stood out for its wide age diversity. What might seem like a detail turned out to be a real strength.

“What also struck me this week was how intergenerational the group was. I was clearly ‘il giovane’ among many older participants. For me, this is one of the few moments when I experience such frequent intergenerational contact: learning together, exchanging stories, and also teaching each other something. They with their life experience, me sometimes with things that are newer or less familiar to them.”

These exchanges give adult education a broader meaning. It is not only about skills, but about encounter and mutual understanding.

“That makes adult education more than just training for me. It is also social fabric.”

More than a hobby

The experience in Siena also touches on a broader debate about the place of adult education today.

“What adult education also does: lowering barriers to keep learning, bringing generations together and making encounters possible that you rarely find elsewhere.”

“That is precisely why I regret that adult education in Flanders is currently under pressure, with reforms that strongly focus on labour-market-oriented learning and more quickly label other pathways as ‘hobbies’. While what I saw here is what adult education also does: lowering barriers to keep learning, bringing generations together and enabling encounters you rarely find elsewhere.”

The trip shows how essential language and culture are within lifelong learning.

“If we take lifelong learning seriously, there must also be room for language, culture and broad education.”

Siena in the heart

For some participants, Siena is more than a temporary destination.

“Siena has held a place in my heart for some time, because my partner regularly returns here for his studies. I hope to be back here soon, perhaps even for a short Italian crash course.”

The classes took place at the Università per Stranieri di Siena, a place where language learning and international encounter naturally come together, right in the heart of Siena.

“Thank you, Crescendo CVO, Giovanna Bergonzoni and Marleen Mast for the excellent organisation, and grazie to the Università per Stranieri di Siena for the warm welcome and the lessons. È stato un piacere fare lezione con voi per una settimana!”

With thanks to Giovanna Bergonzoni and Marleen Mast, who, together with partners in Italy, made this week possible. A week that shows how powerful language becomes when it is shared, across generations.