EU-Brochure

Ligo is the learning partner
for all low-literate adults,
regardless of their mother
tongue.
“
Litteracy affects people’s self
image, their interaction with
others, their well-being and
their employability. The more
literate society is, the stronger
it is to face the challenges of
the future.”

In this brochure you will discover how Ligo
makes a difference for our target group. You will
be introduced to our sector and the role that we
play in the integration process of new non-native
speakers in Flanders and Brussels.
01
02
03
04
05
Learning at Ligo
What do we offer?
Target group
Why is there a need for Ligo?
Ligo as a network
Figures about Ligo
About us
What is there to know about our region?
Joining Ligo
How do people get to Ligo?

Ligo is Esperanto for ‘Connect’. That is exactly what we
do, making connections between course members
and society, with partner organisations and within
our own organisation
Therefore our credo is:
Learn, Connect and Strengthen
30
years of experience
13
centres spread across Flanders and Brussels
1
strong name that connects the network

Learning at Ligo
What do we offer?
Agogic vision
Our agogic vision is committed to empowering
low-literate adult learners and the society. We
work in an integrated and functional way on
basic competences tailored to the learning
needs of our target groups. Preferably, we work
together with partners to best support our
learners in their daily environment.
We distinguish various learning areas:
ABC
Dutch second language for illiterate people
Dutch for native speakers
Information and communication technology
Dutch second language
Social orientation
Languages
Mathematics

Testimonials
ABC
“Now I dare to speak more Dutch
and I enjoy connecting with
other people.quote.”Course
particpants
“I learned to look up where
and when I can take a bus.
That way I get to many more
places.”Course particpants who
took classes facilitated by their
employer
“Through Ligo, I got my driving
license. I become more
self-reliant. I took a stress
management course. Now I
have become calmer.” Course
participants about social
orientation lessons
“I learned to deal with my budget.
Now I can check my bills
myself.” Tom took maths lessons
“When I had to write a report
at work, I deliberately poured
coffee over it. Nobody noticed
that I couldn’t write well. Now I
can do a bit more every week.”
Ronny took classes ‘Better
reading and writing’
“I can now whatsapp with my
grandchildren myself, even
sending e-mails with the
computer is already working
quite well.” Students about ICT
lessons

Target group
Why is there a need for Ligo?
1 out of 7
In Flanders and Brussels, 1 in 7 adults have difficulties with
reading, writing, maths or digital applications. That’s more than
500,000 people.
We can divide literacy into three domains: low literacy,
low numeracy and problem solving in a technology-rich
environment.
*Programme for the International Assessment of Adult
Competencies (PIAAC) .
Low literacy
• 14 % of the male population
• 16 % of the female population
• 9 % of the young population (16-24 years)
• 26 % of the elderly population (55-65 years)
• 35 % of the non-native speakers
Problem solving in a
technology-rich environment
• 17 % of the male population
• 20 % of the female population
• 8 % of the young population (16-24 years)
• 39 % of the elderly population (55-65 years)
• 32 % of the non-native speakers
Low numeracy
• 12 % of the male population
• 17 % of the female population
• 11 % of the young population (16-24 years)
• 24 % of the elderly population (55-65 years)
• 33 % of the non-native speakers

Meet our course participants
We offer learning opportunities to a broad target
audience. Below, you will get to know some profiles
who have taken courses with Ligo
Meet Tirhas, Ezatullah and Ronny. Three course
members with unique stories and vastly different
backgrounds. What do they have in common? Well,
they each came with their unique learning needs at
Ligo, Centres for Basic Education, where they could
strengthen themselves socially. With the tools they got
their hands on here, they built a compass that helps
them navigate through a demanding society.
Thirhas (29)
Curious mom
• In Belgium for 5 years
• Attended school in Eritrea until she was 8 years old
• Learned to read and write in Tigrinya
• Followed Dutch classes here but also ICT courses
Ronny (60)
Course participant and
Ligo ambassador
• Born in Belgium
• Left school at 14
• Never learned to write and count properly
Ezatullah (21)
Ready for edcuation and work
• Had been in Belgium since he was 17 as an asylum seeker
• Attended school in Afghanistan until he was 12
• Followed Dutch lessons here
• Now completing an education Heating-sanitar

“I want to be able to speak, read and write
Dutch so that I can help my children with their
homework. “ Tirhas (29)
“Speaking Dutch makes everything easier.I used
to not know what to do at the ticket machine,
but now I do.” Ezatullah (21)
“I used to deliberately pour coffee over my
reports at work so that nobody noticed that I
couldn’t write well.” Ronny (60)

Our network
Ligo centers in figures
Ligo network
40,486
We offer education to 40,486 lowliteracy
course participants
13
Centers spread across Flanders en
Brussels
1771
Number of instructors across all
centers
190
number of additional staffmembers

Course participants by learning area

Other demographics
We offer courses to participants from more than
190 countries. In this graph, you can see the top
10 nationalities that are most represented.
43 % 57 %

Ligo region Mechelen
About our center
Our operational area
Ligo region Mechelen is one of the thirteen centers for
basic education in Flanders. Our operational area covers 25
municipalities and can be divided into three areas: Heist-opden-Berg-Lier,
Boom-Willebroek, and Mechelen. Each area
has various teaching locations and offices. Depending on the
needs of our partners and course participants, we provide new
learning locations.

Samenwerken met Ligo regio Mechelen
Mechelen region by numbers
3 regions
(25 municipalities)
30 years of experience.
105 teachers
2392 course participants
88 nationalities
More than 50 partners

Joining Ligo
How do people get to Ligo?
Several paths lead to Ligo.
Some come on their own initiative. Others
are referred through social organisations
or employers. Taking the step to come to
Ligo is difficult for our target group, because
low literacy is still a taboo. We try to lower
that threshold by organising our services in
places such as poverty societies, schools
and other environments where course
participants feel more comfortable.
Foreign-speaking newcomers are always
referred by the Agency for Integration
Based on their advice, an intake interview is
held at our centre during which we gauge
their learning needs and language level.