Children’s daycare centre at the UN campus in Bonn
Young world citizens play and learn in two languages at the UN Campus child care facility in Bonn.
Bonn is known for its internationality. The city on the Rhine brings together not only employees of international organizations like the United Nations (UN) or German federal ministries, but also their families. Things are also colourful at the Heussallee international child care facility, where the kids speak both German and English.
When you arrive at the daycare centre on the UN campus, which is run by the AWO (German Workers’ Welfare Association), you’re greeted by dancing children, exciting Zumba sounds and a friendly “Welcome” sign. As you make your way to Group Five, you hear snatches of both English and German; there are bilingual signs everywhere. The door opens, and inside the children are singing the Busdriver Song. Child-care worker Sarah Maier comes from Cameroon. As a native speaker she consistently talks to the children in English in line with the concept of the bilingual facility.
Sustainable architecture award
The international daycare centre opened in 2013. It looks after children from Germany and all parts of the world in eight groups. 51% of the places are reserved for the children of UN employees; the others are for children of people working for German government ministries. It’s an all-day facility. As a rule the children are looked after from 7.30 a.m.to 5 p.m. Director Bettina Coulson is delighted that the bilingual concept is working: “It’s nice to see that many children here can already speak German after just a year and feel relatively secure in both languages.”
When Bonn was still Germany’s federal capital, the kindergarten for the German parliament (the Bundestag) was at the same location. Now it has not only become more international, the facility is also more modern in every way. Sustainability was the primary objective when new building was designed. There are solar collectors generating heat and other elements of exemplary energy architecture. This is one of the reasons why the facility was awarded the 2014 Child Care Centre Prize by the Chamber of Architects and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The centre currently has 120 places for children aged four months and over. It’s attended by girls and boys with and without disabilities. Maria from Group Five says it’s great that she meets so many children here: “Everybody here is your friend.”
