Arne Joye

Who am I?

Hello everyone! My name is Arne, but Spanish-speaking people also call me Arnito. I’m 33 years old and I’m Belgian. My passion for Latin America started in primary school, when my uncle married my Colombian aunt and moved to Argentina. I was fascinated by their stories, and when they once returned to Belgium with the signature of Maradona, I was completely sold. At university, I decided to study Spanish linguistics and literature, and thanks to my studies, I was able to go on an exchange program for 6 months in Spain and another one for 6 months in Argentina.

Back in Belgium, I missed the Latin vibes so much that I decided to return to Latin America and do volunteer work as a football coach and English teacher in Ecuador. At the moment, I am teaching Dutch to migrants and refugees in Belgium. I also occasionally teach Spanish to Belgians.

What’s my role within Intercambio NPO?

Mainly, I participate in translating the book Mi Comuna 13 from Italian into Dutch. On the one hand, we hope to raise resources for Intercambio NPO’s project by selling the book in Belgium and the Netherlands. On the other hand, we hope that the book will give more visibility to our project in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Besides that, I will also help with the organisation of the annual Intercambio festival in Belgium, and other activities related to cultural exchange. I am also the spokesperson for Intercambio in contacts with adult education schools, and I help to write out the educational activities for our program in Colombia!