The “ambassadeur local” service has been available in Walferdange since 2020. New volunteers are being sought to provide new arrivals with help and advice.

What school supplies do my children need? Where can I find a doctor in the area? These are just some of the questions that newcomers may ask themselves shortly after moving to a new town. To help them take their first steps, the “Commission du vivre-ensemble interculturel de la commune de Walferdange” launched a new service in 2020, namely that of the “ambassadeur local” (local ambassador).

Local ambassadors volunteer to help people who have just moved to Walferdange and who do not have sufficient knowledge of French or Luxembourgish to immediately find their way around their new surroundings. They answer questions about administrative procedures, Luxembourgish society or local life; they can also act as intermediaries to establish contacts with clubs and associations etc. As the local ambassadors are expatriates themselves, they can share their wealth of experience with the new arrivals.

“There is a total of eight ambassadors in the municipality of Walferdange,” explains Ricky Goslings, President of the commission and an ambassador herself. In addition to Luxembourgish, German, French and English, the ambassadors also speak Italian, Dutch, Polish, Arabic, Russian, Spanish and Portuguese.

When registering at the Biergercenter, every new resident receives a folder full of information on life in Walferdange, that also contains the contacts of the local ambassadors. Anyone with questions can contact the ambassadors by email, who then decide whether to respond to the enquiry in writing or by telephone or arrange a meeting with the person seeking help – depending on how the latter can best be helped. “It’s often the small questions that linger,” says Ricky Goslings. The ambassadors then try to answer them. Anyone who would like to get involved as a volunteer can send their application to secretariat@walfer.lu. All languages – including the rarer ones – are welcome, emphasises Ricky Goslings.