Turnhout (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Turnhout councillor Achraf El Yakhlouf (Vooruit) urges more study spaces as the library is overcrowded. Alderman Luc Op de Beck notes that 250 spots exist, but awareness and communication need improvement.
As VRT News reported, Turnhout city council member Achraf El Yakhlouf of Vooruit is calling for more study spaces in the city. He says students often have trouble finding quiet places to focus on their work.
He mentioned that at the same time, many spaces in the city centre are not being fully used. Locations such as the youth centre, local businesses, churches, and mosques could become study areas.
El Yakhlouf adds that opening these locations could benefit both students and the city. It could help improve learning while bringing more activity to the city centre. The initiative could also connect schools, local organisations, and residents.
“Exam season is coming up again, and we see that the library is always overcrowded,”
says city council member Ashraf El Yakhlouf.
“I brought this up yesterday at the city council committee. On the one hand, we need more places, but on the other hand, we also need better communication about the places that are already available.”
“I speak to a lot of young people every day, and they tell me they don’t know there are other places besides the library. So there should be more attention paid to this – through social media, for example.”
“Wouldn’t it be nice if young people could study with entrepreneurs, or in churches and mosques?”
Ashraf El Yakhlouf, municipal councillor Vooruit
What can Turnhout do to ease library crowding with more study spaces?
El Yakhlouf says well-equipped and attractive study areas can help students perform better, encourage social interaction, and make studying more effective.
“We also see that young people motivate and help each other by studying together. We can only encourage that.”
Luc Op de Beck, Turnhout’s Alderman for Education, says the city currently has about 250 study places. He adds that it is important to investigate if more spaces are needed.
“We do see that the library is often full and more popular than other places. It’s a very pleasant place. We can certainly explore making the other places more attractive as well.”
Op de Beck also points out that Thomas More and local service centres offer study areas, but they may not be well known to all students. Both officials agree that raising awareness of these spaces and possibly adding new ones could make Turnhout more student-friendly.
“We’re currently primarily informing people about them through traditional media. That’s why I’ve instructed our communications department to also focus more on the social media channels where young people are active.”
Similar projects have been carried out in other Belgian cities. In 2023, the city of Antwerp launched a “teenage space network” in the Wilrijk district. The project mapped public spaces for young people aged 12 to 15 and turned underused areas into places for study and activities. Antwerp also runs the STUDY360 initiative, which opens non-traditional locations, including company and organisation spaces, as study areas during exam periods.
