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Present situation:

The visit of the team from Atlanta in March 2009 sparked the interest in Bridgebuilders and a new Bridgebuilders Club has started in 2009. In 2010 this group will go to the USA. They will prepare this trip by doing fundraise activities and use the curriculum from Atlantic Bridge for their meetings, called Bricks.

AB History

Sporadic activities have taken place in Walcheren since the beginning of Atlantic Bridge in 1988. Hosting of an American youth group from Ashburn VA in 1994 and frequent activities with Circuit Riders (artists) in schools. Later, some participants from Walcheren hosted Americans and organised several activities for different exchanges, such as the International Youth Festival 1998 in Goes.

In 2007 the regional perspective of Walcheren was revived through the Islam – Christian youth exchange. Also a group went to Israel and Palistina a year later, which made the exchange complete. It was organised by the protestant church and Atlantic Bridge, supported by the municipality of Middelburg. The success of the project was reason to continue and a Regional Support Team was started with the youth organisation JOB Middelburg and Atlantic Bridge.

Geography

Walcheren is a favourite summer haven for tourists with its beaches, dunes, bicycle paths, quaint villages and the Vlissingen boulevard. Walcheren is the area at the Northsea coast of the Province of Zeeland (South West of the Netherlands), situated between Vlissingen, Dishoek, Zoutelande, Westkapelle, Domburg and Vrouwenpolder.

From Easter till Fall there is a lot of tourism in Walcheren. Especially in the Summer season many tourist come to Walcheren to go to the beaches. (though you never know what the weather is doing!) Vlissingen is famous because of the nice Boulevard and Cine City, a big Cinema and its filmfestival Film by the Sea. The biggest city is Middelburg, the main city in Zeeland. Middelburg is known because of the Roosevelt Academy, monuments like the old Abbey, different churches. A large part of the buildings in its centre are protected monuments or are covered by the city landscape preservation regulations.

During World War II most of Walcheren was flooded by the Germans to defend the land taken. You can still find German bunkers in the landscape. Also lakes that were formed by the flood still exist.