This is school at its best. Every Saturday, some 300 10- and 11-year-olds from disadvantaged neighbourhoods around Brussels get a taste of what the future could look like, through activities organised by Tada, or Toekomst -F Atelier de l’Avenir (Studio of the future).
Initially inspired by the Dutch initiative IMC Weekendschool, this bilingual programme held in French and Dutch aims to “broaden the future horizons” of children from low-income neighbourhoods of the European capital. They meet passionate professionals who introduce them to their trade, whether that is law, medicine, construction, the arts, technology or hospitality.
These Saturday classes would be nothing without the hard work and tenacity of Tada founder Sofie Foets, who said: “For me, it’s a great example of how civil society can contribute to the emancipation of kids from disadvantaged neighbourhoods.”
The Dutch project which this initiative is modelled on has shown that children who get the chance to broaden their horizons evolve differently. They are better integrated into the labour market, and society as a whole.
The organisation prioritises the most vulnerable children based on their parents’ occupations, the language spoken at home and the number of children in each family, among other criteria.
With the demand already in place, Tada hopes to include around 1,000 young people in the programme by 2020.
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Source: The Straits Times, 24 June 2017