young persons with their roots in the Netherlands Antilles

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• Presentation
• borough
• Charlois district of Rotterdam, Holland
• By
• Imad S. El Kaka

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Holland Rotterdam598.467 hbt. Charlois Distr
ict Total 66.983 hbt. Age 0-24 21.744 hbt. (3
2.5 )

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Charlois district of Rotterdam

• Major problems
• Unemployment
• Lack of education
• Poor self-esteem
• Many migrants (10 illegal) who need social help
• Low participation on the level of neighbourhoods
  of inter neighbour contacts -- low social
  cohesion
  
• Many one-parent families (teenage mums)
• High crime rate

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Goals Charlois district of Rotterdam

• No one excluded policy
• Promotion of social cohesion in the
  neighbourhood
  
• Co-operation between all organisations
• Participation of all its inhabitants within the
  policy making process
  
• To give the New-Dutch (migrants) tools to find
  their way in the society
  

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Population
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Conclusion Charlois district

• Participation of all groups (etnic and gender
  groups) is required in a multi-cultural society
  like in Rotterdam - Charlois
  
• Within the no-one excluded policy of Charlois
  it is only natural that women are involved in the
  policy decision making processes and the social
  projects in the Charlois district of Rotterdam
• Stable family structures are not always reality
  so we have to invest in one-parent families.

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Case study 1. Lus di Trafiko

• What? Lus di Trafiko outreaching project to
  find, bind and lead young persons with their
  roots in the Netherlands Antilles/Aruba
  
• When? Timespan of project 2001-2004
• Why? To invest in the new generation
• Who? young persons with their roots in the
  Netherlands Antilles/Aruba of the age 15-24
  

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How?
- By leading youngsters to the (social) service
points - By creating a network of professionals
- By bringing together need and help
- By bridging the cultural gaps between the
people of the Antilles and the Dutch
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Difficulties

• The community of the Antilles deals with multi
  problemes
  
• The several institutions in the social sector
  have no clear connection with each other ? no
  information feedback, work doenst always fit
  
• A lack of background information .

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Solutions

• Networking activities
• Lus di Trafiko website
• A steering committee
• Information workshops
• Initialising projects in the neighbourhoods
• Not to work for the people of the Antilles, but
  working with the people of the Antilles.
  

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Results

• Much more know-how about the problems of the
  people of the Antilles (many teenage mothers,
  difficulties with matching, debt problems, poor
  housing)
• Implementation of the Lus di Trafiko pilot
  project in the regular community development
  projects in the Charlois District
  
• A good network of professionals.

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Conclusion casestudy 1.

• By investing in one specific (problem) minority
  group there is a lot (information, solutions,etc)
  to gain
  
• It requires a very strong project co-ordinator to
  bring all parties together and to keep them
  together
  
• A good follow-up is a must so all the gained
  information and new initiatives will not flow
  away (implementation of some pilot projects in
  the regular work/projects).

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Case study 2 Managing diversity in the BOs

• What? BOs (Bewoners Organisaties) are
  organisations of residents of neighbourhoods.
  They are actively involved in several committees
  which are organised by the local government
• Why? To give the board of executives of these
  organisations more colour, so people of the
  multi-cultural neighbourhouds can identify
  themselves with these BOs and so they will
  participate more on neighbourhood level
• When? 2001-2003
• Who? The Board of Executives of the BOs

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How?

• By sending a diversity manager to the
  neighbourhoods
  
• By giving information about the need of giving
  more colour on your board
  
• By explaining the meaning of being an
  organisation of residents in a multi-cultural
  society (the society is changing, so your
  organisation has to as well)
• By organising neighbourhood events.

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Difficulties

• Old structures, old culture in old
  organisations
  
• Clash of cultures (the old residents really dont
  understand the new ones, and visa versa)
  
• Different spirit of the time (young persons dont
  like to do volunteer work)
  
• No strong Public Relations ? many people dont
  know about the existence of those Bos.
  

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Solutions

• To have a stronger PR machine
• To give information in the neighbourhood about
  the need of involved residents
  
• Ask other parties to help (professionals in the
  field)
  

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Results

• Some BOs have multicultural workgroups
• The boards are still white and grey
• Vacant seats can not be filled
• A frustrated project manager.

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Conslusion Casestuy 2.

• Managing diversity in the BOs failed
• It is difficult to change cultures and
  structures
  
• Integration is like joining highway traffic
  flows it requires willingness on either side.
  
• Time will learn how the multi cultural society
  can work on all levels.

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• Charlois district of Rotterdam, Holland
• Imad El Kaka