We’ve arrived!

We arrived in Amsterdam late afternoon on Monday and after dropping our bags at the hotel we headed out for our evening meal at Bonte Kraai, a community centre in South Eastern Amsterdam. It is where some of the youth workers we will be working with are based and they have a chef on site who made some Indonesian food for us. It was nice to see the community centre – that appeared to be newly decorated and get to meet all of the youth workers. We had to do some cringe worthy ice-breaker / ‘get to know each other’ games, which were pretty fun and got us all talking. It was pretty apparent that everyone in the room was super passionate about the work they do and excited to share their best practices with each other.

Day 2 started with a Black Heritage Tour of Amsterdam. I was really looking forward to it as I’m interested in Afropean identities and think it’s important to hear about Black experiences in Europe. It was fascinating to see the elements of Black history that can be observed if you’re shown where to look… However, a discussion was generated in the group about the focus of Black history always being on slavery and that this gives the impression that Black identities are always tied up in oppression and struggle. I agree, it can be depressing to hear these stories but that’s why I think it is important to balance this by also looking at history pre-slavery and pre-colonialism in Africa. In terms of how might we talk about slavery with young people, perhaps it is down to how the information is relayed. If enslaved people are represented as passive victims rather than active survivor’s maybe it becomes a less off putting experience.

The afternoon comprised of a lecture at the University of Amsterdam on the youth work courses they offer. It was interesting to hear about the different approach Sebastian explores in his research. His focus is on emotional energy and how fatalist perspectives can be transformed to help young people move out of their circumstances. I really liked this more holistic approach but in a UK context I worry that some might feel it too ‘hippy-ish’ despite it’s great impact.

Tomorrow we’re off to visit some of the projects Swazoom work on. I’m excited to see the youth workers in action.