It started at Wednesday in a club at the beach of Scheveningen: about 25 guests from England, Scotland, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Lithuania and Bulgaria were welcomed by one hundred inhabitants from 9 quarters in The Hague. They all are in one way or another active in their part of the city. They would show them their activities and let them stay in their quarters neighborhoods for 24 hours. The city councilor Mr. Rabin Baldewsingh expressed his appreciation for this way of visiting The Hague, the interest to connect ways of living and to exchange experiences how to realize citizenship in your own environment.
After those welcoming words the conference started with food, meeting old friends and making new contacts. Young R4R played some games in order to mix the youth from different origins and get to know each other in a pleasant way. The weather was fine and the atmosphere was good, which made a nice start.
Thursday the meeting began in a buurtcentrum Oase (Oasis). Many of the guests came by ‘TukTuk’, a new means of public transport as there are many in Thailand. (see photograph below).
Because of their speed and price the cabdrivers are not glad with this new phenomenon.
The meeting started with a quiz to guess which national hymn belonged to each visiting country, introducing the visitors. Then there was a film, introducing the nine quarters in The Hague where the foreign guests would spend their 24 hours.
A round table talk about the theme ‘learning from each other’ zoomed in on problems of the inner city, common responsibilities for owners of houses in high-rise buildings and dwellings with shared walls and roofs. How to involve youth and women of other countries and cultures, what roles can a school fulfill connecting inhabitants?
After lunch and completing the roundtable talk it was time to split up: the inhabitants took their guests to their quarter. Because of the small scale they could give a really personal view on the most important issues, and exchange experiences.
What did they see?
In Rustenburg-Oostbroek they visited the residents organization, heard about the house-owners-construction VvE = Union of house-owners, made a trip in a police car, saw a playing court; with a “Haags Hopje” this is the name of a real the Hague treat a sort of candy. But the big Sea Containers which are used for the storage of the children to borrow to play with, are also called “Haagse Hopjes”, futhermore they visited a senior citizens-apartment-building and ‘de Haagse Mart’, the biggest outdoor market in Europe.
In Transvaal they saw the enormous reconstruction area, a church, a mosque, a temple, a complex for Hindustan elderly people, a multicultural school, the Aasra women organisation (a multicultural organisation to helps emancipate and educate in particular women of the neighourhood) and also the Haagse Mart.
In Schilderswijk there were two groups, one visiting a Buurtpunt (meeting point in the quarter, the ‘buurtvaders’ (fathers looking after and dealing with the youngsters in the quarter), Mama Rosa (intercultural centre for women with breast cancer) and housing for elderly people from Suriname, Morocco, Chine, Turkey and other countries or cultures. The other group visited a sports center and swimming poll for the very multicultural neighborhood, the Hamam, a bazaar, a learn-to-work-company, houses for artists and places for youth and for Moroccan women and girls.
In Leyenburg there was much to do about plans to enlarge the hospital, connected with hundreds of high-rise-dwellings and en expanding public-transport area. Also they visited a neighborhood center and a so-called mother-center.
In Regentesse-Valkenbos a walk through the neighborhood in which artists, entrepreneurs and residents have succeeded by working very closely together to regain grip and make this neighbourhood, safe, clean and attractive again. As art is one of the leading issues: the group made a “Kijkdoos” a sort of see ‘through-box’ showing an interpretation of their most ideal neigbourhood.
In Mariahoeve most of the visit was about housing for youngsters and students. Staff from a housing association, “Vestia”, received the guests and gave an insight of their view on the matter and which problems they face and how they are solved. They visited a student’s home and this group went to the 43-th floor of a new built complex for students, where they had a panoramic view over the wide surroundings.
In Laakkwartier the visitors saw the Vadercentrum Adam(father center), where men from many countries work on their emancipation, to get connected to the Dutch society: courses for languages, skills, first aid; a shop ‘dress for success’, a give-away-shop, a tailors school, the ‘couscouskletscafé’, and many more ways to reach their aim. Also they saw the neighborhood center Lipa and how residents give nature more attention in greens and parks.
In Morgenstond there was the opening of a playground for the kids, a trip with the BIT (neighborhood intervention team on social security), there was a lot to tell about the plans for urban reconstruction in this area, new housing with extra attention for elderly people.
It was a very busy program with a lot of places to visit and things to see and to do. Part of the visitors spent the night at resident’s homes, which gave it an extra personal touch.
The mix of the program and the people who showed their guests how they solve their problems, was very learning and close to their own experiences. They not only learned new practices, but they made new friends as well.
That is what R4R is aiming at, namely Effectiveness at both ends of the line: Let people meet people from other cities in Europe and have them share their stories and experiences. Everybody will learn from from these encounters, find encouragement and make use of those ideas and experiences in their own home situations.
Back in the Oase at Friday-afternoon each group told the others about their adventures, the things they saw and the many ways residents make their part of the city.
At noon a group of youngsters from The Hague, Germany and Birmimingham discussed and planned an international Youth conference in Rotterdam in Spring 2008.
And then it was time for the last supper, presented by the voluntaries of Oase. A group of Hindustan youth danced for the visitors and after that the guests said good-bye and left for home, or for an evening with music, dance and other fun.
Krijno Horlings/ R4R Europe, June 2007
