Project news
Modifier 06 July 2022
by City of Tilburg

Symposium 'The environment of young people in Tilburg-North'

Symposium 'The environment of young people in Tilburg-North'
Youth social services organisation R-Newt and youth platform the Noordvoerder, have recently organised a symposium about the living environment and conditions of young people in Tilburg-North. The event was held in the context of ForwArt, a youth policy program for district Tilbug- North. Young talents from this area helped organise the event and hosted the day. Guest speakers included sociologist and criminologist Jan-Dirk de Jong and youth sociologist Maike Kooijmans.

The municipality works with many parties in the city and the district Tilburg- North to create opportunities for young people. But do we know these young people enough to do this well? What do we know about the world of young people today; specifically in Tilburg-North? At the symposium participants were taken into the minds and world of youngsters today.

Positive perspective

Jan Dirk de Jong, who lectures on the (governmental) approach to Juvenile Crime, told us that young people have little faith in the government and lack good prospects. Youth policies and the dialogue on youngsters also tends to focus on the negative; on what is wrong and what is not possible, instead of the positive. 

Our approach should be more positive and should focus on inclusion and identity. It should be about ‘I belong and I matter’, more than anything else. And it is imperative that this approach and perspective on youth is real and sincere. De Jong also stressed the importance of being present. Be there where the youngsters are. So be out there on the streets with the youngsters, connect with them and see the neighborhood through their eyes. Be present online. That’s where most young people spend hours every day.

Talent from the street

Maike Kooijmans then discussed the importance of art and sport for identity development and how it helps build resilient people. Maike outlines a problem of our time, living in an enormous performance society. It's all about scores and comparing yourself to others. Take our education system for instance, with citoscores to determine what level of high school education a teenager should take.

If your score is low, you will always be told that you are not doing well. Young people often compensate by expressing negative talents among themselves on the street.

According to Maike’s research, youth workers are important to counteracting temptations that young people find on the streets. Youth workers are able to positively influence and stimulate talent in young people. But doing that requires trust.

Sport, culture & art can certainly contribute to young people having that feeling of being successful at something. They can see that they excel at something and be admired for their talents. But for this it is important that they feel part of a community. Projects therefore cannot succeed without pedagogical guidance and trust. For this the youth worker is essential. Because, unlike teachers, they do not have a role as an ‘assessor’ of performance. They only have a guiding role.  

It is also very important to hold back judgement. Don't immediately react to what you see at how young people present themselves and how they appear to you. Make an effort to experience their world. Then you will know them well, you have trust, and you can work on creating prospects for them and have them experience success based on their talents.

Partager

Other news from this project

The youth cultural fund is coordinated by Noordvoerders

Zoom-in 3: Elevating youth participation in North Tilburg

A Commitment to Youth Empowerment. A dedicated team of young individuals is making a difference through the Noordvoerders platform. Bridgebuilders bet...

ForwArt - Moving forward with the power of art: from a place to hide to a place of pride

Culture and cultural heritage

Tilburg - The Netherlands

Culture and cultural heritage
Zoom-in 2

Zoom-in 2: How to win the hearts of youth

Join me as we delve into the impact of art interventions, hear inspiring stories from artists and young people as we discuss how art can be a catalyst...

ForwArt - Moving forward with the power of art: from a place to hide to a place of pride

Culture and cultural heritage

Tilburg - The Netherlands

Culture and cultural heritage
Opening Studio Noord

Opening Studio Noord

Studio Noord is open! The creative workshop and meeting space for young people from Tilburg Noord....

ForwArt - Moving forward with the power of art: from a place to hide to a place of pride

Culture and cultural heritage

Tilburg - The Netherlands

Culture et patrimoine culturel
Neighbourhood talks about the layout of Belaveld

Neighbourhood talks about the layout of Belaveld

How do we make Belaveld a nice place for young and old?...

ForwArt - Moving forward with the power of art: from a place to hide to a place of pride

Culture and cultural heritage

Tilburg - The Netherlands

Culture et patrimoine culturel
T-reporters interviewing artist working on the Women Empowerment mural in North Tilburg

T-reporters around Europe

ForwArt - Moving forward with the power of art: from a place to hide to a place of pride

Culture and cultural heritage

Tilburg - The Netherlands

Culture et patrimoine culturel
In the studio of Omroep Tilburg

Zoom-in 1: Engaging women in a masculine neighbourhood

Discussion about how the gender perspective became important in ForwArt project and how to give space to women in a neighbourhood renewal process....

ForwArt - Moving forward with the power of art: from a place to hide to a place of pride

Culture and cultural heritage

Tilburg - The Netherlands

Culture et patrimoine culturel
Noordvoerders on the road to Belgium

Noordvoerders on the road to Belgium

Last month, the Noordvoerders team visited our southern neighbors in Ghent. Both cities are working on a project supported by UIA: ForwArt in Tilburg ...

ForwArt - Moving forward with the power of art: from a place to hide to a place of pride

Culture and cultural heritage

Tilburg - The Netherlands

Paul Cornelissen is opening up the door of the workshop at Verdiplein in North Tilburg

How to empower young residents - interview with Paul Cornelissen

I asked Paul Cornelissen, thematic project manager of ForwArt about his vision on youth empowerment and how is he turning it into reality within proje...

ForwArt - Moving forward with the power of art: from a place to hide to a place of pride

Culture and cultural heritage

Tilburg - The Netherlands

Culture et patrimoine culturel
How's it like to grow up in tilburg-north?

How's it like to grow up in tilburg-north?

Growing up in Tilburg-North: what is it like? Is it right for people to have an opinion about Noord? And what do the young people want to pass on to f...

ForwArt - Moving forward with the power of art: from a place to hide to a place of pride

Culture and cultural heritage

Tilburg - The Netherlands

Culture et patrimoine culturel
She is Tilburg Magazines

She is Tilburg Magazines

In recent months, the ladies of The Scene have created 2 magazines of their own, the She is Tilburg Magazine....

ForwArt - Moving forward with the power of art: from a place to hide to a place of pride

Culture and cultural heritage

Tilburg - The Netherlands

Culture et patrimoine culturel
ForwArt activities

ForwArt activities in a week - photo essay

The occassion of the UIA officer Isabella Schneble's visit to Tilburg North provided an opportunity to have a glimpse into the artistic activities wit...

ForwArt - Moving forward with the power of art: from a place to hide to a place of pride

Culture and cultural heritage

Tilburg - The Netherlands

Culture et patrimoine culturel
Photos by Laura Knipsael

YPIE FEST

On Sunday 26 June, the Ypelaerpark in Tilburg North was the place to be during the YPIE_FEST. This culture festival, organized by young residents from...

ForwArt - Moving forward with the power of art: from a place to hide to a place of pride

Culture and cultural heritage

Tilburg - The Netherlands

Culture et patrimoine culturel
Fashion workshops are organised in North Tilburg to explore identity

Which artistic expression deserves public match-funding and who can decide on it?

ForwArt - Moving forward with the power of art: from a place to hide to a place of pride

Culture and cultural heritage

Tilburg - The Netherlands

Culture et patrimoine culturel
Fashion workshops are organised in North Tilburg to explore identity

Which artistic expression deserves public match-funding and who can decide on it?

ForwArt - Moving forward with the power of art: from a place to hide to a place of pride

Culture and cultural heritage

Tilburg - The Netherlands

Culture et patrimoine culturel
Women from North Tilburg engaged in the preparation of The Scene performance with Het Zuidelijk Toneel

Engaged art in Europe

"Arts and culture deserve a similar acknowledgement of their relation to sustainable development as sport, as they have been proven to have social imp...

ForwArt - Moving forward with the power of art: from a place to hide to a place of pride

Culture and cultural heritage

Tilburg - The Netherlands

Culture and cultural heritage
Tilburg-North met again

Tilburg-North met again

Last autumn, officials of the municipality of Tilburg and partners in the district of Noord-Stokhasselt took a walk through the neighborhood. Why? To ...

ForwArt - Moving forward with the power of art: from a place to hide to a place of pride

Culture and cultural heritage

Tilburg - The Netherlands

Culture and cultural heritage
Forwart

Discoverables - Experiences in ForwArt monitoring of urban innovation

Tranzo gives insights into the challenges and first learning outcomes of the ForwArt monitoring by telling the story of Nadira...

ForwArt - Moving forward with the power of art: from a place to hide to a place of pride

Culture and cultural heritage

Tilburg - The Netherlands

Culture et patrimoine culturel
Fashion Clash art workshops in Tilburg North

Youth participation in action

"A generation apart" - this frequent term makes us aware that youth participation is not an easy task to perform since those youngsters are at least a...

ForwArt - Moving forward with the power of art: from a place to hide to a place of pride

Culture and cultural heritage

Tilburg - The Netherlands

Culture and cultural heritage
Second skin site

Second Skin

The School for Fashion of ROC Tilburg is also a partner of ForwArt. For the next 2.5 years, eight students from the School for Fashion will participat...

ForwArt - Moving forward with the power of art: from a place to hide to a place of pride

Culture and cultural heritage

Tilburg - The Netherlands

Culture and cultural heritage
T-reporters photo Hassiba

T-Reporters

One of the partners within ForwArt is Omroep Tilburg. Omroep Tilburg is a Community Media Center that creates diverse, accessible, creative and qualit...

ForwArt - Moving forward with the power of art: from a place to hide to a place of pride

Culture and cultural heritage

Tilburg - The Netherlands