Antwerp

Belgium

Bridging the Gaps Between the Municipality and Youth

Young Cities supported three up-and-coming youth groups in Antwerp to empower young people who felt excluded in their community.

In 2022, Young Cities expanded its programming into Belgium, launching its efforts in Antwerp to support young activists’ local initiatives to promote social cohesion and peace. While Antwerp is a city with a vast and active youth-focused civil society space, there were many gaps we identified that had been weakening community relations over time. Some of these included the city failing to reach marginalised youth through its initiatives, divides along ethnic and neighbourhood identities, and mistrust towards the media, political leaders and the police.

Young Cities was able to work with three teams of young people in Antwerp to develop social change projects that addressed the unique vulnerabilities youth face due to discrimination, anti-social behaviour, and weakened youth-city relations. The programme was also able to connect them to municipal leaders who offered them tangible support throughout their project delivery period.

The youth teams completed their initiatives in November 2022, while one of the teams had the opportunity to further its impact through Young Cities’ Ambassador Programme in 2023.

Our Impact in Antwerp

We aim for relevant and strategic impact at scale. Working closely with young people in identifying the needs of their communities and the challenges they face, we ensure that the solutions we support them in developing are targeted and sustainable.

Connecting Youth & Municipal Officials

A series of video campaigns highlight the need for a whole of community response to protect vulnerable young people.

In the initial stages of expanding Young Cities programming to Belgium, our team connected with key officials in the City of Antwerp’s Prevention of Violent Extremism (P/CVE) and Youth Departments, respectively, identifying obstacles faced by marginalised young people in the city and possible opportunities for improved engagement. These conversations set the stage for three municipal leaders to visit the Young Cities Antwerp cohort on their final day of the Youth Innovation Lab in April 2022, and maintain direct channels of communication with all of the groups since then. The municipality has consistently offered support and access to their networks and resources throughout the youth groups’ project delivery periods.

On 2 October 2022, Young Cities was able to follow up with two of the city representatives from the P/CVE and Youth Departments in-person during a gathering at local partner organisation, Roots’ headquarters in Antwerp. The officials joined members of all of the youth teams to discuss future collaboration opportunities and ways to continue supporting their social change efforts. They gained feedback from the young people directly about the municipality possibly providing a series of empowerment sessions, based on the skills and experiences the youth wanted to enhance and develop.

To build on the progress made during this meeting, discussions between the municipality and the Young Cities team are now being held about exploring ways to use the programme’s City Grant to bolster this offer. There is potential for the city’s youth empowerment sessions to be held over a weekend retreat and expanded to include other young leaders in the city.

Antwerp Projects

Through mentorship, seed-funding and network-building, we support young people to transform ideas into tangible initiatives that make a positive change in their communities.

project

HAKI

Belgium | Antwerp

A team of young people in Antwerp are utilising their connection to the national boxing sphere in Belgium to empower their peers.

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project

Power Society

Belgium | Antwerp

A project focused on creating an open space for discussion on polarisation that exists among various communities in the city.

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project

Iqra Study

Belgium | Antwerp

A project that’s strengthening the voices of young leaders and advocating for their recognition by local decision makers.

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See all

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Our partners

The organisations and municipal governments we work with are essential to the success of the Young Cities programme. Together, we continue to effect genuine, relevant change in the communities in which we work.

Stad Antwerpen

We worked closely with Stad Antwerpen (City of Antwerp) municipality to realise the potential of their youth. We are particularly grateful to the city’s Youth department and Prevention department, who continue to demonstrate their commitment to enhancing the role of youth in their communities.

Visit their website.

vzw. Roots

Roots were a valued partner in Antwerp and Flanders, dedicated to working closely with, and mentoring, the youth we worked with from the city. The value they brought to our collaborations cannot be overstated.

Visit their website.