In my neighbourhood

Stichting In mijn Buurt stands for learning by meeting between young and old. Since 2015, we have been pairing primary school pupils with elderly people with the aim of creating understanding for the other and breaking down prejudices. During personal encounters, the children interview older people about a part of Dutch history, such as the colonial past, migration or the Second World War. In workshops, the children learn how to pass on the stories themselves.

This meeting education, in which more than 3,000 children have already taken part, is a new way of learning. The focus is not on textbooks, but on the contact between different generations and the personal history of people in their own neighbourhood. At the end of the programme, the pupils receive the title Heritage Bearer, with which they promise to take responsibility for the story of the elderly and their neighbourhood.