Despite the best efforts of many across society, access to higher education is not a given for all young people. As part of our strategy to create a 'positive social impact', we at Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) seek to address this disparity and contribute to equal opportunities in education. We have taken our first steps through our innovative and extensive outreach programme, 'Connecting Our Future'.
Luckily we are not the only organisation that is working to promote equal opportunities in education. Rotterdam has a wealth of amazing social organisations with deep-rooted connections to youth, local communities and the city. These organisations contribute daily to realising the dreams and ambitions of young people in our city.
To produce the greatest possible impact and better support young people in our city, 'Connecting Our Future' actively seeks to connect with these organisations within our city.
On 26 May, we met a number of these social organisations and placed two spearheads of our outreach programme under the microscope. These included:
- 'Access for all students': Strengthening and expanding our connection with underrepresented primary and secondary school students in the Rotterdam region,
- 'The student central': Improving and expanding our support for students at university.
It became clear during the meeting how complex educational inequality is and the continuing importance of having pupils, parents, teachers, schools, communities and educational institutions work together to resolve it. A continuing challenge, for example, is how difficult it is to reach pupils who fall between two stools of a complex education system. Whilst the role of poverty is a notable factor, the often (too) low expectations of teachers and early selection in the Dutch education system are significant influences too. Furthermore, our partner organisations also stressed the importance of timing in outreach efforts.
Nonetheless, what garnered a positive response was the question: "How can we move forward together?" This generated heart-warming reactions, from exchanging information to opening up networks, providing interpreters and acting together in future events. The city also expressed its appreciation for the active approach of EUR to be involved and for ("reaching out").
With this meeting, we have taken the first tentative steps in our cooperation. The team of Connecting Our Future is enthusiastic about forging these new relationships and look forward to making more connections in (our) future!
Buurt- en Speeltuinwerk Rotterdam (Ayse Òˆren), Dona Daria (Wendy de Rijk, Patricia Ooms), the Education Council (Talitha Stam), City Mariner for Racism and Discrimination (Marcel Dela Haije) SPIOR (Mohamed Bouimj), Wijkacademie Opvoeden Rotterdam (Sefa Akbulut, Fadma Bouchataoui) and Onze Toekomst Verbinden (Anne Wijtzes, Peggy Wijntuin, Nicolette van Halem, Dian Sudarmanto, Ashley van Delden).
- More information
The Outreach programme 'Connecting Our Future' is part of EUR's Diversity & Inclusion office. The D&I office is concerned with creating purposeful and effective policies that promote a safe learning and working environment and social justice for all at the university.