This is how you can get to know Dutch people your age

With people your age you think of something you can do together for society. It is a group of 15 people from the Netherlands and other countries. You organise an activity such as a trip for pupils. Or you make a documentary or a magazine together. You also celebrate once a year with all the groups that participate in Wake Up Your Mind! A big party in Utrecht.

You can apply if you are between the ages of 17 and 29 and live in the Netherlands. To participate, you must fall under the Temporary Protection Directive or have an asylum residence permit. It is helpful if you speak a little Dutch because during participation you will speak Dutch and improve your Dutch. During Wake Up Your Mind! you will work together with people from different cultures and backgrounds. It is a project from the organisation VluchtelingenWerk Nederland (VWN). The project is really something for you if you are curious about other cultures and if you like to work together.

In a group, you meet every week for four to six months to organise the activity and get to know each other better. During the project a VluchtelingenWerk employee supervises your group. You also receive training from VluchtelingenWerk, for example training on how to talk to people from another culture. After the project, you also receive a kind of diploma or proof that you participated in the project.