Friday, March 4, 2016

Empowering the Eritro-Dutch youth through education in Amsterdam




On the 17th of January, the Eritrean Language School in Amsterdam invited Eritro-Dutch students/professionals who have graduated from Higher education or who are studying and pursuing their professional life in different fields to advice future Eritro-Dutch students by giving presentations including a questions and answer (Q &A) session.  In the second and last part there was a face-to-face session for all the high school students to get in touch with the presenters and to get more details about their field of interest.

Twelve Eritro-Dutch youth held a presentation and approximately 50 high school students with their parents were present. The presenters were students or young professionals from all fields like: economics, medicine, psychology, biology, architecture, IT and much more.  



The Q & A part was in my opinion the most interesting part because of the experiences shared of those who went through high school and University with all it's difficulties of dealing with two cultures and parents who could hardly accept it when someone drops out of a study and just wanted to work or travel for a year. This healthy conflict brought  us together. So many parents openly shared why they mostly did not listen to the wishes of their children, because they really feared failure of their child. Most students/professionals in the room advised differently. Both parents and the presenters were very open and frank about their experiences.
It was such an empowering moment. To hear brilliant ideas and see young Eritro-Dutch networking for a brighter future and success in their personal life was heartwarming. I'm very glad to have been part of this positive and energizing event.  I'm also very proud of our parents who organized this event. They didn't had this opportunity when they were young. They were working hard to contribute for the liberation of Eritrea and at the same time bring up their children in a new environment.  


We have come from far. And really it's amazing how much the Eritro-Dutch community is contributing to the Dutch society. 

No matter what, let's keep telling our narrative and share positivity.

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