Take it, read it, spread it!

Our long-running project Urbania - Mapping Multicultural The Hague has finally come to an end. The booklet which we made and collects all the information we have gathered from the beginning of October till the end of April, is released now and available for everybody interested to know more about multicultural The Hague seen through 3 “strangers” eyes!

The main aim of us in this project was to raise social awareness and tolerance about multicultural diversity among youngsters and other citizens of The Hague. The situation of minorities and people with multicultural background is a current issue, not only politically but also in everyday life. The Hague has more than one hundred different nationalities living within its city border, so this was a perfect place to discover more about the living together of different people in one city. We did not want to do an academic research or learn numbers and facts, but were trying to catch some stories behind the statistics and look under the surface.

We have met and interviewed lots of people from different layers of society, from religious and political leaders to common people, to gain a multi-vision angle towards the situation in the city. We have visited all types of multicultural neighbourhoods and saw similarities and differences between them; both in the structure of the districts and the people who are giving life to those places. For this reason, the used method was that of ‘mapping’ the city. As a result, this was not only a research but also a representation of as many people as possible.

With its handy look, the booklet consists of seven articles about seven ethnic and religious groups living in The Hague, which are: Turkish, Moroccan, Surinamese, Chinese, Polish, Jewish and Dutch. You can find the exact districts where those nationalities are primarily located or where we have met them on the map on the first page. When you turn the page, the facts and figures about The Hague are presented. Each of the articles is illustrated with pictures which were taken in that neighbourhood, capturing the small details hidden somewhere and/or general appearance of the whole spots from our own eye.

In each article you can discover an interesting fact about The Hague that maybe you have never known before. You can also learn how integration policies are thought of and implemented in city hall, or discover the community-based associations and clubs and their activities just here in this city. In the end, we wanted to raise awareness about the diversity of the city and add another sort of perception about their environment to the people who are living here, but never actually see, so that next time they will be walking down Chinatown, buying a tram ticket to Escamp, going to work or passing through Schilderswijk or Transvaal they will remember which kind of stories and treasures are hidden behind those walls.

On the Day of Europe, 9th of May, the results of our project were presented in Het Nutshuis during “Buurtsuper Europa/Cornershop Europe”. In this presentation, the interviews that were made during the project cycle were shown and the Urbania booklet was presented and handed out to the public, which showed much enthusiasm.

Next to this presentation, the participants in the youth exchange "Street Portraits", which took place on the streets of The Hague during the week preceding the Day of Europe and was co-organized by us, also presented the visual and spoken reportages they had made in the different parts of the city. Like us, in this project people from different countries we triggered - as a complete strangers - to take a (critical) look at the whole issue. This gave an even richer variety of angles and viewpoints to our project, and multiplied the effects of Urbania.

So, that is the whole summary. Are you just as enthusiastic as we are? Then start reading now! You will never know what you could grasp from which chapter or sentence, or even from just one word. The booklet “Urbania” could be interesting for you too; so better take it, read it, spread it! And please, share your opinion or own observations in The Hague with us!

If you would like to have a free copy of the booklet, write an e-mail to us at info@platformspartak.eu!