How do you stimulate immigrant girls to get out of the house more often?

In a study of the free-time habits of young immigrants, City Council members in Leiden stated that there are insufficient meeting places for immigrant girls in the city. The City has therefore begun the project 'At home in the library - a project for worldly girls'. In this project, the library offers a place for immigrant girls aged 12 to 18 to meet.

A study of free-time habits in Leiden showed that there is little for immigrant girls to do outside of the home, so they spend a great deal of their time inside. This study led to the idea for the 'At home in the library' project. This project aims to stimulate immigrant girls to get out of the house more often, with the library functioning as a place for the girls to meet and to come into contact with one another.

The idea came directly from the immigrant community. An important aspect of the 'At home in the library' idea is that the parents support the project. Their daughters meet in a safe environment and in a public place. The activities are also coupled to learning, which also appeals to the parents. The girls can do homework and look up information on the Internet. The project also offers a discussion podium girls come into contact with other girls and can discuss their (cultural) problems with one another.

While many projects dealing with young people from immigrant communities are geared towards the young peoples' problems (often specifically those of the boys), this project is geared towards the opportunities for young people to learn and develop. It also reaches a very difficult target group girls from immigrant communities. Many people have the impression that girls from immigrant communities have a more positive attitude towards integration than their brothers. The example of these girls has an effect on the neighbourhood and on other young people.

At home in the library won the prestigious 'Parel van Integratie 2005' (Integration Pearl of 2005), an annual award for the most succesful integration project in The Netherlands.

Co-operative partners
Leiden public library

Structural costs: €10,000 per year. The structural costs were paid from Major Cities Policy funds for two years, but now the costs are part of regular policy. The material costs are financed by Fonds 1818.

City of Leiden
The Netherlands
Esther Oortwijn, tel. 0031 71 5165255

01/03/2003

case

Urban Policy > Social inclusion & integration > Quality of life

Health