How can the level of participation of young Antilleans in Dutch society be improved?

There are two ways in which the young Antillean population differs from other young people in the Netherlands. In the first place there is the high mobility of a large group of Antillean young people who have no fixed abode in the Netherlands and tend to commute back and forth between the Netherlands and the Netherlands Antilles. Second, the group as a whole has a relatively high incidence of teenage pregnancies.

In order over the next four years to reduce school drop-out rates, youth unemployment, crime and nuisance caused by young Antilleans in Dutch society, the government is entering into administrative arrangements with the eighteen Antillean communities in the Netherlands. The communities share knowledge and experience and are taking part in intensive talks with the government on matters such as the sharing of responsibilities and the stumbling-blocks existing in current regulations and legislation.

In Rotterdam there is a project called Ruman Grandi, which is Papiamento for big brother or sister. The project helps young Antilleans towards a situation in which they can be independent and strong enough to find their own place in society. The RIAGG RNW agency has extensive expertise in the area of case management and transcultural aid and is therefore ideally placed to provide the individual help these young people need. A crucial aspect here is the collaboration between the various counterparts and their involvement in the various projects.

Ruman Grandi was originally set up for young Antilleans with poor prospects in a situation of multiple problems in the Rotterdam area.

A ruman grandi - a case manager - first identifies the problems facing the young person, then draws up a treatment plan in which the various problems are to be tackled. The same ruman grandi guides the young person all the way down the line, from intake to discharge and even thereafter. During this time he naturally works closely with other helpers such as educators and coaches, employers, psychiatrists and social workers. He is the principal contact and together with the young person he is responsible for the end result.

That end result is a young person who has built up an independent and autonomous life on the basis of his own individuality. The relationship between the ruman grandi and the young person is highly intensive and personal. Most of these juveniles come from one-parent families. The ruman grandi compensates for the absence of authority and if necessary is there for the young person twenty-four hours a day. As a result, a ruman grandi's case load is limited: while most have at least ten young people under their care, none have more than fifteen.

The Ruman Grandi project is scheduled to end on 31 December 2004. Under consideration for the future is the possibility of having mentally unstable juveniles enter a RIAGG RNW programme under a regime similar to the Ruman Grandi scheme. Other young people currently in the Ruman Grandi scheme will be passed on to other collaborative bodies.

The government is to make EUR 5m available to the Antillean communities annually during the period 2005-2008. Apart from receiving funds made available by the EQUAL programme of the European Social Fund, the Ruman Grandi project is funded by the following third parties:

City of Rotterdam
Inneke Stolk, tel. +31 10 4899220

31/01/2005

case

Urban Policy > Social inclusion & integration > Quality of life

Skills improvement