Unity through art & culture

Ten days in Zeerijp

From 29 April to 8 May 2025, Boerderij De Diek'n in Zeerijp was home to an international group of young people. They came from Moldova, Spain, Italy, Germany, Ukraine and the Netherlands. Each country sent a team of four participants and a group leader. At Jong Noord, group leaders are young leaders themselves: they often took part before and then stayed involved as volunteers.

We've worked well with De Diek'n for years, and we often run projects there. The farm lies in the middle of the Groningen countryside, surrounded by fields, with halls, cabins and plenty of space to work outdoors. An old DAM bus from the Nationaal Busmuseum took the group on a tour of the region.

Art, conversation and connection

The theme was diversity, inclusion, discrimination and cultural connection. Art was the way to talk about it. Through art, conversations and shared activities, the participants got to know each other's backgrounds and experiences.

Every day had its own theme, from teamwork and culture to confidence, theatre and empathy. The programme included a Human Library, where participants borrow each other's stories, forum theatre, cultural evenings where each country showed something of itself, and peer teaching, where participants teach each other. A study visit to IVAK, a centre for art and culture, was part of it too.

4 May: remembrance in Appingedam

We chose the days around 4 and 5 May on purpose. On 4 May the Netherlands remembers the victims of war, and on 5 May it celebrates freedom. Those traditions fit the themes of this project.

On 4 May, the group went to Appingedam for a scavenger hunt past war memorials. One of the tasks was to make something creative to remember. Some participants decided to write letters together to Maurits, a Jewish boy who was murdered in Sobibor in 1943. They spoke to him personally in different languages, as if he could still read the letters. The letters hung by the painting of Maurits in Appingedam and caught the eye of people walking by. They stayed up for a week before we took them down.

"I never took 4 May that seriously, but when I felt how moving this was for our guests, it touched me. Next year I want to go to a remembrance again."

Niels (22)

After dinner together at restaurant De Basiliek, the group attended the National Remembrance ceremony in Appingedam. The mayor welcomed the international guests in his opening speech, which was much appreciated. The Dutch way of remembering made a deep impression on the participants. The remembrance committee was happy with the collaboration too, just like us.

What the participants took home

The participants went home with creative methods to promote inclusion and counter discrimination, experience of working with people from very different backgrounds, and a network of peers all over Europe. Everyone who took part in most of the programme received a Youthpass: a European certificate that shows what you've learned.

Afterwards, participants share their experiences in their own communities, for example with a video, an activity or a presentation. That way an exchange keeps giving after the trip.