The government is giving 2.3 million euros to the Northeast Netherlands to continue the Impacter youth project for another three years. In Drenthe, the project is running in the municipalities of Emmen and Borger-Odoorn.
The goal of Impacter is to give young people insight into their own skills, to gain self-confidence and to let them experience what it is like to do something for society. The project is active in a total of fourteen municipalities, including since 2020 in Emmen and Borger-Odoorn. “We are very pleased that the project will have another three years, so that we can help more young people in the coming years,” says Michelle Mazenier, project leader Impacter Emmen.
At Impacter, young people receive a counselor and follow courses. “It is useful for your CV, for example when making a choice of study, the next step for your future or expanding your network,” says Mazenier.
“We help young people find a great organization that matches their goals or help them start their own project. Learning by doing,” says youth coach Brandon Siersema of Impacter Borger-Odoorn. We work together with organizations in the region to find a suitable match.
The project started in the middle of the corona pandemic and, according to project leader Mazenier, that was quite difficult. “We had to adapt to the measures that were in place, everything suddenly had to be online. Because the places where we as an organization need to be, such as schools and sports clubs, were closed.”
Mazenier believes that the project will be even better in the coming years. “Fortunately everything is open again and that makes it easier for the coaches from our project to come into contact with young people who need it.”
It is the intention that in the coming three years there will be more collaborations with schools and youth work. In Emmen and Borger-Odoorn, the aim is to help at least 250 young people and to set up projects with them.
The experiences in Drenthe have shown that there are three types of young people who become involved in the project. The first group consists of young people who know what they want, but need help to achieve it. The second group consists of young people who do not really know what they want and need help to find out. And the third group consists of young people who want to dedicate themselves to society.
“We actually want these three groups to come together, because you have to discover your talent, implement it and use it for society,” says Mazenier.
The project is primarily intended for young people and young adults between the ages of 14 and 27. Over the next three years, the age group will be increased from 12 to 30 years. “Over the past two years we have noticed that this is necessary, so we will do it,” says the project leader. “We want to serve and help as wide a group as possible.”
Young people can register themselves with the organization and in the coming years they will also be actively approached by the project.