Why did we start in Molenbeek in 2016?

Brussels is the most densest City in the Low Lands (BENELUX) and the trend of young people (with lots of energy) being pushed to the curb side is getting stronger. In some areas drug dealers have taken over the parks from the community making it less safe for kids to play and learn.?Youngsters are hanging around on the street with no options to release energy in a sportive way. They are not seeing a genuine interest from policy makers in their needs. This especially counts when the parents have not the resources to support them to do sports in a structured way. Situations which accumulate the quickest in the more poor areas of Brussels. We wanted to bring back more community sense by reaching out to the youth and make them part of their neighbourhood in a more sportive and pro-active way.

How? In the period between March and May 2016 four people met to develop a strategy for Molenbeek. The Mayor of Molenbeek (Francoise Schepmans), the Alderman of Sports (Ahmed El Khannouss), Ahmed Larouz?and Unico van Kooten from PlayandPeace came together to define a strategy, together with the support of Johan Cruyff Foundation, Belgian Football, The Dutch Embassy in Belgium and Rotary. The strategy was embraced and supported by the complete board from the Municipality Molenbeek. The strategy is available in English, French, Dutch and German. We also wanted to depart from the dark clouds that surrounded Belgium after March 2016 and return back into the light again. By reaching out to people! We wanted to (1) inspire, (2) to motivate (3) to encourage (challenge) and (4) to connect.

?Four messages to take away!

?1.???????Inspire: dare to dream again about a positive future!

We wanted to make a sustainable and considerable positive impact for Belgium. So that especially our youth could start dreaming again about a positive future. So we decided to initiate the Cruyff Court Molenbeek project. A place in the heart of our community where the youth can play and learn. Via sports people are united all around the world. Johan Cruyff is an extraordinary sportsman and also internationally acknowledged for his social engagement. He developed the Cruyff Court concept. (more about the Cruyff Courts later). Former international soccer players Mbo Mpenza (Belgium) and Jan Mulder (Netherlands) became the sport ambassadors and we are very proud that they took upon them this responsibility.

?We asked people to team-up and participate in this project and work together towards the light. We connected the expat community with the communities in Molenbeek. We connected the youth with the victims of the attacks. We found great support from Rotarians across the world, the Dutch Embassy and the business world. The result is overwhelming international support for the project, which is very strong signal to our society and especially to the youth. We do invest in you and you are our future!

?Also for the four initiators this is a dream come true. We started with nothing in our hands, but where very motivated to fulfil our dream together!??

2.??????Motivate: stay resilient and take life in a sportive way

Life as it presents itself comes with ups and downs. This counts for every human being. Young and old! We wanted to make clear to people to accept this reality and deal with it in a sportive and resilient way. This is something we can learn. Also this project came with ups and downs and we sometimes had to change our tactics (rule nr. 10 Johan Cruyff). We have worked together from 2016 with victims of the attacks of BXL/ Zaventem and have been inspired by the will of many to get out of the dark again! Like Abdallah Lahlali who lost his leg at the Zaventem attack and pursued one of his dreams which is to play soccer with his son again! He did so at the Rotary/ Rotaract Growfunding day in Wemmel for the Cruyff Court Molenbeek (June 2017)!

It remains important to talk with others about your issues/ sorrows and try to keep standing strong! On the Cruyff Court in Molenbeek, the youth can learn this by bringing the 14 rules (values) of Johan Cruyff into practise (like we did). These rules and the people you meet-up can be a considerable motivation to take life as it presents itself in a more sportive and resilient way. By taking care of the public sport infrastructure together, organise activities and ensure that everybody is able to play helps to bring back sensible community life back in neighbourhoods in Brussels.

?3.??????Encourage (Challenge): yourself to establish positive connections with your community

People can achieve a lot if they work together. We also wanted to show this in this extraordinary project. We embraced diversity. Being open to new people and experiences also helps to bring down prejudice. A wall of prejudice can hamper normal contact between people and you would miss out on opportunities to gain positive experience. We do not want people to remain stuck in their own self-made walls of prejudice but offer tools to break does walls down. The Cruyff Court is a meeting point in the heart of the community and we hope that the youth will gain a lot of positive experiences on the Court in the coming decade.

?4. Connect: bring communities together

We have aimed to build countless bridges. Bridges to connect, walk and communicate on. Bridges to achieve greatness for our future. We are very honoured by all the partners and communities teaming up for this project. Positive connections between people from different backgrounds and communities make our society more resilient. We brought victims of the attacks in BXL and Zaventem together with the youth of Molenbeek.

?We are very proud that as of now, the first 2 persons have passed the exame and have become #Cruyff Coaches in #Molenbeek.

?Together we win!

Together we bring communities back to live again! Also in cities with a very high density.

Honored to have so many partners teaming up to make this dream come true!

With kind regards,

@Ahmed Larouz & Unico van Kooten

Kunsthumaniora Brussel and Unescoschool Koekelberg join forces for ‘Change our Game’.