‘Neighbourhood professionals’ helping Dutch youngsters grow up safely

A new guide has been published outlining the role of ‘neighbourhood professionals’ in helping young Dutch people to grow up safely in their cities and towns.

The Netherlands Youth Institute (Nederlands Jeugdinstituut – NJi), whose mission is ‘a promising childhood for every every child’, says that citizen-led initiatives which arise in neighbourhoods and which strengthen local social networks can offer children and young people a place to grow up safely.

Neighbourhood professionals, or ‘Wijkprofessionals’, can support such initiatives, and it is the value of these professionals’ roles that are highlighted in the publication Burgerinitiatieven en wijkteams. It also provides, says the NJi, practical examples for other professionals to learn from.  It can downloaded in pdf format here (Dutch only).