Bazzz

Young people today grow up in a world of super diversity, especially in our cities. Also Antwerp is evolving towards a majority of residents with a migration background. Our city today has a multitude of countries of origin, languages, cultures, religions, statutes and social positions. The diversity in diversity is greater than ever. Bazzz chooses to work with that super diversity on the basis of active pluralism as a basic attitude to go.

Bazzz is a youth organization that pays specific attention to emancipation and participation of young people with a migration background (second/third generation). They are often on an intersection of different exclusion mechanisms, thereby increasing their overall participation remains substandard to society. Especially the younger generations (in comparison with the first generation) are increasingly excluded. “Specifically with Muslim youth there is a tendency that the growing negative image of Islam causes them to lose faith in society and "turn in". In the long term, this threatens to lead to socio-economic ghettoisation with a cultural and religious character. This can then ensure that within Muslim communities the social control of the behavior of young people becomes stronger and that the individual freedom of choice is restricted.

Young people with a foreign origin often face the development of their identity challenge to reconcile different worlds. On the one hand they want to be full citizens that are a part of their society, but all too often they are confronted with racism and discrimination, which gives them confidence in themselves and their environment society. On the other hand, these young people are also formed by culture-specific factors that partly make up their pride and identity. This cultural elements can form a force in their emancipation drive, but can also be the cause of it lack of social participation.

Bazzz develops a unique offer that responds to that complex identity development, but that at the same time has an eye for society. We want the horizon of young people broadening them, teaching them to deal with diversity and thus contributing to a greater social cohesion in our society.