Eight educational projects receive together 50,000 euros from BESIX Foundation.
Introducing pupils aged 8 to 14 from vulnerable families to professionals who are passionate about their jobs can inspire them to discover their own capacities and vocations. That is the ambition behind the eight projects selected in BESIX Foundation's 'Sowing for the Future' call for projects, managed in collaboration with the King Baudouin Foundation. These projects will be implemented in the coming school year.
A chemistry or construction workshop, a talent weekend, a day internship in a healthcare establishment. These are all ways to give young people aged 8 to 14 from vulnerable families an opportunity to discover their own potential, calling and passion. And especially to convince them that, despite their difficult situations, they too can accede to good professions. The selected initiatives, which bring vulnerable young people into contact with people who practice their professions with passion, will receive a total of 50,000 euros of support from BESIX Foundation.
Sowing for the future
To mark its tenth anniversary, BESIX Foundation launched its 'Sowing for the Future' programme in March, in collaboration with the King Baudouin Foundation. This call shares many features with Kiddy Build, an initiative where 5th and 6th year pupils spend a day at a building site meeting building professionals.
“BESIX Foundation chose to support extracurricular activities for children from vulnerable families, especially projects that provide these children with a bridge to the world of work. With 'Sowing for the Future' we want to give a boost to schools and organisations that are seeking to give children a broader view of the world of work, but who lack the means to do so", says Frédéric de Schrevel, president of BESIX Foundation.
Below is a brief description of the Dutch-language projects.
- In Antwerp, AP Hogeschool is organising a series of Studio T workshops (chemistry, construction, programming, etc.) with presentations of the related professions and followed by practical assignments, mainly aimed at children from disadvantaged groups.
- In Beringen, the Brede School De Terrilling allows children and teenagers to think about their futures in an after-school series of lessons and a talent weekend, with the help of local people who, as role models, talk about their jobs.
- In Heverlee, during the Vlajo Talent Internship, students join a care sector company for half a day, assisted by a 'dream coach'.
- In 11 schools for deaf children across Belgium (Antwerp, Bruges, Ghent, Brussels, Liège, Ghlin), non-profit organisation SUJE organises introduction days with deaf people working in different sectors and who are passionate about their jobs. With testimonies, demos and conversations in sign language, the deaf students get the message that their disability does not have to be an obstacle to follow their calling.
The full list of the selected projects is available here.
About BESIX Foundation
Founded in 2009, BESIX Foundation finances non-profit organisations in countries where the group operates. Over the course of its 10 year existence, the foundation has supported 247 projects with a total of 4 million euros. It has also set up its own projects, such as KiddyBuild. Since its launch in 2014, 1,300 students have already visited a BESIX construction site, where they are introduced to the building professions and the people who practice them.