Article by TAATO
This month we had the pleasure of talking to Marisha, director of Bright Future Foundation, an NGO based in The Netherlands.
What is Bright Future and how does it work?
Bright Future is an NGO that develops ‘non-formal’ local and international projects. These projects range from educational, social, solidarity or charitable projects for young people, children and the elderly, to projects for people who have less opportunities or who are affected by disabilities. The Foundation’s participants are from the Netherlands and neighbouring European countries.
Bright Future sustains its meaningful work thanks to several cooperations with the European Union, through various partners and foundations, and individual donors based in the Netherlands.
Targeting the growth and enhancement of young people’s abilities, our mission is:
> to boost the participation and involvement of young people in European Youth initiatives;
> to involve international Youth in various Youth Exchanges;
> to give young people a chance to experience different cultures, actively share personal experiences, and gain knowledge.
With our projects, we give young people an opportunity to get familiar with the best practices in the spheres of democracy, active citizenship, European awareness, etc.
Another direction of Bright Future is the development of projects for children, from a very young age.
The organisation’s interests are not limited to the above-mentioned: “we also organise different charitable projects for children, young people who have access to less opportunities, as well as for children or young people facing poverty and social difficulties in different countries.”
What kind of projects do you initiate?
We have different projects. Youth projects, multicultural exchange projects in cooperation with local & international partners. We also have solidarity projects where we collaborate with big and small organisations, such as Municipalities.
With the solidarity projects, we promote equality, cultural communication and understanding. Through our ‘non-formal’ learning projects we invite international young people to travel abroad, meet new people and discover new cultures.
In particular, the 2021 project Dutch for Non Dutch, designed and implemented thanks to our initiative and volunteers, was awarded as the best solidarity project in the Netherlands and won the EU Solidarity Awards.
What are the challenges of your organisation, and what kind of solutions are you implementing to maximise your Foundation’s impact?
When working with young people, you need to be aware of different issues, their needs and challenges. We all learn by doing, not only while helping young people reach their ambitions, but also, through them, how to help and motivate to help achieve learning, and practical goals.
We do our best to send our members to different trainings within the European Union and abroad to extend their understanding of different cultures and improve various skills through ‘non-formal’ learning. At the same time, it’s important to create a free space for our volunteers to express their emotions and their goals.
To maximise the impact of the Foundation, we develop a strong sense of cooperation, as we believe that together we are stronger. We disseminate the ongoing results of the project because in this way we can spread the information through social media, radio and TV interviews, also to people who have not yet joined the project. They have access to the results of the projects and perhaps they will join a project in the near future.
What is coming up next for Stichting Bright Future?
INVESTING KNOWLEDGE IN BRIGHT FUTURE IS OUR MISSION!
Our projects are designed with the main aim of making our youth’s and kids’ prospective lives brighter. Currently, there are opportunities to join the Foundation and work in an internationally friendly, informal and fun environment through volunteering in the frame of Bright Future’s local and/or international projects.
If you are interested, you can look here. As I’ve said, together we are stronger and can design a better future.
“Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.”
Malcolm X
Thanks Marisha for sharing your knowledge and presenting your meaningful foundation within the Chlaydoscope project.
