Power of West 2026: smart collaboration

Peter Lange’s Photos

The second edition of the Power of West on October 8, 2026, focused on smart collaboration between different domains: care and assistance with social basics and informal care, businesses with social basics, municipalities, and social basics. The conversation also revolved around inclusion: how do you ensure that everyone in Amsterdam is seen, heard, and can participate?

DB55 in the Houthaven was a beautiful location to come together for this, and the stands were filled with neighborhood workers, initiators, board members of foundations, members of neighborhood initiatives, coordinators and volunteers of local activities, meeting places and day activities, buddy projects, neighborhood team members, youth workers, staff from the OKT, and civil servants.

The host was Naeeda Aurangzeb.

Massih Hutak

Massih Hutak is a rapper, writer, and part of the residents’ organization Verdedig Noord. He shared how this organization is building a solidarity city through social projects and through art and cultural education. An inspiring example from another neighborhood.

Success stories

By collaborating closely and making good use of existing resources, you can contribute to solving a social issue. During the panel discussion, three examples were presented:

• Elif Algu from SwapShare
• Wasilis Psathas from The Neighborhood Bus
• Jikkina Hijmans from Use/Space

SwapShare organizes exchange events throughout the country.

Elif: “SwapShare makes it possible, together with our partners, to exchange items you no longer use for items that you actually need. This way, we reduce waste and garbage, save people money, and create new encounters. Because exchanging brings not only items but also people together.”

Read the success story of Elif

The Neighborhood Bus transports elderly people in Osdorp who are not mobile to activities in the area.

Wasilis: “To reduce loneliness among less mobile elderly people in the neighborhood, the idea of the Neighborhood Bus was born. With vans from Cordaan that are not used during the day, we have set up a real line along various activities in Osdorp. The bus is more than just transportation from A to B. That’s why I sometimes call it the activity bus: it makes it possible to, for example, have coffee somewhere, then have lunch, and then go to an activity.”

Read the success story of Wasilis

Use/space connects companies that have available space with social organizations.

Jikkina: “Many social and cultural initiatives struggle to find affordable space for their activities, while office buildings often have areas that remain unused for a large part of the time. Use/space brings these worlds together by connecting social organizations with companies that want to open their spaces. This creates room for social initiatives, new encounters, and more connection between the building and its surroundings.”

Read the success story of Jikkina

7 Success factors according to these three:

1. Find the common interest: A collaboration works when it benefits each partner.
2. Ensure mutual trust: be open and transparent.
3. Share ownership: give others the space to contribute and to give it their own interpretation.
4. Look at what is already there and connect that in a creative way, think outside the box.
5. Listening and adjusting: the idea and the plan are not sacred, keep the social goal in mind.
6. Make sure someone has the overview. and connects the partners.
7. Start small!

Pub quiz

The winner of the pub quiz Sociale basis West was Shayne McCreadie from the Cultuurshifters! She answered all 13 questions correctly 😊

Just to recap:

1. A playground is indeed part of the social foundation.
2. There are 8 community rooms in West: Van Lennep, Bellamy, Corantijn, Da Costa & Co, De Nieuwe Reiger, Jeltje, Meneer Howard & Co, and de Gulden Winckel.
3. Volta is a youth stage managed by Dock.
4. There are around 100 foundations and community initiatives active in West from the social base.
5. The aim of the social foundation is to promote self-reliance and social cohesion.
6. Social cohesion has remained stable in the West over the past few years.
7. The task of the Core Alliance Social Base West is to collaborate with each other and with all other parties in the social base to better address social challenges.
8. A neighborhood meal that runs late because everyone is still happily chatting can be an example of a clash between two cultural forms: polychronic and monochronic.
9. 32% of secondary school students in Amsterdam West experienced mental health issues in 2023.
10. 490 households lived in 2023 at or below the social minimum (16%)
11. Misunderstood behavior is behavior where the situation becomes unsafe, unpredictable, or incomprehensible for the person or others.
12. It is expected that there will be 23,773 people aged 65 and older in the West (currently, that number is 16,880).
13. More than 40,000 people are volunteering in West!

Working groups

1. Working Group Youth

In the working group Youth, the participants reflected on the question: How can we ensure that more young people on the waiting list for youth care are registered for the Step up groups within youth work?

Golden tips:

• Share the project (more) on social media. See if young people who participated in the group might want to share something (anonymously).
• Involve the school youth work more broadly in this offering.
• Make people responsible as direct contacts for the project at the youth care organizations and the schools.
• Let youth care workers accompany youth workers. Involve them in how youth workers conduct motivational conversations with young people and inspire them.

Read the report of the Youth Working Group

2. Working group Misunderstood behavior

In this working group, the theme of misunderstood behavior was discussed: what is it exactly and when is there a problem? People with misunderstood behavior may need help, often already receive help, and some do not want help. The environment is increasingly affected by misunderstood behavior. There are more and more reports. Therefore, there is a greater focus on engagement care. This means that caregivers help people who do not easily ask for help or have difficulty accepting help, and are approached nonetheless. The caregiver tries to make contact and remains involved.

In engagement care, it is important to:

• • to signal early;
  • good to look at the situation;
  • build trust;
  • to work together with the person;
  • to continue offering help, even when someone initially refuses it.

Read the report of the working group Unexplained behavior.

3. Working Group Elderly

This working group is about vulnerable elderly people in Amsterdam West and how we can work together to ensure that they can live in their own homes as healthily, safely, and vitally as possible for as long as possible.

Using a case study of an elderly forgetful woman without a network who avoids care, we will examine what the present organizations can contribute.

Conclusion:

There is a lot of supply in the social basic services. But if there is no child or another trusted personal contact person involved, this assistance often stalls. The role of a familiar face is the most important in these cases to get everything else started. One contact person is needed who can coordinate all this supply, take the initiative for the first step, and also remain proactively involved. Wellbeing on Prescription can play a very important role in these cases in the first three months. A Neighborhood Team member could also be this person, along with a volunteer who fits the Amsterdam resident, if language and trust are a challenge.

Read the report of the Elderly Working Group.

4. Working Group Polarization

In this working group, the theory behind monochronic and polychronic time perception and culture was explained through a personal story. A valuable dialogue emerged in which the tensions and opportunities between the two cultural forms were extensively discussed.

Several participants reflected on how the two perspectives of monochronic and polychronic can be connected.

They advocate for a harmonious approach, aptly summarized as “Make it a dance”, and came to the following concrete conditions for synergy:

• Understanding and deepening: Show genuine interest by delving into each other and being open to learning from one another.
• Meet: Creating space to truly get to know each other.
• Clear expectations: Clear communication in advance about what can be expected from each other.
• Information without direct judgment: Involving people actively in agreements made, with a focus on explanation and guidance rather than immediate consequences or punitive measures.
• Self-reflection: Daring to ask the critical question: “What can we change ourselves?”

Read the report of the working group Polarization

5. Working Group Women

In this working group, there was discussion about how women can develop their talents and what barriers they encounter on their way to paid work. An important barrier is the combination of work, family, and childcare. Self-confidence, personal circumstances, and the accessibility of activities can also play a role. It is therefore important to look not only at language skills or background but also at talents, opportunities, and self-confidence.

The meeting made it clear that the step to work is not only dependent on the motivation of women. Practical circumstances, such as childcare and working hours, confidence in one’s own abilities, and alignment with employers also play an important role. By working together, focusing on talents, and removing practical barriers, organizations can better support women in their development and participation.

Tips

1. Remove practical barriers
2. Build trust and lower the threshold
3. Put talents at the center
4. Strengthen the collaboration with employers
5. Create a social map
6. Approach employers and organizations actively
7. Include men and families

Read the report of the Women working group

Read the tips and recommendations from the Women working group.

Unfortunately, no report has been made by the Poverty working group.

Lunch

The lunch was made by volunteers from Buurtbuik: with food that would otherwise be thrown away, Milana and Mohamed managed to create a delicious lunch. A nice moment to chat afterwards.

The Power of the West

The Power of West is an annual networking event facilitated by the Kernalliantie Sociale Basis West and this year organized by a working group consisting of: Simone Timmer (Volunteers Central Amsterdam), Harmen van Mierlo (Rainbow Group), Milana van der Werf (ASV Bilderdijkpark/ Neighborhood Belly), Nadia Aktaou (together Strong), Dorine Verheul (Combiwel), Godfrey Lado (Ubuntu Embassy) and Ismail Ouachour (Dock).

The aim of the event is to meet each other, learn from each other, and work together on issues that are relevant in West.

Thanks to: Dini Glas (Regenboog Groep), Marlot van der Himst (Roads), Rikke Komen (St Mantelzorg en Dementie), Hajar Fikri (Buurtteam Amsterdam West), Hatice Kara (St Aminah), Wasilis Psathas (Combiwel), Mary Yau (Combiwel), Marte van der Wal (The Mall de Baarsjes), Ruud van den Berg (OKT), interns Dock, Jikkina Hijmans (Use/Space), Liselotte Korver (Use/space), Elif Algu (SwapShare), Peter Lange (Vrijwilligers Centrale Amsterdam), Judith Pot (Combiwel), Lisa Traub (Combiwel), Maya van de Ven (Combiwel), Phronaise Jacobs (Combiwel), Mohamed (Combiwel), Coraline Gerritsen (Combiwel) Naeeda Aurangzeb, Massih Hutak.

See you next year!