What We Do
We are a non-profit NGO, and all members are volunteers. Since 2016, we have been working towards building a community based on respect and the desire to learn from each other.
What We Offer
Language Classes
Buddy Program
Our Mission
Right2Education is a community that believes in equal opportunity for all. We believe that factors such as countries of origin, race, ethnic background, gender, sexuality, and all other ways of differentiation shouldn’t limit access to education.
Right2Education is an opportunity for refugees and asylum seekers to access an education in which they are able to learn Dutch (A1-B1) and English (A1-C1). In the environment of Amsterdam University College, they are no longer refugees, but guests, which is why we like to refer to them as guest students.
We believe it is no longer enough to be witness of what is known as the "refugee crisis". This initiative is about getting involved and contributing to the search for equality and justice, by embracing a mutual learning experience.
“Being in Right2Education has really taught me a lot about working in a team. And this goes beyond the internal board of the initiative. As much as the collaborative effort of student, management, faculty and administration of Amsterdam University College is important, the receiving, giving and exchanging with the guest students is what makes this experience a truly unique one.”
— Ellen
Our founding story
In October 2015, against the backdrop of the increasing movement of refugees and migrants into Europe, some students from Amsterdam University College went to the Serbian-Croatian border crossing to volunteer with organizations providing immediate assistance to people on the move.
At that time, Amsterdam, like many other European cities, was setting up shelters and services to respond to the growing needs of newly arrived refugees – education and language being one of them. So, upon their return from volunteering, together with some friends, that same group of students decided to take action, and remind AUC of their responsibility towards facilitating access to education for all. This is how Right2Education was born as an independent civil society initiative founded and run entirely by AUC students.
Students, faculty, management, and administrative personnel all worked together on a tight deadline to open up the AUC Dutch language courses to refugees. With the help of the Amsterdam municipality – a key partner in the project’s initial stages - the student group managed to identify 33 prospective candidates for the first session in January 2016. Of this number, some were admitted to the regular Dutch A1 classes, while others were taught by volunteer Dutch native-speaker AUC students. The success of this pilot led to the creation of new peer-to-peer taught classes, with more volunteer teachers, and new lesson plans geared towards refugee students obtaining certified language diplomas. To cater to the evolving needs of guest students, the initiative then expanded to start teaching English classes at different levels, which continue to be offered today.
Right2Education was born out of a desire to reject the notion of a refugee ‘crisis’ and embrace it as an ‘opportunity’ to learn from each other. A buddy-system which paired refugees – or as they decided to say ‘guest-students’ – and AUC students was set-up to organize regular social activities. Ice-skating outings, potluck dinners, museum visits, movie nights, Arabic classes and picnics became a weekly occurrence. Creating spaces for all students to socialize, share, and discover has been at the core of Right2Education’s understanding of integration from its early beginnings: not as a mandatory administrative step, but as a two-way process allowing newcomers and host community to meet and build common ground.