An update from our project: Co-Creating inclusive imaginaries for youth wellbeing and life-skills in Curaçao

July 2024

Project by Ajay Bailey, Patricia Wijntuin, Wiebe Bor, Ashley Duits and Royla Pierre.

On  Friday 17^th  of May Professor Ashley Duits ( Curaçao Biomedical Health Research Institute), one of the partners in the research project our joint project “Co-creating inclusive imaginaries for youth wellbeing and life-skills in Curaçao”, visited Utrecht University. The meeting was also an opportunity for researchers of other departments to talk to and discuss collaboration opportunities and research ideas in relation youth and education on the island.

The first part of the meeting  was dedicated to the presentation of the preliminary  findings by Tarini Pandt where she talked about the challenges not only young people face but also their educators and social workers. Young people struggle with different challenges such as learning disorders, mental health challenges, growing up in poverty which impacts their school careers. But also the challenges their teachers face with working with the limited possibilities schools offer them in working with these youngsters. We are now working with children in the Basis school,  18 parents have given us consent and we are trying out drawing and sketching as a projective technique with the children. 

The second part of the meeting was dedicated to sharing the different research projects the other participants in the meeting are working in and looking for commonalities between their projects and the project about youth on Curaçao. There is interest to combine forces with a Pathways incubator grant which will also focus on youth. Curaçao will participate on both projects.