Half of the people fleeing to the Netherlands are under the age of twenty-five. These young people are at the peak of their development and need stability, safety and continuity. Living and growing up in asylum-seekers centers with an unpredictable asylum procedure and having to move many times can often lead to uncertainty and tension.

De Vrolijkheid believes that children and young people have the right to grow up in a safe environment with the space and opportunities they need to express them-selves. Art has the ability to reinforce resilience and develop talent. De Vrolijkheid ensures that children and young people can work in a co-creation setting with pro-fessional artists to express themselves through art on equal footing. This allows chil-dren and young people to discover their talents, boost their self-confidence and work on the development of their identity.

Each week, an artist leads a KunstLabs session, workshops for children in different age groups. The participants work with music, dance, theater, fine arts, the spoken word, film, photography and new and existing media. The foundation currently organizes events at 28 asylum-seekerslocations throughout the country, and nearly 3,000 Vrolijke Atelier workshops have been held for 4,000 unique participants.

Adessium supports the work of De Vrolijkheid because we believe that every child should be able to grow up in a safe environment and develop to their full potential. We actively work to help refugees integrate into Dutch society, and see value in dialog and connections.