Utrecht


A neighborhood journey into your heart and mind.

One out of every three people in Utrecht today has a parent born outside of the Netherlands, connecting Utrecht to places near and far throughout the world. The city is home to many people who came to the country as ‘guestworkers’ in the 1960s and their descendants; from the former Dutch colonies; seeking asylum; and international students and ‘knowledge workers’. Utrecht is a ‘bed-bath-bread city’, offering shelter and services to people with undocumented status.

Co-created by its intercultural companions, Migrantour Utrecht’s first tour was in August 2022 in Utrecht’s culturally diverse Lombok neighborhood. Participants praise the interactive tour as ‘moving’, ‘inspirational’ and sometimes ‘confronting’, helping them ‘think – maybe even differently – about migration, integration, inclusion, difference and what it means to be human in a culture that’s not the one you were born into’.

It is hosted by Stichting Collective Nouns’ De Voorkamer, an initiative promoting a more inclusive society by connecting newcomers with migration backgrounds with long-time Utrecht residents living in and around Lombok. Sparking and facilitating the development and showcasing of community members’ diverse passions, interests, skills and talents, and offers a platform for them to initiate and co-create numerous cultural and social projects and events, it stimulates individual and collective agency and ownership, and connects people to one another on a personal level, no matter their background.

Routes

Utrecht’s Lombok neighborhood
Not far from the city center, Utrecht’s Lombok neighborhood is famous for its mosque and Kanaalstraat shops. But there’s much more to Lombok’s rich, dynamic migration heritage to learn about and experience, thanks to people living and working here that arrived as guestworkers in the 1960s and sought asylum over the last decades. Migrantour Utrecht intercultural companions draw on their personal experiences and knowledge of Lombok to offer tour participants fresh and nuanced perspectives on Dutchness and the social construction of national identity; so-called ‘Black schools’ and the role of schooling in social inclusion and exclusion; Islam, and religious expression and tolerance in the city; gentrification; living with undocumented status; acknowledging our colonial legacies, and initiatives supporting innovative ways of forging connection with people different from ourselves. Walk with us! Guided walking tours are available in Dutch, English, French, Arabic, Farsi, German and Spanish.
Other itineraries
To find out about other active itineraries in the city and keep up to date with Migrantour Utrecht’s news and initiatives, visit the website and social pages listed below in the Info section.

Info

In Utrecht intercultural urban routes are promoted by Stichting Collective Nouns’ De Voorkamer 

Local coordinator: Constanze Hödl

Mail: migrantourutrecht@devoorkamer.org

Facebook: Stichting Collective Nouns’ De Voorkamer

Instagram:Stichting Collective Nouns’ De Voorkamer

LinkedIn: Stichting Collective Nouns’ De Voorkamer