Believing in Young People Before the System Gives Up on Them
Founded in Brussels in 2012 by Sofie Foets, TADA – ToekomstAtelierDeL’Avenir (Future Atelier of Tomorrow) is a weekend school and alumni network for young people from vulnerable, socially disadvantaged backgrounds in Brussels. Its premise is both simple and radical: if children from marginalised neighbourhoods are shown what the world has to offer — and given the confidence to believe they belong in it — they are far more likely to stay in school and build meaningful futures.
Since its founding, TADA has organised over 20,800 workshops, engaged more than 9,000 volunteers, and built an alumni network of over 1,500 young people. Today, more than 2,000 young people participate in the weekend school across five branches in Molenbeek, Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Anderlecht, and Schaerbeek — some of Brussels’ most underserved neighbourhoods.
The Weekend School: Discovering What’s Possible
Every Saturday, children aged 10 to 14 attend TADA’s weekend school, where professionals from diverse fields — lawyers, journalists, mechanics, architects, chefs, scientists — volunteer their time to lead hands-on workshops about their professions. The goal is not vocational training, but horizon-broadening: giving children a glimpse of worlds and possibilities they might never otherwise encounter, and helping them see that those worlds could belong to them too.
As TADA describes it: “By inspiring young people in a safe environment and broadening their future perspectives, we encourage them to stay motivated in school and believe in themselves.” The emphasis on a safe, welcoming environment is not incidental — for many participants, TADA offers a sense of belonging and community that their schools or neighbourhoods do not always provide.
The Alumni Network: Sustaining the Impact
After three years in the weekend school, students transition into the TADA alumni network, which supports over 1,500 young people aged 14 to 18 and beyond. The alumni network provides continued mentoring, homework support, job opportunities through partner companies, and internships. It also creates the conditions for former students to give back: Natalia, one alumna, returned to TADA as an educational coordinator, noting: “Just as TADA has had and continues to have an impact on me, I will be able to, in turn, have a positive impact on the youngsters.”
Relevance for Sustainable Learning
TADA demonstrates that sustainable learning is inseparable from social justice. When education fails to reach young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, the loss is not only theirs — it is society’s. By addressing the relational and motivational dimensions of learning alongside its content, TADA builds the foundations that make all other forms of education possible. It connects to SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities).
Website: tada.network
Contact: info@toekomstatelierdelavenir.com
