SET IJburg: Community centre in Amsterdam

SET IJburg is a neighbourhood living room on the Erich Salomonstraat on IJburg in Amsterdam-Oost, the meeting place of a housing community of students and newcomers. Go for a language cafe, a knitting or felting workshop, a repair cafe or a shared dinner, where neighbours from more than 20 countries sit at the same table. The complex opened in 2018, when almost 200 young people moved in. About half were Dutch, and the other half had just received their residence permits, coming from countries such as Eritrea, Syria, China and Jamaica. Neighbours and local groups then joined in to organise activities, and the Wereldhuiskamer grew out of that. The work has three parts: the Wereldhuiskamer with its language and cooking evenings, the Community Gardens where people grow vegetables and fruit together, and the Circulair Café for repairs and reusing textiles. Volunteers keep it running, and residents can start their own activities. The programme is on the website. The week has a clear shape. On Monday evenings there are language cafes in Dutch and Spanish, and Wednesday is the day for the Repair Cafe, the textile cafe and the outdoor bike workshop, where you learn to fix your own bike with help. Repairs are free for everyone. On Thursday evening the room becomes a neighbourhood dinner.