Advisory Board Eigenwijsheid consists entirely of experts with lived experience, who have experienced for themselves what it is like to get stuck in education.
We know what it's like to be forced to sit at home and know the powerlessness and the feeling that you are not welcome anywhere and that (almost) no one listens to you. Our mission is to make sure that no one has to go through this anymore.
We are fully convinced that everyone wants and can learn. Nevertheless, circumstances sometimes make this impossible. For example, learning in a class sometimes fails (temporarily), or specific support is needed to fully participate.
Many young people sitting at home are thought to be the problem, but that is never the case. It is not unwillingness, it is powerlessness. School is not always a safe place and it is not always enough to listen to students.
Sometimes as a student you feel completely sidelined by the government. The school, the municipality and all other institutions have a lot of power in relation to the student. The legal position of students is not good. And if something goes wrong at school there is no independent place to report it.
We see this as a big problem, especially as long as schools can report on students and parents with the greatest ease. As a result, sometimes completely unjustified use is made of coercive measures with terrible consequences. The test culture and performance pressure also cause both students and teaching staff to experience more stress. We see it as our mission to address all these problems and tackle them at their roots.
In early 2021, Princess Laurentien and the LAKS the long-term absenteeism issue is extremely urgent. That is why they came up with a plan: a structural advisory board to represent students that struggle with school attendance. In February 2021, they placed an appeal on social media. They were looking for young people who wanted to talk about their experiences in education. This started with a few casual conversations. However, we soon realized that action was needed. Both in the short and long term.
This is where the idea for Adviesraad ÉigenWijsheid was born. We Met Digitally weekly and made plans for the future.
On June 2, 2021, the time had finally come, our big launch in Nieuwspoort! We presented our 11-point plan to the Netherlands and put ourselves on the map. Since then, we are unstoppable. Our advisory board is involved in more and more beautiful projects. As a result, we often achieve successes that we are extremely proud of. These successes will really mean something for young people in the Netherlands.
We have been an independent foundation for a long time. Our goal is to ultimately make a huge impact. So much so, that a national advisory council becomes superfluous and we can abolish ourselves. But to be honest: for the time being, we are still badly needed and we continue to work on our mission.
Advisory Board Egenwijsheid has been active since February 2021 and launched on June 2, 2021, but was only established by the Notary as an independent organization and legal entity on October 10, 2024. Download a copy of the statutes (articles of association).
