2025 was a year of building for Bildung Nijmegen. Building relationships, trust and direction.

Throughout the year, we worked across the city. In schools, in neighbourhoods, in studios and together met partners in Nijmegen. We collaborated with young people, artists, residents and professionals on projects where art and education were not goals in themselves, but ways to connect. Ways to meet, to create, to talk and to reflect on what is happening in the city and in people’s lives.

Our local projects were centred on encounter. We worked at the intersection of cultural education, local stories and social themes. Art offered space for expression and dialogue, especially where words alone were not enough. We did not work with fixed formats, but responded to what emerged in practice. What do young people need? What is happening in a group, a school or a neighbourhood? And how can creativity help give shape to those questions?

In schools, we worked closely with students and educational professionals. Together, we developed creative and educational trajectories that connected directly to daily educational practice. These projects focused on expression, citizenship and personal development, while also offering educators room to reflect on their work and explore new approaches. Bildung acted as a bridge between art and education, between policy and practice, and between systems and lived experience.

Alongside our local work, we continued to strengthen our international activities. Through Erasmus Plus and other European programmes, young people and professionals took part in exchanges, training courses and collaborations with partners abroad. These international experiences remained closely connected to Nijmegen. What was learned elsewhere was brought back and shared locally, not as fixed models, but as inspiration that could be adapted to our own context.

Behind the scenes, we invested in our organisation. We strengthened partnerships, deepened collaborations and made clearer choices about our focus. This work helped create a stronger foundation, allowing projects to connect to one another and contribute to a shared direction.

In 2026, we build further on this foundation. We continue our local projects, strengthen our European trajectories and launch Jeugdverbinden 2.0 Our City, Our Voice. This programme brings young people and the municipality of Nijmegen into ongoing dialogue about the city they live in, focusing on listening, participation and shared responsibility.

2026 is open.

With room for collaboration, experimentation and growth. We move forward with confidence in our partners, in young people and in the role of art and education in shaping the city together.