Migrantour Utrecht

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Migrantour Utrecht

Migrantour guided walking tours focus on the migration heritage of Utrecht's Lombok neighbourhood.

Migrantour is a responsible tourism initiative aimed at tackling discrimination against people with migration backgrounds throughout Europe. Its guided walking tours serve as an educational tool for advancing global citizenship values and competences among not only the tour participants but also the “intercultural companions” themselves. Intercultural companions are the guides that co-create and l

ead Migrantour walking tours. Launched in Turin in 2010, the Migrantour initiative (http://www.mygrantour.org/en/) has since grown to encompass a network of 20+ urban and rural locations throughout Europe. To date, network partners have trained 600+people with 1st- and 2nd-generation migration backgrounds as intercultural companions, developed 40+ guided walking tour routes, and reached 30,000+ walking tour participants. With the support of EU Erasmus+ funding, the NGO De Voorkamer and Wageningen University's Cultural Geography group paired up in mid-2021 to launch Migrantour in Utrecht's Lombok neighbourhood. This makes Utrecht the very first city in the Netherlands to join the Migrantour initiative. Migrantour guided walking tours aren’t interested in superficial celebrations of cultural diversity. They consciously avoid exoticising people with migration backgrounds as mere representatives of the cultures and places where they or their ancestors come from. Instead, they emphasise how people with migration backgrounds are – like everyone else – individuals invested in and shaped by the places in which they live, love, work, connect and relax. Migrantour guided walking tours are carefully co-created, researched and led by people with 1st- and 2nd-generation migration backgrounds in alignment with Migrantour’s vision and participatory methodology. These intercultural companions draw on their personal experiences and local knowledge to offer tour participants a fresh and nuanced perspective on the joys and challenges surrounding diversity with respect to issues like identity, memory, belonging and conflict. Tours are designed to spark both empathy and curiosity, and to meet the needs and interests of tour participants – be they school children, long-time residents, newcomers or short-term visitors to the area. In bringing people together that otherwise might have little more than passing contact with one another, Migrantours aim to transform how we think about people with perspectives and experiences seemingly different from our own.

21/05/2025

What does it mean to celebrate cultural diversity?

On World Diversity Day, we reflect on the complexities of intercultural dialogue and the realities of migration. Celebrating diversity means acknowledging the systemic challenges that migrant communities face, the struggles for inclusion, and the power dynamics that shape the way cultures interact. We must engage in honest conversations, confront stereotypes, and work toward dismantling the barriers, both symbolically and materially, that divide us.

Our walks facilitate space for these critical dialogues, encouraging participants to listen, share, and deepen their understanding of the personal and collective dimensions of migration. We don’t just celebrate diversity, we challenge ourselves to understand it, question it, and make it a tool for living together with respect and empathy.

19/05/2025

☀️ June is the perfect time to get outside and discover your city in a new way! Join us for a free walking tour of Lombok on Saturday, 7th June, and explore how this vibrant neighborhood has been shaped by migration, identity, and community.

Ever wondered how concepts like exclusion, integration, and inclusion show up in the streets and spaces in a diverse neighborhood like Lombok? Or how the arrival of gastarbeiders (guest workers) in the 1960s left a lasting mark on its shops, schools, and mosques?

These are just some of the stories we explore together. Guided by our Intercultural Companions with their own migration backgrounds, who share their personal connection to the neighborhood. This tour offers a nuanced, human perspective on local history and everyday life.

✨ Come walk with us, connect with new stories, and see Utrecht through a different lens.

Spots are limited—sign up now and bring a friend! https://forms.gle/77Djdm3PxNAZCUxt7 👣🌍

📅 When: Saturday, 7 June 2025
📍 Where: Lombok, Utrecht
🗣️ Language: English
🎟️ Free of charge, but registration is required

17/05/2025

With our community expanding, we’re feeling especially thankful to all of you who’ve helped us get here! Huge appreciation to our senior ICs for the meaningful work you’ve done to help bring Migrantour Utrecht into the wider public spaces and conversations.✨💜

🦋 Anas recently joined in on a podcast with RTV Utrecht, where he spoke about his engagements with our initiative and reflected on his personal connection to Kanaalstraat and Bilad Al Sham, two key locations that hold deep meaning for the identity and local communities of Lombok.

🦋 In her article for AD Nieuws, Yetunde shares what makes Migrantour special and why our mission matters to her. She also highlights how migration moves not just people, but also cultures, ideas, and ways of living that shape us all. Read futher here: https://www.ad.nl/utrecht/het-verhaal-van-lombok-door-de-ogen-van-migranten-leer-de-multiculturele-wijk-kennen-met-de-migrantour~a980638a/

🦋 At the RAUM Vertrouwde Vreemden (Familiar Strangers) magazine launch centered on connecting people from different walks of life in the urban Utrecht, Negar’s podium dove into her perspective on co-creation and collaboration. As foundational values in both Migrantour and many other social projects within the city, she spoke to their potential for building deeper, more inclusive connections across communities.

15/05/2025

Last year, we collaborated with Gemene Grond and Perron West on *What Makes West!?* — a project exploring ways for Lombok’s redevelopment to reflect the voices of its residents, especially those often overlooked, by weaving creative expression into the neighborhood.

From this collaboration emerged *A Liminal Space*, an exhibition by Sarah Kaushik that now lives quietly around Westplein, but only for a little while longer. The exhibition unfolds stories along walking paths, rooted in mythologies and folklore of the many cultures that resides in Lombok, reflecting the rich and diverse cultural fabric of the neighbourhood.

Among the featured pieces are works by our own Carol and Anas, exploring how personal stories, belief systems, rituals shape our relationships with each other and the more-than-human world around us. Take this final opportunity to wander through the green square and ponder the relationship between cultural mythologies, nature, and place, while the exhibition remains on view!

01/05/2025

We’re excited to announce that Migrantour Utrecht is now part of the Stadslezers Wandelclub!

Stadslezers (roughly translated as City Readers) reimagines the concept of a reading club: instead of turning pages, members explore stories of urban life, one neighborhood, street, or unexpected perspective at a time. Rather than reading about fictional characters, these walks will invite you to step into the shoes of an art sticker maker, refugee, night walker, city pigeon, or even an eel snorkeling through the canals. They offer moments of thick silence in the chaos of the city, the felt boundaries of living with a disability, and glimpses of urban life through the eyes of a migrant, a ten-year-old girl, a young man, a bank couple, a city nomad, or even ‘time' itself. Instead of a book, you will always read a new (chapter) as part of the city during a walk, exploring a new way of reading the city. Learn more about the club here: https://stadslezers.club/

Join before May 10 to receive welcoming gifts and become part of a growing community—people who share the urge to step outside their own perspective to experience urban life through fresh, unique perspectives!

22/04/2025

Earlier this month, we had the privilege of guiding our largest group to date—an encouraging sign of growing interest in inclusive storytelling and community engagement. In May, we look forward to welcoming more curious minds to walk with us through Lombok to reflect on stories of migration and explore how they continue to influence our communities today!

Join us on Saturday, 3 May 2025, for our free monthly tour, ‘Lombok Without Walls’ to discover one of Utrecht’s most historically significant neighborhoods, shaped by migration and cultural diversity. This tour provides an in-depth look at the people, histories, and movements that have contributed to the character and complexity of this part of the city. Sign up here: https://forms.gle/ceZukutzGoqPSXk56

📅 When: Saturday, 3 May 2025
📍 Where: Lombok, Utrecht
🗣️ Language: English
🎟️ Free of charge, but registration is required

22/04/2025

Earlier this month, we participated in the Impact Fair 2025, alongside Positive Impact Tourism, Better Places, and other initiatives dedicated to building more sustainable travel pathways, all under the Travel with Impact pavilion. Our participation at the fair aimed at starting conversations with Migrantour as a tourism initiative that creates and offers tours and workshops that foster dialogue, challenge stereotypes, and help participants engage meaningfully with migration and diversity.

We are actively exploring partnerships with organizations looking to amplify inclusive narratives to co-create events and integrate our tours into training programs, team-building and social impact programs. Special thanks to Esther for bringing us together to exchange our visions in envisioning a more positive, sustainable and humane way of doing travel!

14/04/2025

In the upcoming Thursday 17th April, our intercultural companion, Negar, will speak at the live launch of RAUM magazine RAUM. With her engaging storytelling repertoire, Negar will dive into our collaborative work at Migrantour in connection to the mission of bringing people from diverse backgrounds together. Come to join RAUM and other speakers, community builders and architects in the discussion on creating open, inclusive environments in the urbanized city!

The program will begin at 19.00 at Venster, Berlijnplein with music, drinks and space for chats in the closing of the session. See the full program here: https://www.raumutrecht.nl/agenda/nu-bij-raum/lancering-raum-magazine. Don’t forget to register to let us know if you are coming!

🗓️When: Thursday, 17 April 2025
📍 Where: RAUM, Berlijnplein, Utrecht
🗣️ Language: English and Dutch
🎟️ Free of charge, but registration is required

07/04/2025

Looking back at our milestones, we are incredibly proud and grateful of all that we've accomplished together!

On 6 August 2022, 12 years after the Migrantour project .viaggisolidali was founded in Turin, Italy, Migrantour Utrecht hosted our first walk with 10 curious minds. From that moment on, over 1500 people have walked with us through 165 tours to connect over migration and the historical roots of Lombok, contributing to the 30,000 tour participants of the Migrantour Network over the years. We also walked with students from national universities, civic organization and governmental bodies, next to offering educational and team-building workshops for organizations seeking to make positive social impact.

Most of all, we are grateful of how much our team has grown: From the first group of 15 co-creators to the dedicated community that is Migrantour Utrecht today, soon to be joined by new Intercultural Companions from the third cohort!

We’re excited to see what the future brings! Stay updated on our upcoming events, projects and collaborations by subscribing to our newsletter or social media channels. We’re looking forward to walking with you!

26/03/2025

Join us on Saturday 5th of April to discover the untold stories of Lombok, Utrecht’s historical neighborhood shaped by migration and diversity. Our free walking tour is a chance to learn, engage, and build a deeper sense of community through stories of migration. Let’s walk together toward a more inclusive, compassionate society.

Sign up here: https://forms.gle/3v3vvrocqKtJqQbD8

📅 When: Saturday, 5 April 2025
📍 Where: Lombok, Utrecht
🗣️ Language: English
🎟️ Free of charge, but registration is required

24/03/2025

Last week we had an inspiring exchange with De Emigratie Generatie, an Utrecht-based organization that empowers first-generation migrants to share their life stories as an educational approach to foster cultural inclusivity and preservation of migration history.

Our hearts are full with stories of resilience and hope, told by those who had lived, witnessed and participated in the social, political and environmental transformations within the city. We delved into the stories of what migrants left behind and the new world they found in the Netherlands, exploring how communities of guest workers and migrants have fought to establish their presence in the city. Our dialogue also wove through the changing patterns of migration, the evolution of activist movements, the transformation of mixed schools and dedication of teachers to challenge negative stereotypes. We also touched upon governmental policies that both support and challenge the efforts of migrant communities in building a new life.

The session closed at De Voorkamer where we gathered around a shared table of food and joy, prepared by a dedicated member of our community. This exchange was a powerful reminder of the strength and resilience of these communities, and the importance of continuing to amplify migrant voices in shaping a more inclusive future.

20/03/2025

"Nowruz is not just a new year—it’s a feeling, a rhythm that brings life back after the long, cold months. It’s the smell of freshly washed rugs drying in the sun, the sight of haft sin (هفت سین) tables carefully arranged with hope and intention, the taste of Nowruz sweets (شیرینی‌های عید) that somehow always remind us of childhood. It’s the hum of excitement in the streets of Iran, where everyone is busy cleaning, shopping, preparing—where you can feel the collective celebration and joy (جشن و شور همگانی) in the air.

Living outside of Iran, this is the time of year I miss home the most. I miss the way Nowruz isn’t just celebrated—it’s lived, felt in every small gesture. Here, we do our best to keep the tradition alive. We set the table, we make the calls, we celebrate in memory of those we love, and we pass it on to our son, so he can feel the importance of it and stay bonded to his Iranian heritage. Because Nowruz, like our language, is something we have carried through centuries. We fought to keep it, to make sure it didn’t get lost, and now, it’s our turn to pass it forward."

Thank you, Negar, for sharing the significance of Nowruz to remind us of the deeper meaning behind this celebration! 🕯️💐

Adres

Kanaalstraat
Utrecht
3531CJ

Website

https://www.migrantourutrecht.nl/

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