Welcome to European heartbeats
European heartbeats is a storytelling platform dedicated to sharing inspiring narratives of migration in Europe. My focus is on (semi) abandoned villages that have experienced a revival due to new inhabitants. Through my stories, I aim to showcase the resilience and the positive impact of migration on these communities.
Many of these initiatives started over a decade ago. But today, little is known about how they are doing. Are they succeeding? What can we learn from them?
I want to visit example villages in Spain, France, and Italy to:
1. Spend some time to listen to and share the voices of newcomers, long-time villagers, and local leaders.
2. Collect insights from the people who started these projects, identify what works (and what doesn’t) and create a knowledge base that can help shape future policies and solutions.
This is time consuming and costs money. At the moment there are no funds that fit this project. That’s why I started a crowdfunding campaign. Together we can fund it.
What will I deliver?
I will publish blogs, stories, and research on my website free for everyone who wants to understand a different side of migration.
Also, I will publish stories on other platforms and share them on social media for a broader public to read.
Who am I?
Living abroad I am myself a migrant, a migrant with a Dutch passport having lived in Spain for over thirteen years. Interested in living in another place again I have travelled a lot through Europe. And that’s easy for me. For people fleeing from their homes outside of Europe, for example in the Middle East, Africa or Asia it is not.
During my travels in search for a new place to live I have seen a lot of semi abandoned villages in rural Spain. I always thought how nice it would be to give refugees the opportunity to start a new life here because I had heard about the village of Riace in Italy where the major started such a project.
Doing some research I found out that several such projects exist throughout Europe! That’s where my idea comes from. My heart wants to do something, tell a different story. Stories about opening doors instead of building walls. In search of opportunities instead of only seeing problems and obstacles. Out of love and understanding instead of out of fear.
Thank you for having read my plan and my story. With your support I hope to tell you a lot more stories from the field, from Europe, from the heart.
