Aziza Filal, Miray Oglakçi and Louise Ait Abdesselam have reached the final of the ECHO Awards. The awards recognize students from non-Western backgrounds who make an impact, contribute to change and demonstrate leadership. The three VU finalists are committed to issues including equal opportunities in education, social justice and connection.
Aziza Filal
Aziza Filal studies Public Administration and Organisational Science at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities and is a finalist for the ECHO Award for university education. Her own path to university took her through several levels of the Dutch education system: from pre-vocational secondary education, theoretical learning track (vmbo-t), to senior general secondary education (havo), and finally pre-university education (vwo). She now draws on that experience in her commitment to students for whom the path through education is not always straightforward.
As former chair of the ASVA student union, she worked to strengthen the position of vocational education (mbo) students in Amsterdam student life. She also brings this commitment to equal opportunities into local politics. As a municipal councillor in Amstelveen, her portfolio includes education, employment and income, and diversity and inclusion. She also obtained her teaching qualification and taught social studies in secondary education. She describes her ambition as being a builder of intersectional equality of opportunity: where someone starts should never determine where they end up.
Miray Oglakçi
Miray Oglakçi is also a finalist for the ECHO Award for university education. The Master’s student in Law at the Faculty of Law is the first person in her family to complete a university degree. As secretary of student association Anatolia, she is committed to creating an inclusive place where students can meet, particularly first-generation and bicultural students.
She organizes activities around racism, culture and social engagement, bringing people from different backgrounds into conversation with one another. For Miray, being visible and making your voice heard is a way to help create a more just future for generations to come.
Louise Ait Abdesselam
Louise Ait Abdesselam, a student of Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, is a finalist for the ECHO Current Affairs Award. Communities are at the heart of her social engagement: places where people feel safe, can connect with one another and have the space to take initiative themselves.
At Comfy Community, she creates space for young people of colour and young people with a migration background to talk about mental health. Through Turning Tables, she brings residents of asylum seeker centres and other local residents together through activities including shared dinners and language cafés.
Rodi Shekho
Medical student Rodi Shekho was also nominated by VU Amsterdam for the ECHO Award for university education. At the age of twelve, Rodi fled Syria for the Netherlands without speaking Dutch. Through language school, pre-vocational secondary education (mavo), senior general secondary education (havo) and pre-university education (vwo), he worked towards his goal: studying Medicine. After two years of Pharmacy, he switched to Medicine at VU Amsterdam.
Rodi shares his experiences on social media to help young people with similar backgrounds find their own path. In addition, he aims to draw on his language skills and personal experiences to help make healthcare more accessible.
Siema Ramdas, Programme Manager Value Based Education and member of the VU jury:
“Aziza, Miray and Louise show what can happen when you turn your own experiences into action. Aziza is committed to equal opportunities in education and policy, from strengthening the position of vocational education students to her work in local politics. Miray creates space for first-generation and bicultural students to meet, be visible and engage in conversations about topics such as racism and culture. And Louise builds communities around mental health and brings residents of asylum seeker centres together with other residents. Their forms of engagement are very different, but they all start from the same question: how can I set change in motion? It is wonderful to see all three of them reach the final. Rodi, too, has made a real impact through his story and his commitment. Four different students, four individual stories. We at VU Amsterdam are very proud of them!”