It is a talent show whose aim is to produce services for the quarter of Afrikaanderwijk through a collaborative process.
Afrikaanderwijk is situated in the South bank of Rotterdam and it is considered one of the most problematic areas of the city. Just to give an example: 28% of its inhabitants have an income which is under the poverty line.
The Power of Two emerged from a month-long residency program offered by the Freehouse and in collaboration with its recently generated new hub Het Wijkwaardenhuis, which is a platform for new encounters and collaborations in the neighborhood and for giving visibility to local products and assets.
One of the issues which prompted the idea of The Power of Two is the current obsession of the Dutch government to strengthen talents in The Netherlands and especially in problematic areas. Despite the considerable amount of money the government is investing for talent programs, those problematic areas aren’t really empowered but rather paternalistically re-educated.
We wanted to reverse the concept of talent and success spread by government programs and by the media in general, by using the very common format of the talent show. Instead of focusing on the individual talent and on the ultimate chance in life to gain success – as proposed in the televised talent shows -, we wanted to activate a collaborative process of creation of services useful for he neighborhood of Afrikaanderwijk. Those services originated from the inventive collaboration of local inhabitants, organised in different groups of two or more participants, and the union of their diverse qualities.
The Power of Two is based on the fact that each of us has an inclination, a capacity or a skill which can be turned into a useful talent for the community, by means of a creative process of collaboration.