In every interview with our organisers, the notion of laagdrempeligheid played a central role. Being laagdrempelig was often mentioned as the core idea of the activities they wanted to organise. While trying to explain the meaning of this word to the non-Dutch speaking team members, we soon realised this notion is not easily translated. The direct translation, low threshold, missed some nuance, and also open access was not really what we were searching for. As we are a dedicated team we did not give up easily, but one after another, different suggestions (even by a native English speaker) were as insufficiently precise. We came to the conclusion that only by using the original Dutch word, we could capture the spirit of what the organisers actually meant. What this notion of laagdrempeligheid does mean for our organisers, is explored in the following paragraphs.
The Concept of Laagdrempeligheid
The official Dutch dictionary Van Dale (Den Boon & Geeraerts, 2005) associates laagdrempelig (the adjective form of the noun laagdrempeligheid) specifically with social services. It is explained as a word to describe something that is easily accessible. This explanation however fails to fully embody the different layers of the word. In our own research, we will instead use the concept as it tended to be understood by our organisers: the aim to be as accessible and open as possible to a diverse and possibly vulnerable public and to actively search for ways to take away burdens that would exclude people from taking part in their activities.
To achieve this laagdrempeligheid the organisations use similar methods. We identify a socioeconomic sphere in all three organisations (Burn, Quindo and our supporting actor OKAN-MijnLeuven). They offer non-paying activities that try to reach out to economically poorer communities. On the other hand, a cultural dimension is very much present as well. The organisations try not to impose anything on their participants so that they can enjoy or even create a programme on their own terms and conditions. Being laagdrempelig is key to the vision of the organisations, as they want to offer chances that other organisations do not offer. In this way laagdrempeligheid implies a certain kind of activism. Still this does not mean that being laagdrempelig necessarily implies a focus on vulnerable or traditionally difficult to reach groups but rather implies a strong emphasis on openness and inclusivity. The organisers aim to offer leisure activities that are genuinely accessible to anyone who is interested, irrespective of identity or background.
Laagdrempeligheid in Flanders
Offering laagdrempelige leisure activities is a common aim across Flanders. From the 1990s onwards it became increasingly popular for clubs to open their doors to a wider public and several initiatives were taken up to encourage inclusion of youth from challenging backgrounds. Research conducted by Philippaerts (2011) used more than 30 in depth interviews with Flemish coaches and youth to identify the measures taken in order to make a leisure organisation laagdrempelig. The findings suggested that youth tend to pay a lot of attention to the approachability of their coach. In line with this, a coach needs to be trustworthy and open to talk with about a range of subjects that are not necessarily always related to the activity. According to the trainers, it is very important that young people experience a sense of belonging when being at a club, especially those who come from more challenging backgrounds. This idea was also very much present with our organisers- they wanted to obtain a trusting relationship with the participants so that people would feel welcomed and ‘at home’.
According to Philippaerts (2011) an important aspect of this sense of belonging is the first impression they (youth) have when arriving at the club for the first time. The coaches make clear that to be truly laagdrempelig young people need to be actively introduced and taken care of during the first few meetings. This is something that was also emphasised by a member of our supporting actor Bruno, from Okan-MijnLeuven. When one of his Okan-pupils goes to test a new club, a lot of the success will depend on the first impression. If the coach or his future teammates pay attention to him or her, and actively guide the newcomer, the chance of sustained participation will increase dramatically.
Understanding the concept of laagdrempeligheid starts with the notion of putting the participant at the centre of the offered activities. Making sure that people who possibly want to take part, can actually take part is the aim. To do so, the organisers do not only pay attention to socioeconomic and cultural spheres, but also to the relationship between themselves and their participants. In our research, we explore the role laagdrempeligheid plays in the work the organisers do. We investigate how this concept is translated into work on the ground and why the organisers are choosing certain methods to implement this concept. We identify the strengths and the pitfalls and formulate a possible way to work towards opening up the activities to even more people. In this way, we contribute to academic research on, easily accessible, inclusive or in one word laagdrempelige leisure activities and their place in Belgian society.