Passing down history to the youth

The Airborne March has a Youth Project, an initiative of the organization. The goal of the Youth Project is to make the young people aware of the story behind the walking tour and to inform them of what happened in their surroundings in September 1944. To do so there are three projects active.

Drawing contest and poetry contest

Every year a primary school within the municipality of Renkum is approached, to give the pupils of group 7 a special history lesson by a war veteran or a local resident who witnessed the September 1944 days.

After this impressive lesson the children will have the opportunity to make a drawing or a poem about this, which will be judged by a jury consisting of the speaker, somebody from our organization and a third person with historical or cultural background. The winning drawing is printed in the marching booklet from the Airborne March, with something written about the prize winner. The prize winner(s) may then on the 17th of September in Oosterbeek, together with the mayor, lay a wreath at the Needle opposite the Airborne Museum. All prize winners also receive a nice prize.

Youth contest

On the day of the Airborne March, primary school pupils can register at the stand of the Youth Project and receive a questionnaire. During their walk they come across signs that correspond with the question numbers on their list. By looking around carefully, good thinking (or calling in the help of their parent(s)) they can answer the question. Some questions are ‘knowledge’-questions and other questions can be answered by looking closely at the play that is performed by re-enactment groups that mimic the situation from the September days. When all questions are answered correctly, the prize winners will be awarded with nice prizes on the first Saturday of October.