Working Together Toward a Diploma: 3 Years of Impact and Lessons Learned
Moment of Inspiration – Looking Back: Three Years of “Together for a Diploma”
On May 27, 2026, we gathered at Muntpunt: students, mentors, volunteers, partners, and supporters—all people who have helped build something special over the past three years. “Together for a Diploma” has been around for three years, and we celebrated that with an afternoon full of stories, connections, and looking ahead.
From First Steps to a Real Movement
Three years ago, the first pairs of students and mentors got started. What began as a support model within EVA bxl has now grown into a movement that puts the right of adults to learn at the center. Because studying as an adult takes courage. You have a job, maybe a family, and yet you still want to go for that degree. The barriers are there—for example, language, time, and uncertainty—but they don’t have to be insurmountable. Not if you have someone by your side.
Three Years of Impact
What concrete results has this support yielded? First and foremost: renewed self-confidence. Many students who turn to Samen voor een Diploma doubt themselves—not their talent, but their place in higher education. A mentor who believes in your potential and a peer network that understands what you’re going through—it makes a world of difference. Students who had previously hit a wall found their way back to their studies.
Mentoring proved to be a real game-changer in this regard. Not as tutoring or extra lessons, but as a human connection. A mentor who makes time, listens, and opens doors to information, networking, and self-confidence. That combination of personal guidance and a broader community makes studying achievable for people for whom it otherwise would not be.
At the same time, the barriers were confirmed. Language, time, finances, a lack of information about the education system—these barriers are very real. But that is precisely why the five building blocks of the “Together for a Diploma” support model are so important: mentoring, network strengthening, language support, study spaces, and advocacy. Together, they create an environment where learning doesn’t have to be an individual struggle.
What We’ve Learned
Three years of construction also provides valuable insights.
- Mutual trust is the driving force behind every successful program. It’s not just the student’s trust in their mentor, but also—and vice versa—the initiative’s trust in both of them. Without that foundation, a program won’t get off the ground.
- Inclusive education is a shared responsibility. It’s not something you can leave entirely up to the student. Higher education institutions, student advisors, volunteers, policymakers—everyone has a role to play. “Together for a Diploma” brings these parties together around the table and keeps that sense of responsibility alive.
- Ambassadors Make a Difference. People who speak from personal experience, who show that it is possible to earn a degree. They reach those we haven’t (yet) reached. They are the movement’s most credible voice, and we want to build on that.
Thinking About the Future Together 
After the plenary session, participants broke into four discussion groups to talk about advocacy, the broader movement for the right to learn, students’ experiences, and the role of mentors. Two rounds filled with discussion, shared insights, and new ideas. We’ll incorporate the input from these roundtables as we continue to build out the movement.
And there’s good news: thanks to its recognition under the Flemish Decree on Sociocultural Adult Education, starting in January 2026, “Samen voor een Diploma” will receive structural support to continue growing over the next five years. After three years of pioneering work, made possible by start-up grants from the Flemish Community—Brussels Affairs—and structural support from VGC Welfare, this is an important and well-deserved step.
Thank you
This afternoon was also a way of saying thank you to everyone who has contributed ideas, tested things out, participated, and offered support over the past few years—whether as a student, mentor, volunteer, partner, or supporter. They are the movement. And that movement isn’t stopping. It’s growing.