The Association Assadaaka in Amsterdam has been engaged for many years with uniting local residents, especially those living in the eastern part of the city. Assadaaka is an Arabic word; it means friendship, unity and solidarity. Everybody is allowed to join, no matter what age, breeding, gender, religion and sexual preference. Useful and pleasant activities are being organised. Assadaaka also pays attention to clashes of interests.

Assadaaka?s activities are intended:
- to make participants feel at home in Amsterdam, aliens as well as natives;
- to help those who together have many, many nationalities, to speak one common language: Dutch;
- to help them to communicate with each other, with public authorities, companies and institutions in Amsterdam and environment;
- to help them acquire the skill to study or to work, to enable them to raise their children here in Amsterdam, and also to enjoy their study and work and their spare time.

The activities, especially the courses in Dutch ?this works since 1991! ? improve the integration of persons of non-Dutch origin. One of the targets of Language Shop Assadaaka is to move the students to Regular Education. When persons are not accepted for Regular Education, for instance by lack of training, also in that case Language Shop Assadaaka gives help.

Parents further will be helped who have problems with the Dutch language, causing their children to be backward at school. Assadaaka organises local residents in Amsterdam Zee burg, who are interested in language problems of parents and children, to meet regularly in order to help them to take steps toward a good solution.

And next Assadaaka has:
- a computer club, where beginners learn how to deal with the computer;
- a sporting club, for playing football and condition training;
- a group for music and theatre;
- a group for non-Arabic people who learn Arabic;
- discussion groups for political, social and personal subjects; after an introduction it is possible to raise questions or discuss subjects like work, living, education, taxes, alterations of the law, recent developments in society.

Everybody is able to become a member of Assadaaka; adults pay 25 Euro a year membership and infants 15 Euro. Members receive learning materials, information on activities, invitations for discussions, meetings and parties.

For information about Assadaaka: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday from 18.00 ? 22.00. Address: Assadaaka, c/o Buurthuis De Meevaart, Balistraat 48A, 1094 JN Amsterdam. Tel.nrs: 020-6653320 or 06-10112691. Internet: http://www.assadaaka.tk of www.assadaaka.web-log.nl