Rivelino Rigters wants to develop the talent of people whom society has written off. As a “Blackrockstar” and through the “Criminal Minded Foundation,” he encourages young people to use their talents and pairs them with experience experts and job coaches. Rivelino tells.

Music has always been important in Rivelino Rigters’ professional life. He began transferring his passion for rap music to socially disadvantaged youth starting in 2002. He wanted them to experience that music is a good way to cope with problems. In 2006, he started his company “Blackrockstar. But that wasn’t enough for Rivelino. Meanwhile, he and his colleagues at the Criminal Minded Foundation are transferring targeted knowledge to these young people. In practical terms, this means that the foundation helps ex-prisoners and people in detention to reconnect with society. Through creative workshops, training in rapping, singing and poetry, Criminal Minded offers young people tools to tell their stories and literally make their voices heard. Rivelino and his colleagues themselves lead by example and animate young people to follow suit by having them, for example, assist in workshops with detainees

“Look beyond someone’s last name or skin color. You will find a lot of talent.”

Eventually, young adults will learn to take control of their own lives. To this end, Criminal Minded establishes a development plan for everyone who is supervised by them. In the plan, young people set goals for themselves and outline their dreams. To do so, they connect with mentors – rappers, story tellers and other creative entrepreneurs. Sometimes the opportunity for an internship or work experience placement arises if it clicks. The underlying question always remains: how do you want to achieve your goals? Once this question is answered, the young people receive a certificate and the foundation establishes contact with job coaches, for example from the municipality of Amsterdam or Reclassering Nederland. Rivelino would like to invest more time in mentoring.

Employers, public or private, Rivelino likes to suggest that they be more open to skills that are not on paper. Because there is a lot of talent, even among those without the required degree. If more employers would see the job potential of (ex-)prisoners, something has already been done against the negative image about these people. Of Amsterdam – Diverse & Inclusive, Rivelino expects it to be a connecting factor between businesses, the municipality and experts by experience such as those at the Criminal Minded Foundation.

Interested? If so, please contact Rivelino Rigters.

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