Esther Lisamba

Research shows that young people from the most disadvantaged families in Belgium are nearly five times less likely to go to university. It also shows that only 12% of the youth with no parents who have attained a level of education after secondary education, reach and succeed in higher education themselves. This makes it harder for them to succeed in a competitive job market. Boost was founded by the King Baudouin Foundation and the Sofina Boël Fund for Education and Talent to address this issue. Many partners who are all willing to ensure that potential is met with opportunity, regardless of socio-economic, background have joined us. Boost supports talented and promising young people to maximize their chances of success in secondary education, in higher education and on the job market. We support students who face significant challenges in getting to higher education by providing them with a wide range of support to help them achieve their ambitions. Beyond the individual dimension of the support, the program also aims at a wide outreach of these inspiring paths. The Boosters success stories have the potential to impact entire ecosystems. Concrete activities are implemented throughout the Boost journey to develop and enhance these pathways. "You can't be what you can't see. This quote perfectly embodies the Boost program's philosophy of exemplifying success. The Boost program is unique in its type. While building an educated workforce is one of our core goals, it is far from the only one. Success also means that students can fulfill individual goals and have the competencies to influence the world around them. It means they have developed an awareness of themselves and the wide range of options before them. And finally, they master the competencies to pursue these options, and have the ability to make good future choices for their lives as engaged citizens in the world. This larger focus seems inseparable to us from goals related to school success and career.