Blog

July 29, 2016

Looking back: Syr Connect(s) “Citizens of Utrecht”

‘By talking to each other, a connection is made.’ The recent influx of refugees has sparked extensive public debate in the Netherlands, the Dutch city of Utrecht being no exception. Due to the nature of this debate, it sometimes forgotten that refugees are far from a new phenonomen in our city. In fact, (ex)refugees have […]

July 15, 2016

Illustrator the things we are portrays Syr

Joost Stokhof works as an illustrator under the name of ‘the things we are’. Shortly after the first plans of Syr, Joost became involved in the project. ‘When I heard about Syr, I thought: what a great idea, getting to know new people in a relaxed way while enjoying new flavors. The concept is simple, […]

June 21, 2016

A look behind the scenes with Hanazi

Muhannad ‘Hanazi’ Nakaway (27) worked as a cook in Syria. One day he bought a waffle iron and figured out how it worked. He opened a waffle place in Damascus, which immediately turned into a big success. ‘Waffles were new in Syria and everybody loved them. Sometimes people were queueing up outside,’ he tells us. […]

June 5, 2016

Minem and Dina about Syr Connect

Syrian food is delicious, but restaurant Syr has more ambitions: creating a connection between people, not just on a culinary but also on a cultural basis. That is why Syr started an art and culture programme, named Syr Connect. Led by Minem Sezgin (25), along with Luna Mara and Anna van Velzen. ‘Art and culture […]

May 26, 2016

Connection between cultures: Iyad

An important goal of the realization of restaurant Syr is the connection between different cultures. You can eat anything from Korean, Ethiopian, Australian or Vietnamees cuisine in Utrecht, but a Syrian restaurant was still missing. Food and eating together is a way of communicating and getting to know each other within each culture. This is […]

January 11, 2016

In de Ruimte

The vibes coming out of ‘In de Ruimte’, right underneath the Oudegracht in Utrecht, are poised midway between the atmosphere of a networking event and a school dance. I know some people by face, a few from their picture on the website and some more from their messages on Slack, a cloud-based team collaboration tool, […]

Looking back: Syr Connect(s) “Citizens of Utrecht”

Illustrator the things we are portrays Syr

A look behind the scenes with Hanazi

Minem and Dina about Syr Connect

Connection between cultures: Iyad

In de Ruimte