Bullied over his background after moving from Turkey to the Netherlands as a boy, Sahin Yildirim now runs a tutoring school in The Hague for children at risk of falling behind.
His father, Ahmet, travelled alone from Bursa more than 40 years ago to find work and brought his wife and children over when Sahin was 12.
He spoke no Dutch, and although a test put him on a basic vocational track, a teacher moved him to a mostly Dutch school, where he reached mavo and then havo.
The bullying carried on into his vocational studies, which he says pushed him harder.
After studying Communication and Media in Amsterdam, he became director of Excellent Academy, which offers extra teaching support, talent programmes and summer schools.
He also writes books about labour migration and is behind an outdoor photo exhibition on its 60-year history in the Netherlands.
It opens on the Lange Voorhout on Wednesday 21 October, with an official opening on Friday 30 October at 16:00 by mayor Jan van Zanen, ambassadors and representatives.
Ahmet, a cleaner who later became a crane operator, says he is glad they came, though his heart is split between the two countries.
