Aaltje van Zweden-van Buuren (1963) is the founder of the Papageno Foundation, a board member of the Papageno Fund and the Papageno Music Foundation, which have been supporting children and young people with autism since 1997.
In 2015, she opened the first Papageno House, where young adults with autism live and work. Her involvement stems from her personal situation: together with her husband, conductor Jaap van Zweden, she has four children, the third of whom has autism.
Aaltje van Zweden was born in Haiti, grew up in the Netherlands and attended the Academy of Visual Arts in Amsterdam. She later completed a master's degree in Art Education at the Hogeschool voor Kunsten van Amsterdam, where she specialized in art education for young people with autism.
She is also a board member of the Autism Treatment Center in Texas, of the Societal Alliance, a member of the board of trustees of the Reisopera and a member of the recommendation committee of Music as Medicine. She regularly gives presentations and lectures at home and abroad on autism, art education and the importance of music therapy.
Because of her efforts for the Papageno Foundation, Aaltje van Zweden was appointed Knight in the Order of Orange Nassau in 2012 and received the prestigious Hélène de Montigny Prize in 2016. In 2017, her first book Om wie je bent was published by AmboAnthos publishers, the book The power of music she wrote together with Mathieu Pater was published by Lannoo Campus in 2021 and her third book Waar ben je home was published in 2022 (AmboAnthos).
The Papageno Foundation is a versatile organization that has been focusing on the development of children and young people with autism for 25 years with all kinds of initiatives and activities:
Music therapy: we have a national network of more than 20 certified music therapists who provide therapy to children at home and in the Papageno Huis.
Papageno Huis Laren and Papageno Huis Fryslan ( 2023): in these houses we offer concrete temporary shelter and support to young people with autism. Together with Zorggroep 's Heeren Loo, we give them a place to work, participate in activities, live and develop further.
Early diagnosis: the younger a suspicion of autism is identified, the more adequate help can be offered to small children and their families. The Papageno Foundation has therefore invested in the expertise network www.autismejongekind.nl, together with Character and the University of Nijmegen.
Papageno Connect: connects young people with the world outside their own home around various areas of interest
Phone: 035-2031664