AWARD YEAR
2019
CATEGORY
Community
GOALS
Sustainable Cities & Communities
KEYWORDS
climate actions, sustainability, refugees & immigrants
COUNTRY
Netherlands
DESIGNED BY
• Fokke de Jong, citizen of Amersfoort (NL) and working on sustainability and climate change at Wageningen University and Research Centre
• Tarek Kanbar, citizen of Amersfoort (NL), Syrian refugee with permit to stay and studying circular economy on University degree at Delft University
WEBSITE
https://www.facebook.com/solidewerkmaat/
Getting refugees at work in the circular economy
Initiative to support refugees finding work & education in the Circular Economy in the Netherlands.
Together with hundreds of citizens from Amersfoort (the Netherlands) we are working on voluntary basis on actions to insolating houses, saving energy, optimizing heating systems, sharing cars (nowadays electric), applying 1000s of solar panels on roofs of houses and schools, and building our own eco suburb. Inspired by the power of people in this city, a new group initiated SOLIDE WerkMaat to support refugees doing work and education in the Circular Economy. People are doing work on daily basis, getting in touch with Dutch people and their habits, and feeling proud about their contributing to the society, and trying to find a paid job by networking. With empty fields and a big shed, dozens of refugees have already been working in gardens; finding activities and traineeships at companies and one person just started a Master Program on Circular Economy at a university. With the refugees we are going to create the largest circular economy hotspot in the central part of the Netherlands.