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[makesensenl]

Do you want to make a difference in someone else's life? 🧕👏 . Join the Re_action by MakeSense initiative to lend a helping hand to asylum seekers, migrants and refugees in the Netherlands. . These are tough times for everyone, especially for those that find themselves away from their families and the world they know. . Help us make the lives of these people a little better and to let them know that they are not alone. 💟 . Click on the link in our bio to sign up for the program starting on Monday 1st of June (or any other week) (at Capitale des Pays-Bas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CAnh8ueFxQ7/?igshid=yhtkeg6773rn

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You can post the modified message: Do you want to make a difference in someone else's life? 🧕👏 . Join the Re_action by MakeSense initiative to lend a helping hand to asylum seekers, migrants and refugees in the Netherlands. . These are tough times for everyone, especially for those that find themselves away from their families and the world they know. . Help us make the lives of these people a little better and to let them know that they are not alone. 💟 . Click on the link in our bio to sign up for the program starting on Monday 1st of June (or any other week) (at Capitale des Pays-Bas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CAngyRpFNKi/?igshid=ory2l1j9x5iv

[makesensenl]

Every 1st Wednesday of the Month you are invited to our Sustainability Wednesday event !!! Do you want to connect with people who would like to have a positive impact in the world? Here's the place to be ! Do you want to not only complain but also find solutions to the problems you'd like to see solved? Feel empowered with our vibrant community ! Come and hear pitches by Social Entrepreneurs and brainstorm on their ideas, share your own experience and point of view on how businesses can use empathy to change the world to a better place. And this Wednesday (May 6th) we will talk to a member of makesense and a social entrepreneur that will talk about his personal point of view about social business from the standpoint of his experience with Sapient SEE (http://www.sapientsee.com/) and the projects which are part of it, namely: Healthy & Affodable (https://bit.ly/HealthyandAffordable) Food Circle NL (https://www.foodcirclenl.com/) Oview SapientNRG What to expect of our events in general: Sometimes we have a planned workshop, sometimes pitches, games, workshops by Sapient Social & Environmental Enterprises, our sponsors in the Netherlands, and many more event formats. Right now we are limited with these activities but we try our best to incorporate similar ideas which fit an online event. We will also bring guest speakers often, mostly social entrepreneurs to expose to us their ideas and give us some answers to any question you would like to ask. We are always open for anything you want to bring forward, as long as it is inline with making sense & social business. Come and try your workshop, show us something cool you have created, anything you like, just contact us and we'll accommodate. Do you have an upcoming pitch you'll like to practice? Bring it on ! We'll help you improve it ! For this please contact us in advance to make sure there is time in the program. Agenda for the event: 19:00 Walk in (checking mic and camera, connecting, etc.) and get comfortable 19:10 Check-in and a short presentation and updates from makesense 19:20 Coby presents Sapient SEE and the projects 19:45 Questions and discussion 20:45 Closing and check-out :) MeetUp link in bio https://www.instagram.com/p/B_tCRszoKpK/?igshid=z3wa4py3b2q7

[makesensenl]

All paid for once-in-a-life-time opportunity by Ashoka and Robert Bosch Foundation.

Hello lovely people, are any of you working about creating a more empathetic world?

Then this is for you! Apply now to an exciting special edition Changemakerxchange summit on empathy, and social and emotional skills here: https://bit.ly/CXCEMPATHY

The Bosch Foundation is looking for 20 of the most creative young Changemakers (age 18-35), including social entrepreneurs, teachers, story tellers and entrepreneurs from across Europe, whose mission is to cultivate empathy and social emotional skills in children and young people.

DEADLINE: 17 February!

[makesensenl]

The Climate Reality Project - VU Amsterdam

Approaching humanity’s greatest hurdle yet to overcome, we are increasingly urged to ask ourselves the question of “Whose responsibility is it anyway?”. Since the Industrial Revolution, the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has increased steadily, with global temperatures expected to continue to rise unless serious measures are taken. Otherwise, humanity will have to face the severe consequences of climate change - such as heat waves, sea level rise, heavy rainfall and droughts. If no immediate large-scale action is taken, the environmental burden will continue to intensify, further affecting the entire planet and future generations. That’s why we dare to ask - Whose responsibility is it to curb infinite consumption on a planet with finite resources? Whose responsibility is it to take care of refugees driven from their countries by environmental crises and wars over dwindling resources? Whose responsibility is it to make sure that low-lying countries, on the front line of climate change, are protected? Should governments or corporations take the lead? Or does the duty to act fall on the shoulders of NGOs, academia or even ourselves as individuals?

Responsibility is a double-edged sword: If left on their own, individuals tend to stick to life-long habits and patterns, ultimately failing to realize the rapid societal turnaround needed. But if on the other hand, responsibility is solely shifted to governments or corporates, might people not renounce their individual responsibility altogether? After all, it is easy to point fingers and blame others for one’s own inertia - so, what is it that we can actually do? Who can have the biggest impact and how does individual action even enter into that equation? Yet, while asking these questions is easy - answering them is certainly not. Join us on February 15th, the national “Warm Sweater Day” in the search for answers, inspired by Al Gore’s presentation and a panel discussion with experts on the dynamics of climate change and its solutions. 

( The Climate Reality Project conference will take place on February 15 at the VU in Amsterdam in Lecture Hall KC07 (Main Building).

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BUT WAIT, what’s “MAKESENSE” again?

Still confused to who we are exactly and what we do? that’s OK!

Here are some links to get you started:

-A document telling you about makesense, from the worldwide view to our beautiful Amsterdam city! ➡️ http://bit.ly/mks-ams-intro-ppt

- Makesense’s bank of useful documents for you to get going ➡️https://community.makesense.org/resources/

- Makesense community website ➡️ http://community.makesense.org/

- Makesense global website ➡️ http://makesense.org

[makesensenl]

Wasteless Culture Monday - Energy Transition

Our Wasteless Culture Mondays offer a​ welcoming community ​to dine with and of course, plant-based meals made from rescued foods. With us you always pay-as-you-feel! The new twist is that every​ ​Monday dinner features a​ ​co-created performance, workshop, discussion or screening​.​ We offer a platform for filmmakers, organisations, musicians, performers and other creative minds to share their ideas. Come see for yourself and bring your friends along! Special edition: This Monday will be a cooperation with the second year students of the 'Hotelschool the Hague'. Together with the curiosity of cooking with food surplus, the group wants to give something back to our community, to thank all the volunteers who keep TBYW running every single day. We are honored and happy to share our inspirations. 💚🍏 ********** Energy plays a central role in our modern society. Increasing concern related to climate change makes energy solutions and the transition toward an alternative, sustainable and more equitable systems of production and distribution of energy the site of much attention in our recent days. How can we meet the energy demands while being respectful of our environment? Which are the alternative options available? How can we design an equitable energy system which ensures accessibility to all? This Monday at our Wasteless Culture Monday Coby Zephyr Babani will display six short documentaries telling the story of six different entrepreneurs, pioneering with alternative energy projects in different parts of the world. Check out: Sapient Social & Environmental Enterprises Make Sense Amsterdam Hotspot Website: https://makesense.org/ Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/256271477892720/ #WATTIF is a brief tour around the globe to the discovery of energy solutions addressing societal or environmental problems in: Senegal, India, Philippines, Mexico, Netherlands, France. After the screening there will be room for reflection and discussion. Together we can discuss about various solutions  also on personal practices which can hopefully help us to save energy. ********** Note: We strive to serve all our food at the end of the evening to live up with our "wasteless" concept. The most effective way to do so is to provide a first-come-first-served service. Therefore, it is not necessary to reserve a table, however it is best to come between 18:30 and 19:00 to secure your spot and let the rest of the evening run smoothly. Our program will start at 20:00 every week.

[makesensenl]

TECHNOLOGY AND ART FOR THE GREATER GOOD: ID LABS

MEET AHMED ELMAHMOUDY

Photo credit: Indiana University x TED Talk

Cairo, Egypt born and raised, Ahmed has a multidisciplinary background in technology, marketing and design at Tanta, Cairo and Yale University. He has been interested in the arts and technology since childhood. He came to notice that there were no academic studies which combined both of these fields, so he decided to keep fueling his passion for them through informal studies. Since certification was not a top priority, Ahmed claims the world wide web provided him with easy access to free design, animation and even film-making tutorials.

However, he did not stop there. His passion and commitment knew no borders, so he began flying and taking part in many training sessions around the world in order to specialize in techniques that required special tutoring. For instance, for just a three-day training session, he traveled to Berlin to learn projection mapping under the hands of professionals.

ID LABS

After long years of research and studies in the arts and technology, he found them to be associated with one another. He says:

“the human brain combines both –art and technology- to do one task, I think separation between the two fields shouldn’t exist, if technology isn’t mixed with design and art it cannot reach its limits. Human aspects are important for it; when we combine technology –the machines-  with arts –design- we make more human driven innovations”

Ahmed then put all of his creativity and accumulated knowledge into action and founded  ID Labs in early 2011; an enterprise based on the grounding of combining both art & technology to create solutions that can help companies and brands communicate their products in an innovative way using interactive media.

His enterprise soon became a successful company with a portfolio of international clients such as Sony, P&G and others who employed his solutions in marketing campaigns.  For instance, ID Labs ran the marketing campaign for Sony’s launching of Xperia Z1 in the Netherlands. Sony approached with a simple question “we want to launch a new phone, what can we do?” so Ahmed and his team designed the entire campaign from the formation of the campaign strategy and the technology needed to introduce the new product to the market.

EYESENSE

Up until 2015, ID Labs has already collaborated with the biggest of companies and accomplished great achievements, one after the other. However, this success wasn’t satisfying for Ahmed, and he asked himself “is this what i want to do for the rest of my life? is this enough” the answer was no, he thought “I want to do something that can add value, and not just to promote products”.

ID Labs then took a different turn and changed its core value; instead of helping brands promote products, the team at ID Labs decided to create their own solutions to assist people with disabilities as well as enhance human communication among ourselves and with our surroundings.

Around the year 2015 artificial intelligence was a big deal, and Ahmed knew this trendy technology can add a lot to the company. So, along with the other few interns and part-timers of ID Labs he started a research, and after months of vigorous work they figured ways on how to utilize AI’s computer vision and improve the lives of the visually impaired. This is how ID Labs’ first application, EyeSense, came to be.

Just by pointing the EyeSense camera towards any object, it can verbally identify it including other features such as identifying faces and smiles around. In addition, the application is capable of quickly learning new objects as well as function with no internet connection.

“Since we started to adopt the new work philosophy and the new core value, work became more joyful and it doesn’t feel like working anymore. The energy we are getting from interacting  directly with people, specially people who need these solutions, gives us a great boost and purpose for our efforts which is priceless. I can say that working for people was a turning point not only in our work but it also transformed our personal life in a very positive way.”

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AROUND THE GLOBE

Ahmed has been an active social entrepreneur in many countries, but has spent a significant number of years in Egypt and the Netherlands. He has found various differences and similarities of work conditions in the two countries.

On top of his own savings, securing external funding for ID Labs was not as hard as he’d expected it to be in either countries. The Egyptian Ministry of Youth supports young hopefuls like himself who are brimful with great ideas, especially projects for the benefit of all. Whilst working in the Netherlands, however, rather than the Dutch government he found much-needed back-up from the EU Council, which provided him with financial awards that assisted in establishing research and projects for ID Labs.

Adaptation of technology was another interesting aspect, as the two countries reacted quite differently. The Netherlands was more accepting than Egypt as Ahmed perceived. He linked this to how people use technology and how they perceive quality of life; he viewed Europeans to be more open to adapting new innovations and care about improving the quality of life, especially for people with disabilities. For instance, he found organizations in Europe to be much more open for corporations and implementing new advanced technologies, whilst ones in Egypt preferred to stay traditional.

FUTURE PLANS and A MESSAGE TO OUR READERS by Ahmed ElMahmoudy

ID Labs plans to launch two more solutions soon this year. The first one is EyeRemeber; a mobile application that can help people to organize their memory in both a visual and audible way. EyeRemember can serve everyone who would like to keep a track of his/her memory and be able to recall it back easily. This new application is also considered a great assistance method for people with memory and cognitive challenges, such as; Alzheimer, Aphasia, Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD), and after burn out cases.  

The other solution which is considered a breakthrough is the new trend of wearable technology. It would be the first wearable camera accessory that can connect to different applications on a smartphone, such as EyeSense and EyeRemember. ID Labs will also open this camera and it’s unique voice interface to other applications to connect as a general platform.

It is unfortunately still a common belief among people that social entrepreneurship is “unstable” and “does not make enough living”, but miss the point of the work itself.

“Some look at it –social work- from a different aspect ‘’what can we get from this?’’ but for us it’s ‘’what can we give?’’ and we view it as the core value underling all of our activities. So we always ask ourselves ‘’how can we help?’’ and amazingly when we focus on making effort from this angle, we get back much more than we expect.”

ID Labs

Eye-Sense

Ahmed on Twitter

Ahmed on Linkedin

[makesensenl]

STOP AND COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS

When was the last time you stopped and thought of all the privileges you enjoy?

I’m not only talking social or financial status; but ability to speak, hear and see. We were born with them so we might not realize how crucial they are sometimes, but people who were not as lucky as us do know. 

As we will be starting the new year with an extraordinary person who creates devices for the blind, I thought to introduce you to one special hero; Chris Wright.

After watching this video, I sincerely hope each and every one of you will begin appreciating your blessings and try to provide a helping hand to any person in need of assistance at your school, work, community, etc.

Video credit: Roundabout U

[makesensenl]

GIVE-AWAY ALERT!

Hello there sense makers!

I’d like to introduce you to a great project brought to our attention by one of our very own followers, thank you Alexandra!

ZNUGGLE is an initiative which produces ecological soft toys, crocheted with waste virgin wool, colored with plant dyes, and entirely made by rural women in vulnerable areas of Montenegro. Znuggle's  mission is to educate kids on Circular Economy through their story books. 

Click here to find out more about them and here for a chance to win this adorable handcrafted soft toy!

Photo credit: Znuggle.me

[makesensenl]

NATURE 2.0 MEET UP!

Nature 2.0 meetup happening tomorrow evening! 

Join us and figure out with us how to create a future of commons, abundance and owner-less systems!

Happening in the House of WattJames Wattstraat 73, 1097 DL · Amsterdam at 6:30 tomorrow!

Come join us Amsterdam Sensemakers!

[makesensenl]

Sensedrink nº45 - Rethinking Education

Someone once said that if you want to change the world for the better start with the children and their education because they will inherit the future - that is the only way to create meaningful, lasting change. We now live in an age of accelerating change - the way we prepare now the next generations is even more crucial then ever before. We need to prepare them for a future that will bring not only great challenges such as climatic and environmental problems, technological unemployment due to automation and AI but also many opportunities that did not exist even 10 or 20 years ago. So how do we educate our children for a future that even experts say will be more different than what we can now imagine. For example - almost no one imagined a few decades ago how important the internet will become, or the range of possibilities that it will create. In the same way the world will change even faster in the decades to come - having an efficient educational system is now maybe even more urgent than before. In this Sense-drink we will talk about these ideas, and about how the educational system has the potential to create change on our planet.

Please do join us

[makesensenl]

Your startup solves a social cause?

We were enlightened with yet another amazing initiative all thanks to our active followers, thank you Sasha!

IMPACT is a growth hacking accelerator 🚀 which is especially for you! Learn from hand-picked growth specialist to scale 📈 your startup and make the world 🌍 a better place!

FREE of costs | NO equity taken! 🔝

Apply now here before the application closes on 22nd of December:

[makesensenl]

MakeSense Amsterdam crew is in #berlin for #SenseCampBER18 !!! Was a great first day, @dangeroustech presented their ideas for #techimpact And then a #sensedrink at the #socialimpactlab Looking forward for today, the 2nd day, with more @SDGAction inline with the #SDCs of @UN with all the #sensemakers of @makesenseorg #socialbusiness #socialimpact #positiveimpact #sapientsee #makesense #changemakers #sensemakers #sensecamp #sustainability #sensecamp #Act4SDGs (at Berlin, Germany) https://www.instagram.com/p/BpJXrbOCkns/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=9efhwn5o294n

[makesensenl]

SFYN Introduction Day and Food Safari De Pijp

📆 Save the date: Sunday the 4th of Nov SFYN Amsterdam will organize an introduction day with Food Safari through the awesome neighborhood: the Pijp! Are you curious to what we will organize the coming year 2018-2019 with SFYN Amsterdam? And does your heart start racing when you think of Food Safari’s, Eat-ins, Disco Soups and fighting for a more sustainable and fair food system? Join us the 4th of Nov between 13.30-16 with our Food Safari! 

Buy your ticket (5€) here: https://bunq.me/open-request/t/68085306-a23f-4486-a7df-9e86a9b85e1c

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ONLINE TRAINING WORKSHOP

We at Makesense and Energies for Climate are pleased to let you know we are organizing a training workshop to help you solve all and any challenges facing your initiatives!

You can join us online through this link >>https://zoom.us/j/630394375 on November 26, 2018 and ask us any questions you might be curious about and we will share our knowledge with you. 

At the end of this training you'll be able to organize your first creativity workshop to help a social entrepreneur! So make sure to save the date and see you then!

[makesensenl]

PROVIDING MORE THAN JUST SHELTER: TAKECAREBNB

In the year 2011, a series of protests and demonstrations across the Middle East and Northern Africa commenced against unjust political systems, corruption, and human rights abuses among others. Known as the “Arab Spring”, countries from Tunisia to Yemen stood up for their rights, however, faced horrendous aftermath as thousands and millions were killed during protests.

Syria’s uprising took the worst turn as the Assad government began violently suppressing protesters, eventually kick-starting the biggest humanitarian crisis of our time. Half the countries’ pre-war population of an estimated 11 million people were either killed or forcibly misplaced.

P.C Newsweek

Syrians now make the third and the biggest of the world’s refugee population. While Turkey and neighboring countries accommodate the greatest numbers of refugees, the EU is welcoming hundreds every day.

As I witnessed the miserable effects of this tragedy on refugee families and individuals who fled to Europe, I decided to investigate and find out how governments are handling not only the legality of the asylum process, but the integration as well.

I had the pleasure of interviewing the director of an incredible public benefit organization in the Netherlands called “Takecarebnb”, where we discussed the country’s asylum policies, how the organisation is trying to help both Dutch locals and refugees and heard about Berend’s great work.

MEET BEREND JONKER

P.C Rob Godfried

Soest, the Netherlands born and raised, Berend Jonker has always had an interest in people from different cultures. He studied social sciences and chose intercultural management as his thesis topic. Following graduation in the 90′s, he decided to join the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers, an independent body which is under the Ministry of Security.

Considering this period coincided with the ex-Yugoslavia conflicts, reception centers where he worked were completely full.  “I saw many things” he said, “people sleeping together in small rooms, lack of privacy, health problems, violence and so much more.”

He has worked for many more refugee organizations, such as the Foundation for Refugee Students -an organization that supports refugees with their studies- , and the European Council’s “Refugees and Exiles” for which he lobbied at European level for better integration policies and practices.

While working there, Berend learned more about the difficulties of “fitting in” refugees face in completely different cultures than their own.  Thus, he felt obliged to help and support refugees in finding a better living environment with a family in a home and not at a refugee center, in hopes of a better start and a much smoother integration process.

TAKECAREBNB

As the majority of you have probably already guessed, the name “Takecarebnb” is a spin-off of “Airbnb”. In 2015, founder Reinout de Kraker was watching the news in his Airbnb in New York City when he saw protests across the Netherlands against the influx of refugees. He then decided to take matters into his own hands and help eradicate prejudice towards refugees whilst also easing the integration process by matching the two parties together.

P.C Takecarebnb Website

He began recruiting trusted volunteers to search for compatible locals and asylum seekers. They visit reception centers to make themselves known, some go every week. Then, after careful procedures, they match and finally introduce them to the angels who will be hosting them for approximately 3 months. Over the years he noticed many of his envisioned goals are going as planned.  

For instance, the Takecarebnb team was able to help the matched refugees build a network for themselves;  hosting family, neighbors and friends, retrieve the confidence they lost and get rid of the “refugee” label. In addition, they were able to learn about the Dutch language, culture and habits. The guest family on the other hand admitted the worries they had going into this all disappeared after enriching a bit of compassion and trust which rapidly became love and complete acceptance.

MEMORABLE STORIES

One of the most unforgettable matches was of sisters Amal and Sabah with host Monica in Amsterdam about two years ago.

Monica decided to take advantage of this opportunity as she believes it’s a case where both parties are winners; she’d be able to reach someone who needs a helping hand and in return learn about a new culture.

Amal and Sabah were the happiest they have ever been “feeling like humans again”, away from the prison like life of the AZC. They felt great sadness to leave Monica’s side after beautiful 3 months but knew they were about to start a hopeful new life, with a little help from this life changing experience.

DUTCH GOVERNMENT STANCE

Compared to a lot of countries, the Dutch government acquires a respectively large reception system. It provides accommodation and support from the beginning and does not send anyone who might be in serious risk away.

However, some wait for as long as 10 years for a decision to be made. While waiting, they sometimes have children in the Netherlands, but then the parents could be forced to leave when a decision is finally made.

While they wait they’re not allowed to do much; they aren’t allowed to work for the first few months and when they do many restrictions are applied on the number of hours allowed.

Employers are hesitant to employ even qualified refugees because of nationality of language. Dutch qualifications ease the job search. At times it becomes harder even for ones with higher education to receive support and find jobs, thinking they do not need it, and then end up taking much lower jobs.

Berend believes “It’s better to invest a bit of money into re-qualifying them –the refugees- as it would be beneficial for everyone at the end, even the Dutch society.”

FUTURE PLANS

Recently, the organization is facing difficulties finding sufficient house families. At the beginning, which was the peak of the refugee crisis in Europe, people were eager and thriving to make a change. However, currently even news agencies are not providing much coverage for the catastrophe, thus people are thinking the situation is not as much of a crisis as it used it.

P.C Takecarebnb Website

Takecarebnb’s first priority is becoming a small professional NGO. They hope to become a more stable, much bigger organization. Currently they’re supporting less than a 100 people a year, but their objective is supporting at least a few hundred.

A MESSAGE TO THE LOCALS by Berend Jonker

“Of course you have to think about it when you give up your privacy and have someone you don’t know in your house. Many locals’ feedback begins with “it’s easier than we thought”. You can compare it with other exchange programs, but this one is a little bit more special”

Please visit their website and check their Facebook page for updates and reach out at anytime in case you’d like to participate as a host, guest or have any inquiries!