You are invited: Join the final celebration of our 'Changemaker course' for refugees in Utrecht

At NewForesight we strive to make impact in everything we do. Together with our clients, we seek to tackle the tough sustainability challenges in global value chains, turning them into opportunities for all. But, of course, also in the Netherlands we seek to add value wherever we can. Therefore, after the summer, we partnered with New Dutch Connections to provide our internal training program, which we call the NewForesight Academy, to a group of refugees. It has been an exciting internal project where our consultants shared their skills and expertise with 15 talented change makers from all over the world. Now, to celebrate the success of the course, we would like to invite you to the final presentations!

Developing and shaping skills to enhance social entrepreneurship

The ‘Changemakers module’’ that we designed for the ToekomstAcademie is completely built upon the belief that everyone can become a changemaker and social entrepreneur with the right skills, tools and mindset to get out there. If you want to know more about it, here’s an article about this concept in the New York Times.

The changemakers course is an incubator-course for skilled refugees in the Netherlands, with backgrounds ranging from business to journalism, who come together and build their plans for change, no matter how big or small. Each and every attendee works on their own case, either initiating or further shaping their business plans or project outlines. Some examples of the challenges that the participants worked on in the last weeks:

• Scaling a radio show for African diaspora, strengthening its value proposition and business plan. Want to see the more of Radio Africa? Visit the Facebook page.
• Improving their business plan an importing company in Arabic Gum, seeking to improve the business case and sustainability of Sudanese farmers. More about Brilliant for Fair-business & Development, you can read here.
• Using video-editing skills as a force for good: Haya has skills in Graphic design, but seeks to work with video-editors to reach a wider audience.

The Changemaker course: NewForesight Academy done differently

Our NewForesight Consultants would normally provide our internal training program to new team members and now we adjusted our trainings into workshops for this group of talented refugees. Some of the workshops we provided:

1. Define your purpose as a changemaker
   by Joost Gorter (Director) and Narita Panjaitan (Analyst)
2. Define your target audience and set up a value proposition to get others on board
   by Victor Dagnelie (Analyst) and Eva Schouten (Analyst)
3. Develop your business plan and budget
   by Laurens Speelman (Consultant)
4. Break down your SMART goals and track your progress
   by Jennifer Morton (Analyst) and Robin Hooft van Huijsduijnen (Junior Analyst)
5. Communicate for change and develop your unique business pitch
   by Andrea Viviers (Analyst) and Eva Schouten (Analyst)

Next to this training course,  every participant received individual coaching either by NewForesight Consultants or external coaches. On average each attendee met up around three times with their coaches to put the theory of the courses into practice.

Looking back at the results

It was an honour to work together with this entrepreneurial group of people and were inspired by each and every one of them. Even though the responses of the participants have been unanimously positive, the success of the course, in our eyes, is not because of the training course we facilitated but because of the way the group supported each other’s ambitions. To give an example: An aspiring make-up artist from Egypt worked at the (above mentioned) radio show to prepare the hosts of the show and Haya, a young girl who wants to become a film-maker, was able to practice her camera skills during the live show! For more of an impression on the course, you can scroll through some pictures below.

And now: You’re invited!

To celebrate the end of a successful course, NewDutchConnections and NewForesight are organizing a final event on the 12^th of December (18:00 – 21:00) where each attendee will showcase their ambitions as changemakers. We would very much like to invite our network to can come, witness and provide feedback for the business pitches of the changemakers. Who knows, maybe you can collaborate with one of them in the future? Next to this, there will be music and food by one of the course attendees that started Saua, the very first Sudanese catering business in the Netherlands. Excited to join this evening? Send an e-mail to communications@newforesight.com before December 10^th and we will add you to the guest list!