It’s Great Out There supports Dutch social project
02/08/2018
The initiative, known as De Buurtcamping or ‘Neighbourhood Campsite’, was founded in 2013 and now runs programmes in 12 cities across the Netherlands. Its activities centre around the temporary conversion of city parks into small campsites where it hosts activities for local people.
It calls on the help of volunteers and local organisations to bring together people from all walks of life, including those from difficult economic backgrounds, and to organise sports and outdoor activities.
Hedwig van der Geer, project manager at De Buurtcamping, said: “Like many others across Europe, Dutch cities struggle with difficult challenges like segregation, integration, social inequality and poverty. Encounters between different types of people are important for the social climate of our society and we believe that these meetings are an important first step out of poverty.”
In its first year, De Buurtcamping hosted one event in Amsterdam. By 2016, it had evolved into 11 camps across five city with around 1,500 people taking part. The grant from the It’s Great Out There Coalition will enable the organisation to grow in a more sustainable manger. It will also allow it to offer additional financial support for each event and to further its ambitions to extend the project to other countries.
Andrew Denton, secretary general of the It’s Great Out There Coalition, said: “De Buurtcamping is a unique and powerful initiative that is giving people on low incomes in inner cities across the Netherlands the chance to enjoy a low-cost holiday in the green parks on their doorstep. It brilliantly demonstrates how low the entry barrier can be to participation in outdoor activities and is inspiring and empowering citizens from all walks of life to be more active.
Image credit: Vincent van Kleef.
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