Successful project will enter its third year with five winners
Maastricht, 20 August 2007 – Today, the Vodafone Netherlands Foundation announces the winners of the World of Difference Prize 2007. This very successful project offering passionate people to spend a year with their favourite charity, will enter its third year. On 1 November, the five winners will start their projects in the Netherlands and far out locations.
With the World of Difference programme, the Vodafone Netherlands Foundation wants to offer individuals the opportunity to make their personal dreams come true in making a 'world of difference', somewhere in the world. The winners receive a basic income and expenses are met by the Foundation.
Paul Smits, board member of the Vodafone Netherlands Foundation and chairman of the independent jury: “It’s amazing to see how passionate people are to contribute personally to a better world. It's a privilege to be able to award this prize for the third year in a row and make people’s dreams come true."
Vodafone Netherlands was the first company in Europe to start World of Difference in 2005. Before this, Vodafone New Zealand and Australia already successfully deployed the programme. In the meantime, Vodafone Ireland has followed suite and other European Vodafone markets are preparing the launch of their World of Difference programmes.
The winners of the World of Difference Prize 2006 will remain active under the World of Difference title until the end of October. On Vodafone.nl/worldofdifference their progress can be viewed. The new winners 2007 will also become active on online community Hyves. Here they will be sharing their experiences with other Hyves users. See worldofdifference.hyves.net.
As of 1 November 2007 the following five winners will start making 'a world of difference'. Photographs in high resolution are available at Vodafone’s press department.
Daniel Borba Lefevre (28, from Amsterdam)
Daniel will start a television programme, highlighting the activities of ‘the swing’, together with Stichting TVlokaalmondiaal. The swing will connect organisations and people wanting to make a contribution to a better society in the Netherlands. Daniel wants to counteract the trend, offering people who can prove the opposite of society’s polarization a national platform. By offering them media attention, these projects should become icons for the rest of the country.
Furthermore, Daniel will involve young 'upcoming' and talented television makers in the productions. Thus it will become a platform for talented young producers and journalists and a thinktank for passionate tv talent, ensuring that examples of good citizenship will remain on the media’s agenda.
Tanja Brok (37, from Voorburg)
Tanja is involved in the People4Change foundation. People4Change reinforces development projects in a permanent way by deploying professionals as volunteers for short and specific assignments. It focuses on knowledge or experience that is not available locally or which is too expensive to hire. Every assignment has the sharing of knowledge as key message and tries to match supply and demand.
Tanja's aim in this World of Difference year is to expand the support to development projects and to make People4Change more self sufficient. She will enlarge her network of professionals and projects. Tanja will train the volunteers, and prepare them for their assignment in other parts and cultures in the world.
Antoinette van de Water (32, from Vlaardingen)
Antoinette wants to cooperate with Elephant Nature Park in Thailand in order to plant 100,000 trees throughout Thailand in the coming year. In this way, elephants will get more living space and food and will not eat farmers’ crops instead. Deforestation brings the elephant in a tight spot. At this moment there are only 1500 elephants in the wild left in Thailand and 2000 tame ones.
Antoinette will also start tree nurseries to grow trees. Local schools, farmers and organization will plant the trees and nurse them. Furthermore, elephants that are now being used for shows or hard labour will have Antoinette’s special attention so that they may be relocated in the Elephant Nature Park.
Nathalie Rietman (34, from Leiden)
Through her own foundation La Vecina, Nathalie has established a children’s home in the Marlinda district of Cartagena, Columbia. At this moment she can offer shelter to 15 orphans in the age of 2 to 8 years. In the next year, together with the local child protection organization, she aims to expand this number to 30 children, offering day and night care. Apart from shelter, the children also get an education, food and care. She wants to replace the current building which is rented, by a newly built location. Nathalie also wants to encourage local projects in order to strengthen ties between La Vecina and its neighbourhoods.
Heida Raven (29, from Ede)
Heida looks forward to leaving for Cambodja. She will be employed by the Stichting Actieve Hulp Cambodja to investigate and implement opportunities of permanently increasing living standards of people living in Anlong Khong, one of Cambodja’s poorest slum areas. The Stichting Actieve Hulp Cambodja has built a school in this slum. But in order to keep the school going and to make it financially independent, there is great need of employment, training and public education. The inhabitants of Anlong Khong are amongst the poorest in Cambodja and have little prospects of employment due to its remote location and low educational standards. During her World of Difference year Heida will look after the school’s continuity in order to enable a more permanent development of the Anlong Khong community.
About Vodafone Netherlands
Vodafone Libertel B.V. is one of the largest mobile telecommunications companies in the Netherlands and is part of the worldwide Vodafone Group, the world’s leading telecommunications company for mobile telephony with 232 million proportionate customers on five continents. The Vodafone Group has holdings in the share capital of mobile operators in 25 countries and collaborative arrangements with partner networks in 40 countries.
Vodafone Netherlands Foundation
The Vodafone Netherlands Foundation was established in 2002 in order to provide social sponsorship in an independent way. In selecting projects, the Vodafone Netherlands Foundation looks at the innovative use of mobile technology, nature and the environment. It favours smaller organisations where its contribution may mean a significant step forward, and focuses on children and young people. The Foundation's current partners are (amongst others) Stichting Veldwerk Nederland, Stichting De Opkikker, IVN, Service Médical, Stichting Victory for Life, Stichting On Wheels, Culturele biografie (Municipality of Maastricht) and Prinses Christina Concours.