Current Stakeholders of this project and why they care…

UNCONDITIONAL SPACES

ON THE MISSION TO A SUSTAINABLE LOCAL

ENVIRONMENT WITHIN THE UNIVERSITY AND

BEYOND

The Green Office is in itself a student-run sustainability department of the the University with the mission to lobby for sustainable development and serve as the platform for students, staff and community to create a more sustainable lifestyle, around their professional as well as their private lives.

THE GREEN OFFICE MAASTRICHT

VISIBILITY

On the one side Maastricht has an incredible amount of great minds, initiatives and projects happening, be it initiated by the municipality itself, by organisations or by individuals. There are plenty and they are amazing – yet they are lost in fuzz and buzz of a student town like Maastricht in the mist of the 21st century. There is a lack of connection, a lack of communication and a lack of sheer visibility –they are hidden in their own little bubbles - for newcomers to Maastricht as well as for residents. Next to that what has been identified as lacking is a visible, accessible and specific space where people who want to get involved in positive change (students, staff and citizens) can inspire each other, motivate each other, exchange ideas, start projects, connect to local stakeholders and especially gain the necessary resources to (skills, expertise and funding) to make their ideas happen.

WHY WOULD THE GREEN OFFICE WANT A UNCONDITIONAL SPACE?

As a change-agent for sustainable behaviour the Green Office often faces the issue that sustainability, especially within big structures, is put on the siding, that there is not enough time, not enough budget, not enough motivation by the people to really tackle issues on sustainability. Yet – there are also others, people with ideas, inspiration and enthusiasm to make this world a better place. Yet, where do they go to find an audience for their ideas? The Green Office. However, they are only a small team with limited resources and are simplly not able to address all issues and ideas presented to them. An open space, for the Green Office would hence provide an opportunity to empower change and facilitate it rather than being forced to produce it. Here, they could share, inspire and facilitate local change initiative. With the limited resources we have we could function as an incubator rather than having to take ownership of every project ourselves.

MONKEYTREE – YOUR IMPACT TOOLKIT FOR

LOCAL CHANGE

In a nutshell, MonkeyTree is a crowdsourcing platform, providing people with a impact toolkit so they can, create the change they want to see. A local project with global implications. This platform happens both online as well as offline.

In order to do this, we are working on an online platform on

which people can create, fund and participate in specific,

achievable, tangible and relevant projects.

Translating global challenges into local initiatives

Give people the opportunity to

share their ideas on how they

want to make a difference in

their local community,

make those ideas VISIBLE

This is also why we see immense value in the set up of an Unconditional Space

ONLINE

Online we are working on a virtual environment in which people can upload project ideas and take initiative; where initiatives can easily be transferred to another person in case somebody moves away or has not enough time or energy to carry on a project; where concepts can be inspired by people that simply give input, share their thought and connect their knowledge to particular projects - but also where teams can form, divide tasks and work proactively on the execution of a project; where local organisations can connect to project ideas – or vice versa; where the municipality finds a place to involve the citizens in particular projects or asks opinion of general concern; where people can share their local stories, where kindness is encouraged through posting simple and specific challenges, and where templates for events, workshops and discussions can be shared that help local change-maker to organise stimulating activities that fuel critical thinking and proactive behaviour. Its an online platform for local change-maker. MonkeyTree aims to be a global network with local anchors. Giving our international community the chance to create local change.

We are working strongly on the set up of this space and already organised together with the Green Office a Sandbox meeting and interactive discussion on how to do this best here in Maastricht and had great input from all different parties on what Maastricht needs and wants, where our opportunities lie and where the challenges are hidden – And we hope to launch the beta version of this platform in April/May this year.

Offline, we also already kicked-off our vision of creating an empowered change-maker community, by bringing those together who want to make a difference and give them the right tools and inspirations to make the next step. The Re:evolution Festival was all about empowerment and giving people the tools to stand for what they belief in, become part of their community and actively strive for the changes they want to see in this world. However, we understand that in order for bottom-up movements to create a true impact, they need to be supported and empowered by institutions that strive for the same goals (just on a bigger scale). Therefore, we invited NGOs (international, national as well as local) to become part of this and to help the people reach the change they seek in this world. Within 4 intensive workshops NGOs met their contributors face to face, inspired each other and shared knowledge and ideas about the cause at hand, coming up with a very specific, attainable and relevant initiative that meets the needs and wants of the people on the local scale as well as transfers to the cause globally.

Yet we experienced too often that projects and ideas that find the l ight of the day, be it projects that emerged during the Re:evolution festival or ideas that are presented to the Green Office - often enough they loose their spark quickly because of challenges they encounter…

Momentum:

v  Public Fridge / People LOVED the

idea

v  Invited to speak at several

occasions

Challenges:

v  Legal Issues

v  Trust / Community Building

v  ...

SHARE SHOP

Momentum:

v  Workshop / Inspiration

v  InnBetween offered Location

Challenge:

v  Initiator moved away

v  Project died

SUSTAINABILITY APP

Momentum:

v  Initiation

v  Workshop

Challenge:

v  Difficulties scheduling follow up meetings (everybody on

their own agenda)

v  Not everybody on Facebook / Lack of communication

platform

v  Missing IT knowledge / Developer

WE NEED SPACES IN WHICH THOSE PROJECTS CAN LIVE AND GROW –

THAT PROVIDE THE RESOURCES AND THE SPACE

WE NEED TO CREATE A LOCAL CHANGE-MAKER COMMUNITY

It is the lack of a physical spaces that could support their development. This space can not only be provided online but needs to co-relate to an offline space