PartnersAlterContacts
AlterContacts is an independent international think tank based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It was founded in 2019 with the main goal to contribute to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Through research, publications, events and initiatives that raise awareness about SDGs in large and small organizations and help them design ways to make active contributions to sustainable development.
The main objective is to be the driver of positive change: identify an institutional void or a societal problem that is not addressed, bring attention to it, and incubate possible solutions that could be adopted at the higher level. The think tank functions as an incubator for civil society ideas on sustainable development, and act as a virtual laboratory of ideas that develops practices for sustainable solutions, helping communities to become more resourceful and resilient to shorten the path to a more prosperous world.
AlterContacts key initiatives are aimed at Empowering Entrepreneurship, Eradicating Ignorance, helping organizations to instill the mindset of sustainability, to track and measure their contribution to the UN SDGs.
The organization is composed of 70 independent experts on several disciplines and UN volunteers active in 35 countries Lockdown Economy Challenge - Carried out in the framework of the United Nations registered SDG partnership “AlterContacts Academy for Sustainable Development” #SDGAction38182 in the framework of the UN Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (HESI). The Challenge is a cross-university online competition for tertiary education students to equip them with the skills and network necessary to start a professional life, facilitates successful school-to-work transition, promotes active citizenship and sustainability education. In this challenge, students actively address the current economic crisis and come up with sustainable, innovative and entrepreneurial ideas on how we can help small businesses around the world.
The Challenge is designed and coordinated by the think tank AlterContacts in collaboration with the following European university partners: Epoka University (Albania), Erasmus University Rotterdam (Netherlands), "Dunarea de Jos" University of Galati (Romania), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Spain). So far more than 300 students have participated. Dates: July 2020 - ongoing.
