One Page Summary

Context
Making progress requires more than idealism and vision. It is also necessary to mobilise people, strengthen change agents and create alliances of like-minded. People only take action when they know and feel something needs to change. When people are directly affected by climate change because there is no food, this need is very clear. However, for many people in the Western world and in cities such as Amsterdam, the urgency is less felt. At the same time producers and consumers in our city have a big ecological footprint and responsibility. We need to change our behaviour and we need to increase awareness in order to broaden the alliance of active citizens in Amsterdam. This is especially needed among groups that are not so much involved yet.

Goals 
Our goals are threefold:

1) Increase awareness on Sustainable Development Goals 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), 12 (Responsible Production and Consumption) and 13 (Climate Action) among specific targetgroups in Amsterdam Nieuw-West

2) Develop local actions that engage citizens of Nieuw-West and contribute to a sustainable neighbourhood

3) Make the connection between citizens of Nieuw-West and national and global policymakers and politicians

Strategy
Our strategy is to create a hub for change in the neighbourhood in cooperation with Casa Sofia. Casa Sofia is one of the vibrant places in Nieuw-West where locals meet for coffee and discussions and where new initiatives are developed by entrepreneurs, civil society organisations and creatives. We connect the international knowledge and network of WECF to the local knowledge and network of Casa Sofia. In that way we create a new dynamic through which awareness on SDG’s is increased among 4 target groups in the neighbourhood.

Targetgroups
High school students, women, migrants and entrepreneurs

Activities 

1) Plastic Free Neighbourhood
Together with local entrepreneurs and shops close to Casa Sofia we launch the initiative “Plastic Free neighbourhood”. We make an inventory of the usage of plastic in the neighbourhood, show that alternatives are possible and convince local entrepreneurs to stop using plastics. We seek cooperation with Amsterdam-based start ups such as Straw by Straw and Plastic Soup Foundation. This initiative serves as the launch of the project with visibility in local media.

2) Green New West Meetups
We organise vibrant meetups at Casa Sofia, tailormade for each target group. The aim of each meeting is to come up with three proposals for local actions that contribute to a sustainable neighbourhood. Inspiring experts will be invited to share information and suggestions for actions on for example climate change, plastic waste or the energy transition. The aim is to make the urgency felt, but also to identify what people need to become more engaged. The output of the meetings will be summarised in a Green New West manifesto that will be offered to local and national politicians.

3) Innovative training and reporting HLPF 2019 New York
Peers from the different target groups will be trained on vlogging and social media. Sessions will be facilitated by professional journalists. We invite a selection of the participants to make innovative reports of the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York, hosted by the United Nations. The vlogs will be used to increase visibility on social media.