On August 25, 2011, the first Aardige Amsterdammers campaign will launch. We are looking for volunteers. The kick-off is getting a lot of media attention nationwide, and that might have something to do with the playful nature of the campaign. To find out how Amsterdammers treat their vulnerable fellow citizens, De Regenboog Groep conducted an undercover experiment in the summer of 2011. Four (former) homeless people took to the streets with a hidden camera to record how people in the city reacted to them.
Outcome: of the 144 people they spoke to, only 25 were "nice. For example, ex-homeless Mickey Schouten desperately wanted a hug because he is lonely. Hardly anyone wanted to give him one. Disappointing? Campaign manager Nina ter Beek prefers to turn it around. "So seventeen percent are nice! And that's the group of people we're looking for." The campaign ended up being such a great success that De Regenboog Groep never renounced the slogan. If we are looking for volunteers, we are looking for Aardige Amsterdammers. And fortunately, there are more and more of them.
Looking for Aardige Amsterdammers, August 2011
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