10 days of online voting
The online voting round will start on May 31 and you can vote for your favorite neighborhood initiative to help them win an Appeltje van Oranje. You can vote untill June 11 00:00 AM (Central European time) and June 10 18:00 PM (Caribbean Atlantic Standard Time -0400).
The participating initiatives are located in the Netherlands and the Caribbean. As a voter you are free to vote for one of the contenders, even if it is located in another country.
Appeltjes van Oranje 2023: Neighborhood Bridge Builders
The theme for 2023 is: Neighborhood Bridge Builders. Connectedness is crucial to an engaged society, one in which the local residents look out for each other and for their neighborhoods. Social ties function as a safety net for all who may need it and provide an important basis for tackling and preventing problems such as loneliness, poverty, and social divides.
All manner of societal developments, such as poverty, an aging population, unemployment and austerity affect the way people coexist.
Covid has exacerbated these issues but has also shown the importance of having close contacts.
Fortunately, there are many initiatives where local residents are working to bring people together and that know how to bridge differences. But this is easier said than done. It can take a lot of encouragement and perseverance to get local residents to take the first step. By bringing different people together, social ties in the neighborhood are strengthened, mutual understanding is boosted, and people feel more at home in their neighborhood. That is why, in 2023, the Oranje Fonds wants to put neighborhood bridge builders in the spotlight!
About the Appeltjes van Oranje
The Appeltjes van Oranje is a yearly award, the award for initiatives that matter. The aim is to recognize and reward three initiatives within our domain of social services that are working towards an inclusive, engaged society, initiatives that are unique, creative and meaningful, and have been running for at least two years. With their beautiful results, efforts such as these are an inspiration to others.
What exactly does an Appeltje van Oranje represent?
In the first place, it serves as recognition for the winning organizations’ work and efforts. At the same time, it is intended to serve as an inspiration, which is why we call on the three winners to act as “ambassadors” and help other organizations in setting up similar initiatives. Each winning initiative receives a bronze statuette designed and made by Princess Beatrix and a cash sum of € 25,000. The award sum may be spent freely in line with the winning initiative’s objectives. As a rule, the awards are handed out by Queen Máxima at Noordeinde Palace, and every five years by King Willem-Alexander.