Lonkt

When embarking on a venture, doing project status updates is as important as carrying out the project itself. That was just what the LONKT Project team has done recently. To keep all stakeholders in the loop and aligned on how the project is progressing, an online meeting was conducted on 9th September, 2020. The LONKT (Lokaal Ondernemend Naar een Krachtige Toekomst - Locally Enterprising Towards a Powerful Future) is a project that aims to connect Apeldoorn's ZZPs (the Dutch acronym for self-employed professionals or freelancers) and SMEs, to widen their entrepreneurial networks and other collaboration. Check out our first report on the LONKT project via the link here: https://www.wittenborg.eu/wittenborg-joins-partnership-boost-local-businesses-apeldoorn-lonkt-project.htm

If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it is how fundamental our local businesses are. One of the effects of the crisis is that we are increasingly becoming a more closed-off society and, as such, it has never been more crucial to take care of our own local resources and businesses. Local businesses are the backbone of many small cities and villages but the shutting down of borders has led to many businesses closing down and people scrambling to find other alternatives to sustain themselves and stay above water. In these trying times, continuing to support local business owners helps the community financially and socially, and this will in turn help the economy in the long run. This is what the Apeldoorn LONKT Project is all about.

Wittenborg University has officially started its own 'speed-dating' programme to ease international students’ shift from their home country. At times, the move from their home country to another for study can be challenging. Hence, Wittenborg is to provide a platform to minimise the first nerve-wracking weeks for freshers, and to help them make friends within the local community, and start integrating into Dutch culture on arrival.