May and June have been by far the busiest months of 2023 for Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Netherlands & Belgium. This was due, in part, to a national television piece, broadcast on SBS6 Hart van Nederland. Kees from HDS Netherlands and Belgium and his daughter, Christy, who wears the Sunflower, were interviewed about the integration of the Sunflower programme at Schiphol airport. Following this TV broadcast we received a lot of inquiries from both organisations that wanted to join the programme and individuals that felt they would like to wear the Sunflower.
During May, we took part in a Microsoft event about inclusion. There were a host of very interesting speakers that joined the event sharing a lot of new information regarding accessibility. Many people visited our Sunflower stand and we made a lot of new connections with organisations that are interested in the Hidden Disabilities programme.
The Moen Festival took place on 3 June. Moen is a festival centred around sustainability. There were all kinds of sustainable products on offer, varying from solar modules to organic seeds, from baby diapers to barefoot shoes. Festival goers could also attend lectures and join workshops that were, for example about vegetable gardens, natural cosmetics or green products such as energy. They could also enjoy music and theatre and visit the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower stand! Lots of visitors had seen our social media posts letting them know we would be at Moen so they made sure to come and find us. Nice conversations and new contacts as a result!
We were able to add 20 more Sunflower proof locations across the region on our website's find the Sunflower map during the month. These included: Three new museums in the city of Leiden - Naturalis, Rijksmuseum Boerhaave and the Oude Sterrewacht.