SPARK Foundation
| Abbreviation | SPARK |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1994 |
| Type | Stichting |
| Legal status | active |
| Purpose | Assistance to young people, women and refugees through socio-economic and educational programs |
| Headquarters | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
Area served | Middle East, North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, Europe |
Founders | Yannick du Pont, Michel Richter[1][2] |
| Website | spark |
SPARK Foundation, established in 1994, is an international non-profit Stichting organization located in the Netherlands that provides financial support and socio-economic and educational programs to young people, in particular women and refugees,[3] in the underdeveloped regions of Middle East, North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa and Europe.[4][2][5][6] The foundation is based out of Amsterdam with local offices in several regions.[7] During its activity, the foundation changed its name several times.[1][8]
Overview[edit]
Foundation and history[edit]
SPARK Foundation's history began in 1994, during the Bosnian War, when a group of Dutch students from Amsterdam formed the Youth Solidarity with former Yugoslavia (now SPARK). The group provided a screening for “A Sarajevo Diary" documentary about atrocities done in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and organized protests and marches in the capital to raise awareness of the human crisis.[1][9] The project further developed into organization that provided financial help to former Yugoslavia's refugees.[1]
In 1996, while still at its formation years, SPARK launched a summer university in Tuzla, Bosnia, where professors and academics from Europe and the US taught various courses to local students from both sides of the conflict. The project later expanded to Pristina and Mitrovica and was active until 2008.[1] During that period the organization developed business incubators in the Balkans and also changed its name to Academic Training Association.[1]
In 2006, SPARK opened its MENA (Middle East and North Africa)[4][6] branch by establishing business development centers in Palestine territories in collaboration with local organizations, such as Business Women Forum, for Palestinian students. With the time, the project went on with development of similar centers for businesses in other MENA countries.[7]
From 2012 and until present day, the foundation expanded its activity in Yemen, South Sudan (support of agricultural sectors), Syria (Higher Education Services Program)[2][10][7] and other countries, where it provided assistance in scholarships and other programs.[5][11]
In 2015, SPARK opened its offices in Turkey to assist Syrian refugees and local students.[12][8][13] As of late 2019, SPARK has issues 10,547 scholarships, trained 101,689 young people and created 26,460 jobs.[2] During Covid-19 pandemic, SPARK provided assistance to the universities and students in Turkey for remote learning.[3][14][15]
Purposes, locations and donors[edit]
Organization assist young people to study, work or open businesses in regions affected by wars, climate crisis or forced migration. The charity has operated in many regions and countries, including Western Europe, Burundi, Iraq, Jordan, Kosovo, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Palestinian territories, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey.[1][5]
Among the foundation's main donors are European Union,[16][17] Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NLMFA),[18] Islamic Development Bank[19][20] and Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD).[12][21][22]
Activities[edit]
Foundation's main activities are the following:
- Coaching of small and medium sized enterprises;
- Vocational education scholarship
- Internships and skills training
- Business Support Centers for startups and existing businesses
- Farmer's support
- Business courses for young entrepreneurs
External links[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "The history of SPARK Foundation". Official website.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Nott, Will (2019-12-03). "IGNITE 2019 sheds light on digital learning opportunities for refugees". The Pie News.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Güncellenme, Son (2020-12-28). "Pandemic support to universities - The importance of distance education is increasing (Original text in Turkish". Milliyet.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Tiessink, Manon (2015-03-19). "A Case study: The White Sorghum value chain development project". Knowledge Platform - Security and Rule of Law.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Jackson, Tom (2015-04-09). "Dutch NGO Spark launches Somali business incubator". Disrupt Africa.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Cedria, Borj (2019-06-12). "Organisation de la première édition du TALENTS JOB DAYENSTA". TN24.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Warden, Rebecca (2016-05-27). "What chance for Syrians to study?". University World News.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "SPARK yetkilileri, MEÜ'deki yatırımları inceledi". Gazete Konya. 2021-04-12.
- ↑ "A Sarajevo Diary - From bad to worse". YouTube Channel.
- ↑ Hamamou, Sabah (2017-03-07). "Syrian Academics Get Secure Jobs in Turkey". Al Fanar Media.
- ↑ Houston, Sarah (2016-07-03). "Barred from the Classroom for Too Long: Why the U.S. Should Do More for Syrians Pursuing Higher Education". International Policy Digest.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Istanbul hosts refugee economic inclusion event". Daily Sabah. 2019-09-14.
- ↑ Redden, Elizabeth (2015-09-25). "The Refugee Crisis and Higher Ed". Inside Higher Ed.
- ↑ "Technical and equipment support for distance education from Netherlands-based NGO to 5 universities". Haberler.
- ↑ "SPARK yetkilileri, MEÜdeki yatırımları inceledi". Medya Gazete. 2021-04-12.
- ↑ "European Union and SPARK to Support Innovation and Entrepreneurship in MENA". Dutch News. 2022-03-17.
- ↑ "European Union and SPARK to support innovation and entrepreneurship in MENA". Africa Business Communities.
- ↑ "Final Evaluation – SPARK". Felix Yemen.
- ↑ "The Islamic Development Bank, the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development, and SPARK are investing $14,750,000 in support for Syrian refugees". Zawya.
- ↑ "PROSPECTS: A Conference on "Economic Inclusion and Livelihood Development of Young Refugees in the MENA Region"". Islamic Development Bank.
- ↑ "Qatar Fund for Development signs a memorandum of understanding with the Dutch "SPARK" organization". Relief Web.
- ↑ "Sheikha Moza, Queen Maxima celebrate 10,000 scholarship milestone". The Peninsula.
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