{"id":123040,"date":"2021-02-16T16:43:30","date_gmt":"2021-02-16T15:43:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=123040"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:25:24","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:25:24","slug":"chickpea-juice-fast-fashion-and-prostitution-during-online-erasmus-sustainability-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2021\/02\/16\/chickpea-juice-fast-fashion-and-prostitution-during-online-erasmus-sustainability-days\/","title":{"rendered":"Chickpea juice, fast fashion and prostitution during online Erasmus Sustainability Days"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the conversation turns to cultivated meat, rooftop gardens and the problems associated with fast fashion, you know what time of year it is. That\u2019s right, the Erasmus Sustainability Days will be upon us soon. However, there\u2019s more to sustainability than just those things. Sustainability is also about creating your own candles, ethical prostitution and striking a proper work-life balance, says Sustainability Days General Manager Julia Kulakowska.<\/p>\n

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Julia Kulakowska, general manager of the Erasmus Sustainability Days 2021.<\/span><\/p>

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The last few months have been \u2018a rollercoaster\u2019 for Julia and her team. Just two weeks ago, the International Business & Business Economics (IBEB) student and her team had no idea what the five-day event was going to be like. Would all activities have to be offered online, or was there a chance that some of them might be done in person?<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018We\u2019ve had to change tack at least four or five times\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

One of the consequences of that ongoing uncertainty was the fact that the team, whose members are now spread all over the world, have never convened in person. \u201cIn September I wanted to schedule a get-together, but I thought: let\u2019s wait for the coronavirus crisis to be really over and done with. But things only got worse. I\u2019m kind of sorry now that I didn\u2019t do it at the time,\u201d admits Julia. \u201cWe\u2019ve had to change tack at least four or five times. So we\u2019d watch the news to see what kind of restrictions might be imposed, and then we\u2019d start brainstorming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now they have made their decision. The entire event will take place online, with a few interactive workshops and lectures. Originally, the organising committee also wanted to organise about a dozen in-person events in the port area, \u2018but curfew put a stop to that\u2019. So Julia and her team will drop off materials and goodie bags at the homes of the online attendees. \u201cThey are mainly for people who live in or around Rotterdam,\u201d Julia explains. Among other things, the goodie bags will include a box of ingredients for a mystery box challenge, in which participants must prepare a nice meal using predetermined ingredients.<\/p>\n

Do-It-Yourself<\/h2>

This year\u2019s theme is DIY, i.e. doing it yourself. \u201cStudents are cooped up in their houses, so we\u2019ve tried to reduce the conference to the level of individuals. What skills can they learn that will help them lead a more sustainable life at home?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018Other subjects that will be discussed include human rights, gender and diversity, and there will also be someone who will demonstrate how to make your own candles in an ecologically sound manner\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

The events are highly varied. The first two days will be dedicated to \u2018the new normal\u2019 \u2013 what impact is the pandemic having on aspects of sustainability? A workshop will be taught on the impact of fast fashion. \u201cPeople have suddenly realised that they don\u2019t need all those clothes,\u201d says Julia. Other subjects that will be discussed include human rights, gender and diversity, and there will also be someone who will demonstrate how to make your own candles in an ecologically sound manner.<\/p>\n

Isn\u2019t that a very broad interpretation of the concept of sustainability, though? \u201cOur plans are based on the United Nations\u2019 sustainable development goals,\u201d says Julia. \u201cThey are not just about the environment, but also about equality, freedom and other fundamental rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is why the Sustainability Days Organising Committee has also invited a speaker who will discuss prostitution in Amsterdam. \u201cIt will be about emancipation, safe working conditions and decent terms of employment,\u201d Julia explains.<\/p>\n

Recycling chickpea juice<\/h2>

Needless to say, a large chunk of the programme will consist of more obviously sustainability-related themes, which are, however, equally creative \u2013 such as Falafval, a start-up that will turn left-over food into falafel, and Seamore, a company that makes pasta out of seaweed. And then there will be the Vegan Student Association Rotterdam, which will teach a workshop on how to reuse aquafaba<\/em>, the juice you will find in a can of chickpeas.<\/p>\n\t

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The Sustainability Days will start on 1 March. Tickets for the online events are available to everyone and will cost \u20ac4.99 each. If you wish to attend the in-person activities, as well, you will be charged \u20ac7.99. Two hundred tickets for in-person events are available. You can find the programme and ticketing here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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