Sustainable Zwolle is a collection of feature articles written by the Friday’s for Future Zwolle
Team about companies, individuals and hotspots that make Zwolle a more sustainable place.
Sustainability has many different facets, and overall branches in three overviewing aspects:
social, structural (politics+economics), and environmental. All three aspects are need to be in a
good condition for planet and people to make a city like Zwolle sustainable, meaning that a safe
and prosperous, long-term future is ensured.

Pt. 1 – Saeed

Saeed is an organization situated in the heart of Zwolle, that helps newcomers, so people who
have received asylum in Zwolle because the situation in their home country is not safe for a
good life. Saeed helps newcomers through giving assistance in establishing their identity in this
new country. People who have lived in a country all their life without any problems can hardly
imagine what it feels like to give up a life somewhere else and then start a new one in another
place, where you don’t know anyone, you don’t speak the language and you don’t know where
to work. Therefore, Saeed acts as a bridge from this position to opportunities for work and to
become integrated in Zwolle through personally advising people who come to Saeed.

Moreover, Saeed is a restaurant which serves amazing authentic and oriental food. I went to
the restaurant once with friends and we had an amazing time. Dima, the lady who is the
kitchen manager at Saeed arrived here in Zwolle from Syria and has acquainted herself with
Evianne, the founder of Saeed and then they started working together last year. She always
wanted to have her own food company. Now she is ready to open her own restaurant. This is
definitely a success story, and this is what Saeed is here for. That people with their skills and
interests can continue to pursue them in order to be fulfilled, even when the whole life
situation has drastically changed.

This is part of social sustainability. Social sustainability means that a city offers possibilities for
people to foster their talents, their hobbies and passions. Therefore, in a socially sustainable
people have freedom of choice, leisure time and a developed infrastructure that supports social
events. As human beings are extremely social animals, a city functions well when there are a lot
of opportunities to meet with people and have fun. In a city where people do not have enough
freedom or there are no offers of things to do, people will get bored and dissatisfied with life
and will turn this boredom into anger or depression. This also happens when working
conditions are so harsh that people cannot afford to have leisure time. A socially sustainable
city knows that people need time to rest and re-charge in order to live in their full potential.
When people are in their full potential it brings most benefit to society. Furthermore, an
undeveloped infrastructure, such as poor buildings or no access to public transport, will
decrease development and will also increase dissatisfaction. No access to public transport is
also environmentally unsustainable, because people will need to drive a car when they want to
get somewhere. Yes, all aspects of sustainability are strongly connected and create a complex
system that requires a greater holistic solution instead of many linear, disconnected solutions.

So, coming back to Saeed, in the following you will read an interview with the founder Evianne,
to find out more how the work of Saeed supports social sustainability in Zwolle. Enjoy!

Did you plan to create something similar to Saeed or did it happen spontaneously?

Both. I’ve always been very interested in entrepreneurship and how this can be used to create a
positive impact. I did some courses during my studies and I also did my graduation research on
this topic, so it is my personal interest and I believe that business can have a great impact. But
Saeed actually happened spontaneously. I had this idea and then we just started without
knowing what we were exactly doing (laughs) and this was also my first experience as an
entrepreneur.

What topic did you write about in your graduation research?

How local entrepreneurs in developing countries can contribute to a sustainable development
in their community. I found it very interesting. I did the field research in Guatemala, I lived
there five months. It was a great experience. I also did desk research on other developing
countries. I wanted to have a more general approach. When doing research, you interview
people, you read books and all that. That’s always good of course, but if you go to a place to do
research you see everything happening in the daily life. I think that gave me more insights than
everything else.

What is it like to be a manager for an organization like Saeed, an organization that works for
social good? How do you feel doing this work?

I love it. We learn so much from being a manager and working with a team. How to actually
deal with people. I can have a lot of ideas of how to work with refugees in the beginning but the
real experience is totally different. When you have that experience, I can really see what works
and what is effective. And from that point I can start creating a better solution.

How was your experience setting up a business in Zwolle? Was it easy?

Zwolle is I think quite open minded. It’s a social city. There are a lot of people who are open to
companies like Saeed. There is also not much going on here, so it’s easy to start something
new. You will always find people who like it, especially activities that have to do with diversity
or something international. Even Arabic food is new in Zwolle. That’s why it was quite easy. On
the other hand, because it is new, people have to get used to it. There are people that don’t like
foreigners. In Zwolle there are not that many foreigners.

How do you deal with closed minded situations or people?

We don’t necessarily have to deal with this. Our goal is to create fun activities, good food and a
nice place where people really want to go to, not just because it is a good initiative but because
people actually like spending time here. The people who come here are always positive and the
people who don’t like it don’t come here, we don’t force them to come. In terms of the labour
market, since we try to find jobs for the people who join us, sometimes companies are very old-
fashioned with their ideas about foreign people. So sometimes they are not really open to
hiring someone from another country. Then it takes a little bit more effort. We try to show the
good side of diversity and of different cultures, through our activities, making personal contact
when for example a person prepares a pitch for the company and also with recommendations
from other employers that we have worked with. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn’t.

Do you want to inspire more local people to be more open to your organization or are you
just focusing on the people who already are interested?

We are trying to reach people who are not familiar with different cultures yet. This is one of our
goals actually. We do not want to make them interested in the organization by itself, but the
cultures behind the organization. We want to create a positive environment. I wouldn’t say that
we could be called activists, but we try to behave like that. We are more passive activists, if
that’s an option (laughs).

How do you make sure that your organization goes into the right direction and achieves
success for the people?

By listening to the people around you. That’s important. Getting feedback from the people we
work with and also our customers and visitors. Anyone who is engaged with Saeed. We have a
lot of ideas, but these people have a lot of ideas too. And in the end they should get the benefit
from our services. The second point is to focus on what you really want. Sticking to the mission and choosing priorities. That goes first, and if time and money is left, we can do other nice
things.

As you already know, sustainability is not only about the environment but also about the
sustainability of a community. In which ways does Saeed support sustainability? And what do
you think is the connection of sustainability and social work?

We try to have a sustainable balance between the factors of economics, social and
environmental, so for example having a healthy growth. Making sure that we can continue as a
business. Environmentally, we try to reduce waste and we try to use products that are eco-
friendly. We partner with other companies who are sustainable, for example our Coffee is from
a local producer. Products that we use a lot should come from sustainable sources. That’s what
we do for an organization. For the community in Zwolle we try to do our part and also inspire
other organizations. Many people have a core business and this is what they are good at, and
when this is done in a sustainable way, so that it is not in any aspects harmful, you can share
this with others. And then working together and spreading the word.

How well is Zwolle doing in being a sustainable city?

I would say medium. There is space for improvement. A lot of organizations in Zwolle try to
collaborate, which is good, but in the end everybody is still doing it’s own thing. The right
mindset is there, also the entrepreneurial environment is positive. But most of the work is done
quite isolated.

Do you think it would be beneficial to have more community and networking events about
sustainability?

I think that would be good. Especially if it’s more informal. Of course there are always business
and government networks that talk about sustainability, but it should also become a

community thing. So not just the people who make policies should be involved in that but the
people who actually live in Zwolle. I hope Saeed can play a role in that.

Should the government do more for sustainability in communities?

The government is important, but I think the initiatives from businesses and citizens are more
relevant and needed and then the government can support this. If it only comes from the
government, it is not going to work. They are an important player but not the only one.

Are the locals in Zwolle aware of the change that is needed for a more sustainable future,
socially and environmentally?

I think many people are aware, especially the younger people but they don’t always know what
they should do, that it is difficult and that it is unclear what solutions there are. For many
people it sounds impossible to change or they think that it is not their responsibility to change
something. I think more help to get solutions practical is needed. Probably many people would
want to do it differently, but they don’t know where to start. When the option is there to say it
is not a personal problem, but the problem of a country or the next generation then many
people will push the responsibility away.

What advice can you give people who would like to make a change for a better world but
don’t know where to start?

It is important to think what you are passionate about and what makes you angry. If there is
one thing that you want to solve, what would that be? If you do something with passion, it will
work because it gives you power. Then you can dive into the problem. It is really important to
talk to people who experience that problem. If you get to know the stories and to dig deeper,
you probably come up with something that you can do. try to really experience the problem.
It’s a hard question though. I want to give a useful advice, so I hope that helps (laughs).

I think you gave a great answer. Everything we do we can either do it in a good way or in a
bad way. If we try to do things in a good way we already go into the right direction, with
positive intentions and not harming anyone.

Yes, I agree. It is good to start small. We often think if we want to do something special it needs
to be big, but if we start something small then it can grow into something very big. And even if
it stays small it can have a great impact on some people’s life. Don’t think that you have to
change the whole world at once. Saeed also started very small. People will come to you and
slowly it will grow.

Even if you can help one person it is still one life. We think we need a lot of numbers, but we
forget how valuable one person is. Because for that person their life is everything they have.
If you can help someone it is already so much.

Yes. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get the results straight away or if it turns out other than
you expected. Adapt your plans if it goes into a new direction, cause maybe that’s the right
direction.

Even making a family member happy is a great contribution.

Yes, especially family and close friends, those are the people that mean so much to you. Making
a positive impact in their life, that is most important in the end.

How can people become involved with Saeed?

You can come for the food, the activities and also if you are an employer looking to hire people.
You can find all the information on our website and on social media. We send a newsletter with
news and activities, so you can sign up for that.

Thank you so much Evianne for the interview and the great insights.

Follow Saeed on social media (@saeedzwolle) and sign up for the newsletter on their website.
saeedzwolle.nl

About the writer: I am Cosima, 20 years old, from Switzerland. Right now, I am studying “Global Project and Change Management” at the Windesheim Honours College, in Zwolle, The Netherlands. I am in the Friday’s for Future Zwolle team because I believe that anyone, no matter how big or small, can make change. Including me. I can only imagine living my life helping a sustainable development because it just feels right to live in a world that is inclusive, safe and healthy. It is our birth right as beings here on this earth to thrive.

Connect with Cosima on LinkedIn: Cosima von Seefried
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