Awero team

Rotterdam makes it happen with badges

10 Dec, 12:55

“I wanted the whole of Rotterdam to be able to learn something. If you're free on a Saturday afternoon, and you think, ‘gosh, I want to learn something;’ You can go to Cities of Learning and see that you can.”
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Roy Russchen is a strategic adviser at Rotterdam Municipality, working in the welfare department, and saw Cities of Learning as a chance to make badges open to everyone no matter their age. 
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“We were looking for a badge platform to use, and found one specifically for educational purposes. However, it was only for students, so when people left school, they couldn’t take their badges with them,” Roy explains. 
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Breaking up learning into more manageable chunks was also a key driver for the municipality, recognising that not all learners find it easy to follow a specific programme of study.
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“Not everyone is capable of following learning from A to Z, and if people quit learning, that’s a loss for everyone; they can’t develop in a way that works for them, and then they’re still dependent on welfare.”
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These needs led Rotterdam to Dutch Cities of Learning which manages Cities of Learning in 14 cities across the Netherlands. And, support from Dutch Cities of Learning’s national coordinator Sandra Zoomers was key in making the initiative possible.
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“She was always prepared to help,” Roy reflects. “And that helped us because it was new for us.”
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“We found some sites within Rotterdam that wanted to work with badges as an experiment, and the connection between those spaces went really well. We had a feeling that the possibilities were endless.”
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During the pilot, Rotterdam focused on on-the-job skills in hospitality, cleaning and gardening, with the main focus on getting people to develop job skills, and ultimately not be welfare-dependent anymore. 
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This connection between spaces, policy makers and Dutch Cities of Learning developed quickly into a strong bond between all the organisations involved, something Sandra believes was fundamental to making Rotterdam City of Learning a reality. 
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“It was about creating relationships,” Sandra explains. “We trusted each other’s expertise and shared the goal of connecting citizens with what they needed the most.”
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Collaborating for learning success﻿
From the outset, Sandra and the team at Dutch Cities of Learning made it a priority to connect local organisations who share similar goals, to ultimately benefit learners in the city.
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“My wish was to create a platform where organisations with the same objectives could collaborate, starting with youth work and expanding to other sectors, reskilling employees,” Sandra says.
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Today, the platform hosts diverse learning opportunities, from professional development workshops to community-led creative activities, with an emphasis on digital inclusion and skill visibility.
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And, that desire for collaboration between organisations is bearing fruit.
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“Now we see organisations [from different sectors] recommending learners to each other based on their training needs,” Sandra says. “We’re creating a network that works seamlessly for the benefit of individuals.”
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Open Badges unlock lifelong learning﻿
At the heart of Rotterdam City of Learning are Open Badges - digital credentials that validate a learner’s skills and achievements. Roy is clear however, badges are more than that; they are tools for storytelling, motivation and empowerment too.
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“We made badges to help people see their own steps - their development - and to make these visible to the labour market.”
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Looking beyond the initial Rotterdam pilot, Roy also wonders how badges could be used in the future with other target groups.
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“We’ve got people who haven’t worked in quite some time, and who have troubles in other areas of their lives, so they don’t even come outside,” Roy explains. “So in the future, if they do, we could give them a badge. It's more of a compliment; ‘be proud of yourself, you did this.’”
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This use of Open Badges for both skills development and motivation, Roy believes, is the key to making lifelong learning an everyday pursuit. 
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“If it's normal to develop skills, you will continue to develop yourself and learn new things,” he says. “And that's what we call lifelong learning.”
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The employer recognition challenge﻿
Despite their promise, integrating badges into the employment ecosystem has not been without its challenges too. “Employers often see badges as ‘extra,’ requiring additional time, energy, and resources,” Roy explains. “But they are also a powerful way to describe skills and look at candidates beyond their diplomas; and seeing the people behind the diplomas is the future.” 
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With this in mind, Rotterdam’s strategy now includes showcasing success stories from early adopters to encourage wider acceptance among employers. And, the challenge isn’t deterring the team from persevering with getting badges recognised.
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“I think we want to go faster than the employers can. But we're not quitting badges, we're continuing with them.”
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A people-centred experiment﻿
Through her experience developing Cities of Learning across the Netherlands, Sandra has learnt that people-centred action, rather than planned perfection, often creates the right conditions for learning ecosystems to grow.
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“The platform and badges are tools, but the real value comes from the people who use and manage them,” she explains.
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“So don’t wait to create the perfect platform. Start small, learn from your community, and grow from there.”
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And this approach is one echoed by Roy. “In Rotterdam, we don’t like to talk. We like to do,” he says with a smile.
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“Find champions within your organisation who will fight for the initiative. Build a base of knowledge and support before scaling up.”
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These ingredients, Sandra believes, are what makes Rotterdam a city at the forefront of Cities of Learning in the Netherlands.
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“Each city’s needs are different, and Rotterdam’s success lies in listening to its citizens and evolving the platform to meet their unique demands.”
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Photo by Rowan Heuvel on Unsplash﻿
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Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
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