The Enactus World Cup brings the most talented and passionate students together who are working on international ground-breaking projects in the field of sustainability. The world championships are an annual top event that celebrates innovation, entrepreneurship, and sustainability. The focus this year was on rewarding the most promising sustainability ideas that have a positive impact on communities all over the world. Anne was responsible for everything having to do with the location of this big international event.

Thirty international student teams competed to come up with the world’s best sustainability idea during the Enactus World Cup in Royal Jaarbeurs

An exciting competition took place in October 2023 in the Beatrix Theatre of Royal Jaarbeurs: the Enactus World Cup. Thirty international student teams pitched their most impactful sustainability idea to inspiring leaders of companies and societal organisations. Anne de Klerk was responsible for everything having to do with the location of this big international event. We asked her how she experienced the event.

Ground-breaking projects
The Enactus World Cup brings the most talented and passionate students together who are working on international ground-breaking projects in the field of sustainability. The world championships are an annual top event that celebrates innovation, entrepreneurship, and sustainability. The focus this year was on rewarding the most promising sustainability ideas that have a positive impact on communities all over the world. Anne: “This event forms the climax of millions of hours of dedicated and innovative work by our student teams and is a celebration of collaboration and cross-cultural exchange around a positive impact on people, planet and prosperity. Therefore, the programming of the event goes further than only the competition and is also aimed at promoting the exchange of knowledge and cross-cultural collaboration. For instance, for this edition, we organised an SDG excursion throughout the Netherlands in collaboration with our partners.”

A responsible role
Anne was the event and production lead and main contact person for this large international event for both Jaarbeurs and Heuvelman Sound & Vision.* “I was responsible for all matters and logistics regarding the location such as preparing the event plan, staffing plan, and catering. In addition, I was responsible for the production: running the show, the content, and the stage management during the event.”
Jaarbeurs has already been a partner of Enactus for its national events for a considerable number of years. Anne is enthusiastic about the collaboration with Jaarbeurs during this international event. “We worked even more closely together this time, and we were very happy with how this worked out. Thanks to our account managers Kelly van der Velden-Otten and Moniek Dirksz-Kuper who really made the difference. They were very helpful in double checking things as well as with proactive suggestions: “Have you already thought of this?” “We could also do it this way?”, etc. With the short lines of communication, we were able to coordinate matters quickly and smoothly, which is crucial when organising such a large-scale event. In addition, all the people working on the Jaarbeurs floor were fantastic, real professionals in the field of hospitality. For instance, the duty managers, catering, security, and the greeters at the escalators. They really made the difference in our experience, but especially also in that of our guests.”

An impressive stage
This was the first time that Enactus made use of the Beatrix Theatre for the World Cup. And this was a great success. “The location is and remains fantastic and is very favourable for us as far as accessibility goes. The theatre is intimate, cosy, and at the same time impressive. Anne: “The theatre provided the perfect atmosphere of fellowship and also offered an impressive stage for the competition.”

A unique life-changing experience
Anne does not have to think long about the question what makes the Enactus World Cup so special. “That is one hundred per cent the energy of everybody present. They represent a wide range of nationalities, backgrounds, and beliefs, but they are all united by one goal: the desire to contribute to a future-proof world. For a large share of the students participating in the World Cup, this is the first time that they are outside of their own country. They are so enthusiastic and grateful to be present at this event. For them, this is a unique, life-changing experience. Consequently, there is an extremely positive, hopeful, and energetic atmosphere at the event. A great example was the dancing and singing crowd that gathered together in the lobby of the Beatrix Theatre before the welcome ceremony. Goosebumps.”

Sustainable city Utrecht
Utrecht, also known as Heart of Health, is the city and region where businesses and knowledge institutes work together closely on a healthier more sustainable future. Utrecht was therefore the best location for the event. Anne: “The students loved Utrecht and were very impressed by the city. I heard a lot of comments about the combination of old and new architecture and the fact that everything within the city centre is within walking distance. We organised a walking tour in collaboration with Utrecht Marketing. The focus in this tour was on how the various sustainability initiatives in the city centre all contribute to the sustainable city Utrecht. In our event app Guidebook, we shared a wide variety of tips for Utrecht, for example, sights, restaurant tips, but also walking routes.”

* Together with its own technicians and partner Heuvelman Sound & Vision, Jaarbeurs arranges for the video, audio, and technology at events in accordance with the customer’ wishes.

Stakeholder interviews