Sustainability Fund

Let me dance every day, all night long, wherever I want and I’ll be happy. Yes! Our international dance scene is a wonderful place to enjoy life and express ourselves through dance. Well, we want to make it even better. Our easy way of travelling and consuming has a price and it will make us even happier if we take a moment to realise how fortunate we are, and if we balance out what we ‘take from the earth’. 

 

We make Upside Down a more sustainable event

We’ll organise bike rental for you, rethink the catering, work with refugees, give some less fortunate locals free entrance to the festival, organise a second hand shop at the festival, encourage you to think about your way of travelling to this festival, work on a positive and welcoming atmosphere during the event and start a sustainability fund.

SUSTAINABILITY FUND

 

Upside Down invests in a sustainability fund with which we want to compensate part of our ecological impact as well as give opportunities to dancers who can’t afford to come to Upside Down.

 

Where does the money come from?

  • The organisation of Upside Down donates €500 as starting budget for the fund.
  • All of us! Every participant of Upside Down contributes €5 during registration.
  • If you would like to support this project even more, you can choose to increase your contribution during registration.

 

Where does the money go to?

 

1. Compensate the environmental impact of Upside Down.

 

    • Wildlife works: A Kenyan organization protecting wildlife, creating work and preserving forest. 
    • BOS+: a Belgian non-profit organization dedicated to forest conservation, sustainable forest management, reforestation, afforestation and forest restoration, both in Flanders, Belgium, and worldwide.
    • My climate: A Swiss non-profit organization, which focuses especially on the education and consultation of businesses about climate protection.
    • Klimaatzaak / Climate Case: A Belgian organization, that fights trough lawsuits for the climate.

 

2. Offer financial support for dancers who need it to join Upside Down 

 

This fund is available for local and international dancers in a vulnerable socio-economic status, or who are in other difficult situations that go with financial restrictions. It goes without saying that this is not intended for dancers who have already visited so many festivals and cannot afford to take Upside Down anymore.

“Yes, this is for me!” Please send us an email to info@upsidedownghent.be, with a brief description of your situation and why you want to apply for financial support. Please also let us know what you are able to contribute (both financially and as a contribution to the festival). We will do our best to help, until the resources of the fund run out.

 

 

  • Distribution & processing

 

A minimum of 50% of the fund will be assigned to environmental compensation and investment. We will communicate the final results after the event.