The KlimaatHelpdesk has its one-year anniversary on 30 October 2021. In just one year, the platform had 121 climate questions from the general public answered by experts (and have them peer-reviewed), with the help of 40 volunteers, and an expert network of over 250 climate experts, mostly in the Netherlands. On 8th of October, the KlimaatHelpdesk received recognition for the great efforts and enthusiasm of everyone involved in the project: the platform made it to number 36 on the Trouw Sustainable 100. On 14 October, we also won the Pathways to Sustainability Award 2021.

I have been involved in setting up the platform from its idea-conception in one of the Scientists4Future NL assemblies in 2019. We recieved a great boost after the project was selected as one of the flagships by the Utrecht Young Academy, which has since supported the initiative continuously and generously. Since July 2021, the project is administered by an independent non-profit foundation with the same name, to which I have the honour of sitting in the board of directors.

Here is a nice, in-depth coverage of this initiative by the Utrecht University Green Stories.