Happy Advent!
The 180 DC Berlin team hopes that your fall season has been peaceful and that you and your loved ones are well. Despite the chaotic world around us, 180 DC Berlin’s winter semester is in full swing, and we are delighted to bring you a short update of what our branch has been doing.
One quick ask before we begin: If you are an alumnus and have not already, could you please complete this survey? This helps us keep our records straight and strengthen the alumni network.
Our 28 new consultants come from 9 different universities around Berlin! Our group includes 19 different nationalities, and collectively, 14 different languages! So far, they have worked hard (all online!) during their training weekend, a team building workshop, and their first design thinking weekend (the understand and observe phase). This semester, we are also very grateful for our 10 volunteer design thinking coaches that are leading the DT process. We are proud and excited about the problem solving skills and commitment this group has brought, especially in this online setting.
Our Marketing team has been working hard to build the program’s reputation outside of our existing network, pursuing the goal of developing a stronger, individual, and modern corporate and branch-related identity. We’ve even heard rumors of 180DC sweatshirts coming later in the semester!
Did you know 180 DC has a podcast? Click the Spotify or Podbean link to check out Channel 180 - The Voice of Social Impact Consulting! In recent episodes, we have discussed fascinating topics, such as “Cybersecurity” and “Holistic Organisational Approaches for start-up and social enterprises” and more!
Our project partners this semester include:
Wir Machen Welle: a nonprofit organization for surf therapy in Germany. Our target group are young people between 11 and 18 years.
Wunder Tree: a small start-up that sells potted Christmas trees and wants to expand their business beyond Berlin. They bring the tree to the door and after Christmas take it back to replant it in a diverse forest.
ALBA: a nonprofit organization that enables synergies of different players in the neighborhood to bundle to give even more children access to sports -- regardless of their origin or educational background.
Circulate: a start up that offers plastic neutrality in the Global North and supports plastic collection and recycling activities in the Global South by offering a Plastic Credit system that can be used to compensate the individual or corporate plastic footprint.
Sichere Zuflucht: A non-profit organization that helps women that have suffered from domestic violence to find shelter through a private home sharing network. They also provide victims with external resources to find comfort and safe help.
As always, we are grateful for the community of social enterprise loving individuals that 180DC affords us. As we work to strengthen our alumni network, please make sure you have joined our Facebook alumni group and liked our LinkedIn page. This is where we will be sharing opportunities and content related to the values of 180 DC in the future. Thank you for your support and engagement. We wish you a safe and restful holiday season, no matter whether you are able to spend it with loved ones in person or by a video call. Sincerely, 180 DC Berlin Executive Team