Striking buildings in bright orange. If you visit Coevorden or one of the outer villages in the near future, you should not be surprised by this phenomenon. This year, Coevorden is participating in the UN campaign ‘Orange The World’ for the first time. With this, the municipality wants to make a statement against violence against women.
From Saturday, the monumental water tower in the Van Heutsz Park will be in an orange glow for sixteen days. Other buildings that are temporarily highlighted in orange during that period are the church in Dalen, the village hall in Geesbrug, the balcony of the town hall in Coevorden, the church in Oosterhesselen, the village hall in Schoonoord and the old town hall in Sleen. There may be another location in Aalden or Zweeloo.
Coevorden has thus joined the international campaign at the last minute, in which several municipalities in the Netherlands have been participating since 2018. In Drenthe, these include the municipalities of De Wolden, Meppel, Hoogeveen, Borger-Odoorn and Emmen. This year the campaign has the theme ‘safe, everywhere and always’.
After the municipal council unanimously decided in October to join from now on, preparations for this were quickly made, says spokesperson Jeroen Grendelman of the municipality of Coevorden. “With this action we are asking for attention in a very visible way to combat violence against women.” This year the municipality will stick to lighting the buildings and displaying a special flag. “We may want to expand the actions with supporting actions next year, when we have more preparation time.”
The color orange symbolizes a new dawn, a better future without violence. Other municipalities have previously joined the international campaign. For example, last year the largest dolmen in the Netherlands, in Borger, was illuminated in an orange glow. In Emmen this year the Grote Kerk and the Atlas Theater are highlighted. Emmen also holds various supporting actions, such as meetings, lectures and an art project.
According to Coevorden, attention to this theme is of great importance. “Unfortunately, violence against girls and women also occurs in this municipality,” says Grendelman. The municipal council confirms this signal, which states that this type of violence occurs in all kinds of places. “On the street, when going out, at work, at the sports club, on the internet, in public transport, in education, in healthcare, at festivals, behind the front door and in all other places where men and women, boys and girls meet.”
According to Grendelman, the campaign for Coevorden does not only have a symbolic value. “At the same time, we can show what we are already doing to combat this violence. For example, we already have an ‘approach to domestic violence and child abuse’ and annual attention is paid to International Women’s Day in March.” Next year, Coevorden also wants to explicitly include the theme ‘violence against women’ in a new vision for the Social Support Act (WMO).
During the campaign, which lasts until December 10, Coevorden is also calling on residents to sign a special petition. “In which the signatory indicates that it is committed to combating violence against women and girls.”