Spark

About Spark

SPARK the Movement is a regional education initiative from Fryslân that supports educators, schools, and partners in building circular talent. It focuses on helping young people develop the knowledge and skills needed for the transition to a circular economy and a sustainable society.

The organization works across the education system, from primary school through university, and connects educational institutions with businesses, governments, and social organizations. Its approach is rooted in the idea that sustainability learning should be embedded in everyday education and regional collaboration, not treated as a standalone topic.

Core Values

• Circularity: The organization promotes learning and action that prepare young people for a circular economy and the broader transition away from linear resource use.
• Sustainability: SPARK frames sustainability as ecological, social, and economic change, and uses the Sustainable Development Goals as a shared language for that work.
• Collaboration: A central value is bringing together schools, businesses, governments, and other partners to create regional learning processes and shared projects.
• Structural change: SPARK does not only celebrate individual initiatives; it also aims to embed sustainability in the system so that change becomes lasting and widespread.

Unique Aspects

• Origin in the Frisian business community: SPARK the Movement began in 2018 as an initiative from the Frisian business community and was later adopted by Frisian mbo, hbo, and university institutions.
• UN-recognized RCE Fryslân: In 2021, Fryslân was recognized by the United Nations University as a Regional Centre of Expertise, giving SPARK access to a global network focused on learning for sustainable development.
• Regional implementation role: In 2023, SPARK became the implementing party for the ‘circular & inclusive’ work package under the Friesland Education Agreement.
• Expansion beyond Fryslân: The SPARK approach has also been taken up in Limburg, showing that the model is being applied beyond its original region.
• Longer-term continuation through 2027: After a positive evaluation by Kessels & Smit in 2024, Frisian education leaders decided to continue the program at least until the end of 2027.