HEMA Foundation

HEMA is for everyone, and is at the heart of society. At HEMA, we see it as our role to make a positive impact on the world around us. That is why the HEMA Foundation was founded in 2018. The HEMA Foundation works to promote an inclusive society, in which everyone can play an active role in daily life.

We believe that inclusivity contributes to a more diverse and creative society. It is only by empowering everyone and by making use of all our talents that we can develop innovative solutions together, and make daily life better for everyone.

The HEMA Foundation works to promote an inclusive society, in which everyone can play an active role in daily life. Every three years, the HEMA Foundation boosts a theme that contributes to this. Between now and 2022, the topic is language skills – because being able to read and write well can have a significant positive impact on your daily life. The HEMA Foundation also promotes inclusive design. This involves developing products, services and systems that remove barriers experienced by people, so that they can play an active role in daily life.

We take an in-depth look at the social needs that exist in the community, and try to meet these needs. To do so, we work with a range of partners such as NGOs, experts, academies, corporate foundations, companies, students and the general public. We also investigate which activities have already been set up by other organisations. In this way, we ensure that our activities really make a difference.

The HEMA Foundation will operate globally. We are starting the HEMA Foundation with activities in the Netherlands. We will then expand our activities into the rest of Europe, and eventually outside Europe.

We believe that we can only achieve the maximum possible impact by working together with other organisations and companies who share the same goals. For the implementation of our activities – depending on the activity and the chosen topic – we work together with a variety of external organisations.

HEMA Foundation is made possible by contributions from HEMA in the form of financial resources and the use of knowledge, experience and time on the part of HEMA employees. HEMA Foundation is a foundation and does not form part of the legal entity HEMA B.V.

The HEMA Foundation is a stichting (foundation under Dutch law), and its goal is explicitly not to make a profit. The HEMA Foundation is funded by:

• an annual donation from HEMA BV
• gifts and donations from HEMA employees and third parties
• the proceeds of sample sales of HEMA BV
• fund-raising activities such as auctions
• other income

The HEMA Foundation works to promote an inclusive society. Every three to four years, the HEMA Foundation boosts a theme aimed at promoting this, and which aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. Between now and 2022, the topic is language skills – because being able to read and write well can have a significant positive impact on your daily life. For example, it improves your chances in the labour market, and has a positive effect on your health, independence and social life.

People who cannot read or write well experience difficulty with things like organising their personal finances, holding down a job, filling in forms or reading aloud to their (grand)children. They are also more likely to experience health problems.

Low literacy is often passed on from generation to generation. The HEMA Foundation wants to break this vicious circle by developing an effective family-based approach, in partnership with literacy organisations and other parties. While there are already many language initiatives, there is plenty of space for innovation and for more connections between all these initiatives. That is why we offer an open source platform for collective experimentation, developing innovative concepts and forging connections.

Low literacy is also quite a taboo subject. To combat this, we are setting up awareness campaigns and are organising language activities for young and old, such as reading aloud afternoons, language outings and language lunches. The HEMA Foundation also supports existing high-impact language projects that promote reading and writing.

It is not possible to submit a request for a subsidy or a proposal. HEMA Foundation organises activities and projects together with a range of external organisations.

HEMA Foundation organises a range of language activities across the Netherlands and in the future in other countries. All planned activities can be found here on our website.

HEMA has indeed been working with organisations such as KWF Kankerbestrijding, COC, de Raad van Kinderen and LINDA.Foundation for several years. These collaborations do not automatically form part of HEMA Foundation unless they tie in with the theme selected. With HEMA Foundation, HEMA aims to increase the focus on community activities in order to make the greatest possible impact in terms of inclusiveness. For this reason, HEMA Foundation works with a new theme that promotes inclusiveness every two to three years.

Every three to four years, the HEMA Foundation boosts a theme – related to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations – that contributes to inclusivity. Between now and 2022, the topic is language skills. We will carefully consider the next topic that would benefit from our support, and which aligns closely with our mission.

We believe that design has an enormous potential to provide solutions to social problems, and to promote a more inclusive society. That is why we promote inclusive design. This means products, services or systems that remove barriers to active participation in daily life.

The HEMA Foundation wants to bring together designers, academies, community-based organisations, governments and companies to help them seek out solutions to challenges faced by society. To this end, we offer an open platform for experimentation, innovation and forging connections. We organise symposia and expert and inspiration sessions, and make a co-working space available. The HEMA Foundation also organises an annual inclusive design contest, in which we invite emerging design talent to help think about products and ideas that promote inclusivity.

The HEMA Foundation organises an inclusive design contest each year. We encourage emerging design talent to develop products, services and systems that reduce or remove barriers to participation in daily life. The contest includes a specific category for ideas for tackling functional illiteracy, and supporting those with poor reading and writing skills in their daily lives.

We set up the contest together with community-based organisations, experts, those with experience of these issues, educational institutions and other companies. We offer the best designers a platform and coach and support them as they develop their ideas further.

Unfortunately, it is not yet possible to send in a proposal. We are currently working on organising the inclusive design contest. Once we know more, we will provide more information through the HEMA and HEMA Foundation website and social media.

The contest is open source, and we believe it is important that the winning ideas are available to everyone. That is why, following the coaching programme, the winner him/herself can decide how to take his/her idea further. This may be alone, or with HEMA or another company. We also encourage talented designers to submit not just products, but also services and systems that promote inclusivity.