10 organisations from the Caribbean part of the Kingdom are in the running for an Appeltje van Oranje from the Oranje Fonds this year. From Monday 18 May the public can vote for a favourite candidate. Voting runs until 27 May.
The Caribbean candidates belong to a group of fifty social initiatives from across the Kingdom that are eligible for the prize. Every year the Oranje Fonds awards three Appeltjes van Oranje to organisations that work for a society in which people are connected.
Four organisations from Curaçao have been selected this year: Fundashon ManUniko, Excellence Center in Education Foundation (ECE), Fundashon Sentro di Bario Otrobanda and Stichting Hestia Curaçao. Organisations from Aruba, Sint Maarten and Sint Eustatius have been nominated as well.
An online vote lets the public decide which organisation is the first to be nominated for the final round. A jury then chooses nine other nominees during a pitch day in June. In October Queen Máxima announces the three winners at Noordeinde Palace.
According to the Oranje Fonds this year's theme centres on initiatives that play a role in tackling poverty. The fund points out that poverty remains a major social problem in the Caribbean and that social organisations often play an important role in supporting vulnerable groups.
The winners receive a bronze statuette designed by Princess Beatrix and a sum of 25,000 euro that may be spent freely within the aims of the initiative.
Last year Fundashon Pro Bista Kòrsou was one of the Caribbean winners of an Appeltje van Oranje.
