Sports Brand KLABU Celebrates the Spirit of Amsterdam in Spot from HERC

At Haarlemmerdijk 106, Amsterdam you’ll find KLABU's fifth clubhouse: a place where KLABU builds a community of local Amsterdammers and newcomers (refugees, asylum seekers and undocumented migrants) who come together weekly to exercise. As of today, the community has been strengthened with its own shirt, badge and the short film 'Amsterdam Spirit', which focuses on the energy, positivity and strength of the members of the Amsterdam community, despite the challenges many newcomers face in finding their way in Amsterdam. With this short film, produced by HERC (part of ACE) and DPPLR, KLABU invites all Amsterdammers and newcomers to get in touch with each other and make the best of it together.

Jan van Hövell, founder and director of KLABU, says, "With KLABU we mainly focus on refugee camps in “forgotten crises” such as in Bangladesh and Kenya, but during Covid we also noticed what sports and games in Amsterdam can mean for refugees and undocumented migrants. With weekly workouts we wanted to bring them into contact with local Amsterdammers in an accessible way to make something of it together. We are proud that with the introduction of the shirt and the film 'Amsterdam Spirit' we can invite even more Amsterdammers to contribute to this."

Amsterdam spirit

The badge of the new shirt features two birds, which symbolize the meeting between local Amsterdammers and newcomers around the fountain in the Westerpark, where KLABU organises weekly workouts. The film introduces KLABU Amsterdam Spirit from the perspective of these two birds; first separately and then together. The film was shown yesterday for the first time at the Ketelhuis in Amsterdam and will be shown in the coming weeks as a pre-cinema commercial - made possible by the support of Jean Mineur and the Ketelhuis.

Clare Pickens, managing director at HERC, says, “At HERC we believe we must take responsibility for people who have fewer opportunities, access and resources than ourselves. KLABU is a wonderful organization that brings different communities together in Amsterdam. It was therefore an honor to be able to produce this film and to dedicate it to local Amsterdammers and newcomers."