Stichting Z
2e Oosterparkstraat 72
1091 JG Amsterdam
020 - 623 62 02
zmag@xs4all.nl
2e Oosterparkstraat 72
1091 JG Amsterdam
020 - 623 62 02
zmag@xs4all.nl
Z magazine is the streetpaper of Amsterdam and is issued by the Z Foundation. The aim is to help the homeless help themselves. Z magazine has been published since 1995. The magazine is distributed at and by the Z Foundation to about 180 independent vendors in total. The vendors buy the magazine at € 1.10 and sell it on the streets at € 2.00. Z magazine appears bi-weekly in Amsterdam and environs (three-weekly in the summer). The average circulation is 15.000 copies per edition.
By selling the paper, homeless people can acquire for themselves a modest income and (once more) build a basis of regularity, social contacts and self-esteem. As a consequence, a move to develop further initiatives becomes easier. A large portion of the vendors, therefore, structurally improve his or her life conditions.
The Z organisation consists of a lot of volunteers, a small editorial board of freelance journalists, a few paid staff, as well as trainees: about 50 people in all. The distribution department is opened on a daily basis. Another part of Z is the so-called vendors' board who organises a meeting of vendors each month. The vendors' board consult with the board of directors and employees, on a regular basis.
The Z Foundation has the sale of the magazines to vendors as a financial basis. Z does not receive any subsidy and invests the profit in projects and activities that cater for the needs of the homeless.
A successful initiative is the housing-work-project, where sellers can get a place to live and a paid job at the same time. Another initiative is the so-called BADT, a platform for homeless people themselves, an interest group that serves as a counterpart for the big institutions.
Z has become an integral part of Amsterdam street life. The organisation works hard to improve the quality of the paper, the organisation and the distribution.
In 2002 the Z Foundation received the so-called KVGO Award, an award of the Royal Dutch Association of Graphical Enterprises for a non-profit organisation that makes use of graphical means in a special way.
In 2005, the Z Foundation and Z magazine existed 10 years. This was celebrated on Sunday the 11 th of September on Dam square with a free public lunch and on the 9th of February with a 'Live Magazine' in Theatre De Balie.
