Passwerk and TRplus have the goal of ensuring that as many people as possible with autism find work in the regular economic circuit. Our first priority is not to realise a maximum profit but to make a positive difference in society. This does not change the fact that we need financial gains in order to realise our social goals. In other words, we are active on the convergence market where attention is paid to both the financial and the social dimension of company management.
Our financial focus is clear and it is also highlighted extensively on our website. But our social component may be less well known, and we would therefore like to explain this a bit more.
As you probably know, every year many organisations receive financial support from us through the fund we established as part of the Koning Boudewijnstichting ‘ICT Community for ASD’ (www.ictforasd.be). Passwerk awards an annual Passwerk Award to a thesis that raises awareness about the working, living and housing situation of people with autism or that contributes to destigmatising autism. Every year, a Passwerk Lifetime Achievement Award is also awarded to a person who makes or has made a long-term and important contribution to the autism community.
Less well known is that we organise various activities internally, customised to our employees, and that we, from an open-source mindset, share our knowledge and experience with other companies that also want to make a positive contribution to the employment of people with autism. We have shared this knowledge systematically with a German, a Canadian, a Kenyan and a Russian company, but also with many other companies. As part of our international commitment, we also have a mandate on the board of directors of Neurowrx (www.neurowrx.org).
We also do many presentations, both in Belgium and abroad, about our model and about the qualities of people with autism. We also participate in theme days about (neuro)diversity, support students writing a master's thesis about autism, take on students for observatory internships, advise clients who experience problems in the relationship with an employee with (suspected) autism, etc.
Various Passwerk and TRplus employees also hold mandates or functions outside of our organisation but with the same communal goal of ‘contributing to society in a positive way’.
We are also active in:
HelpInAut (www.helpinaut.be)
De Lift Education (www.delifteducation.com)
Villa Max (www.vzwvillamax.be)
Ergasia (www.ergasia.be)
SERV Commissie Sociale Economie (www.commissiesocialeeconomie.be/socialeeconomie)
The guidance committee ‘persons with a disability’ of the King Baudouin Foundation.
And lastly, we recently became a partner in the Lichtwerk cooperative (www.licht-werk.be).
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