AMSTERDAM, 16th of July 2026 – This graduation season, a familiar sight across Amsterdam revealed an unexpected twist. While hanging a backpack from a flagpole typically symbolizes celebration and academic success in the Netherlands, the backpacks used in the Backpacks for Change street action tell a very different story. The Neighborhood Feminists foundation, in partnership with YONI, is hanging is hanging backpacks across Amsterdam printed with hard facts about a social issue that too often remains invisible: period poverty.
Featuring statements such as “1 in 5 students had to replace pads with toilet paper” and “53,000 Dutch students missed school due to period poverty”, the campaign transforms this symbol of success into an urgent call for solidarity and structural change.
Structural change and solidarity
Period poverty – the inability to access period products and information needed for a healthy menstruation – affects thousands of young people across the Netherlands. Yet, in practice, schools do not consistently provide free products or facilitate incidental donations. Neighborhood Feminists emphasizes that a one-off, symbolic donation of products does not solve the root of the problem; structural change is required.
Tammy Sheldon, founder of Neighborhood Feminists: “Hanging a backpack from a flagpole is a unique tradition in the Netherlands. By printing these backpacks with research insights, we transform a symbol of achievement into a compelling call for solidarity. Access to education is a right, but too many students still face barriers that should not exist. No student’s academic journey should be paused because of their period. We hope this eye-catching street action leaves a lasting impact beyond graduation season and helps us banish period poverty from our schools for good.”
What needs to change?
With the Backpacks for Change campaign, Neighborhood Feminists aims to break the stigma and drive concrete, sustainable action on three levels:
Schools and early education: Menstrual education must start in elementary school. Additionally, schools should consistently provide free period products in restrooms.
Corporate engagement: Companies and employers are called upon to act as long-term sponsors for local schools. By financially sponsoring a school, businesses can guarantee a consistent, reliable supply of free period products for the students who need them most.
Policymakers’ responsibility: Local governments must acknowledge period poverty as an obstacle to equal opportunities in education and actively incorporate it into their poverty reduction and education policies.
A creative concept for social impact
The concept for this street action was conceived by creatives Henrique Louzada, Victor Farias, and Elena Torrez, who saw an opportunity within this typical Dutch tradition to highlight a stark social contrast.
“The backpack on a flagpole is the ultimate symbol of achievement and opportunity”, say Henrique Louzada, Victor Farias, and Elena Torrez. “Yet, for thousands of students, period poverty stands directly in the way of those opportunities. By bringing these two worlds together, we want to bring this social reality to light in a visual, undeniable way.”
