Pauline Calmez

About Pauline Calmez

Pauline Calmez is the founder and managing director of the Netwerk Nieuw Rotterdam foundation. At the age of 22 (2017), she started this social enterprise and quickly achieved remarkable results. In 2019, she was a finalist in the Rotterdam Businesswoman of the Year awards (Category: Emerging Talent), in 2020 she won the National Care + Welfare Award, and in 2023/24 she was listed among the top 100 most influential professionals in philanthropy. And all of this before her thirtieth birthday.

Netwerk Nieuw Rotterdam is an innovative foundation dedicated to enhancing the mental resilience of vulnerable youth in Rotterdam. She and her team of now 15 employees support over 1500 young people annually. With these young people, they work on three important topics: making friends, personal development, and contributing to the Rotterdam community. Because, as Pauline states: By approaching young people positively and making them truly feel included, they discover their worth and are helped in finding meaning in their lives. These are crucial elements for overcoming difficulties in life. At the same time, she notices that this hyper-individualistic society plays a significant role in the dramatic increase in anxiety disorders and depression. It is necessary to build communities and focus not on self-reliance but on mutual support.

In a sense, Pauline Calmez is also an expert by experience. She knows what it feels like to be lonely and not belong. As a young girl, she was bullied, and she carried that insecurity with her for a long time. At home, she was not always seen and understood either. When she did her first volunteer work at the age of 12, she discovered how much value can be found in it. Since then, she has dedicated herself in various ways to vulnerable individuals and started studying Social Work at the age of 16. After watching a documentary about youth in disadvantaged neighborhoods in Rotterdam South, she decided, at the age of 18, to move to Rotterdam South herself.

If you want to make a difference for someone else, you might as well do it in a place where help is truly needed.

In the first years, she worked there as a social worker and street worker. She also had a part-time job as a family counselor. After completing her Social Work studies, she pursued another degree in Teaching Social Studies and taught at a vocational college. She was 21 at the time, while her oldest student was already 28.

During these years in South Rotterdam, Pauline gained many experiences that shaped her. Heartbreaking stories, but also stories of hope and courage. Ultimately, all these stories led her to establish the Netwerk Nieuw Rotterdam foundation at the age of 22. The rest is history.

However, Pauline’s story is not just a ‘success’ story of a ‘world changer.’ Over the years, she has also had to process many setbacks and losses and knows what it is like to struggle with anxiety and mental health issues. Therefore, her story is also one of vulnerability and perseverance.

In addition to her work for the Netwerk Nieuw Rotterdam foundation, she is a board member of the National Program Rotterdam South. In her free time, she is involved with a church community in South Rotterdam.

}