Sustainable Adventurer | Project 'Plug Me In'
Sustainable adventurer Wiebe Wakker is known for his project 'Plug Me In' in which he travels from the Netherlands to New Zealand in an electric car to share knowledge and inspire.
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Wiebe Wakker is a sustainable adventurer, known for his journey of over three and a half years in an electric car from the Netherlands to New Zealand. With his project ‘Plug Me In’, Wiebe aimed to convey knowledge, inspire people, and accelerate the transition to a more sustainable future.
Wiebe’s dream started as a graduation project at the Utrecht School of the Arts and evolved into a global adventure. He began without money and with only an electric car, a camera, and some clothing, aiming to reach the other side of the world. People could support him by offering a meal, a place to sleep, or charging for the car. Thousands of people signed up, and thus the route of the journey was determined: from Houten to Italy, then back up to the North Cape to turn around and subsequently reach Australia via Eastern Europe, the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia. Ultimately, Wiebe traveled through 34 countries and covered 100,450 km in 1,222 days.
In all the countries Wiebe visited, he explored sustainable initiatives, reporting on them through social media. Wiebe knows better than anyone what is happening in different parts of the world regarding sustainable energy, food waste, and social enterprises.
Of course, many challenges crossed his path. In India, the charger of his electric Blue Bandit exploded, and in Indonesia, he was stranded when his battery filled with water. But everywhere Wiebe drove, he received help from locals and his online community. In Dubai, Wiebe stayed with wealthy sheikhs, in Malaysia, he had lunch with a famous prince, and in Indonesia, he became a true celebrity, even appearing in gossip magazines.
After 1,119 days, 33 countries, and 95,000 km, Wiebe reached his final destination, Sydney, making it the longest journey ever in an electric car. This milestone made global news, with CNN, BBC, NOS, and news bulletins in 40 different countries covering the completion of this extraordinary journey. Wiebe reached one billion people through this.
All this attention led fans from New Zealand to raise money to bring Wiebe and his car there, allowing Wiebe to reach the southernmost point on that side of the world after over 3.5 years of driving.
Now that Wiebe has returned from his journey, he shares his experiences and lessons. He tells companies how they can use ‘earned media’ and social media to reach a massive audience, inspires audiences by enthusiastically recounting how he was able to keep moving forward despite challenges that would drive anyone to despair, and presents a motivating talk on how he traveled the world through collaboration. He does all this using situations he encountered during the journey, often with a humorous touch and always with a meaningful message.
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