The escape container and mini container – Building awareness together

At RCC, we see containers not only as logistical solutions for storage or transportation, but also as flexibly and multifunctional to deploy. This project beautifully illustrates that: together with our client, Jorn van Rij, we built an escape container that creates awareness around human trafficking. The result is an impressive, mobile experience that has now made thousands of people in the Netherlands and abroad aware of this topic. The success led to a follow-up: the mini container, which brings awareness to schools and young people.

The idea behind the escape container

Jorn van Rij has been working for years on raising awareness about human trafficking. In the Netherlands and abroad, he implements prevention projects to increase awareness among victims, but also to train professionals. The focus is on evidence-based and intelligence-led working: actively collecting signals, analyzing them, and turning them into new studies.

He also holds several social and academic positions. As a member of the commission, he handles human trafficking cases within the damages committee for violent crimes. Through the Reshape foundation, of which he is a co-founder, preventive programs are developed and implemented. And as a special professor of human trafficking at the University of Pecs, he conducts research on sexual exploitation – one of the many forms of human trafficking.

Human trafficking is a complex and often hidden problem, in which victims do not always recognize themselves as victims. To make this visible, the idea arose to develop an escape room. Not in a standard space, but in a container: robust, mobile, and adaptable to be deployed anywhere.

Previously, an escape caravan was tested in Hungary and Moldova. The reactions were positive, but there was a need for something bigger, more sustainable, and more professional. The choice therefore fell on a container. And that is how Jorn ended up at RCC.

The container

The escape container is made up of several rooms.

In the first room you hear the victim’s story and hear about their vulnerabilities. In the next room you hear the next part of the story and discover the methods of criminals, how they have seduced, lured or forced the victim. Finally, you hear the short- and long-term consequences of victimhood.

And the icing on the cake: you can't solve the escape room alone. You always need help, just as victims do. Only then will you get the code and the real conversation with professionals can begin.

Everything is real, and every detail, from the smell to the sound, has been adapted to make the experience feel lifelike.

The collaboration with RCC

With projects like this, everything revolves around customization. From the first conversation, a good connection was established. Jorn brought the substantive knowledge and vision, while we at RCC provided the technical implementation and collaborated on possible solutions. This way, we were able to translate ideas into a concrete design together.

The container had to meet many requirements:

• Multifunctional: suitable for various forms of exploitation (sexual, criminal and labour exploitation), for various target groups and easy to move around.
• Safe: fully isolated, equipped with fireproof doors, fire extinguishing systems, cameras, CO₂ detectors and a dedicated generator.
• Realistic: an experience with scent, sound, temperature and color, so that visitors can truly imagine themselves in the situation of a victim.

 

The results and the scope

Meanwhile, the container has been traveling through the Netherlands and Europe for three years and has reached thousands of visitors. In countries like Poland, the demand is so great that it is deployed several times a year on a structural basis. In a short time, the container can visit dozens of cities, with hundreds of visitors per day – often entire school classes at the same time. Together with campaigns and online attention, this project has now reached hundreds of thousands of people. There has even been a waiting list to be able to deploy the container. And the end is not in sight; the goal is to deploy the container for another 10 years to raise awareness of this important topic.

The mini container: awareness and learning in the classroom

The large escape container is not suitable for all target groups. Therefore, a mini container has now also been developed specifically for young people aged 10 to 14. This compact container can be placed in a classroom and contains interactive games. This way, young people learn about the risks and signs of human trafficking in a playful way. The games show how temptation and deception work in practice, often via chat conversations or online contacts. Students make choices, and even when those choices turn out to be “wrong,” they learn through repetition to recognize what is happening. In this way, they gain insight into the reality of human trafficking in a playful way.

The goal is to roll out this concept further, in the Netherlands and Europe.

The role of RCC

For RCC, this project is more than just a modification assignment. It is a collaboration where we can apply our experience with container solutions to a social purpose. By listening carefully and collaborating, we translate all ideas into a practical and safe implementation.

Our client says it himself: the collaboration works because we strengthen each other. By combining ideas with technical knowledge, something new is created. This project shows how versatile containers are – a container can be anything, including a means to tell an important story.

The possibilities with a container are endless. At RCC, we believe that any idea can take shape. We collaborate, advise, and build. Just as we do in this project.

“No Limits, Just Containers”