The escape container and mini container – Building awareness together

At RCC, we view containers not only as logistical solutions for storage or transport, but also as flexible and multifunctional. This project perfectly illustrates this: together with our client, Jorn van Rij, we built an escape container that raises awareness about human trafficking. The result is an impressive, mobile experience that has already raised awareness about this issue with thousands of people, both domestically and internationally. Its success led to a follow-up: the mini container, which raises awareness in schools and young people.

The idea behind the escape container

Jorn van Rij has been working for years to raise awareness about human trafficking. In the Netherlands and abroad, he initiates preventive projects to raise awareness among victims and to train professionals. Evidence-based and intelligence-led work is central to this: actively collecting, analyzing, and translating signals into new research.

He also holds several social and academic positions. As a committee member, he handles human trafficking cases within the Violent Crimes Compensation Committee. Preventive programs are developed and implemented through the Reshape Foundation, of which he is a co-director. And as a 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, where victims don't 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, portable, and flexible.

An escape caravan had previously been tested in Hungary and Moldova. The reactions were positive, but there was a need for something larger, more sustainable, and more professional. Therefore, a container was chosen. And that's how Jorn ended up at RCC.

The container

The escape container consists of several rooms.

In the first room, you'll hear the victim's story and learn about their vulnerabilities. In the next room, you'll hear the next part of the story and discover the criminals' modus operandi, how they seduced, recruited, or coerced the victim. Finally, you'll hear about the short- and long-term consequences of victimization.

And the catch: you can't solve the escape room alone. You always need help, just like victims do. Only then will you receive the code and the real conversation with professionals begins.

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

The collaboration with RCC

With these kinds of projects, customization is everything. From the first meeting, we clicked. Jorn brought the technical expertise and vision, while we at RCC handled the technical implementation and brainstormed potential solutions. This allowed us to work together to translate our ideas into a concrete design.

The container had to meet many requirements:

• Multifunctional: suitable for different forms of exploitation (sexual, criminal and labor exploitation), for various target groups and easy to move.
• Safe: fully insulated, equipped with fire doors, fire extinguishing systems, cameras, CO₂ detectors, and its own generator.
• Realistic: an experience with scent, sound, temperature and color, so that visitors really imagine themselves in the situation of a victim.

 

The results and the reach

The container has been traveling throughout the Netherlands and Europe for three years now, reaching thousands of visitors. In countries like Poland, demand is so high that it's regularly deployed several times a year. In a short time, the container can visit dozens of cities, with hundreds of visitors per day – often entire school classes at a time. Combined with campaigns and online attention, this project now reaches hundreds of thousands of people. There's even a waiting list for the container. And the end is not yet in sight; the goal is to use the container for another 10 years to raise awareness of this important issue.

The mini container: awareness and learning in the classroom

The large escape container isn't suitable for all target groups. Therefore, a mini container has now 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 through play. The games demonstrate how seduction and deception work in practice, often through chat conversations or online interactions. Students make choices, and even if those choices turn out to be "wrong," they learn to recognize what happens through repetition. This way, they gain insight into the reality of human trafficking through play.

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

The role of RCC

For RCC, this project is more than just a modification project. It's a collaboration where we can apply our experience with container solutions to a social cause. By listening carefully and contributing ideas, we translate all ideas into practical and safe implementations.

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

The possibilities with a container are endless. At RCC, we believe that every idea can be realized. We brainstorm, advise, and build, just like we do in this project.

“No Limits, Just Containers”