Media literacy is an important element in countering the harmful effects of dis- and misinformation. To date, the main perspective on media literacy can be described as a ‘liberalist’ view of media literacy, focused on the nature and source of individual messages (Phillips and Milner, 2021). In this …

One neighborhood in Groningen, the Netherlands, is a neighborhood housing about 12,000 citizens with on average a low-SES background, showing a less healthy and active lifestyle. In the past, initiatives have been undertaken to promote active lifestyle by implementing outdoor facilities stimulating physical …

In this paper, we apply a civic perspective and social innovation theory to examine how residents of a Dutch village experiencing rural depopulation and austerity reforms evaluate a civic initiative aimed at improving liveability, and what explains their evaluation. Using multivariate statistical analysis, …

The target group was: elderly citizens. The felt unheard. The central theme of the conference was how can we stimulate that we are heard and seen and our interests are being taken care of. In this presentation I told about citizens initiatives in general, giving best practices and presenting the right …

The current COVID-19 pandemic confines people to their homes, disrupting the fragile social fabric of deprived neighbourhoods and citizen’s participation options. In deprived neighbourhoods, community engagement is central in building community resilience, an important resource for health and a prerequisite …

Citizens have responded to newcomers in the Netherlands with acts of solidarity and programmes to support integration, often in response to increasingly restrictive government policies. In a previously published study by the primary author, a critical discourse analysis was conducted of texts used in …

In cities worldwide, tools for citizen-centric local initiatives to facilitate collaboration and joint decision-making are deployed as alternatives to the use of large corporate social media platforms such as Facebook. These community platforms often aim to empower users and enable civic participation …

I gave a class focussing on demographic change, citizens initiatives, resilience and livability.

Burgers die hun eigen initiatief in de gebouwde omgeving willen realiseren kunnen dit niet zonder de gemeente. Zulke initiatieven kunnen alleen een succes worden als de gemeente met deze burgers samenwerkt en hun initiatief ondersteunt. Maar hoe kunnen burgers de gemeente voor hun idee winnen? En hoe …

The Steenbreek program is a private Dutch program which aims to involve citizens, municipalities and other stakeholders in replacing pavement with vegetation in private gardens. The Dutch approach is characterized by minimal governmental incentives or policy, which leaves a niche for private initiatives …