Author Archives: Christianne

Interactive Workshop for International Women’s Day

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By Marije van Santen

To mark International Women’s Day, an engaging workshop took place in Impulse, fostering dynamic and thought-provoking conversations about the future of feminism. Hosted by Jessica Duncan, the workshop began with an insightful introduction, celebrating women’s achievements while acknowledging the ongoing journey towards gender equality.

Following the introduction, a panel of researchers, all specializing in gender, equality, and power, presented propositions concerning women’s issues. Georgia Diamanti and Marije van Santen discussed the impact of the Common Agricultural Policy on women, followed by Tabitha Muriuki’s exploration of oppressive ideologies within family law. Margriet Goris concluded with a proposition addressing the gender pay gap and options available to men.

After the propositions, attendees formed smaller groups to deliberate and identify key feminist principles. Engaging discussions ensued, culminating in the sharing of various principles raised by the audience:

1. Principles for Wageningen University & Research (WUR) and other universities:
> Promote genuine participation of diverse individuals within the university.
> Ensure active inclusion of women in research endeavors.
> Provide students with access to female scientists.
> Implement mandatory courses on positionality in science, gender studies, ethics, and philosophy across bachelor’s and master’s programs.
> Increase representation of women as chair group holders.

    2. Principles for the workplace:
    > Close the gender pay gap through collective efforts, including active involvement of men.
    > Foster transparency in company salaries to address gender disparities.

    3. Principles for society:
    > Create safe public spaces for individuals of all genders.
    > Enforce zero tolerance for sexual harassment and sexism.
    > Consider women’s perspectives in the development of products and services.

    This workshop is connected to the SWIFT project and serves as the starting point for ongoing discussions about feminism at WUR. Let’s reconvene next year on International Women’s Day to further advance the dialogue!

    Rural Sociology: Passionate@Work – Thirza Andriessen

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    Discover the heartbeat of our workplace in the video series “Rural Sociology: Passionate@Work”. Join us as team members share the driving forces that make working at the Rural Sociology Group a fulfilling experience. From shared values to exciting projects, get an inside look at what fuels our enthusiasm and commitment.

    In our fifth episode, we showcase Thirza Andriessen, who shares her enthusiasm for the Rural Sociology Group, highlighting the inspiring colleagues and the diverse approaches the group employs in addressing issues.

    Curious to catch up on the previous episodes? Have a look here.

    Vacature Master Thesis Onderzoek – De politiek van Nederlandse steun in Palestina en het stopzetten van de medefinanciering van een Palestijnse NGO

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    Nederland besloot in 2022 de financiering voor de Palestijnse NGO UAWC (Union of Agricultural Work Committees) stop te zetten. UAWC ondersteunt duizenden Palestijnse boeren, vooral in gebieden op de Westelijke Jordaanoever waar Israël een illegale kolonisatiepolitiek voert. Israël heeft lang druk uitgeoefend op donoren om de steun aan UAWC te stoppen, omdat het volgens Israël een mantelorganisatie is van de Palestijnse verzetsbeweging PFLP (People’s Front for the Liberation of Palestine).

    Nederland heeft UAWC extern laten onderzoeken door een bureau dat gespecialiseerd is in veiligheidsvraagstukken. Uit het externe onderzoek zou blijken dat sommige (voormalige) medewerkers banden hebben met de Palestijnse verzetsbeweging PFLP. De UAWC reageerde geschokt op het besluit van de Nederlandse overheid en betoogde dat het externe onderzoek geen aanwijzingen had gevonden voor financiële stromen tussen UAWC en de PFLP, noch voor organisatorische banden tussen beide organisaties.

    De Boerengroep en Rurale Sociologie hebben in mei 2022 met een beroep op de Wet openbaarheid van bestuur (WOB/WOO) verzocht om informatie met betrekking tot het besluit van Nederland om de financiering aan de Union of Agricultural Workers Committee (UAWC) stop te zetten. In januari 2024 is de gevraagde informatie toegestuurd, bestaande uit meer dan 600 documenten, variërend van (korte) e-mails tot notities. De WOB/WO-documenten bieden inzicht in hoe de Nederlandse overheid tot het besluit is gekomen om de financiering aan UAWC stop te zetten, en meer in het algemeen:

    1. De politieke context waarin een dergelijke beslissing is genomen;
    2. De criteria die het hanteert, en;
    3. De afwegingen die de overheid daarbij maakt.

    Voor een kwalitatieve analyse van de documenten en het doen van vervolginterviews wordt gezocht naar een masterstudent. Deze masterstudent dient te beschikken over Nederlandse taalvaardigheid en bij voorkeur bekend te zijn met kwalitatieve onderzoeksmethoden. Het onderzoek is interessant voor die studenten die geïnteresseerd zijn in onder meer i) het politieke krachtenveld waarin overheidsbeleid en besluitvorming tot stand komen, ii) veiligheidsvraagstukken in relatie tot medefinanciering en iii) de politiek van hulp in de context van langdurig conflict. Gezien de omvang van het materiaal, is er ruimte om een eigen invulling te geven aan het onderzoek.

    Voor meer informatie: Joost Jongerden (Rural Sociology) en Gemma van der Haar (Sociology of Development and Change)

    Dreaming of the food system of the future

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    Written by Lucie Sovová.

    “The future” cannot be “predicted” because “the future” does not exist.
    Any useful idea about the futures should appear to be ridiculous.

    These two often quoted sentences from Jim Dator’s text on Future studies tickle scientists‘ brains. Science has useful tools to make predictions, usually extrapolating from the current state: if we continue on this path, this is likely to happen. When thinking about the current food system (and  many other issues), this approach quickly leads to a bleak picture: we are headed the wrong way and clearly need to change course. How exactly that should happen is a more difficult question – it is in fact much easier to identify which parts of the current setup are preventing change.

    Future studies propose a different approach: rather than thinking about the scenarios that are the most likely extension of the present, let us think about a desirable future. Envisioning preferred futures – realistic or not – can help us think outside of the box of the current state. This, in turn, can set a clear direction of where we want to go, and open up creative ideas about how to get there.  Future studies are tied to a number of methodological approaches, such as participatory foresight, scenario development or visioning which can work with desirable, possible and probable outcomes. When paired up with strategic planning and policy development, these tools can in fact help envision and implement change. This way of working fits with the tradition of engaged research at the Rural Sociology Group, and different future-oriented methods have been used in the group’s past and current projects, such as TRANSMANGO or CULTIVATE.

    Continue reading →

    Agrarian Change Seminar

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    Join us for the Agrarian Change Seminar on Mar 12, 4 – 5.30pm. We’re diving deep into the topic of Agrarian Extractivism with Alberto Alonso-Fradejas from the Rural Sociology Group. Whether online or in-person at Wageningen University (Room 68, Leeuwenborch building), you won’t want to miss this insightful discussion, jointly hosted with UCL Institute of the Americas.

    About the seminar: What is agrarian extractivism and why does it matter? The historical and growing global interest on natural resources for business, poverty alleviation, food security and increasingly for climate change mitigation purposes is putting a huge burden on human and non-human nature. Particularly, more, and more intensive forms of agro-commodity production are fueling crises of social and ecological reproduction worldwide that are very hard to counter or ‘mitigate’, let alone roll back. These ‘extractivist’ features of some forms of agrarian capitalism today, and of others before, resonate with the rationales and the workings of the mining oil and gas sectors. Thus, the notion of ‘agrarian extractivism’ or ‘agro-extractivism’ is arguably gaining currency as an analytical category with the potential to enhance our understanding of agrarian and environmental change historically and across the Global South-North and East-West world divides. Now, how is agrarian extractivism any different from agro-industry? Is there only one form or model of agro-extractivism? And is agrarian extractivism just about the deepening of the metabolic rift between agriculture and Nature? In short, what do we talk about when we talk about agrarian extractivism and why does it matter? Find out the answers and much more at this thought-provoking seminar!

    Save the date and don’t miss this opportunity to delve into a crucial topic shaping our global agricultural landscape.

    Join Zoom Meeting using this link
    Meeting ID: 867 3193 1853
    Passcode: 553018

    Read more about this seminar series here.