There are many organisations within the Netherlands active in the field of organic advocacy; some are specifically covering one branch in a certain region, others are more general and nationwide. A partner of Otherwise has asked for an action research – as topic for a master thesis- on organic advocacy in the Netherlands. The goal is to map Organic Advocacy in the Netherlands and indicatethe extent of say and significance to members of the three main players (Biohuis, Bionext, Eko Keurmerk) and discuss the link between Biohuis and LTO Nederland. More information is available, please send a mail to lummina.horlings@wur.nl
Author Archives: Ina Horlings
Leadership and regions: unlocking the potential of communities
Every year the European Commission organizes Open days in Brussels, where EU Members of Parliament, national, regional and local policy/decision makers, Academics, students and researchers, can inform themselves on a variety of subjects. These Open Days host workshops and debates, and exhibition route, presentation of RegioStars -the most innovative projects co-financed by EU Structural and Investment Funds – and “Open Days University and Master Class”. See the programme.
The Regional Studies Association (RSA) and the European Commission (DG Regio) organized 4 Master Classes, including a session for more than 100 participants on Oct. 9th 2013, on the topic of ‘Leadership and Regions: Unlocking the Development Potential of communities’, chaired by Prof. Dr. Andrew Beer. Besides Prof. Beer, Dr. Terry Clower (Texas), Dr. Henrik Halkier and myself were the speakers. This report is based on the their presentations and the discussion with the audience.
Stage project / afstudeer mogelijkheid in de stad Groningen
Aanleiding:
De Werkgroep Pad de 2 Wijken in Groningen willen in het zuidelijke deel van de stad Groningen een communicatie aanpak voor de twee stadswijken Helpman en De Wijert. Doel is de bewoners meer te betrekken bij de aanleg en beheer van groen in de wijk. Dit project vindt plaats in het kader van een programma gericht op samenwerking tussen ‘groene scholen’ en heeft als nevendoel een aanpak te ontwikkelen voor het in kaart brengen van de betekenis die mensen geven aan groen in hun wijk.
Achtergrond:
Helpman en De Wijert zijn stadswijken in het zuidelijke deel van de stad Groningen met veel groen in de vorm van parkjes, groenstroken en plantsoenen. in Wijert zuid, Wijert noord en Helpman en Villabuurt wonen geheel verschillende bevolkingsgroepen. 10% van de bewoners heeft een niet-Westerse achtergrond. Op sommige plekken wordt het groen opgeslokt door bebouwing of verwaarloosd. Er zijn in de buurt ook bijzondere stukjes groen, zoals ‘vierkantemetertuintjes’, de gezamenlijke moestuin en de kruidentuin, groen dat door en met de buurt is bedacht en ontwikkeld en nu ook gezamenlijk wordt onderhouden.
The Course RSO55306: ‘A global sense of place’ starts 28-10-2013, sign in now!
For whom?
We invite all master students interested in sustainable development, spatial development, community building, place-based policy, rural socio-logy and anthropology for this course.
What?
This course gives an overview of place-based approaches in development. A relational place-based approach is key to the understanding of interrelated rural and urban transformation processes and sustainable development. People are networked to both local and extra-local places.; hence they have a global sense of place and one that is locally specific (Massey 1994; Escobar, 2001). Places are considered as contingent but in time and space differentiated outcomes of three interrelated, unbounded, transformative processes: political-economic, ecological and social-cultural. We will have discussions about:
- Sense of place
- Places as sites of negotiation and power struggles
- The constitution of identities, subjectivities and difference.
- Politics of place.
Sense of place in a neighbourhood in Groningen: request for a master student
The Rural Sociology Group is looking for a master student who is willing to do his or her master student in the city of Groningen. In Groningen an urban working group of citizens aims to establish an ecological walking route in their neighbourhood Helpman/Wijert. This working group needs support in their process. A group of students from Larenstein has already helped them with a plan and communication.
The aim is to involve the neighbourhood in an action-based explorative research approach, gain insight in the sense of place, values and motivations of the citizens and analyse if this can lead to agency and participation in the green development of this urban area.
This project is part of the wider programme of KIGO, ‘Green education in the city’, aimed at cooperation between educational institutions to enhance green knowledge and green education in the city. This means that the plan is to combine the work of the student with complementary research and implementation activities by other students from for example AOC Terra in Groningen. For this research one or more master students in social sciences are requested. The implementation and starting date of the project is flexible and can be further discussed with the local commissioner, chairman of the Working Group and with Frans Traa, coordinator of the KIGO programme.
Interested students can contact L.G. (Ina) Horlings, Rural Sociology Group, lummina.horlings@wur.nl.
Rural Sociology Wageningen University 