“Hope springs eternal”: Protest and social movements in the Netherlands
Mariska Jung (FGGA), Looi van Kessel (FGW), and Jasmijn Rana (FSW) have received a KIEM grant of €10,000 together with the Institute for Social Justice (in development) for their project “Hope springs Eternal”: Protest and social movements in the Netherlands. The grant will be used to develop a six-part programme series in which students, academics and others involved in social movements will discuss various social movements in the Netherlands and their forms of protest and resistance.
Women’s suffrage, the eight-hour working day, the abolition of slavery… These are acquired rights that seem self-evident today, but have not always been so. In fact, the creation of these rights was often preceded by a fierce social struggle. Even today, protest actions and social movements give rise to political controversy and discussion. At the same time, the Netherlands is not known for its rich protest history or culture, and the alleged international influence on the development of social struggle in the Netherlands is often viewed with suspicion.
In order to reflect critically and carefully on the impact and role of protest and social movements, a six-part programme series is being organised at Leiden University. During the project “Hope springs Eternal”: Protest and social movements in the Netherlands, academics and those involved in social movements will engage in a talk show-style conversation with each other and the audience. Key questions such as “what is the role of protest in a democracy?”, “which forms of resistance do we consider permissible and why?” and “how can social movements be sources of hope?” serve as substantive guidelines. Each event will focus on one or two social movements, such as the anti-racist movement, the housing movement, the queer and women’s movements, or the disabled people’s movement.
The format and content of the public events will be developed together with students from Leiden University. The active involvement of these students will be stimulated during two preparatory meetings in July and September. The six public events will subsequently take place during the academic year of 2025/2026.
The programme series aims to contribute to the development of (public) education, stimulate research, and facilitate interfaculty cross-pollination in the field of protest and social movements in the Netherlands at Leiden University.