Traveling by 'Mokoro' through, in part uncharted areas of the Okavango Delta with the help of locals from Maun, Botswana.
Doing a Master of Science while also freelancing and working as a part-time teacher at a university, can be tough. The hours you have to work are brutal. But it can also be fun and rewarding.
One of the so-called ‘learning outcomes’ in my master's curriculum is Sustainable Development. We were asked to create a two-minute video with our personal vision on the topic (you can watch it below). In doing so, I kept the video quite general, so that it was open for interpretation and discussion. At the same time, I wanted to make my (idealistic) point.
Because sustainable development isn’t just an abstract concept for me, it’s something I find deeply important, I thought I'd share it here. Having worked and traveled across more than 60 countries, I’ve seen firsthand what happens when we neglect our environment. From cities choked by smog to landscapes destroyed by deforestation, the consequences are real, and they don’t just affect faraway places; they shape all of our futures.
Smog in Chengdu, China
In the past, mainly during Bachelor student projects, I’ve been fortunate to document the lives of (semi-)nomadic communities whose traditional ways of life are threatened by forced migration, environmental degradation, and sociopolitical change. These stories existed at the intersection of the climate crisis, cultural loss, and human resilience, and were often connected to the SDGs.
I’d love to do more of these kinds of projects. What’s important to me now is that they go beyond observation and leave a meaningful contribution to the local community.
On assignment in the High Tatras Mountains, Slovakia. A four day hike to one of the last remaining tribe villages in Europe.
My background in design thinking and design research might be of help here to some degree. Valuing innovation, human-centred approaches and certain design methods, I believe they can help bridge academic research, (visual) storytelling and the kind of local impact that can create positive change.
You can watch the video below. It’s in Dutch, but there are subs in English.
NOTE: Don’t mind the voice-over audio quality. Like I said, the weekly hours are brutal, and I had to record it dirty and fast, using my phone on short notice.
NOTE: Don’t mind the voice-over audio quality. Like I said, the weekly hours are brutal, and I had to record it dirty and fast, using my phone on short notice.
Video: a vision on Sustainable Development
