Our population is changing. Not only in terms of demographics such as growth and decline and ageing, but also in relation to religion, culture, gender identity, sexual orientation, political preference, education level and income. These developments have an impact on social cohesion. To live together in solidarity, we need mutual respect, a decent standard of living and equal opportunities. Not to mention the resilience to face social challenges together.
At VU Amsterdam, we stand in solidarity with one another. Through the VoorUit initiative, our students participate in the neighbourhoods where they live, contributing to locally relevant social issues. In our experiential education programme, Community Service Learning, students carry out research on behalf of the City of Amsterdam exploring how art can improve the neighbourhood, for example. While another VU Amsterdam initiative for civic engagement is the “well-being on prescription” project.
In our education and research, we also focus on social cohesion and solidarity. Our students learn about societal resilience and work on citizenship in the classroom. And our researchers participate in the SOCION consortium; where VU researchers focus on the relationship between social cohesion and individual values. Within the Institute for Societal Resilience, our researchers work across the boundaries of social science disciplines to address societal challenges, such as neighbourhood livability, polarisation and migration. And scientists from the legal expertise centre Fair are exploring how to ensure issues such as income security, legal protection and equal treatment at work.
As the VU Amsterdam community, we remain hopeful: society is resilient enough to meet the challenges head on – both now and in the future.
Together, we are working towards a diverse society with a hopeful future. For the sake of a fairer world for the generations of today and tomorrow.
