ASI Fellowship of the Anthropocene

Hosted by the Amsterdam Sustainability Institute in collaboration with VU faculties, the fellowship allows a researcher to study a topic related to the challenges of the Anthropocene at VU Amsterdam.

The VU Anthropocene Fellowship is an annual residency programme of 4 months during which a selected researcher studies a topic related to the Anthropocene from the planet/nature, behaviour/society or ethics/religion perspective at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Collaboration with VU and external researchers of other disciplines as well as stakeholders is encouraged and outreach activities form an important part of the fellowship.

Due to the complexity of the challenges in the Anthropocene, the fellowship examines them from different perspectives: the planet/nature, behaviour/society and ethics/religion perspective. These alternate with every term, with the current fellowship focusing on ethics/religion which has been awarded to Dr. Hilda P. Koster.

Since 2020, we have welcomed four scholars:

Junior fellow Iris Verbeek produced 3 publications, among which the book chapter 'Let’s Get Wild: Connecting the Human and More-Than-Human World' which discusses the use of ‘wild pedagogies’ in teaching. She also prepared a PhD proposal to investigate the potential of religious stories for imagining alternative futures in the context of primary education.
In the 'Animals are running away from us' documentary fellow Prof Pim Martens discusses our relationship with the natural environment and explores past patterns and future pathways with representatives of various indigenous cultures and religious beliefs.
The 'What is the Anthropocene?' lecture series aimed to understand and address the pressing issues and debates of the Anthropocene. During two storytelling workshops the digital storybook 'Climate Change Stories for COP28 leaders' had been produced and presented by one of the authors in the IUCN pavilion at COP 28 in Dubai.
Fellow Dr. Ma. Marilou Ibita advanced her 'FRESH-Doughnut for BASE' project, exploring the intersection of biblical narratives and Doughnut Economics. She delivered the Dom Helder Camara Lecture and organized a gamified workshop with the True Price movement, demonstrating how ancient texts can inspire fair labor structures and sustainable transitions aligned with the SDGs.

Dr. Hilda P. Koster has been selected as the new Distinguished Fellow of the Anthropocene. She will work on a book project titled "A Planet Crucified: An Ecofeminist-Decolonial Theology of the Cross for the Anthropocene." The project reinterprets the cross to challenge dominant views on suffering and support just, life-giving responses to the planetary crisis.

Stories on the road to COP28

Leading up to COP28 in Dubai, two interactive workshops were organised by the VU Distinguished Fellow of the Anthropocene at VU Amsterdam.

Leaders know that our planet is heating up dangerously. They also know how to cool it down. But they do not do it. So we need a better way to get our message across - a way that touches their hearts instead of their rational brains. We have to wrap our message in a compelling story instead of in a scientific article full of jargon. We have to make it vivid, personal and close-by instead of abstract and distant.

That is where we need your help!

Would you like to create a story about solutions for climate change? A story aimed at decision makers attending the most influential meeting concerning the climate crisis, this year's Conference of the Parties, or COP28 in Dubai?

If your answer is yes, the heat is on! Sign up for our two storytelling workshops.

Dates: 19 October and 21 November
Time: 16.00-20.00
Location: VU Amsterdam

Registration for both workshops closes on 2 October.
The workshops are free of charge and include some snacks.

If you sign up, you commit to attend the two workshops and to create a short story with our help. You will get a bit of homework to prepare for the first workshop and to refine your story afterwards.

In the first workshop, you will learn from trainer Peter Paul van Kempen the secret formulas of all great stories. You will also design your own story to spark climate action. We will help you, so do not worry if this is your first attempt to writing. Next, we will together refine our stories. In the second workshop, we will share and learn together: how can you best touch a leader’s heart?

The most persuasive stories will be published during COP28… that could be yours!

So don’t wait any longer and sign up today via this link as spots are limited.

For this mission, VU's Distinguished Fellow of the Anthropocene Sjoerd Kluiving teams up with Amsterdam Sustainability Institute and IUCN.

The two workshops are building on the Anthropocene lecture series "Overarching disciplines collaborating for sustainable change"

Dr. Hilda P. Koster is an Associate Professor of Ecological Theology and holds the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto Chair at the Regis St. Michael’s Faculty of Theology (University of Toronto), where she also directs the Elliott Allen Institute for Theology and Ecology. Her research interests include ecological theology, ecofeminism, environmental ethics, and the theological dimensions of climate justice and resource extraction.

Get in touch with ASI

info.asi@vu.nl

ASI Fellowship of the Anthropocene

VU 2026 Distinguished Fellow of the Anthropocene

VU 2026 Distinguished Fellow of the Anthropocene

Stories on the road to COP28

Dr. Hilda P. Koster

Dr. Hilda P. Koster

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