According to VU theologian-economist Jan Jorrit Hasselaar, the solution lies in ‘hope’, as an alternative path between pessimism ('things are not going to be okay anymore, we are approaching irreparable tipping points') and optimism ('it will be all right; people are resourceful and will come up with a technological solution'). But, what exactly is hope? What does it mean to hope? That is exactly the field of work of theologian-economist Jan Jorrit Hasselaar. As elusive as hope might seem at first glance, Jan Jorrit knows how to shape the concept within and outside the academic world.
Bringing together different perspectives
“Hope is about bringing different perspectives together and looking for a shared future,” Jan Jorrit begins. “It's not so much about the outcome, but about setting up the process properly, learning to develop a genuine interest in each other's vision and experiences, examining your own images of yourself and others and daring to critically examine them. This requires listening, openness, being vulnerable, courage and daring to start over. You don't have to agree with each other, but if you want to take responsibility for the shared future, you have to become aware of each other's perspectives. Hope is hard work and certainly not a quick fix.”
Perspective of Hope for Cities
This approach is necessary when it comes to sustainability and a future-proof living environment. For example, Jan Jorrit supports cities such as Amsterdam and Cape Town in the transition to a future-proof infrastructure. “We are working with religious and secular parties on a perspective of hope in times of climate change,” he explains. “Because both cities have to deal with the threat of too much or too little water, and both are dealing with many stakeholders.”
Technology and regulations alone are not enough
Last year, the National Growth Fund awarded 100 million euros to the project Future-proof Living Environment: Transition to Emission-Free, Circular and Climate-proof Building and Infrastructure, an initiative of 130 parties, including VU Amsterdam and the municipality of Amsterdam. The consortium wants to shape the transition to a future-proof living environment based on the synergy between technical and social innovations. “Infrastructure, that's a rather technical story,” admits Jan Jorrit. “But the consortium did feel the need to include the perspective of Trust and Hope. That's what we do: add a value dimension to a technocratic issue. It's great that this added value is felt, based on the realisation that a technocratic
solution is too narrow. It is about developing complementary language and practices, essential to learn to embrace radical uncertainty inherent in transitions. Technology and regulations alone will not get you there. This requires mutual trust, active empathy, openness and inspiration.”
The deeper meaning of Hope
But perhaps the most important thing is a reorientation of the concept of Hope. “In everyday language we have lost the depth of the concept of Hope,” explains Jan Jorrit. "Saying ‘I hope the weather will be nice tomorrow’ is different from what we know from theology and wisdom traditions. In it, Hope is about daring to go on a journey, letting go, relationality and reflection – in a cluster of practical and theoretical frameworks. Often the question is: what are we going to do? But this understanding of Hope also requires: contemplation, time and attention to examine our own and each other's ideas, inspiration to arrive at new, shared visions of the future. Within the project, we develop tools in which hope, active empathy, meaning, imagination and creative design are central. That may sound soft, but the opposite is true.”
Hope in the lecture hall
In the lecture hall, Jan Jorrit also works with bringing different perspectives together through dialogical learning. “I make time and space for students' backgrounds and include them in my education. That's what makes education so incredibly beautiful, and it's perfectly possible within the small-scale education at our faculty.”
This kind of education fits in seamlessly with VU Amsterdam's motto: At VU Amsterdam, you don't become something, but someone. “And it suits VU Amsterdam as a values-driven organisation,” Jan Jorrit adds. “In its DNA are notions of hope, trust and empathy. This in itself challenges new forms of research and education, and invites multidisciplinary collaboration. Hope is a great theme to flesh that out this year!”