Dr. Asma Mehan, dr. Tamar de Waal and dr. Anke Munniksma have been awarded the Urban Citizen Fellowship, a programme set up by the Municipality of Amsterdam and the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study to stimulate the use of advanced research for political deliberation and public policy making.
The three scholars receive a fellowship to carry out research relevant to the city of Amsterdam. In 2021 and 2022 this research is centered around the relation between citizenship and education.
Amsterdam Port
Starting in September, Dr. Asma Mehan (Postdoc researcher in Cultural Anthropology at Leiden University) will focus on the public space that connects Amsterdam’s port with the city. She will explore the nature and the socio-cultural characteristics of these public spaces, that are characterised by migratory flows of people, goods and ideas.
Urban Citizenship Education
Dr. Tamar de Waal (Assistant Professor at the Amsterdam Law School, University of Amsterdam) will start her Urban Citizen Fellowship in September. She will be carrying out research on urban citizenship education, comparing Amsterdam to other European cities. De Waal will analyse which identity, values and skills should be fostered by the city of Amsterdam within its urban citizenship education, and the best way to do so.
Diversity and Segregated Schools
In February 2022, Dr. Anke Munniksma (Assistant Professor in the Child Development & Education Department at the University of Amsterdam) will take up the position as Urban Citizen Fellow. She will address the paradoxical situation that schools in cities are often segregated, while at the same time, through citizen education, must equip students with the necessary competences to function in an increasingly diverse society. How can one best prepare youth to be part of a diverse society in segregated schools? The findings will provide foundations for evidence-based educational policy and practice.
About
The Urban Citizen Fellows will become member of the international and interdisciplinary community of NIAS, the oldest independent Institute for Advanced Study in Europe. This is the third year of the Urban Citizen Fellowship programme, which has led to scholarly and policy-related contributions to topics on the welfare state on a local level, why participation processes sometimes fail, and undocumented migrants in the city.