Marlies van Exter 
From a young age, Chihiro Geuzebroek felt a strong urge to make a difference. As a child, she raised money for charities by selling homemade bracelets and drawings. At school, she was frustrated by the lack of subjects like peace-building.
What drives someone to persist in resisting mega-projects and political power structures, even at the risk of their own safety? For Mozambican environmental and human rights activist Anabela Lemos, the answer is clear: a deep conviction that she is doing…
“People who voted for Wilders just need a bit of love,” says Saida Derrazi with a smile that is both gentle and resolute. As co-founder and head coordinator of the Muslim women’s collective S.P.E.A.K. and chair of the Comité 21 Maart, the Moroccan-Dutch activist…
“What drives all of my work is a desire to make a difference.” With these words, Esther Stanford-Xosei (51) captures the heart of her mission. An activist, legal specialist, community advocate and international expert on reparations, she has dedicated…
She spent most of her childhood on the streets of Rio de Janeiro. From the age of eight, she sold sweets during the day to help support her family’s income. At night, she earned money by collecting and reselling recyclable materials. At twelve, she survived the tragic…
It’s the late 1990s, and I’m studying at the School of Journalism. My dream? To travel the world as a travel journalist. So I add the course ‘Intercultural Communication’ to my curriculum. There, I learn about cultural differences…
‘Where you from?’ sounds like an innocent question, right? However, not for Andrea. She was born and raised in the city of Leiden in the Netherlands. But her interrogators, mostly strangers, rarely seem to be satisfied with…
It lasted two and a half years. Two and a half long, uncomfortable years. At first, I showed no symptoms. But after a few weeks, I started to feel under the weather. Out of place. Lost. Disoriented. As if I had come home in the…
Some of the most useful lessons I’ve ever learned were taught to me by a dead man. He had passed away some years already before he came into my life, but goodness, did he come into my life. I still vividly remember the pain…
Suriname was one of the first countries that entered my travel bucket list and there were a few reasons for that. First, there was Orlando, my friend’s father, who was born and raised in Suriname. He used to tell us these fantastic childhood memories, that triggered…
