Who works at the IPP?

Nel van Dijk

Director

Tel: +31 20 521 7627
E-mail: n.vandijk@publiek-politiek.nl

Nel van Dijk has been the director of the Institute for Political Participation (IPP) since September 2003. Before coming to the IPP Ms Van Dijk was the director of LEEFtijd, an independent expertise centre on age and life course . Prior to that she represented GroenLinks in the European Parliament, where she was chair of the Committee on Transportation and Tourism and chair of the Committee on Women’s Rights. Her core interests were social affairs, transportation and the environment, equal treatment, institutional affairs and Central and Eastern Europe.

Eddy Habben Jansen

Deputy director

Tel: +31 20 521 7634
E-mail: e.habbenjansen@publiek-politiek.nl

Eddy Habben Jansen is the Institute’s deputy director and, as such, is directly responsible for the IPP’s activities in the areas of information dissemination, democracy and the constitutional state. He was previously the head of the IPP’s publishing section. In 2004 and 2005 he carried out several future-oriented projects at the request of the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations. He is an expert in the areas of Dutch politics, elections, democratic reform, local government and political history.

Clara Wever

Executive secretary

Tel: +31 20 521 7627
E-mail: c.wever@publiek-politiek.nl

Clara Wever-van Medenbach de Rooy is the management’s right-hand assistant. She has a background in journalism, worked for years as an executive secretary in the area of welfare and has political-administrative experience as a member of the municipal council. All of this has proved invaluable in her pivotal role at the IPP. She works from 8.30-16.00 on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and from 8.30-12.00 on Wednesdays.

Anna Domingo

Project assistant

Tel: +31 20 521 7666
E-mail: a.domingo@publiek-politiek.nl

Anna Domingo is a project assistant at the Institute. She studied sociology in Madrid and public administration at the University of Amsterdam. She has experience with projects in the field of citizen participation and interactive policymaking. She previously worked in the programme to stimulate citizens and environmental policy at the Ministry for Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment. She was one of the editors of the book Burgers als beleidsadviseurs [Citizens as policy advisors], which was published by the IPP in 2006. Last year she was commissioned by the European Parliament’s Education Office in The Hague to organise Europe debates . She co-organised the open forums held in the framework of Europe: where to go from here? for the Lower House and she is also both the project leader and coordinator of apprenticeships in the project Brussels Votes .

Bas Banning

Project assistant

Tel: +31 20 521 7646
E-mail: b.banning@publiek-politiek.nl

Bas Banning has worked since 1 July 2009 as a project assistant at the IPP’s Education section. He studied cultural sciences in Maastricht and then trained as a teacher of social studies and history at the IVLOS in Utrecht. Bas is involved in such projects as the Stemmentracker [Tracking Votes] and De Haagse Tribune [The Tribune in The Hague] and he writes for Maatschappij & Politiek [Society & Politics], the journal for teachers of social studies. As of 2003 he has been a teacher of social studies and social sciences at Spieringshoek secondary school in Schiedam.

Berdien Jager

Project assistant

Tel: +31 6 250 76801
E-mail: b.jager@publiek-politiek.nl

Berdien Jager has worked as a project assistant at the IPP since 1 September 2009. In addition to working on the De Haagse Tribune programme [The Tribune in The Hague] ( www.dehaagsetribune.nl ), she is also developing new projects and teaching material for the soon to be established House for Democracy and the Constitutional State in The Hague.

Berdien studied pedagogical and educational sciences at Utrecht University and earned her Master’s degree in social educational issues. During her Master’s programme, she worked as an apprentice and did research at the IPP. She has also worked in health care for young people who are mentally challenged and behaviourally disturbed.

Brahim Fattah

Project assistant

Tel: +31 20 521 7667
E-mail: b.fattah@publiek-politiek.nl

As a project assistant at the IPP Brahim Fattah is especially concerned with the administrative and political participation of immigrants and women. He has set up and implemented diverse projects on this theme, such as a two-year project to enhance the social participation of migrant women in Amsterdam North: ‘Zelf aan het Stuur’ [In Charge]. Brahim’s other projects include a study of the experiences of migrant council members, network meetings for council members, the social initiatives of migrants in disadvantaged city neighbourhoods and the courses New Political Talent in Amersfoort and Training Media and Image.

In addition, he has led various workshops and meetings about the participation of young people, women and the elderly in politics and he provides information at local, provincial and national elections.

Coen Gelinck

Senior project manager

Tel: +31 20 521 7674
E-mail: c.gelinck@publiek-politiek.nl

Coen Gelinck is a senior project manager at the IPP. After studying political science and American studies, he trained to be a social studies teacher and held a teaching position in this field at the Montessori Lyceum in Amsterdam from 1998 to 2006. He is the secretary of the Netherlands Association of Social Studies teachers and an editorial member of Maatschappij & Politiek [Society & Politics], the journal for social studies teachers.

At the IPP Coen develops programmes for De Haagse Tribune [The Tribune in The Hague] ( www.dehaagsetribune.nl ). Most of these programmes are for secondary school students, but a number of new programmes for adults are being developed. In addition, Coen brings politics to the attention of secondary school students by making educational newspapers, developing guest lessons and organising both the Wegwijs excursions ( www.wegwijsdagen.nl ) and the day programme for social studies teachers. He also works on such websites as the StemmenTracker [Tracking Votes] ( www.stemmentracker.nl ) and the Partijenwijzer [Analysis of Parties] ( www.partijenwijzer.nl ).

Gerda Bosdriesz

Project manager

Tel: +31 20 521 7643
E-mail: g.bosdriesz@publiek-politiek.nl

Gerda Bosdriesz is the manager of the Local Democracy project and is active at the IPP in the areas of participation policy, interactive policymaking and the evaluation of municipal policymaking. She also gives training programmes and readings to support civil servants in citizen participation and she leads projects in the area of citizens’ initiatives .

With a view to the elections for the municipal councils in March 2010, she is involved in IPP projects aimed at finding candidates for the councils, such as the Ambassadors’ Network of Women in Politics in Brabant. This network focuses on finding female candidates for the municipal councils.

Having been a municipal council member and, from 1998 to 2002, the alderman for Education, Welfare and Administrative Innovation in Dordrecht, Gerda is thoroughly familiar with local government. She has also had experience as a senior policy officer in various municipalities. In her city of residence she is actively involved in the administration of local (education, integration) and international (sister cities) projects.

Harm Ramkema

Project manager

Tel: +31 20 521 7664
E-mail: h.ramkema@publiek-politiek.nl

In his function as a project manager at the IPP, Harm Ramkema is responsible for updating the IPP’s books and brochures. He writes web files for the IPP website on topics such as the electoral systems in EU countries and he supervises and edits new manuscripts. Furthermore, he is involved in projects such as the StemWijzer [Voting Analysis] the OpinieWijzer [Forming Opinions] and the StemmenTracker [Tracking Votes].

Prior to the foundation of the IPP, Harm Ramkema was on the staff of the Workgroup Eastern European Projects in Utrecht. He studied history at Utrecht University with a main subject in contemporary history and subsidiaries in Eastern European history and polemology (in Groningen).

Jan Dirk Gerritsen

Project manager

Tel: +31 20 521 7621
E-mail: jd.gerritsen@publiek-politiek.nl

Since September 2006 Jan Dirk Gerritsen has been working at the IPP on a wide range of projects. He was the editor of the StemWijzer [Voting Analysis] for the elections for the Lower House and the national provincial council. He also created the Partijenwijzer [Analysis of Parties], evaluated a referendum and wrote a number of advisory papers at the request of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities.

Jan Dirk studied history (specialising in radical right political parties in the Netherlands in the 1930s) and has worked for the National Archives and Amnesty International.

Jerome Scheltens

Senior Project manager

Tel: +31 6 251 92128
E-mail: j.scheltens@publiek-politiek.nl

Jerome Scheltens is the senior project manager for implementing the IPP’s educational programmes in The Hague and, in this function, is responsible for the implementation of De Haagse Tribune programme [The Tribune in The Hague] ( www.dehaagsetribune.nl ).

Jerome studied political science (University of Amsterdam and NYU) and specialised in elections, media and polls and administrative innovation. Since 1998 he has been involved in a great many IPP projects, as a compiler, editor and assistant project manager of the StemWijzer [Voting Analysis], as the organiser of diverse series of debates and as an advisor to and workshop leader of several projects abroad (France and Georgia). He previously worked as an editor and coordinator at the KRO and the Netherlands Government Information Service (RVD).

Jochum de Graaf

Project manager

Tel: +31 20 521 7678
E-mail: j.degraaf@publiek-politiek.nl

Jochum de Graaf studied economic and organisational sociology and worked for a number of years as freelance journalist. At the IPP and at his previous employer, the Foundation for Civic Education, he was responsible for publications such as Het Mediaboek [The Media Book] and Politieke Problemen [Political Problems]. In 2008 he worked on the Matra project School of Politics in Bulgaria. He is the project manager for the StemWijzer [Voting Analysis], an internet tool that has also been successfully introduced and used in Germany, Switzerland and Bulgaria.

Jochum is also an expert in the area of the role played by traditional and new media in involving the public in politics. He has been closely involved in a number of interactive policymaking projects, such as the redevelopment of Enschede’s city centre and the alleged lower quality of primary school education in Friesland.

Karel Ploeger

Project assistant

Tel: +31 20 521 7673
E-mail: k.ploeger@publiek-politiek.nl

Originally a primary school teacher, Karel Ploeger now organises and coordinates projects aimed at enhancing the participation of young people in local politics throughout the Netherlands. Many of these projects, such as Wegwijs op het Gemeentehuis [Finding Your Way in Local Government] and the Kindergemeenteraad [Children’s Municipal Council] are educational and emphasise learning by doing. Karel also gives training programmes, courses and workshops. He administers the pool of stand-by employees to lead groups involved in IPP projects for young people.

Lilian Leeuwenburgh-Stolwijk

Project manager

Tel: +31 20 521 7671
E-mail: l.leeuwenburgh@publiek-politiek.nl

Lilian Leeuwenburgh-Stolwijk is a public administrator who enjoys supervising processes. As a project manager she is especially involved in the IPP’s courses. She was very active in the Vinden & Binden [Find & Bind] project intended to increase political participation among migrants and she also worked on the courses in Political Participation, Civil Participation and Social Administration.

At the moment, Lilian is working on secondment at the Ministry of the Interior for the project A House for Democracy and the Constitutional State.

Lisette Dekker

Senior Project manager

Tel: +31 20 521 7657
E-mail: l.dekker@publiek-politiek.nl

Lisette Dekker is a senior project manager at the IPP who works on projects involving the participation of women and migrants, such as the course Zelf aan het Stuur [In Charge] in Amsterdam North (2006-2008), Nieuw Politiek Talent [New Political Talent] and Politieke Participatie [Political Participation] in Utrecht en Amersfoort (2008-2009). After each election, she researches the percentage of women and migrants in the newly chosen municipal councils, national provincial councils and the European Parliament. She also researched the experiences of migrant aldermen (2009) and organised meetings to support this same group.

Lisette has worked on a number of Matra projects: in Poland (citizen participation), Bulgaria (idem), Slovakia and Turkey (the political participation of women). In addition, she has organised debates about admitting new countries to the EU and meetings focusing on the elections in countries such as Morocco, Turkey, the Ukraine and Poland. Together with the Debating Centre Tumult and the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD), she organised a series of 6 election cafes on the elections in El Salvador, Ghana, South Africa, Indonesia, the USA and the European Parliament. And she wrote the Libelle Kiescoach [Voting Coach] on the European elections of 4 June 2009 for the weekly magazine Libelle.

Pieter Sturm

Project manager

Tel: +31 20 521 7668
E-mail: p.sturm@publiek-politiek.nl

Pieter Sturm is a project manager at the IPP with years of experience in setting up and supervising projects on citizen participation, especially at the local level: projects concerning community management, the daily surroundings, social policy (the Social Support Act) and safety. His research on how senior councils function led to the IPP publication Plussers aan de macht [Senior Citizens in Power]. Moreover, he carries out policy research on the effectiveness of efforts by municipal governments that are intended to involve citizens more closely in policymaking.

Roelof Martens

Senior Project manager

Tel: +31 22 521 7658
E-mail: r.martens@publiek-politiek.nl

Roelof Martens is a senior manager of the IPP’s Local Democracy project, which focuses on local and regional democracy. The objective of this project is to have residents participate more effectively in municipal policymaking and to be more involved in the political process. The various projects that he manages involve the residents of a municipality as well as the aldermen, civil servants and the political parties.

Roelof also worked for the province of Zuid Holland. He has years of experience at the level of municipal government. At the moment, he is a member of the Provincial Council of Utrecht .

Tatjana Meijvogel-Volk

Project manager

Tel: +31 20 521 7656
E-mail: t.meijvogel@publiek-politiek.nl

Tatjana is the manager of the international politics project. She studied political science at the University of Zagreb (Croatia) and Eastern European Studies at the FU Berlin.

Tatjana previously worked for the German Embassy in Zagreb, the EU Board in Mostar (Bosnia-Herzegovina) and for the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, particularly in the areas of humanitarian help, PR, protocol and elections. Her special field of interest is the politics and history of former Yugoslavia and the countries into which it was divided. She is especially interested in the processes of democracy and transformation in Eastern Europe.

Since 2006 Tatjana has been responsible for international contacts via the Politeia network and for projects centering around Europe, such as guest lessons for Dutch secondary school students and the ‘ European Citizens’ Consultations ’ in 2007.

Nico Bloot

Information & Communication

Tel: +31 20 521 7638
E-mail: n.bloot@publiek-politiek.nl

In his position as head of communications, Nico Bloot is responsible for the IPP’s educational activities. Using his training in marketing and his years of experience in that field, he advises the project assistants in activities in the areas of communication, education and information. He is also responsible for the IPP’s campaigns and its contacts with the press. In addition, he is the manager of the annual project Docentendag Maatschappijleer [An all-day seminar for social studies teachers].

Sandra Boersma

Information & Communication

Tel: +31 20 521 7633
E-mail: s.boersma@publiek-politiek.nl

Sandra Boersma studied Dutch and has worked since September 2001 at the IPP’s communications section. She is responsible for the IPP’s website and also works as an advisor and assistant in setting up and supervising the IPP’s project websites . She is editor-in-chief of the newsletter , often acts as the contact for the press and is active in several projects at the IPP.

Walter Jansen

Information & Communication

Tel: +31 20 521 7670
E-mail: w.jansen@publiek-politiek.nl

Walter Jansen is responsible for disseminating information at the IPP. He collects information that is relevant to the organisation and makes this accessible to the IPP staff. This information can be in the form of books, articles, data and downloads from the internet, an electronic newsletter, new media, etc. He also answers or forwards questions about content that are asked by parties outside of the IPP.

Addy de Meester

Information & Communication

Tel: +31 20 521 7675
E-mail: a.demeester@publiek-politiek.nl

Addy de Meester is a designer for the IPP. She studied at the St. Joost Art Academy in Breda and also studied history at the University of Amsterdam.

Daniel Vos

Systems manager / technical manager websites

Tel: +31 20 521 7662
E-mail: d.vos@publiek-politiek.nl

Since 2006 Daniel Vos has been a systems manager at the IPP. He is also responsible for the audiovisual technical support. In addition to his position at the IPP, he works as a disc jockey and he manages computer systems for non-profit organisations on a voluntary basis.

Menno Steen

Systems manager

Tel: +31 20 521 7665
E-mail: m.steen@publiek-politiek.nl

Menno Steen is a systems manager at the IPP. Prior to this, he worked with people who were auditorily and mentally challenged and he was the project coordinator at a security support post for the police. In addition, he worked at a community centre that offered courses for ‘computer dummies’. Besides his work at the IPP, Menno is also the manager of a cultural podium, co-owner of a shop in second-hand clothing and music and a builder of web tools and applications for non-profit organisations and local governments.

Eric Revet

Financial administration

Tel: +31 20 521 7637
E-mail: e.revet@publiek-politiek.nl

Eric Revet has been on the IPP’s administrative staff since 1993. He is responsible for the accounts receivable/accounts payable administration and for processing the deposits made to the IPP’s various bank accounts. He prepares the monthly salary payments and lends support to the project administration.

Kees Stroobach

Financial administration

Tel: +31 20 521 7654
E-mail: k.stroobach@publiek-politiek.nl

As head of the financial administration, Kees Stroobach is responsible for the annual accounts, for submitting the annual budget to the Ministry, for paying the projects and for supervising administrative processes. Prior to coming to the IPP, Kees worked as a senior administrator at PRIMO. Earlier positions included working as a librarian at a library for the blind, as an insurance intermediary, a teacher and as head of bookkeeping at the Foundation for Social and Cultural Work in Watergraafsmeer.

Theo Dam

Maintenance

Tel: +31 20 521 7620
E-mail:

Theo Dam is responsible for the maintenance of our premises at Prinsengracht 915 in Amsterdam.

Jenny van Amelsvoort

Receptionist/Secretary

Tel: +31 20 521 7622
E-mail: j.vanamelsvoort@publiek-politiek.nl

Secretarial staff, records, internal affairs.

Muriël Kneepkens

Receptionist/Secretary

Tel: +31 20 521 7600
E-mail: m.kneepkens@publiek-politiek.nl

Muriël Kneepkens mans the reception desk on Mondays and Tuesdays. Besides of that, she is on the staff of the IPP’s personnel office. In addition to working at the IPP, she organises concerts and runs a shop in second-hand clothing and alternative music. Prior to coming to the IPP, Muriël worked for various companies as a receptionist, salesclerk, catering staff, office manager and assistant manager.

Marjolein Wilhelmy Damsté

Receptionist/Secretary

Tel: +31 20 521 7632
E-mail: m.wilhelmydamste@publiek-politiek.nl

Marjolein Wilhelmy Damste works at the IPP’s secretarial office where her responsibilities include booking the guest lessons and De Haagse Tribune [The Tribune in The Hague].