{"id":26798,"date":"2025-10-08T14:26:41","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T14:26:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/justiceandpeace.nl\/?post_type=story&p=26798"},"modified":"2025-11-12T14:40:19","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T14:40:19","slug":"kristiaan-move-4-human-rights-impact-through-research","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/justiceandpeace.nl\/en\/stories\/kristiaan-move-4-human-rights-impact-through-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Kristiaan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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From local stories to systemic change<\/h2>\n

Kristiaan joined the Impact through Research trajectory of The Hague Changemakers to discover how academic research can drive meaningful social change. Building on his background in political science and migration justice, he collaborated with others to uncover the lived experiences of migrants and contribute to reshaping narratives around inclusion and social cohesion. This was a decision that would leave a lasting mark on both him and the communities he worked with.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to be part of something international, established, and grounded in real action. When I saw the call from Justice & Peace, I immediately thought: this is it.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

His motivations are rooted in a commitment to human rights, including a strong desire for justice in Palestine and an end to the ongoing genocide and apartheid. For Kristiaan, these global struggles are always linked to concrete efforts to create more just and inclusive societies at the local level.<\/p>\n

A path rooted in migration justice<\/h3>\n

Kristiaan\u2019s connection to migration challenges runs deep. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he worked for his provincial Ministry of Immigration in Quebec, Canada, fast-tracking permanent residency applications for refugee healthcare workers, as well as working on humanitarian immigration files more broadly. Later, he transitioned into roles supporting family reunification and education equivalency evaluation, followed by research on online violence against queer people and programme management at a national LGBTQ+ non-profit.<\/span><\/p>\n\"\"\n

This breadth of experience gave him a grounded and intersectional understanding of inclusion and migration \u2013 knowledge he brought with him to The Hague. \u201cMy journey with migration started during the pandemic. I saw firsthand how deeply policy affects real people, and I knew I wanted to stay in this field,\u201d he shares.<\/span><\/p>\n

Choosing research with real impact
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Kristiaan chose the Impact through Research trajectory \u2013 a trajectory that not only builds participants\u2019 research skills but connects their findings directly to social justice initiatives in the city. <\/span>\u201cI love research, but what really drew me was the \u2018impact\u2019 part \u2013 being able to turn finding<\/span>s into something tangible. It’s rare to do research and actually see it lead to real change.\u201d <\/span>Together with his group, Kristiaan initially set out to study how people with a migration background in the Laakkwartier neighbourhood in The Hague experience social cohesion. But as conversations unfolded, the project took on a new direction. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe thought we\u2019d be <\/span>analyzing<\/span> cohesion as a concept. Instead, we found ourselves part of it \u2013 building trust, sharing stories, and becoming part of the community we were studying.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This shift led to an unexpected but powerful result: a collaboration with Wijkz, a community organization, in the context of Ways of Europe, a European-Commission funded initiative aiming to increase civic participation and bring local community members\u2019 voices to the forefront. Kristiaan and his team then produced a report capturing the lived experiences of migrants and their vision for their neighbourhood, which was shared with the European Commission to amplify their voices beyond The Hague.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

Research on social cohesion in Laakkwartier<\/h3>\n

The project aimed to understand how social cohesion is experienced by migrants in Laakkwartier, a diverse neighbourhood in The Hague. Kristiaan and his group defined social cohesion as a measure of how strong community members\u2019 relationships are with each other and with institutions, involving \u201chigh levels of trust and low levels of fear,\u201d but soon <\/span>realized<\/span> that the concept was deeply linked to personal migration stories.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMany participants told us they didn\u2019t care about legal restrictions \u2013they just wanted to contribute and be part of society.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The group <\/span>organized<\/span> three main workshops:<\/span><\/p>\n