Stichting Volunteer­​ Correct

Niko has a background of Social Information Science, and has worked as IT-specialist in a myriad of positions, including his current work at the Dutch ministry of internal affairs. Niko’s involvement in voluntourism was ignited when he stayed in Arusha, Tanzania and dug deeper into the unclear structures of the voluntourism industry.

His critical interest in the subject lead him to start GoTanzania, a voluntourism comparison site. Due to the similarities he found, Niko decided to join project Cape Town: “my goal is a deepening of my understanding of the world of international volunteering. What motivation leads the supply side? How does it engage the demand side? Can I get to weigh good, bad – and more importantly – everything in between?”.

With his quarter century of experience in network, communication and en organisation management and his personally engaged curiosity, we are really glad to have him strenghten our project team.

Luca Goossens is finishing her Psychology bachelor at the University of Amsterdam. She has spent time volunteering in Nepal and was drawn to Project Cape Town by her interest in sustainability, her passion for writing and the revelations that sprang from her own experience as volunteer teaching English.

“I found out that the Nepalese teacher I was replacing – 10 years my senior, with a university degree – was temporarily sent on unpaid leave to make room for me, an 18-year-old girl without any teaching experience whatsoever. That made me think about the consequences of the constant flow of Western help into developing countries.”

With her study experience on ‘attachment’ psychology and her ambition to focus on volunteer expectations, we are happy to welcome Luca to our team.

Annemieke is currently finishing her masters in Econometrics at the University of Amsterdam, with an added background in cross cultural psychology. She fulfilled a part time lecturing position at the Nyenrode New Business School, has ample travel experience and served on the board of international student association AIESEC.

Annemieke was drawn to the project by it’s appeal to transparency. “I have learned during my Econometrics study to be critical; towards numbers and statistics, but also towards interests. Statistics is often used to support opinions, a statistical results is dependent on perspective. I am very motivated to expose these interests.”

Monique Hindriks is a second year Media and Culture student. Apart from interest in media, she has a deep calling for politics. From a volunteering experience with her church in Ukraine, she has asked herself questions whether the help they offered was valuable or whether it was a way to redeem their (Christian) guilt.

Monique swears by accessibility of information: “I believe in openly accessible  information. Current commercial interests  and a lack of a loud and independent source create this opaque voluntourism industry. By making information accessible, people will see that not all is as it seems.”

With her experience as intern at Dutch broadcaster BNN and her role as organizer of events for a political youth movement, we look forward to see her versatile talents at work.

Stein is about to finish her bachelor of industrial Design at the Delft University of Technology. Related to that she teaches as student assistent at her study and did a minor International Development and Entrepreneurship, for which she spent 3 months interning in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

She was drawn to Project Cape Town by the double edged sword it presents: good for volunteers and volunteer agencies, so ‘usefulness’ becomes the measure. She also likes the prospect of learning: “Apart from believing in the project, I am looking forward to working with an intercultural group and working towards a clearly defined goal. The exchange of culture and custom offers an opportunity I would gladly take.”

We like the fact that Stein has a firm grounding in visualizations and professes to ‘think in images’. Added to a conscientious and scientific background, we greatly value her addition to the team.

Juriaan has successfully attended Maastricht’s University College and is completing his master Policy, Communication and Organization at the VU University. Juriaan has ample experience in questions relating to global challenges, as he has taken courses on international relations, sustainability, international politics and development aid.

Juriaan was attracted to Project Kaapstad because it addresses the axiom that ‘good intentions’ lead to good outcomes: ” I noticed that through my study I became much more critical about political and volunteer initiatives: good intentions are simply not enough!” To quell his thirst for a more practical solution, he worked on the campaign of politician Bram van Oijk, who is much concerned with development aid, and currently follows a master class with Jan Pronk on the same subject.

With his experience with media and campaigning, his grounding in international issues and his connection to the practical field of policy makers, we welcome him to the team with enthusiasm.

Andrea is currently working as managing director of the cultural foundation “Moois (Beauts)”. With Andrea’s experience as a professional in the cultural sector, we’re sure to have drawn in a heavyweight. Her CV mentions experience in education, fundraising, event management, international collaboration and artistic direction. among others.

Andrea was drawn to Volunteer Correct by her solid conviction that global solidarity should result in all people having access to housing, drinking water and education. “I have been raised with the idea that, living in the rich West, we have the obligation to contribute.”

Andrea believes in the power of public awareness and looks forward to work together with young people in creating a clear and insightful view of Cape Town’s volunteer industry. We’re very much looking forward to her work.

Dorine is a second year Media and Culture student at the University of Amsterdam. Since she attended high school she has been wary of the intentions of the people she witnessed who wanted to volunteer abroad.

Dorine was attracted by the possibility of Project Cape Town to question the phenomenon: “I can find myself very well in the accountability that Volunteer Correct asks of volunteers. To which degree can you assume that as a Western young adult you know better than the inhabitants of a so-called ‘third world country’?”

Apart from her pertinent theoretical questioning, Dorine has ample practical experience reporting as well. She has parttaken in a filming and editing course and has worked on the university’s introduction week newspaper. We believe she will be of great help in the task at hand.

Floris finished his bachelor in Mechanical Engineering ‘cum laude’ at the Eindhoven University of Technology. He decided to apply for Project Cape Town from a personal interest in volunteering. He is particularly enthusiastic about the role of particpants in the project: “It is good to know that a considerable part of the projects is shaped by the volunteers.”

Seasoned by a volunteer experience in Kenya where he helped building a machine to treat sun-dried tomatoes, Floris describes that he likes to combine his knack for analyzing systems with his philosophical questioning of volunteering. We’re definitely glad to have him on board.

Bibi is a third year bachelor student of Media and Culture at the University of Amsterdam. About her involvement with Volunteer Correct she states: “During my study i have learnt to think critically about societal issues. I look forward to facing the challenge of putting theory into practice during this project”.

Operating in a media environment is nothing new for Bibi, who works as editor/researcher for the Dutch television show “Man Bijt Hond (Man Bites Dog)”, a show in which ordinary people share their extraordinary stories.

Adding to this Bibi’s extensive travel history, her time spent as au-pair abroad and her work as ambassador for Travel Active – a company offering commercial voluntourism -, we are happy to have her strengthen our team.