I am a facilitator, coach, trainer and evaluator. Fair, inclusive and participatory processes drive my work.
Over the years I gained experience in fragile and complex settings, collaborating with various organizations – in the public and private sector, in all four corners of the world – to work towards building peace, equality and greater ecological and social resilience of communities. I have experienced the need for conflict mediation, people-centered approaches, multi-stakeholder dialogue and collaborations. Therefore I love to support organizations and teams with designing and facilitating dialogue processes (online and face-to-face) for adaptive learning, policy planning and/or strategic decision making. Through these processes I aim to foster shared ownership, peer-to-peer learning, and participation of all stakeholders, especially of those who are usually excluded.
I also design and conduct complex and multi-country evaluations, and train and coach teams to monitor, evaluate and learn from programmes and projects using adaptive, qualitative and participatory approaches (such as participatory narrative inquiry). Through interactive sessions I support teams to design, collect and make sense of data and stories.
Generally, I am appreciated as a facilitator with a grounding, calming but uplifting presence, offering a creative and structured approach, as well as strategic and analytical thinking skills.
I have an academic background in international development, public policy and human rights and I am trained in Deep Democracy, facilitation and evaluation. I am also an expert member of a human rights commission in the Netherlands, and of the Harmony with Nature Knowledge Network of the United Nations. I love being in nature and support others to connect to nature. I also enjoy exploring different forms of creative expression, such as dance, song and painting.
Expertise
- Narrative research, evaluation & learning
- Multi-stakeholder dialogue
- Capacity strengthening & coaching
- Citizen participation & inclusion
- Gender, youth, conflict and regeneration
Examples of what I do
The mindful walking project
This summer, the mindful walking project was created in London: a participatory action research project to advance the theory and practice of walking and sensory research methodologies. Walking, as a qualitative research methodology, has a profound and diverse history...
Sensemaking in WASH initiatives with RVO in Kenya and Ghana
RVO, the Dutch Enterprise Agency (Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland), stimulates entrepreneurs in sustainable, agricultural, innovative and international business. They initiated a 'sense-making' pilot to learn how to use stories to deepen their understanding of...
Governance and Peacebuilding at the Austrian Study Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution
Henk, Han, Ludo and Marjolein facilitated a course on Governance and Peacebuilding in November 2018 at the famous peace castle of the Austrian Study Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution (ASPR) in Austria. During two weeks, experts working in a multitude of fragile...