Kees Biekart

is a political scientist at the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS, part of Erasmus University Rotterdam) in The Hague and interested in transformative change and social movements, Together with his international students, he looks for alternative ways to support political democracy at a grassroots level. He constantly seeks out new forms of research, including "storytelling", which has become an increasingly important research method.
(WU2025)Archive available for: Kees Biekart
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Storytelling Afternoon
With: Beatrice Hati Gitundu, Kees Biekart, Klaas van Dijk, Rešoketšwe Manenzhe, Rosabelle Illes
Storytelling in ISS was back as a part of the Writers Unlimited International Literature Festival The Hague! Visitors, authors participating in the festival, ISS students and teachers told each other stories on a wintery afternoon in ISS's wonderful Atrium of the International Institute of Social Studies (part of the Erasmus University Rotterdam) on the Kortenaerkade in The Hague's city centre.
This time, authors Rešoketšwe Manenzhe (South Africa) and Rosabelle Illes (Aruba) were also storytellers, and pianist Klaas van Dijk provided musical interludes. The stories revolved around the question 'What Inspires You? (Even though the World is On Fire..)'
The Storytelling Afternoon is a highly regarded festival classic. Due to the COVID pandemic, among other reasons, the programme could not take place for several editions. But on Thursday afternoon, 23 January 2025, everyone was welcome again to listen and/or tell a story. Each story lasted no more than five minutes. The programme was in English and was facilitated by Kees Biekart and Beatrice Hati Gitundu, both from the ISS.
Rešoketšwe Manenzhe is a poet, short story writer and novelist from South Africa. Her short stories and poems have appeared in the Kalahari Review, Fireside Fiction, Praxis Magazine, Lolwe, FIYAH, and the 2017 Sol Plaatjie European Union Anthology, among others. She holds a master's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Cape Town (UCT). Her debut. the historical novel Scatterlings (2020) is set in 1927, when South Africa passes the Immorality Act, prohibiting sexual intercourse between "Europeans" (white people) and "natives" (Black people). Those who break the draconian new law face imprisonment.
Rosabelle Illes is an artist, writer, and performer from Aruba. She has authored three collections of poetry and short stories and co-authored the multilingual children's book Hearty. Her work has been published in international journals, and she has performed at literary festivals worldwide, including Colombia, Taiwan, The Netherlands, and New York City. She holds a PhD in Psychology from Leiden University and is an assistant professor at the University of Aruba. Her upcoming book, Penmanship (2025), blends her passions for psychology and poetry, celebrating the written word in its purest form.
Klaas van Dijk is a pianist and dentist from The Netherlands. During his student days, he was active as a pop and jazz pianist. When he became a father, he started working as a dentist, but he continued to play music for theatre performances. From 1986, he accompanied famous Dutch cabaret artist Paul van Vliet on piano. Since 2016, he has been part of the team of the Dutch national TV programme Met het mes op tafel (a combination of poker and knowledge quiz) as a pianist together with host Sjoerd van Ramshorst and cabaret artist Mylou Frencken.
Kees Biekart is a political scientist at the Institute of Social Studies (ISS) and interested in transformative change and social movements, Together with his international students, he looks for alternative ways to support political democracy at a grassroots level. He constantly seeks out new forms of research, including "storytelling", which has become an increasingly important research method.
Beatrice Hati Gitundu is an Urban Development Specialist from Kenya. She works on the research programme Multilevel Disaster Governance: Disasters-People-Policy-Politics of the International Centre for Frugal Innovation (ICFI, The Netherlands)/Nuvoni (Kenya). She is also a Doctoral Researcher at the ISS.
30th Writers Unlimited International Literature Festival The Hague (23-25 January 2025)
Over a hundred authors, poets, spoken word artists and musicians performed in the 30th Writers Unlimited International Literature Festival The Hague. From 23 to 26 January 2025, festival events took place throughout The Hague in theatres, libraries and schools. For festival information and tickets, see writersunlimited.nl.
The festival focused on, partly English-language, live readings of poetry, stories and spoken word. Authors also discussed current topics in response to recent books. The festival opened 23 January dedicated to freedom of expression. It also included two varied festival evenings in Theater aan het Spui and Filmhuis Den Haag, the presentation of the Hague Literature Prizes and free events in local libraries and cultural anchors. On Sunday afternoon, 26 January, the festival closed with the festive musical-literary show Playing with Fire in Amare.Festival motto: On Fire
The 30th festival edition's motto was On Fire. 'Fire represents love, desire and passion, but also burning issues such as war, migration and climate,' says Judith Uyterlinde, director of Writers Unlimited. 'Fire is the source of inspiration for talks and readings on issues including freedom of expression, war and remembrance, gender and eroticism, and a host of other issues that ignite writers, poets and audiences.' -
ISS Storytelling afternoon
With: Iman Mersal, Kees Biekart, Lamin Kuyateh, Robin Block
On 16 June 2022, the International Institute of Social Studies was once again host the International Storytelling Afternoon. During what has become a much-loved classic at Winternachten Festival, visitors, writers, students and teachers told each other stories.
For this edition, the stories focused around the theme Whose House Is This? Feel free to take "the house" as a metaphor and to explore it from different angles: the house of the family, the house of society, of democracy, of literature... The theme question Whose House is This? called for stories about feeling at home (or not), leaving your home, or finally finding it in an unexpected place.
Come and listen to stories from all over the world and, if you like, share your own story!
Maximum 5 minutes and in English only - no other rules.
On behalf of Winternachten Festival, authors Robin Block and Iman Mersal were present and share their stories too. Kees Biekart was the moderator of the afternoon. Lamin Kuyateh provided musical interludes. -
International Storytelling Symposium
With: Asmaa Azaizeh, Kees Biekart, Lamin Kuyateh, Mukoma Wa Ngũgĩ, Rosalba Icaza Garza, Zuleika Sheik
This program at the Institute of Social Studies has become a much-loved classic at Winternachten Festival. Visitors, writers, students and teachers tell each other stories. This time around, the theme was "decolonisation", which has quickly become a key word in the world of museums, universities and society at large. But how are you dealing with this individually? How are you decolonising your thinking or your life, at your workplace or at home? What are you experiencing, and what challenges do you encounter?
Llsten to stories from all over the world and, if you like, share your own story! Maximum 5 minutes and in English only - no other protocol. Among the participants were writer, poet, essayist and literary scholar Mukoma Wa Ngũgĩ - who was born in the US and grew up on Kenya. Asmaa Azaizeh, Palestinian poet and essayist, Zuleika Sheikh and Rosalba Icaza, teachers at the Institute of Social Studies, also talked about their experiences with "decolonising the mind". The stories were interspersed by muscial performances by Lamin Kuyateh.
The 25th anniversary edition of Writers Unlimited festival payed special attention to liberation and, more specifically, to the decolonisation of (Western) thinking. How free is our mind, what does that freedom mean, and are we really free or are we trapped in the framework of our culture, society and history? This theme was partly based on Decolonizing the Mind, an essay by Mukoma Wa Ngũgĩ''s father, the Kenyan writer and social activist Ngugi wa Thiong'o. The essay is about colonised language and its still-noticeable influence. With this theme, the festival also established a link to its early editions, which focused on The Netherlands' relationship with Indonesia, Surinam, the Antilles and South Africa.
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Imagine Africa is the Future - International Storytelling Symposium
With: HemelBesem, Jan Pronk, Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, Kees Biekart, Lamin Kuyateh, Otieno Ong'ayo
Africa is often in the news with regard to wars, drought, famine, poverty and migration to Europe, as we see in the images of boating tragedies in the Mediterranean. But even though many problems remain to be solved, Africa is going through a process of socio-economic transformation. 'Africa is the Future' is more than just a slogan on a T-shirt. During this storytelling symposium organized in collaboration with the International Institute of Social Studies, academics, writers, poets and politicians from Africa and Europe speak to and with the public. They shared their stories and ideas about the future from and about the African continent, interspersed by muscial performances by Lamin Kuyateh. English spoken.
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World Storytelling in ISS
With: Çağlar Köseoğlu, Efe Murad, Kees Biekart, Magda Cârneci, Mira Feticu
Listen to stories from near and far. They were told by African, Latin American and Asian students from the International Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, as well as by four Winternachten festival guests: poets Efe Murad (Turkey), Magda Cârneci (Romania), Mira Feticu (Netherlands) and Çaglar Köseoglu (Netherlands) who contributed with stories about writing poems in revolutionary times. Kees Biekart, Associate Professor in Political Sociology at ISS, hosted the conversations. English spoken.
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World Storytelling in the Institute of Social Studies
With: Kees Biekart, Piotr Ibrahim Kalwas, Salena Godden
Listen to stories from near and far. They will be told by African, Latin American and Asian students, as well as by Winternachten Festival guests Salena Godden (UK) and Piotr Ibrahim Kalwas (Poland). Do you have a story that fits the bill? Come down to the ISS and get registered. In English
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World Storytelling at the Institute of Social Studies
With: Kees Biekart, Petina Gappah
Listen to stories from near and far on the theme of "With the Best of Intentions". They will be told by African, Latin American and Asian students, as well as festival guest Petina Gappah. Do you have a story that fits the bill? Come down to the ISS and get registered. In English
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World Storytelling at the ISS
With: Kees Biekart, Maaza Mengiste, Nii Ayikwei Parkes
There's nothing better than telling one another stories. Stories from
near and far by students of the International Institute of Social Studies, by foreign writes, and by the public. The theme of this English-language afternoon of storytelling is "At Home," about feeling at home. The ISS students and the writers have prepared their stories. Do you have a story you'd like to tell. Join us!
The ISS students come from Africa, Latin America, and Asia. They live in The Hague for a year and a half, and bring many stories from their home countries. Foreign writers like Ethiopia's Maaza Mengiste, a festival guest, will also participate. Kees Biekhart hosts, and there will be music.
This programme is in English. Do you have a story that fits the bill? Register at the ISS. You have five minutes to tell your story about "At Home." -
World Stories in Theater Dakota - I Did It My Way
With: Antjie Krog, Kees Biekart, Linda Christanty, Neco Novellas, Rodaan Al Galidi
Nothing better than telling each other stories. Stories form afar and closer to home told by students of the Institute of Social Studies and the Haagse Hogeschool, by the audience, and by foreign writers. I did it my way is the subject of the stories: about an important moment of choice in one's life.
Students of the ISS, mostly coming from southern countries, are guided in telling their stories by drama experts of De Kosmonaut, who give them workshops in the months preceding the festival. Students of the Haagse Hogeschool write their stories together with drama teacher Martine Zeeman.
Three writers, guests of the festival, also participate: poet Antjie Krog (South Africa), poet Rodaan Al Galidi (Iraq/the Netherlands) and writer Linda Christanty (Indonesia).The programme is bilingual: Dutch and English. The storytellers are accompanied by the music of the Mozambican singer/guitarist Neco Novellas. Do you have a five-minute story that fits in? There's no need to register. Just shout!