From jewellery to perfume to clothes, the products we buy shape our understandings of who we are and what kind of world we want to live in. While Wageningen’s shops are offering greater diversity in products for all genders, ideas about what a man, woman, or child *should* be are still very present.

That’s why it matters to slow down and really observe the everyday details of how gender and sexuality are present in our lives — in shop displays, in the spaces we move through, and in the stories we tell (or don’t tell) about our city.

This summer, we also had the chance to walk Wageningen through the eyes of fellow tour co-creator Adriaan. From the former Women’s House to the homes of leather workers, everyday streets came alive with hidden histories, personal memories, and stories of resilience.

Behind the scenes, our tour co-creators gathered to practice tours, share feedback, dig into the municipal archives to uncover 1970s feminist initiatives, and build new ideas together — all over good coffee.

These moments remind us why we do what we do: to tell untold stories, to notice what usually goes unseen, and to make Wageningen a place where all voices matter.

Want to join us on our next free tour on Saturday, 11 October? Check out the link at the top of this page or visit https://linktr.ee/freedomtourswageningen to sign up! 

29 August 2025 - Guides Izzy and Adriaan brought a group from Wageningen University & Research (WUR)  on the first of several upcoming free tours for WUR staff offered regularly throughout 2025-26! 

Notes one participant: "I was very impressed by the creative activities at each stop. They really made it easy to think about and get a deeper understanding about the different issues - and to relate it to what is going on today."

Interested? Join us! Tours are available on the following dates and times - registration is required:

• Tuesday, 16 September, 12:00-14:00 - Sign up here

• Wednesday, 8 October - Diversity & Inclusion Week, 12:00-14:00 - Sign up here

• Friday, 14 November - European Equal Pay Day, 12:00-14:00 - Sign up link TBA

• December 2025 - Orange the World - Date and time TBA

• February 2026 - International Day of Women and Girls in Science - Date and time TBA

• March 2026 - Feminist Festival - Date and time TBA

Many thanks to WUR's Diversity & Inclusion team for making these tours possible!

1 September 2025 - We're thrilled to announce that we're part of the 2025/26 Europe Challenge! Of 301 applicants, FTW and de bblthk have been selected to join 59 other initiatives across 38 countries to develop community-based projects for social impact. Starting in September, for the next year, with the support of the Europe Challenge, we'll be developing a new tour route focused on the experiences of differently abled people living in Wageningen. 

Find out more about the Europe Challenge here: https://theeuropechallenge.eu/news/ 

The Europe Challenge is a programme initiated by the European Cultural Foundation. It brings together libraries and communities to address Europe's key transitions—social, digital, and green—by implementing creative solutions in their local areas. The 2025/26 edition is kindly supported by public funding through Arts Council England, Fondazione Cariplo, and the Scottish Library and Information Council. 

15 August 2025 - Freedom Tours Wageningen is supported in part by WUR's Society Based Education (SBE) through its participation in the Learning Ecosystem Wageningen's (LEW) 'Neighbourhoods of the Future' initiative. 

How can we build future-oriented neighbourhoods in Wageningen, where residents are happy to live, work, and move, while also addressing the complexity of societal issues? WUR's Society Based Education (SBE) is part of a learning ecosystem dedicated to finding answers to these questions, in a process of co-creation of Wageningen’s Neighbourhoods of the Future.

WUR is collaborating in a 3-year grant trajectory that runs from May 2023 until April 2026, with the municipality of Wageningen, the bblthk (public library), impact organisation Thuis, and the Food Valley Region. They are working together to establish a learning ecosystem where you can collaborate and learn from societal challenges within the city and its region - whether you're a student, teacher, resident, community partner, or a Wageningen-based business. 

Within WUR, different teams are collaborating to create this learning ecosystem: SBE, the Science Shop, Citizen Science Hub, and WUR researchers and teachers who are conducting research locally and/or using local real-life cases in their teaching practices.

This 3-year project is financially supported by City Deal Kennis Maken, a nationwide initiative to accelerate solving societal challenges in cities by involving researchers, teachers, and students on a large scale. This initiative gives substance to the ‘Stadsagenda’, which is an agreement of intent between the municipality of Wageningen and WUR to collaborate more intensively in and for the city. Learn more about City Deal Kennis Maken on their website.

17 July 2025 - From our tour co-creator, Mariana Figallo:

After two weeks away, I’m finally back in Wageningen — and back with Freedom Tours Wageningen. Travelling recently made me reflect on what it’s like to arrive in a new city. I wore my rainbow bracelet and couldn’t help but wonder: will this place be LGBTQIA+ friendly? Will I feel safe here as a woman? 

One night I had to sleep alone in a new accommodation. I brought a travel lock for the door and even propped a chair against it. Not because I felt particularly unsafe there, but simply because I didn’t want to take chances.

This is everyday reality for many of us: constantly assessing, adapting, staying alert. That’s exactly why these tours exist. We need to talk about it more, so people can truly feel it, understand it, and start changing it.

We want this world — starting right here in Wageningen — to be a more loving, welcoming place for everyone. Are you ready to be part of it? Would you like to walk with us?

14 July 2025 - Our tours are co-created over several months by local residents, students and researchers to bring overlooked stories of freedom to light. This brief video documents the participatory process that every week drew on diverse arts-based, sensory and storytelling methods to explore co-creators' lived experiences and the experiences of the communities with which they identify. Together, we created a tour that really reflects those of us who made it and what we think is important to understand about the issues we care about and are impacted by most when it comes to how freedom intersects with gender and sexuality.  

Watch: https://youtu.be/braysZXko8c 

WUR's Diversity & Inclusion team is offering free tours for WUR staff throughout 2025-26. Below you you will find the dates currently open for registration. The walks take place in downtown Wageningen and the start location will be provided to those who register. 

Registration is required via this WUR intranet link: https://intranet.wur.nl/Project/GenderDiversity/Pages/GIfL-drFCUGzq9oLF5AuRA  

Dates

• Friday, 29 August, 12:00 - 14:00 

• Tuesday, 16 September, 12:00 - 14:00

• Wednesday, 9 October - Diversity & Inclusion Week, 12:00 - 14:00

• Friday, 14 November - European Equal Pay Day, 12:00 - 14:00

• December 2025 - Orange the World - Exact date and time TBA

• February 2026 - International Day of Women and Girls in Science - Exact date and time TBA 

• March 2026 - Feminist Festival - Exact date and time TBA

28 June 2025 - From this week’s blogger, FTW coordination team member and tour co-creator Chizu Sato:

The 28th of June, International Pride Day, marks the commemoration of the Stonewall Riots that broke out 56 years ago in NY, US. Stonewall sparked the LGBTQAI+ rights movements across national borders, along with diverse social movements of the times, including the Second Wave of women’s movements. 

Progress has surely been made, thanks to those who struggled before us. But looking at the current political climate, there are tough paths ahead. 

I am deeply appreciative of launching Freedom Tours Wageningen on International Pride Day, joining efforts to keep raising our consciousness around issues of gender and sexuality to bring about freedom for all, together with diverse communities in and beyond Wageningen. 

The day started with backstage work and had two simultaneous tours in the morning and one tour in the afternoon, while some of us were setting up and cleaning up our lunch and the launch venue. Each tour had about 15 participants and took over 2 hours. In the middle, we celebrated the launch at Visum Mundi with our major collaborators and supporters.  

I joined one of the morning and the afternoon tours. For each, three fellow guides took turns to guide the six stops. Our tours walked through the open Saturday market and a music festival in the neighbourhood, which made our experiences lively and noisy at times.  

These two tours had the same core scripts. But each tour was special because of real face-to-face interactions with tour participants, who shared their lived perspectives and stories. I deepened my understanding of the controversy around the statue at one of our stops. I learned why there is a rather radical sex education in South Africa, where kidnapping is a social issue. I got curious about and will definitely read a children’s book Why? that one participant mentioned. 

My energy level remained high throughout the time. I enjoyed every bit of time with our co-creators, tour participants, collaborators and supporters.  

I am greatly thankful to all collaborators and supporters, including the co-creators’ family members, who made the launch possible.  

At the launch event, together with Rob Manders, one of our fellow guides, we sang the 'Rainbow Song': 

Rob: 'Red and yellow and pink and green, orange and purple and blue'

All: 'We can sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow for you'

Rob: 'Sing it out loud, sing it out loud, show your intentions are true'

All: 'We can sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow for you'

Rob: 'The sun is yellow, the grass is green, look how the sky is blue!' 

All: 'We can sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow for you' 

Rob: 'You can sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow, surely you can, too' 

I hope we keep learning from our experiences with tour participants and collaborators and keep inviting many to join the chorus to make a change in their respective communities.  

25 June 2025 - Join the Learning Ecosystem Wageningen (LEW) and Freedom Tours Wageningen for a community lunch and open discussion. We aim to bring together relevant stakeholders and individuals around a important societal theme. Let yourself be inspired by ongoing initiatives, join the discussion on the challenges related to this theme in Wageningen, and explore what we can do together to address these challenges. On Wednesday, 25 June, from 12:00 to 13:30 at Thuis Wageningen, we’ll explore local challenges and initiatives related to diversity and inclusion. 

As part of the event, a student group from Freedom Tours Wageningen will share insights from ongoing research into diversity and inclusion in Wageningen, with a focus on how local social and welfare organizations engage with these themes. As part of Pride month, gender and LGBTQIA+ inclusion will be part of the programme. Bring your curiosity, your voice, and your appetite. Lunch is prepared by volunteers, and donations are appreciated.

What’s on the programme?

• 12:00 – 12:05: Walk-in

• 12:05 – 12:10: Introduction to LEW

• 12:10 – 12:15: Introduction to Freedom Tours Wageningen

• 12:15 – 12:45: Talk-show style interview with students of the GEO 51803 Capita Selecta course focused on Freedom Tours Wageningen – discussing their insights and experiences with research on queer and decolonial perspectives in the city

• 12:45 – 13:00: Reflective workshop on Diversity & Inclusion from an LGBTQIA+ lens, facilitated by Adriaan Bosker, Freedom Tours Wageningen tour co-creator

• 13:00 – 13:30: Lunch and connect

Organized by: Gemeente Wageningen, Stadslab (part of de bblthk), Society Based Education (part of Wageningen University) and Thuis Wageningen

Date: Wednesday, 25 June - 12:00 - 13:30
Location: Thuis Wageningen (Stationsstraat 32, Wageningen)

Language: EN

20 June 2025 - From this week’s blogger, FTW founder and coordinator Meghann Ormond:

I felt alive today. Did you?

Feeling alive,  Zen teacher Christian Dillo writes in The Path of Aliveness, “isn’t about feeling better; it’s about feeling better.” 

My fellow tour co-creators and I walked our new tour route together through downtown Wageningen, stopping at each tour stop. But it wasn't to practice the script we've been working so hard on this last month. No, we put the script away this week. We'd been living too much in our heads recently. We were ready to reconnect with the personal stories and embodied experiences that inspired the tour themes we developed and the locations we chose to represent them.

Gathering our fellow tour co-creators in a circle around us, one by one, we shared heart-felt stories and anecdotes that brought the overall tour narrative about the intersection of different kinds of freedom with gender and sexuality to life. We spoke of our sorrows and joys, our frustrations and relief, and our dilemmas and sense-making strategies. And, as we did this very brave work in the most public of spaces, the soft, supportive gazes of our fellow co-creators held us and celebrated us simply for who we are. 

I do this work - bringing people from diverse ages and backgrounds together to co-create public tours about issues that matter deeply to them - because it enables moments like these - where we allow ourselves to feel better. Not to resolve anything, but rather to be more attuned to ourselves, to one another, to our environments.

Now, let me be clear: I love the tours we give. I see over and over again how the tours give both participants and guides the chance, if only for a brief moment, to let unfurl something within them. 

But I love even more how I get to wit(h)ness tour co-creators slowly grounding themselves in the places where they live, delicately recognizing, observing and holding something deeper not only about themselves but also their connections with fellow tour co-creators.

Before many of us retreated to Torckpark for a relaxed Midsummer's evening chat in the shade, we bid farewell to the mother of one of the tour co-creators. She embraced each of us in turn, sharing how fortunate she felt to witness what we had made. 'It's about humanity', she said, 'It's about humanity'.

13 June 2025 - From this week’s blogger, tour co-creator Izzy Branscomb:

How can we as guides find the boundary between safe and brave spaces? That was what our special guest, Fiona-Marie Hawes, helped us to discover this week during our workshop on group management and engagement. We explored the many questions and strategies around being a tour guide, such as physical and emotional space, trust, and communication.

Our safe spaces are where we feel comfortable, where we know how things work and what will happen. But it’s only when we enter brave spaces that we learn and challenge what we know. All our co-creators have different ways of defining their brave and safe spaces, and being able to recognize and lean into our differences was a great joy.

And of course, we danced! 

12 June 2025 Our initiative is featured in the newest edition of Wageningen's arts and culture magazine, Uitwaaien, released last week! FTW's coordinator Meghann Ormond was interviewed by Jaja Espinha about the kinds of impact both the process of making the tour and the tour itself can have on everyone involved. Though it didn't make it into the published interview, Meghann especially enjoyed relating our tour co-creation process to the dance and somatic work in which Jaja is himself deeply involved. These kinds of work actually have much in common, and she's keen to explore how to bring in the body even more into what we do with the tour. 

Read the interview "Nothing about us without us" online in the 6th edition of Uitwaaien or grab a free printed copy at Wageningen's de bblthk

12 June 2025 - From our blogger this week, tour co-creator Alejandra Guijo Bermejo:

Last week, I was reflecting with a colleague on the beginning of Freedom Tours Wageningen. Less than a year ago, it was just a dream—a vision to create a tour in Wageningen focused on social justice and equality. We were inspired by powerful examples like Migrantour Utrecht, and we hoped to create something similar in our own community. 

Everything started to move quickly after a conversation with the Diversity & Inclusion team at Wageningen University & Research and their support to bring in an intern to conduct a feasibility study. From that moment on, the journey unfolded in a beautiful way, connecting us with people who truly believe in this project. 

When we decided that the first tour would focus on gender and sexuality, the excitement grew even more. Gender topics have been close to my heart for as long as I can remember, and I have been involved in several projects that aim to promote equality and inclusion. However, this is the first time I have been part of a co-creative process with such a direct, local impact—right here in the city I live in. 

The co-creation process began in March, and one of the biggest highlights for me has been connecting with the wonderful group of co-creators. Some were already close friends, and others I met through this journey. Together, we have built a space to share our experiences, ideas, worries, thoughts, and dreams. Some sessions have been deeply personal and emotional—we have laughed, cried, learned, danced, and above all, we have created. We have put our creativity and enthusiasm into bringing this project to life. 

For me, Freedom Tours has been an ongoing learning experience—not only deepening my understanding of gender and sexuality, which is incredible—but also showing me the power of community to drive change. 

I cannot wait for the tour to launch and to witness its impact as participants begin to engage with it. I am excited to see how it will evolve and be shaped by the people who take part. 

WUR Diversity & Inclusion is hiring a student assistant for a temporary position to contribute to the Freedom Tours Wageningen initiative! 

Visit this link for further details. Please share with people in your network you think might be interested! Application deadline: 27 June.

We are looking for an enthusiastic student assistant to support the coordination and growth of Freedom Tours Wageningen. This person will play a key role in reaching out to potential partners within Wageningen University and the local community, helping to organize tour bookings, and assisting with communication and promotion. This is a great opportunity to develop skills in outreach, project coordination, and community engagement while contributing to a meaningful initiative.

9 June 2025 - From our coordinator, Meghann Ormond:

It was a big day for Freedom Tours Wageningen! We prototyped our 'Freedom through the lenses of gender and sexuality' tour for a great group of US university students visiting the Netherlands!

It was an honor to give this tour together with my wonderful fellow tour co-creators Izzy Branscomb, Nadia de Bell and Mariana Figallo Brero. The dedication, creativity and enthusiasm they bring to the Freedom Tours Wageningen initiative is incredible. And how special that some of our students from Wageningen University & Research's MSc  Tourism, Society & Environment and BSc Tourism programs - like Izzy and Nadia - get a chance to really co-create and lead tours about issues that matter to them in the city in which they live and study!

It's just beautiful to see the tour themes and tour stop scripts our whole group of local tour co-creators has been developing over these last few months really come to life with the tour participants. Many thanks to our whole team for everything they bring to this work and to the community we're building together. The dream is becoming a reality!

Finally, many thanks to Sara Verma and the folks at CIEE Amsterdam for this opportunity! Participating in study abroad programs in Morocco and Belgium when I myself was a university student way back in the day was so utterly transformative for me. So, it was a real gift today to hear these students share their experiences and compare life here with life in the US. 

6 June 2025 - From this week's blogger, tour co-creator Alejandra Guijo Bermejo:

We rehearsed the full tour route together last Friday. Having been away for the last few weeks, I made sure to read through the script to know what everyone was up to - and I was already impressed by the incredible work everyone had done. But honestly, practicing it in person together exceeded all my expectations.

The tour is so interactive and thoughtfully designed that being part of it allowed me to connect with the themes in a completely different way than just reading it. It encourages self-reflection and learning from each other’s stories, as well as gaining new perspective on gender and sexuality in Wageningen. 

On Saturday, when I went to the city centre by myself, I saw the different locations we visit in the tour in a whole new way. 

I’m happy to have felt the great energy we shared on Friday, and I'm excited to work on the final details of the tour to be ready for its launch on 28 June!

3 June 2025 - From our guest blogger this week, tour co-creator Adriaan Bosker:

When I first heard about Freedom Tours Wageningen during its January local stakeholder event held at Wageningen45, I was intrigued. The goal of the tour really moved me—and I felt inspired to join the tour co-creation team, even though I had no idea what role I could play.

But from our first meetings, where we openly reflected on our own identities and did (for me!) unfamiliar exercises to reflect and connect, I began to feel part of something meaningful.

Taking a Migrantour Utrecht early on in the process also gave me both practical tools and inspiration for shaping our own tour in Wageningen on freedom, gender and sexuality. But, still, I wasn’t sure where I fit in.

That changed when Meghann reminded me how I bring my own unique energy, knowledge, connections, experience and skills to the group. Add to that the encouraging words from my fellow tour co-creators, and I found the confidence to step forward.

Now, I’m proud to say I’m one of the future tour guides. Working with a mostly young, international team (and in English!) has pushed me in new ways, but I’m glad I took the leap. Here’s to learning, growing, and walking this journey together!

30 May 2025 - From this week's blogger, tour co-creator Adriaan Bosker:

This week, we took another big step at Freedom Tours Wageningen. Guided by professional communication trainer Hannah te Velde, we practiced how to present confidently in front of a group. Through some very effective body and voice exercises, we learned how to speak with clarity and connect with presence.

We also picked up valuable tips on group interaction—like how important it is to maintain eye contact, especially when sharing something personal during the tour.

Team members bravely presented part of the tour script, and we gave each other feedback. What stood out to me was the energy and joy everyone brought to the parts of the tour they've been developing.

And another special moment: we received our official Freedom Tours Wageningen shirts! That made it all feel very real.

Now, we’re preparing for the big day: our public launch on 28 June. It feels like our “tour baby” is ready to meet the world. I'm looking forward to a happy birthday for Freedom Tours Wageningen! 

23 May 2025 - From this week's blogger, tour co-creator Mariana Figallo Brero:

This week, something incredible happened — we read through the full script of Freedom Tours Wageningen for the first time. All eight stops, all the stories, finally came together in one living, breathing moment. With some wonderful guests from Thuis Wageningen, Learning Ecosystem Wageningen and Diversity & Inclusion at Wageningen University & Research and Migrantour Utrecht present to offer their feedforward, it felt like our tour came alive, and that’s something to celebrate.

This session marked a true milestone. It wasn’t just a run-through; it was the first time we really could see the potential with our own eyes, hear the impact through our words, and feel what we’d built together. The emotions in the room were layered: we were proud, calm, inspired, and excited. And yes, also a little overwhelmed, and a little tender-hearted about what’s coming next.

Change is coming. As we near the end of our tour co-creation journey, the weekly sessions that have become such a meaningful and safe space for us will begin to slow down. We’ll soon be guiding the public through the tour, rather than shaping it quietly together behind the scenes. That shift brings anticipation — and a touch of vulnerability.

But this project has always been about embracing transition, about honouring gender, sexuality, LGBTQ+ and feminist perspectives not just as themes, but as lived experiences that evolve, surprise, and shape us. And so, unlike the usual habit of waiting until the very end to celebrate, we did it now. We celebrated this moment, this living script, this shared achievement, because every step of this has been real, raw, and human.

To those reading, we hope you feel some of what we felt this week: the power of collective creativity, the courage it takes to tell stories that matter, and the joy of building something with love at its centre.

16 May 2025 - From our guest blogger this week, tour co-creator Alejandro Sanchez Ruiz: 

I feel like a happy farmer finally beginning to see the fruits of our labor! This week, we laid the foundations for a meaningful, memorable guided walking tour route by developing the content and selecting the locations for our thematic tour stops.  We listened to each other present possible tour stops and, afterwards, shared feedback on the stories being told and the potential places that would bring them to life.

What excited me most was when we gathered around the map of Wageningen, deciding the route we would take participants on. Choosing the order of the stops—and even assigning each one a specific type of freedom to represent—felt especially meaningful.

By now, you're probably curious to know which stops made it into our guided tour — and we won’t keep you in the dark for long! Follow us on social media (see links at the bottom of the page) for some sneak peeks and get a sense of how freedom will come be explored in Wageningen through the lenses of gender and sexuality. As a tour co-creator, I promise you that you'll never see these places the same way again. You'll begin to notice just how deeply gender and sexuality are woven into our surroundings — for better or for worse.

15 May 2025 - Wageningen's 2025 Pride Month celebrations are soon underway! Throughout the month of June, you can join Freedom Tours Wageningen and great local organisations like Shout Wageningen, de bblthk, Let's Talk About Yes, Feminist Run Club, Thalia, Otherwise, Rural Wageningen Foundation (RUW), Amnesty International Student Group Wageningen,  Waga Storm and Centre for Space, Place and Society (CSPS - WUR) for an array of workshops, tours, dialogues, movie screenings, dance parties, dinners, book talks, drag performances, and comedy shows. 

Visit the Wageningen Pride website here and sign up for one of the free Freedom Tours Wageningen tours on freedom, gender and sexuality that we're launching on Saturday, 28 June (10:00-12:00 & 14:00-16:00): https://www.bblthk.nl/pride2025.html  

9 May 2025 - From our guest blogger this week, tour co-creator Nadia de Bell:

In this week’s co-creation session we did something I was secretly kind of waiting for. Starting the day full of excitement we got to picking themes and drafting the tour stops! In the past weeks we got to learn so much about ourselves, each other, Wageningen, and the world. Now, it's time for creation of the actual tour - seeing the fruits of our labor. Thanks to the insights we gained from all of the experiences and knowledges gathered in the past weeks there is, of course, so much we want to share, but we collectively selected the most important themes we want to include in the tour. In small teams, we got to shaping the themes we want to touch upon and how this will be done. From stories of visibility and resistance, to joy and role models - there were so many creative ideas for engagement that I’m thrilled to see come to life! At the end of the day we started shooting some content in order for you to get to know us a bit more. So stay tuned for that! And don’t forget to join us for the first free tours on Saturday, 28 June! 

4 May 2025 - Freedom Tours Wageningen team members Meghann, Chizu, Alejandro, Adriaan and Izzy commemorated Remembrance Day with 36 high school students and several teachers from Hungary, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands visiting Wageningen for an Erasmus exchange during the special 4 and 5 May celebrations. We developed and facilitated an interactive workshop aimed at getting students to think about the tensions between different kinds of freedom and rights in everyday situations. Using a role-play format, students took on a variety of roles in relatable scenarios addressing LGBTQ+ issues, cultural diversity in heritage representation, and socio-economic inequities. It was wonderful to hear their perspectives and also insightful to get their reflections on what's happening in their own countries and communities throughout Europe. Many thanks to Dorien de Jonge and her colleagues from Pantarijn and throughout Europe for this opportunity! 

25 April & 2 May 2025 - From this week's guest blogger, tour co-creator Izzy:

After having seen Wageningen through others' eyes the week before, our very own Freedom Tours Wageningen tour co-creator Rob gave a powerful tour of Wageningen on 25 April (Session 7) that made visible some of the city's more hidden stories - past and present - of violence, resilience, good will, and connection. Stories are everywhere - it's simply a matter of knowing where (and how) to look. 

My favorite stop from Rob's tour was the mosaic bench sitting at the end of the Hoogstraat. Each piece of the mosaic had been bought by local residents to raise the funds necessary to make the 2016 documentary "Love to Live" by Karin Bruers and Margreet Bos.

By 2 May (Session 8), after having explored a lot over the last several weeks, we realized it was time to revisit what we're experienced and created so that we could lay the foundations of our tour. So, we got creative - looking for new patterns,  images, metaphors, and overarching themes in all the material we'd collected and generated. 

Using the New Metaphors cards, we experimented with new combinations of ideas and played with new ways of seeing (something we'll continue to do in the coming weeks). What really struck me about what emerged from the session is how the joy of living and the freedom it holds came through again and again as a theme. 

Our group of tour co-creators has so many amazing talents and such rich knowledge that we can't wait to share and celebrate with you. And, in this blog entry, I want to share one of my talents: below are a couple of images I've painted from my experience in Freedom Tours Wageningen over these past two weeks. 

Join us for free Freedom Tours launch on Saturday, 28 June! 

18 April 2025 - From this week's guest blogger, tour co-creator Rob:

Our tour co-creation session last Friday was all about discovering stories that often go untold. We started the day with a feminist tour led by Margreet van der Burg, one of the authors of Vrouwen, Wageningen en de Wereld (2003). In front of the former University Aula (today the Visum Mundi), once adorned with portraits of only male academics, she shared how hard it has been over time for women to be accepted into Wageningen University’s male-dominated academic world. We heard stories about the first women students and found out where the women’s student association used to meet.

Afterwards, we were warmly welcomed by Rins and Kees at SHOUT, Wageningen’s LGBTQ+ association, to learn about how it's developed over time. Kees has been there from the very beginning, when it was called “Homo Groep Wageningen”. Today, SHOUT is a volunteer-run community that offers both private (safe space) and donation-based public events. SHOUT is located in a former Catholic girls’ school, now home to Theatre De Wilde Wereld and SHOUT's cozy meeting spot for members: the Rainbow Room. We helped set up the theatre for their evening karaoke party and wrapped up the day singing our hearts out—it was great hearing everyone’s voices in a totally different way.

11 April 2025 - From our guest blogger this week, tour co-creator Nadya de Wolf: 

They say history is written by the victors — those in power shape the stories we remember. So, what about those who couldn’t write at all? It felt fitting, then, to have our session in Wageningen's Museum de Casteelse Poort, surrounded by echoes of the past, as we unpacked how our histories and heritages shape how we understand freedom, gender, and sexuality.

We began by reflecting on childhood memories —  cartoons, toys, and stories — that shaped our early ideas of gender. Think: the perfect Disney family. But what about the dissonance? The moments when, as we grew older, things no longer matched what we were taught. For me, it was the depiction of womanhood: soft, pink, always kind. But my own experience of it feels more like a storm brewing on the ocean’s horizon: dark blue and grey, a violent dance of emotions.

Our amazing team created a timeline tracing gender and sexuality through the ages, revealing how complex and ever-present these themes are. We added stories from our own heritages, honoring the people that dominant historical discourse overlooks — like Corry Tenderloo’s fight to lift the employment ban for married women, and the Bugis people of Indonesia, who recognize five genders. 

The day ended with a museum tour led by our ever-smiling guide, Martin. Wageningen’s past came to life — with a few surprising facts along the way: did you know the 1945 Act of Surrender on 5 May leading to the Netherlands' liberation from Nazi occupation wasn’t actually signed in Wageningen? Yes, you read that right!

This session was enlightening, to say the least, and a powerful reminder that we must all share our own stories of freedom, before they’re written for us.

4 April 2025 - From our guest blogger this week, tour co-creator Animesh (Mesh) Gautam: 

Spring in Wageningen means gathering under the blossoms of the Netherlands’ oldest magnolia tree—200 years old and full of silent stories. Known fondly as the ‘old lady,’ she invites us to reflect on the past, present, and future of this town.

In the same spirit, Session 4 of the Freedom Tours Wageningen tour co-creation process invited us to map our personal experiences of gender and sexuality onto the city. We explored places tied to our memories. In my case: an all-femme student house, a first cropped top tried on in Forum, and a Grindr date that turned into chosen family.

We used objects, images, and sensations to tell our stories, drawing connections between who we were, who we are, and who we’re becoming. On a sunny walk to the magnolia tree, Alejandro shared his life story through colorful drawings, Mariana laughed while recalling her love for games, and Adriaan beamed as he spoke about generations of his family, symbolized by his daughter’s tiny shoe from when she was a toddler.

This session was a deep dive into our shared humanity—an intimate journey woven through personal maps and collective reflection.

28 March 2025 - From our weekly guest bloggers, tour co-creators Christine Rossegger and Mélissa Rojas:  

Do you ever walk familiar streets without looking up? What stories might you be missing out on? For Session 3 of our tour co-creation process, we explored Utrecht’s Lombok neighborhood with Migrantour Utrecht. With Ilya, our intercultural companion, we looked up, down, and everywhere in between! We were invited to take part in the Migrantour Utrecht in order to get inspiration and learn from other tours. Not only did we visit interesting stops about, amongst others, the themes of migration, colonialism and religion in the Lombok neighborhood, but we were also encouraged to share our own backgrounds and stories. At the end of the tour, we had further conversations and the opportunity to reflect with Migrantour Utrecht guides-in-training. It was a motivating and cheerful experience to learn about tour co-creation - and we're excited now about starting our own tours soon!

21 March 2025 - In Session 2 of the tour co-creation process, we talked about how different parts of our social identity — like age, skin color, citizenship and education — affect how we see and express ourselves. We also explored how hard it can be to represent ourselves and others without oversimplifying or stereotyping.

14 March 2025 - The Freedom Tours Wageningen (FTW) tour co-creation process officially started today! For our pilot tour, we are exploring the intersections of freedom, gender and sexuality. The tour will be launched for the general public on Saturday, 28 June 2025. Our incredible team of tour co-creators brings a wealth of experience and knowledge from around the world to this four-month design process. In our first session, we reflected on how these complex themes connect to our own lives. In just a few hours, we started to build meaningful connections—both with each other and with the goals of the FTW initiative.

Wageningen University students can receive 3 ECTS by participating in Freedom Tours Wageningen's pilot tour co-creation.  We begin our weekly sessions on Friday, 14 March and end on Saturday, 28 June. Sessions run mainly on Fridays, from 13:00-16:00 in locations throughout Wageningen.

 Interested? 

• Check out the course brochure here. Deadline to  submit letter of motivation: 12 March 2025

• Join our online info session on 18 February at 13:30

29 January 2025 - Freedom Tours Wageningen invites potential stakeholders to come ready to listen, share and explore! Find out:

• What we wish to do and the impact we wish to have (thematic tour route to foster civic learning and engagement)

• How we intend to do it (in-depth co-creation process involving people with diverse backgrounds in Wageningen)

• What's involved in a tour co-creation process (the creative methods we will be using and why)

• How you/your organisation might be able to be part of this initiative (for example, showcase your organisations/initiatives during the tour, be part of the tour co-creation team, provide support during and after the co-creation process via volunteering/funding/promotion, etc.)

We welcome your energy, knowledge, connections, experience and skills to help us advance this unique initiative.

This event will be held in English to ensure the broadest possible participation. However, we understand that some participants may feel more comfortable speaking in Dutch or another language. We will do our best to accommodate this and create an inclusive environment where everyone feels heard.

When: Wednesday, 29 January, Session 1 from 12:30-15:00 and Session 2 from 18:30-21:00

Where: Wageningen45