Femke Kaulingfreks Principal Investigator Navigating Professional Politics

Femke Kaulingfreks has been lector of Youth and Society at Inholland University of Applied Sciences in Amsterdam since March 2018, and professor by special appointment of metropolitan issues at the Wibaut Chair at the University of Amsterdam since April 2023. Femke specializes in connecting qualitative research - especially neighborhood-based ethnographic research - in which people's own perceptions are central, with political-philosophical theorizing.

Within her professorship, Femke deals with complex and topical social issues concerning growing up and education. How can young people from diverse backgrounds grow up well and equally in a metropolitan context? The voice of young people themselves is leading in our approach and diversity, inclusion and equal opportunities are key areas of focus.

For the Wibaut Chair, Femke researches practices of community development initiated by residents in Amsterdam's urban margins and practices of democratic cooperation between residents, civil society and government. She examines how community-based working and policy processes initiated by the municipality relate to each other, the role of intermediaries who establish a direct relationship between residents and institutions, and how the influence of residents on broad welfare in their own living environment can be strengthened.