Broerstraat 5, Issue 3, October 2020

Sustainable behaviour is the key to a better climate
Professor Linda Steg was awarded the Stevin Prize for her pioneering work in environmental psychology. In her research, she investigates how to influence sustainable behaviour. The coronavirus pandemic is offering new starting points.

Detective work leads to Spinoza Prize
In her younger years, Pauline Kleingeld was curious about the backgrounds of the many religious communities in her home town. Today, she is one of the world’s most renowned researchers on the philosophy of Kant. Her Spinoza Prize comes just at the right moment, as she is completing an important phase in her research, and brings her ultimate dream a big step closer.

‘Suriname has the potential to become a beautiful and prosperous country’
It’s the beginning of February 2020. Bank director Steven Coutinho stands outside the entrance of the De Surinaamsche Bank headquarters with a determined look on his face, surrounded by press and protesters. ‘Six hundred thousand people deserve to be treated with respect,’ he says, holding back his anger, referring to the people of Suriname. ‘Their money is their money!’

‘I want to understand how the mind works.’
Marieke van Vugt once dreamed of becoming a professional ballerina. Now she is a cognitive scientist at the University of Groningen. But as she endeavours to understand the workings of the human mind, she still cannot live without ballet. Or Buddhism.