From Parochialism to an Inclusive City: A Film Intervention in Utrecht
In Utrecht, different social groups co-exist in a peaceful, yet segregated way. In order to make a change, the Utrecht Young Academy worked together with the City of Utrecht to produce a short film about social segregation in the city. On the 27th of March 2018, this movie was presented in TivoliVredenburg.
About the Film
Exploring how groups think about themselves and their relationship to other groups, the film seeks insight into our own community, but also looks for answers on how to bring us closer together. Following the example of documentary series such as ‘Over de Streep’, If You Really Knew Me, and the Danish Television advertisement All That We Share, the film encourages people from different backgrounds to challenge themselves and each other to revisit their prejudices and preconceptions. This way, we aim to show Utrecht that we are more alike than we think.
Why do we see some people as ‘Us’ and other as ‘Them’? Why do we not always know our neighbors?
The Project
The UYA-members involved with this project are Madelijn Strick and Lars Tummers. This film is one of UYA's many public engagement projects, intended to make regular citizens become familiar with scientific research. Participating citizens received a brief report at the end of the insights and discoveries made in the research, making them "end users" of the information they helped gathering themselves. This way, scientific research is able to have direct practical applications.
