How does the new common influence our society, now and later?

The theme of generations is addressed. The following people join in:

• Loes Keijsers - Associate professor of Developmental Psychology
• Robin Pierce - Associate professor of Data Protection and Privacy
• William Harris Duke - Student Tilburg University
• Lian Smits – Board member STERK HUIS

Question what young people need

Current developments have made the dividing lines between population groups more visible. In the book, Loes Keijsers and Robin Pierce focus specifically on adolescents,and how we can meet their developmental needs.
Loes Keijsers: "This important life phase is the foundation of life, on which adults depend as well. Young people need space from their parents, good education with committed teachers. And young people cannot live without friends and good social contacts. My plea is to teach adolescents explicitly to deal with stress and to teach them how they can continue to develop themselves, even now. And in order to provide them with those resources, it is necessary that we ask them themselves what they need."

Everyone is vulnerable

Robin Pierce makes the link with vulnerable target groups. "Everyone is vulnerable, not just the vulnerable, i.e., the elderly or the disabled. Vulnerability is not just about getting sick of the virus. It's also about the consequences of the virus. Think of depression, fear of losing your job, and you name it. We have to ask ourselves: what can we do to make it easier for everyone in the current and future situation?”

Development-oriented lockdown

Lian Smits of Sterk Huis sees the number of applications from people in need of support increase again. "We as a Sterk Huis did not close; the vulnerability of the target groups did not and will not allow this. From day one, we took that responsibility, within the possibilities that existed. In the current circumstances, the vulnerability of people becomes much clearer, for example in situations where home education fails. If you have fewer opportunities, that becomes more visible now. We really have to do something about that. As a human being, you learn and develop by interacting with other people. We should not lose sight of the lack of this. It is necessary that we look at a development-oriented lockdown. ”

Free will taken away

As a student with American roots, William Harris Duke misses many important moments because he is not allowed to travel or does not want to take the risk. "I can't see my family members now, can't go to a wedding or funeral abroad. My free will has been taken away from me. The uncertainty that we do not know the future is very difficult for me." As a member of student party SAM he sees that the intake of international students to Tilburg is much less and that international students come from countries that are much closer than usual. “The restrictive measures inhibit us in the social contacts we really need. Young people are looking for other ways to meet each other. We have to keep talking about that, the need to meet offline is still there. Positive effects are that you can easily take classes online elsewhere in the world, so the world is smaller in that respect. But attending online lectures cannot compete with living in another culture for a semester. That is fundamentally different.”

The theme of health is addressed. The following people join in:

• Petri Embregts - Endowed professor on living with a mental disability
• Katrien Luijkx – Full professor of Elderly Care
• Bart Berden - Chair of the Board Elizabeth/TweeSteden Hospital
• Benjamin Langman - Sports physiotherapist, Board member Sports Medical Center

Target group that must remain visible

Petri Embregts outlines the situation for people with intellectual disabilities: The impact is huge. For weeks, we interviewed people, parents, and care professionals about their experiences with COVID-19 in the present time. There was a lot of solidarity, but the social relations of mentally disabled people are still under a lot of pressure. There is fear of the pandemic, fear of being infected, and fear about things these people cannot understand. Parents have taken their children back home from 24-hour care out of fear and love. We see that there is a need to have an honest conversation with each other about topics such as responsibility and developing e-health solutions. I think it is important that the group of people with intellectual disabilities remains visible. That people continue to see how big the impact is on their lives, so that togetherness is created also among young people and that everyone understands why we do what we do."

Autonomy of the elderly taken away

Katrien Luijkx outlines the situation of the elderly. "Elderly people in nursing homes no longer had any choices. Because of the measures, they were no longer allowed to function autonomously. This is distressing, especially because there was no more freedom of choice. It is important that we now start listening and talking to them again. We cannot decide about them without consulting them.”

The group versus the individual

As a physiotherapist, Benjamin Langman was quickly looking for alternatives when he was only allowed to see patients out of medical necessity: "After all, you want to help. Until recently, e-health was an issue for health insurers and reimbursements. And athletes weren't really open to it either. The processes were accelerated. In recent years, we have also seen that there is a taboo on choosing the group interest over the control of the individual. That remains an exciting subject.”

Sustain solidarity for a long time

This is also the opinion of Bart Berden as hospital administrator. "I'm worried. We barely managed to process the first wave and the new challenge is just around the corner now that the number of hospital admissions is increasing again. In the new together, the theme is solidarity and compassion. Due to the circumstances, we took a step away from the importance of the individual. By now that has gone. Solidarity is a controversial subject and it is difficult to sustain for long. It also ties in with scarcity in care. The autonomy of the patient is important, but with scarcity, it is also important to dare to look at the bigger picture, the group. This is a delicate subject, but we can't escape it. ”

The theme of digital transformation is addressed. The following persons join in:

• Kenny Masters - Researcher Management and Information Systems
• Max Louwerse – Full professor of Cognitive Psychology and Artificial Intelligence
• Merwin de Jongh - CEO Building Blocks
• Jantien Borsboom - Project manager Digilab LocHal

Data to make choices

Kenny Meesters explains how much information we have at our disposal. "We have developed apps and dashboards to monitor the crisis, but a second development is important. How are we going to make it clear that data is there to help people make good choices? If we are going to share information with each other in a good way, we can move from repressive crisis thinking to helping people make sensible, individual choices. It is a challenge to make sure that things are clear. That is a basic need. Only when that is in order can people actually think about the long term."

Endless possibilities

Max Louwerse explains: "I do not want to accept the new normal in education. I have a lot of respect for everyone who works with it in the current circumstances, but it is not how it should be. Even as a scientist, I don't know what the final goal is. Data science and artificial intelligence are great tools with endless possibilities. And we don't think about those possibilities enough yet. But that's exactly what we have to do now.”

Skills to participate

Jantien Borsboom explains: "In our programs in the library, we look at how we can help people deal with the new reality. How do you deal with all those new skills you need? How do you form an opinion about all the data that comes your way? Digital transformation is an opportunity to involve people in the discussion. Here in the library, we can invite people to take part in the discussion so that they can play a role in the whole.”

Dates to change the practice

Merwin: "The subject of data is under a magnifying glass, but it's not new. The trick is to use data to change or direct practice. Data science is not an end, but a means. We can use it to give people personal information and thus help them. If data has value for you personally, there is no data fatigue about abstract graphs and predictions. We have developed technology to help ourselves, let's use it. In this way, we create time and space to help the vulnerable in society.”

The theme of participation is addressed. The following people join in:

• Conny Rijken – Full professor of Human Trafficking and Globalization
• Tim Reeskens - Associate professor of Sociology
• Esmah Lahlah - Alderwoman for Labor Participation and Social and Economic Security Tilburg Municipality
• Carina Kruijsse – Board member SMO Traverse

Don't become cynical

Conny Rijken gives an explanation about labor migration. "Western countries are dependent on labor migrants, for example in the agricultural world. This has been proven again in the current circumstances. In addition, the poor working and living conditions have once again become clearly visible. The drive to improve these kinds of issues is mainly economic. That simply carries more weight. It is wiser to embrace this fact and act upon it, than to be cynical about it.”

Building bridges

Tim Reeskens sees this from a sociological perspective: "People's values remain the same, even in a time of crisis like the present. We can see that views on politics have changed considerably. Many people want a strong leader. And because they all want that, people are getting closer to each other. We see this as a time effect and estimate that political views will change again and people will get further apart again".

As alderwoman Esmah Lahlah sees much of Tilburg's society: "The dichotomy in the city is worrying. There are large groups of talented people who are vulnerable and therefore hit hard. There is a lot of loneliness among the young and old. Children have educational disadvantages. The fact is that you need each other, that knowledge and innovation are needed. Just like commitment from everyone, so that a new society grows in which really everyone can participate. I recognize the value that is given to the economic interest, which was just mentioned. I think we have to look differently at what an economic interest really is. It's not only about money and profit, but also about investing in people, giving them security of existence and offering them perspective. Because that pays off. It is necessary to look beyond the short-term interest and not fall back into old reflexes as a society. In the beginning, you saw fantastic neighborhood initiatives and aid actions. Now that's gone. We really need to see how we can hold on to this kind of solidarity.

Carina Kruijsse has seen many homeless people in Tilburg struggling with the circumstances: "If you don't have a home and you don't have an indoors, while according to the government you have to stay in your home, that's tough. Nevertheless, our clients have shown a great deal of flexibility, and they have taken control themselves. But of course they did miss their structure, for example because we had to make choices in our day care activities. The number of homeless people in the Netherlands is growing, many people are left behind, and in coronavirus time, that group has grown. If we don't start looking at this together now, it will only get worse. As Traverse, we have called on our cooperation partners in Tilburg to work together in prevention, early detection, more creative housing solutions, and more appropriate care for people in a homeless situation. For 50 homeless people, we want to have found a home again by July 1, 2021."