Mirjam Kaijer of Voices for Women, youth organization JOB MBO and actress Maryam Hassouni have a chance to win the 2023 Issue Award this year. The jury of the Issue Award presents the award every year to a person or organization that has raised an issue in a successful or striking way. put it on the map. The Issue Award will be presented for the 12th time this year, during the Issue Lecture. 

Maria van der Heijden, from MVO-Nederland and chairman of the jury: “Each of the nominees has actively worked to tackle a problem over the past year and they did so with drive and courage.” On January 24, it will be announced which of the nominees will win the Issue Award. 

• JOB MBO – Chairman Jelmer Becker 

MBO students often do not have the same opportunities during their student years as HBO or university students, in terms of housing, sports and culture or student discounts. JOB MBO is a youth organization that gives a voice to MBO students in education and stands up for their rights. They are committed to drawing attention to equal opportunities for MBO students and reached both media and politicians this year. 

• Maryam Hassouni 

In November of last year, Maryam Hassouni came out with her story and experiences about inappropriate behavior in the television world. In her book “Wat de fak” she reveals the transgressive behavior, racism and sexism that she experienced in the workplace. Although she tells her story candidly, she does not mention names and focuses on the problems within the entire system in order to bring about changes and reforms. 

• Voices for Women – Chairman Mirjam Kaijer 

Women's healthcare lags behind that of men, meaning women are more likely to be misdiagnosed or treated. Voices for Women therefore started a petition for more study of women's bodies and diseases, but also for this knowledge to be included in the curriculum of healthcare training. The initiative collected more than 55,000 signatures and the petition was presented to Minister of Health Ernst Kuipers on September 12. 

Announcement of winner during Issue lecture 

The winner of the 2023 Issue Award will be announced during the annual Issue Lecture on January 24. This year the lecture will be given by researcher and publicist Josse de Voogd. In previous years, Madelijn van den Nieuwenhuizen (2021) and David van Reybrouck (2022) gave the lecture. Josse de Voogd will share his vision on voting in the Netherlands with us in an inspiring and thought-provoking manner, which we expect will lead to interesting insights. De Voogd is known for his contribution to election broadcasts at the NOS, and at the end of 2021 published the 'Atlas of Afgehaakt Nederland' together with René Cuperus, about how social differences between people are reflected in the 'electoral map' of the Netherlands.  

The Issue Award 

Issuemakers present the Issue Award every year to an initiative or organization that has committed itself to an issue in the past year and has put it on the agenda in a striking or effective way among the general public or in politics. Previous winners of this prize were Eva González Pérez for her commitment to the benefits affair in 2021, Organization Black Lives Matter NL for the Damp Protest on June 1, 2020 and Tim Hofman for the #BOOS documentary 'Back to your own country' in 2018. 

The jury 

The jury of the Issue Award 2023 consists of jury chair Maria van der Heijden (CSR-Netherlands), Mieke Ansems (VNO-NCW and MKB-Nederland), Joris Backer (Eerste Kamer), Omar Kbiri (Maak Amsterdam), Mark Monsma (Collaborating Health Funds) and Jasper Mulder (Adformation). 

You can register for the online Issue lecture via or via the website of Logeion.