Black Lives Matter NL vapor protest, Fireworks ban petition and corona communication approach Diederik Gommers nominated for Issue Award 2021

Amstelveen, (January 18, 2021) – The Vapor Protest against institutional racism organized by Caitlin Schaap, Naomie Pieter, Elvin Rigters, Mitchell Esajas and Jerry Afriyie (KOZP), the petition for a ban on (consumer) fireworks by initiators of the Fireworks Manifesto and the communication approach around corona by Diederik Gommers have been nominated for the Issue Award 2021. The Issue Award has been presented every year since 2010 to the person or organization that managed to put a social and political issue on the agenda in a striking, effective way. According to the professional jury, led by behavioral scientist Reint Jan Renes, these nominees were the most successful initiatives in the field of social and political agendas in the past year.  

• Vapor protest Black Lives Matter NL – On June 1, 2020, Caitlin Schaap, Naomie Pieter, Elvin Rigters, Mitchell Esajas and Jerry Afriyie (KOZP) organized a Black Lives Matter NL protest on Dam Square against institutional racism in the Netherlands, in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement that emerged in America. had come. The protest, which attracted an estimated 15,000 participants, put this topic - which deeply affects feelings and experiences - high on the political and social agenda. This effectively placed the subject of institutional racism in the Netherlands on the agenda in a sharp and sometimes abrasive manner.

• Petition (Consumers) Fireworks Ban – In January 2020, hundreds of thousands of people signed the petition for a ban on consumer fireworks. This was an initiative of the Fireworks Manifesto, founded in 2014 by Tjeerd de Faber and Jan Keunen (ophthalmologists), Marjolijn Snouck-Hurgonje (former nurse), Willemien Boland (youth doctor) and Maaike van Zuilen (communications advisor). After years, the persistent initiators have achieved their goal, partly due to corona: a ban on consumer fireworks in 2020. Their call developed from an urgent appeal to embrace by politics and government.

• Communication approach Diederik Gommers (chairman of the Dutch Association for Intensive Care and head of department at the Erasmus Medical Center) – The sudden arrival of corona raised many questions in 2020. Gommers showed the ability to opinion makers, citizens and authorities to face the facts in understandable language about IC capacity, the measures and corona. He successfully went beyond his initial task of advising the government. Gommers was also given a major role in interpreting current events and continued to engage in impactful dialogue.

Jury

The professional jury of the Issue Award consists of chairman Reint Jan Renes (lecturer at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences), André Manning (director of Logeion, the professional organization for communication professionals), Guido Rijnja (communication policy advisor at the Government Information Service), Lecyca Curiel (generation Z expert), Maria van der Heijden (director MVO-Nederland), Mieke Ansems (director of communication and marketing at VNO-NCW and MKB-Nederland) and Rob de Lange (author and general reporter at the Financieel Dagblad).

Previous winners

Last year, the Issue Award went to Bart Kemp (Agractie Nederland) for his organization of the farmers' protest of October 2019. In 2019, Tim Hofman won the Issue Award for his initiative to petition for a broader child pardon. In addition, Arjen Lubach received an Oeuvre Award with his program “Sunday with Lubach” in which Lubach highlights social issues. In 2018, educational action group PO in Actie won the award for the way in which workload and salary problems in primary education are put on the agenda, in 2017 the prize went to Hugo Borst and Carin Gaemers for the issue 'Quality of elderly care'. The Issue Award has existed since 2010.

Issue Award presentation January 28

The winner of the Issue Award will be announced during the online Issue lecture 'Between truth and madness' in collaboration with Logeion on Thursday, January 28, 2021 from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Legal historian and media critic Madeleijn van den Nieuwenhuizen – also known as Zeikschrift – also gives her view on this subject and will discuss it with the participants after her lecture. The prize is an initiative of communications consultancy Issuemakers, which has successfully wants to make putting social issues on the agenda visible and reward them.