I'm Jelger Kroese, a social designer, facilitator and applied researcher. I help people grow high-trust social environments and guide teams working on societal transitions together with researchers, public organizations and social enterprises.
I draw on my experiences across academia, improvisational arts and contemplative practice to cultivate environments and cultures of inquiry and care. These expand our capacity to navigate complexity and systemic tensions - within and between people, fields, values and organizational structures -, opening up space for new, more holistic visions, shared meaning and collective action.
I co-lead the Collective Futures MSc-minor at University of Amsterdam, am a member of art collective Shock Forest Group, and am part of cooperatively built and managed workplace De Ceuvel.
Learning Experience Design
Collective Futures: transdisciplinary MSc-minor at University of Amsterdam (2023)
I co-initiated the program, which involved setting up a network of collaborators, creating the vision, curriculum, assessment methods, theory of change, operational workflows, website, workshops and a coaching track.
Workshop series on collective research and improvisation, with Shock Forest Group at Van Abbemuseum (2023)
I co-designed and co-facilitated a 3-week workshop series leading up to a collective performance and radio broadcast at Van Abbemuseum.
Shock Forest Group workshop at Van Abbemuseum
Inner Development exercise for Transition Makers Toolbox (2023)
A series of exercises for teachers and students to open up imagination and cultivate a sense of awe in mundane activities. Created with help from Dr. Hanneke Scholten and Dr. Thomas van Rompay. Inspired by Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman's research.
Research & Design for Transitions
Listening Towards An Ecological Self (2022 - current)
Research and spatial sound experience in collaboration with Hanneke Scholten and Thomas van Rompay from Twente University. We investigate how active imagination and bodily engagement in sound environments can affect our ecological awareness and self-concept. The project is kindly supported by Creative Industries Fund NL (2022 - current).
Sounding Urban Nature (2023)
A project with Waag Amsterdam and ARISE Naturalis to study Amsterdam Science Park's soundscape and enhance its environment for all campus life. I set up the collaboration and guided Masters students in using AI to identify bird sounds, assessing soundscapes through walks, and designing a landscape intervention. This project's outcomes are used to guide area development by highlighting the interplay between nature, sound, and wellbeing. Our efforts culminated in an exhibit at the "Met andere ogen" landscape festival during the solstice, part of the Urban Ecology Field Atlas walk organized by Waag (2023).
Nature Intelligence (2022)
I supervised a project to design and scientifically validate fieldwork activities that incorporate the concept Nature Intelligence (NQ) in IVN's youth education program - in collaboration with Institute for Nature education (IVN), Prof. Agnes van den Berg and Dr. Thomas Albers.
Workshops & talks
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2023 - Talk at World Forum for Acoustic Ecology Conference 2023, about research project Listening Towards an Ecological Self.
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2023 - Workshop at Willem de Kooning Academy, titled: "Transdisciplinarity: emerging ideas in an ecology of relationship".
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2023 - Workshop on imagination for The Changemaking Project at University of Amsterdam.
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2023 - Talk at Media Technology Msc, Leiden University, titled: "Emergence and relationality between humans, technology and environment".
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2023 - Q&A with Shock Forest Group at Van Abbemuseum, hosted by Charles Esche.
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2023 - Workshop together with Hanneke Scholten, on play, moral imagination and hope in times of climate change, at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
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2022 - Workshop on play and connection at Mozilla Festival's Neurodiverse Wellbeing space in collaboration with Shauna Jin.
Exhibitions & Installations
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2023 - Shock Forest Group presents Radial Seedscape at Van Abbemuseum.
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2023 - Created a new website for Shock Forest Group, archiving our work of the past years. It also includes a web version of The Entity.
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2023 - Shock Forest Group presents Cosmic Radio at STRP festival: The Art of Listening.
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2022 - Presenting sound experience Listening Towards an Ecological Self at Attunement in Practice open house, Medley, Berlin.
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2019 - Shock Forest Group presents exhibition No Camouflage at Het Hem, Zaandam (2019)
Resume
Click here for my full bio and resume.