Anthropologist, researcher and writer
Annette Jansen (1972) is an anthropologist (PhD), researcher and writer from the Netherlands. As independent researcher, Jansen wrote various studies commissioned by international humanitarian organisations. Besides, she published several op-eds and articles in newspapers and academic journals.
In 2017, Anti-genocide activists and the responsibility to protect was nominated for an Award by Amsterdam Free University. In September 2023, Totale Ruimte, a literary non-fiction novel on the life and mission of the Dutch modernist architect Jaap Bakema (1914-1981) was published by Querido, a renowned publishing house in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Jansen currently works on a novel that explores the complicated postcolonial relations between the Netherlands and Indonesia by recounting the love story between a Dutch aid worker and an Acehnese political activist. Besides, she works as an interim project leader at Mensen met een Missie, developing a project that seeks to counter polarization in the Netherlands.
The Bureau Religion and Society:
~ provides policy and program advice to local and national government agencies, civil society organizations and international policy makers on particular questions related to religion and society as emerging in their area of work;
~ disseminates expert knowledge to policy makers, diplomats and humanitarian practitioners through the provision of focused research on themes (see below) related to religion and society, or on the beliefs, practices and aspirations of particular religious or secular ideological movements;
~ facilitates dialogue and joint action research between religious and non-religious authorities who seek to address pressing issues on religions, politics and society in their domain of work.
Themes of expertise:
~ Religion, secularism and identity conflicts
~ Religion, sustainable development and humanitarian response
~ Religion, violence and peace
~ Religion, gender and sexuality
~ Religious and moral leadership
~ Interreligious dialogue