Farewell Gift Martijn Ridderbos - Reading Together for the Future!
Dear colleagues, friends, family, and partners,
After many years at Leiden University, I will soon say goodbye as Vice-President of the Executive Board. In all these years I have committed myself to create a beautiful university by working together. My belief is that this will only work if you try to understand each other and stay curious about each other. This often begins with storytelling, as stories help us to better understand the world and each other.
Reading has always played a significant role in my life. As a child, I devoured comic books like Tintin, Suske en Wiske, and Spirou. Through these comics and my father's passion for books and reading, I became enthusiastic and discovered a love for reading early in my life. Even now, I still enjoy reading, and a recent book that has made a great impression on me is All the Blue of the Sky by Mélissa Da Costa. It is a beautiful story about Emile, who is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's and decides to escape from his family and friends by traveling through Europe in a Volkswagen van. It is a moving book about friendship, intense grief, and love.
Therefore, instead of a present, I have a different request for my farewell. I would like to ask you to contribute to a project at Leiden University that is close to my heart. Dr. Elise Swart and Dr. Hannah De Mulder project focuses on improving reading skills and fostering a love for reading among young people by introducing them to classic stories through engaging materials. The idea is to use comics and short texts, such as the comic versions of Don Quichot or De Aanslag, to motivate students to read longer, richer stories.
This project is important because it aims to enhance the reading skills and motivation of young people—something that is greatly needed in the Netherlands. With your support, Elise, Hannah, and their team can develop lessons that help young people see reading not just as a school task but as something enjoyable and meaningful. I hope that, just as I did, young people can develop a passion for stories, imagination, and the joy of reading early in their lives.
Your contribution will help make this project a reality. Together, we can ensure that stories continue to inspire and connect people, now and in the future.
Thank you all for your support!
Martijn Ridderbos
One-third of 15-year-old students do not reach the basic level of reading comprehension. That is why this research is needed now!
In the Netherlands, one-third of 15-year-old students do not meet the basic level of reading comprehension. This problem is partly caused by the growing influence of social media, making long texts less appealing to young people. At the same time, reading skills are essential for success in school and functioning in society. To address this problem, Dr. Elise Swart and Dr. Hannah De Mulder are initiating an innovative study aimed at making reading enjoyable and accessible for young people again.
The research utilises comics, such as the Donald Duck version of Don Quichot and the graphic novel of De Aanslag, as a springboard to increase reading interest among young people. The researchers aim to gradually entice students to transition to longer and more complex texts. Comics have the visual appeal needed to lower the initial barrier and provide an opportunity for students to actively use their imagination. Ultimately, Swart and De Mulder hope that young people will develop a natural interest in reading thicker books.
Reading skills not only influence language development but also the social development of young people. Swart emphasizes: "Reading promotes empathy and critical thinking. This contributes to social cohesion in society. A decline in reading skills can lead to low literacy, which makes it harder for young people to actively participate in society, such as understanding medication instructions or keeping up with the news."
Swart and De Mulder's research is made possible in part by the crowdfunding campaign of Martijn Ridderbos. For his farewell, he is raising funds for this project. This support enables the researchers to begin with a pilot that can later be scaled up with additional funding. The involvement of teachers and students plays a crucial role in developing educational materials that resonate with the experiences of young people and broaden their horizons.
Thanks to this interdisciplinary collaboration between linguists and educational experts, Swart and De Mulder offer a concrete solution for declining reading skills and motivation. Their research is especially important at a time when concerns about planned cuts to education and research are growing and contributes to a brighter future for young people in the Netherlands.
