How do we turn Enschede into a city with canals? About forty UT alumni in Utrecht focused on this question earlier this month as part of a special edition of the Create Tomorrow think tank. 'We have to make it a showpiece: Enschede, the Venice of the East.'
by Jelle Posthuma
Ten tables have been set up in the Utrecht University Academy Building. The gathered UT alumni work in small groups on a special case: Enschede has to become a canal city again. 'You have an hour and a quarter to make a plan', one of the organizers calls out. A clock starts counting on the screen.
Although most of the alumni in the room have recently graduated, there are also a few veterans present. Ben Serrée is one of them. 'I do not tell my age and graduation year. In that respect I am just Emile Ratelband: I feel much younger. I want to practice my study, that is mechanical engineering. I am an engineer. I am very proud of that. '
Should Enschede have a canal? Actually, I do not know the city that well. In our time we hardly left the campus. Calslaan 13, I still know exactly. In my opinion, such a canal must first gain support among the population. No idea if that exists in Enschede. But suppose it will be built, our group wants to do the prefab. It’s not going to brick, that's a hell of a job. I still know a suitable concrete factory in Friesland. '
Standing nearby is event organizer Lieke Dom (23). She is the chairman of Create Tomorrow. In May Dom, together with her committee members, will hold the world’s largest competitive student think tank on the UT campus. The committee is doing a practice run at tonight's alumni meeting. 'I myself am in favor of canals in Enschede. It would add nicely to the city’s appearance '
Martijn van der Veen (40) is also enthusiastic about the idea. He graduated in 2004 from the UT public administration study. 'What our group is doing now is to look at the function of a canal. Call it the definition phase." Van der Veen is one of the driving forces behind the Utrecht Alumni Chapter. 'Our meetings are always well attended. After Twente and Amsterdam, Utrecht has the largest concentration of UT alumni. '
Year clubs and 'disputes'
As time passes, the faces in the hall become more serious. "Do we have only twenty minutes?", in an astonished tone. Most alumni know each other from their Enschede's student life. One of the groups consists of five women from the Ladies' ‘dispute’ Spooky. They design a canal with glass ceiling, which people can walk over. The dispute-mates still meet regularly in Utrecht.
This also applies to the members of Empros, a year club of Audentis. 'We still see each other, says Arvid Glerum (32). He studied technical business administration. 'In 2007 we participated in Create Tomorrow as a year club. It's nice to work on a case again tonight. '
Glerum does not have much confidence in a Enschede canal. "I think it's a bad idea. There is very little water in Enschede. It may look idyllic, but to get the necessary water in Enschede, a lot of effort has to be made. If the city decides to dig a canal, they must make it a showpiece. Enschede, the Venice of the East. '
Floating canals
A good canal has a bridge, says UT alumni coordinator Arianne Colenbrander. 'In this case, the subject literally and figuratively matches our objective. We want to build a bridge between students and alumni. The organization of this evening is largely in the hands of the Create Tomorrow committee. They are still students themselves. In this way, alumni get in touch with students and we also build a bridge between Utrecht and Enschede. '
Enschede, canal city?
Once there was a canal in Enschede. Sorry, there were even two. But after the great city fire of 1862, the latter disappeared under the rubble. UT alumnus, Gerrald Hekman, was amazed when he heard about the history of the city. He is one of the initiators of a plan to bring back the Enschede canals. 'I am an imported-Enschede’er, but fell in love with the city during my studies. Unfortunately, Enschede lacks one thing: the character of a real Dutch city and I think that has to do with the lack of a canal. '
'That canal is coming, even though I'm digging it myself'
'My motivation is above all the beauty, the aesthetics. But it can also be a solution for the groundwater problems in the city. With a little rain, the city is clear. One of our project members is Anouk Bomers. She is a civil engineer at the UT. With her, we want to see if there are Bachelor's or Master's students who can take the plan as a research assignment. '
'We are very serious and put a lot of free time into it. I get help from all sides. The owner of a contractor has already made his excavator available. This year we want to make the plan concrete so that we can bring it to the local authories. I think that there will be excavation in five years 'time, because the canal will be there, even if I dig it myself.'
This article was originally published in the Dutch language by U Today - click here to see the original story.
For more information about the eight edition of Create Tomorrow visit the organization's website.
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