6. Roelien Bastiaanse

As a professor of Neurolinguistics, I studied language disorders that can arise after brain damage. There were great opportunities to gain a better understanding of, for example, childhood language disorders, articulation disorders and dyslexia. To achieve this, I needed funding and support. I found this in Europe, in the form of the European Erasmus programme. Thanks in part to European subsidies, we were able to set up a European master's programme and an international PhD programme in the field of neurolinguistics.

Joining forces leads to progress for society and individuals.

The Erasmus programme made me think much more from a European perspective than before, and, when my daughter said in 2021 that Volt was really the party for me, I started reading the election programme. She was right. Because it's not just Volt's European character that appeals to me, but also the idea of a basic income and citizens' assemblies, and its views on education and health. In short, Volt is the party that suits me best.

In 2024, I became a member and met the Leiden Volters: an enthusiastic group of young people, but also people my age. The young people are brimming with enthusiasm and come up with fresh ideas. That appeals to me enormously. The older people add their experience to that.

What really attracts me to Volt is its forward-looking vision, focused on a healthy and peaceful future. That is not only important for young people, but also for people like me. We want to avert a climate crisis, a peaceful world and, above all, less polarisation for ourselves, but especially for our children and grandchildren. I see such ideals reflected in Volt's programme.

I have been living in Leiden since 2021, and I think it is a fantastic city. What a difference from the 1970s, when I studied here for a few years. It is now bustling, we live here peacefully together, it is beautiful, clean and safe. Still, there is room for improvement. I find cycling here a bit more challenging than in Groningen, where I lived before. There are also a few things that, I think, are better organised elsewhere in Europe. I would like to work towards cooperation with other cities in Europe. For example, with Copenhagen, where you can borrow a kayak for free to fish rubbish out of the canals, or with Helsinki, where the number of road deaths has been reduced to zero. That is where my strength lies: working together, even across borders, to make Leiden even safer, more beautiful, more vibrant and more sustainable.