August was coming to an end and we, the coordinators of RUW Foundation came together at the old library of the Clockhouse building in Generaal Foulkesweg. We discussed what we wanted to do this year, which led us to bigger questions, like what is RUW? What is the Jester? What will we make them be? Our ideas were woven together in a colourful mesh, which we made an effort to put into this text; an extension of the editorial of the first page, a manifesto if you like. 

Our goal 

..is creating the circumstances and platforms for academia and citizens to meet, form communities and reframe what their life in this town means to them.  After all, Wageningen is a diverse community; a melting pot of old people, young people, locals, asylum seekers, poets, squatters, students, lost & found, cats, trash, treasures and many, many stories.

Who is  the Jester? 

The Jester is a newspaper funded by the RUW Foundation, printed 4 times a year and spread in multiple locations around town. It is based on the creative work of volunteer writers, editors, and illustrators. Born to be a critical editorial of amateur journalism (or citizen journalism if you will), it focuses on the relationship of science with society, and the entanglement formed by academia and our economic system. For example, Jesters write about the influence of the private sector on research. It is a platform that brings people together; people that wish to learn more about their surroundings and analyse them under a critical lens.

The name – The Jester – was chosen in honour of the professional jokers or ‘fools’ who entertained mediaeval courts, and sometimes were bearers of bad news. They were portraying their observations of the world through witticisms and satire.

You might imagine The Jester as a cloud floating over Wageningen with a magnifying glass. You might imagine The Jester as a creature that comes out of its box when it hears of something worth investigating. You might imagine The Jester as a slightly grotesque character, who you won’t necessarily like immediately, but who you’ll definitely be intrigued by. Or you might think of The Jester as the person sitting right next to you.

But why does the Jester do what they do? The Jester is a platform for people to explore their creativity. Stand in front of an empty paper and fearlessly put a chunk of themselves in, whether it is collage, poems, illustrations.. experimentation is our only rule. And most importantly, it is a hub of asking questions.

Can science communication be critical instead of a series of success stories? How are institutions accountable for harms they cause? How can we use humour to discuss difficult issues, dismantling them and trying to see them for what they really are? How to be playful and daring, yet responsible for your words, and not stuck in original views? 

Follow RUW and Jester’s stories on Instagram at @thejester.wageningen

And follow the RUW and Jester Broadcast channel on Whatsapp: Jester whatsapp Channel