A new Destiny for Doel?

Not far from the harbour of Antwerp and the nuclear power plants near the Belgian-Dutch border, you will find a deserted village named Doel. A remarkable place, to say the least. Due to the planned expansion of the harbour, the town is partly demolished, and inhabitants were gradually forced out. However, tables turned and Doel is allowed a future place. But what place? In the course "Change, Interhuman Processes and Communication", students of Wageningen University were invited to present their views on what happened in Doel, and anticipate on the years to come, through a blogging exercise.

Inspired by Tom Fassaert’s movie “An Angel in Doel”, and by discussions in the virtual classroom on the questions so poignantly yet subtly put forward by it, the students share their perspectives on events in the town. Jules Hinssen of the province of Zeeland, and the filmmaker himself, challenged them to share their ‘wonder’ and their ideas on alternative futures for Doel, now that things have changed so dramatically. This is not to erase its past, but by building on its lessons. How do their different understandings of this turbulent past translate to what might be envisioned as desirable for the future?

You will read that in sharing their stories, this group of students draws upon the ideas of a range of authors that they have become acquainted with in the course. Yet perhaps most of everything, the blogs constitute a tribute to Emilienne and everyday life in a town where, in the context of a growing harbour, nothing will ever be the same.