About us - Studenten voor Morgen

Mission and vision of Morgen

Morgen is the student network in the Netherlands that is committed to creating and fostering a sustainable future. This nationwide student-run organization stimulates students to choose for a sustainable lifestyle, education and career. Morgen cooperates with member organizations in different student cities. Together with students from all over the country, we inform other students about sustainability and initiate sustainability projects. In addition to informing and mobilizing students around sustainability, Morgen also focuses on universities and higher education institutions, reaching out to them to enable the sustainability dimension in both education and research, and stimulate sustainability in operations.

Morgen uses the definition of sustainability suggested in Our Common Future (also known as the Brundtland report, 1987): “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

Our mission and vision are in full alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals, adopted at the UN in September 2015.

Would you like to get to know our organization at one glance? Take a look at our factsheet!

Our board

The board of Morgen exists of five young, enthusiastic students majoring or engaged in areas of creating a more sustainable world. The board changes every year on the 1st of July and is in charge of everything that happens inside Morgen: projects, finance, support of member organizations, et cetera. Furthermore, the board is the face of Morgen and the board members aim to position Morgen as a big player in the field of sustainability.

In the board year 2020-2021, Morgen is run by five committed and engaged students:

Mark den Haan | Chair

My name is Mark den Haan and this year I will be the chairman of the board of Studenten voor Morgen. I’m 21 years old and live in the municipality of Westland, a small county near The Hague. Currently, I’m studying Spatial Development / Climate & Management at The Hague University of Applied Sciences. The bachelor focuses on sustainability in the built environment. Moreover, I’m working on the energy transition on behalf of the municipality of The Hague. My work focuses on creating awareness and support in the so-called focus-neighbourhoods in The Hague, regarding the energy transition. I am very enthusiastic about my job, this is because for one I can, in practice, work on sustainability. Secondly, every day I learn something new about sustainability, this is because I work with people who aren’t specialised in the field of renewables and they have a different view than I have. This means that I can learn from people with other perspectives. I’m looking forward to the new year, I will put a lot of energy into the board and the organisation. My vision for the organisation is to make sustainability a given in the universities and not just a subject.

Sophie Bakker | Secretary

My name is Sophie Bakker and I will be the new secretary of Studenten voor Morgen! I am 21 years old and I live and study in Utrecht. This year I will combine being a board member of Studenten voor Morgen with finishing my Liberal Arts and Sciences bachelor degree at Utrecht University. This is a broad study programme, which offers a lot of freedom in choosing courses in my field of interest. Since I have always been interested in sustainability issues, I decided to specialise in “Sustainable Development.” The courses I follow particularly address the societal origins of sustainability questions, the transformations that are needed to make society more sustainable, and the (political) strategies required to achieve this objective. I am convinced being a board member of Studenten voor Morgen will be a great opportunity to expand my knowledge and experience regarding sustainability issues!

On a more personal note, I enjoy spending my free time playing games, watching sunsets at the beach, listening to music, having good conversations and spending time with my friends and family. Furthermore, I thoroughly enjoy being out in nature and I am amazed by how much beauty the world has to offer.

Nikki Trip | Treasurer & Vice Chair

I am Nikki Trip, a 23-year-old student, and will be the Treasurer and Vice Chair this board year. After studying in Maastricht for 5 years (IB & University College Maastricht) it is time for me to focus on something new. In September I will start the Global Business & Sustainability Master in Rotterdam. Not only will I study sustainable business, I also aspire to start my own sustainable (event) business in the future.

Next to my studies I have always had a job and have been an active member of my student and study associations. It gives me a lot of energy to be part of a group with similar interests and to support an organisation together to make it even better. For my last year of studying I am excited to take on one new and final challenge; Studenten voor Morgen. The goals and ambitions of Studenten voor Morgen greatly overlap with my own. In particular, the goal of making sustainable transformations, specifically in a place where I feel at home but which also has a lot of unused sustainability potential; higher education. I am looking forward to being a part of this organisation and create (further) synergy within this amazing network!

Cato van Hoegee | Higher Education

My name is Cato van Hoegee, and this year I will be the board member focusing on Dutch higher education at Morgen. I am 19 years old and besides being a board member at Morgen, I am also secretary at ASVA Student Union and bachelor student Public Affairs & Governance Management. In my spare time I like to play sports, hang out at a terrace, read or listen/make music.

Being board member of Higher Education allows me to combine two great passions of mine; education and climate. Next year I hope to connect all universities of applied sciences and universities by jointly thinking about ways to improve integration of sustainability at schools. I also hope to get in touch with the ministry, to achieve progression on sustainability through a ‘higher power’. It’s sure going to be a busy year, but man am I looking forward to it! I think I’ve got myself some great fellow board members who I’m surely going to have a lot of fun with, and hopefully we are going to do some amazing things together.

Emma van Rest | PR

My name is Emma van Rest, and this year I will be board member PR at Studenten voor Morgen. I am now 24 years old and finishing the Master programme Sustainable Business and Innovation at Utrecht University. I have been interested in sustainability issues for many years now, and have chosen to do this master’s because I think there is a lot to gain from making sustainability transformations in businesses.

I also believe the first step step of integrating sustainability into a society is through proper education, and therefore I am very excited to be working on better integration of sustainability in higher education through my function as board member PR this year. In my spare time, I like to hang out, cook, and have drinks with friends and family. I am very excited for this board year and hope to learn many new skills!

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