For creative, brainy and gutsy young people
The competition is open to students – mbo (arbeidsmarktfinaliteit), hbo (hogeschool) and universities – and pupils of secondary education in the Netherlands and Flanders. Foreign students are also welcome to participate in the contest.
In order to reach a wider group of young people, participants are not only addressed on their intellectual skills, but also on their creative, practical and communicative skills. They work on their design in teams of up to four members. Students are called upon to form a multidisciplinary team.
A design competition on burning hot issues
The general design question reads:
‘Design a tool that contributes to a more equal and just world for all, a fairer distribution of the right to breathe. That tool could be anything: a story, a podcast, an app, a video, an advice to a museum director or a minister, et cetera. How do we ensure the right to breathe for everyone, wherever you live and whoever you are?’
That design question will be specified for three concrete cases concerning:
1. Activism and climate
2. Restitution of (stolen) heritage
3. Digital colonization
Each case is explained through the concepts of laureate Achille Mbembe.
Throughout the design process, participants will receive support from the project team.
Two phases
During the first phase of the competition (from early September until 5 October 2025), participants will create a first draft of their design. From these, the project team selects the best drafts, four from pupils and four from students. They will proceed to the next phase as finalists.
In the second phase (from 10 October 2025), the finalists develop their draft into a full-fledged design. They present their design to an independent jury on 15 November 2025. An independent jury will determine which pupil team and which student team have the best design.
During the first fase pupils and mbo students work on the project during class hours. University and hbo students work on their first draft in their free time, unless their teachers decide otherwise. All finalists are supposed to work on their design after school or university teachings, unless their teachers decide otherwise. The working language for pupils and mbo students is Dutch. The primary language for hbo and university students is English, although passive knowledge of Dutch is recommended.
Meet & Greet
Prior to the Award ceromony of the Spinozalens 2025 on November 24, all finalists can meet the laureate in The Hague. Promising designs will be adopted by the project team. Their makers will be invited to further develop their design in the makerspace of Baltan Laboratories.
The winning pupil and student teams will be announced during the Award ceremony of the Spinozalens to Achille Mbembe in The Hague. The winners will receive a plastic statue of Spinoza from the hands of Jan van Zanen, Mayor of The Hague. The statue is a copy of the bronze statue that Mbembe will receive during the same ceremony.
The project team consists of
Lorenzo Gerbi, design & art direction, co-director Baltan Laboratories;
Anouck Wolf, concept development & behavioral design, senior coordinator of education Wereldmuseum Amsterdam;
Regine Dugardyn, philosophy & editing, secretary International Spinoza Prize Foundation;
Laura Abbink, art and design & project employee International Spinoza Prize Foundation;
Dr. Martha Claeys and Dr. Lotte Spreeuwenberg, makers of the philosophical podcast Kluwen.
Jury
The designs of the finalists will be assessed by:
- Martine Gosselink, director of the Mauritshuis and historian (chair woman);
- Daphina Misiedjan, assistant professor Human Rights and Environment at the International Institute of Social Studies;
- Katleen Gabriels, philosophy of technology, associate professor at Maastricht University;
- Philsan Osman Omar, Flemish-Somalian Activist and PhD-cadidate at the Department Culture, Diversity and Inclusion at the Open University;
- Erica Cargaglione, cultural worker.
Listen to the podcast
The podcast about the universal right to breathe is in Dutch, but for foreign students we made an English transcription.
Important information
Case 1 – Activism and climate:
- Description, incl. assigment
- Look at the Dutch webpage of this challenge for inspiration
Case 2 – Restitution of (stolen) heritage:
- Description, incl. assigment
- Look at the Dutch webpage of this challenge for inspiration
Case 3 – Digital colonisation:
- Description, incl. assigment
- Look at the Dutch webpage of this challenge for inspiration
Information for students:
Agenda:
- Overview of important dates
Background information:
- In-depth information on Achille Mbembe
- Description of the three cases
- Information folder for hbo and university students
Phase 2 (finalists):
Register:
- Registration is closed, but feel free to use the educational materials at your own pace
