2023 Retrospective: Embassy of Safety

Making (amends)

Those who make mistakes will be punished. It’s been that way since time immemorial and will likely remain so for the foreseeable future. But was this always the case? No. Societies have employed alternatives to punishment throughout the ages. So-called ‘sanctuaries’, for example, facilitated reconciliation between parties by enforcing rules that protected the offenders and victims alike. Yet, the process of correcting mistakes and making amends is still the exception to the rule in the Netherlands. And that’s a shame because it works. You can read this in the Embassy of Safety’s narrative. This year, the Embassy has gone looking for more ways to make things right.

Goudswaard: “How can they make amends to both victims and society? In the security domain, rules are leading. Systems, laws, procedures, protocols … all sorts of measures are made and enforced. At the same time, we also have to ask: what do we actually consider ‘the right thing’? These moral questions are also part of this year’s Embassy of Safety.”  

Last year the theme was “In Makers We Trust”. During DDW22, the Embassy showed how society becomes safer by relying on the power of creation. “An inspiring slogan for many of our security partners,” said Goudswaard. 

Read the full interview with creative lead Tabo Goudswaard here

The added value of the power of making

The new strategic partner KPMG joined because of the added value of using the power of creation. One issue KPMG plans to deploy the power of creation on is the acute shortage of personnel in the security domain, Goudswaard reveals. “We see situations arise throughout the security domain in which implementing organisations such as the Dutch Custodial Institutions Agency (DJI), the police and the Ministry of Defence can no longer perform their duties due to a shortage of personnel. We already know that this will lead to even more undesirable situations in the future. How are we going to ‘make up for this’?”

During DDW23, KPMG discussed questions such as: Should we involve more citizens in security duties? Could personnel in the security sector perform their duties with less training? KPMG wishes to use these discussions  to come up with new proposals that actually lead to change. On Tuesday, October 25, for example, there was a conference with speakers such as Esther Oprins, scientific researcher at the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) and co-author of the TNO study ‘Doorbraak in schreeuwend personeelstekort vraagt nieuw perspectief (Breakthrough in a dire personnel shortage requires a new perspective)’, and artist and philosopher Koert van Mensvoort, director of Next Nature. 

The conference also provided space for a discussion with the Ministry of Defence, the police, DJI and Customs about the problem of personnel shortages in the security domain, the impact of this on their own respective organisations and initiatives already underway to tackle the issue. In addition, there were breakout sessions in which security professionals spoke to scientists and designers with a view to creating an impetus for change regarding the issue of personnel shortages.

The official designer/the designing civil servant

Besides space for discussions, the exhibition’s ‘Making (amends)’ installation provided insight into a world in which civil servants and designers come together. The installation showed what the office of the designing civil servant actually looks like. It showed how policy and design can inspire and reinforce each other. Civil servants had the opportunity to share their social questions and be matched to an appropriate designer. The Making (amends) installation is a Ministry of Justice and Security Makerscollectief (Makers Collective) project.

The Litte Room

In the MU container on Ketelhuisplein in Eindhoven, one could visit Het Kamertje (The Little Room), an interactive performance in the semi-public space about the power of the norm. The word ‘normal’ actually reveals something about power relations in our society. Het Kamertje investigates the making and breaking of rules as a way of shaping coexistence. It caused you to reflect on: do you contribute to the maintenance of existing structures, or are you creating something new? Het Kamertje is a project by designer Myrthe Krepel (Studio SMELT).

Room time

The project Kamertijd (Room Time) showed that it is quite strange that young people in detention hardly get the opportunity to work on their personal development in their ‘room’. This project, together with young people and State Juvenile Justice Facility (Rijks Justitiële Jeugdinrichting – RJJI) personnel, investigates how young people could spend their ‘room-time’ in a juvenile detention centre more meaningfully. A project by social design agency Department of Extraordinary Affairs and RJJI in collaboration with content partners such as Young Perspectives and La Schoolplein.

The Lobby

Another project that could be experienced at the exhibition was ‘De LOBBY’, an initiative of Exodus, Young in Prison, Stichting Zwerfjongeren Nederland (Homeless Youth Foundation Netherlands) and design agency Afdeling Buitengewone Zaken. This project focuses on reducing the gap between detention and return to society. In this interview, you can read, for instance, what inspires the design agency Afdeling Buitengewone Zaken.

Jan Belon, partner & strategy director of Afdeling Buitengewone Zaken: “Designers flesh out intangible matter. Their imagination allows them to come up with concrete proposals. Throw strong reflection into the mix  and you have a number of ingredients to quickly achieve results.”
View Tabo Goudswaard’s tour of the Embassy of Safety exhibition here.

Awareness beyond the Hague

In addition to the KPMG conference, there was the annual conference of the Embassy of Safety. Embassy ​​partner Dick Schoof, Secretary General of the Ministry of Justice and Security, took to the stage on behalf of the Ministry. “The way designers think helps us to look at policy in a different way. After all, policy is also a form of design,” said the top official. “Designers arrive at solutions through a completely different process. We want to give impetus to this way of thinking in our department. After all, you need forward thinkers in a ministry.

Schoof praised the Makers Collective, the designers who have united within the ministry. “They are working together to give the department a push. It’s important that they get a larger platform. That is also one of the reasons why I am here at Dutch Design Week. This way of working should be more widely recognised, also outside of the bubble of The Hague.” 

Read a review of the conference here.

Process 

Other speakers included ‘hands-on experts’ Jordi and Gwen. Jordi was convicted of committing seven robberies. For those he was detained between the ages of 19 and 22. Gwen is the victim of a knifepoint robbery in her own home. Greetje de Haan, policy officer at Perspectief Herstelbemiddeling (Restorative Mediation Perspective), explained that there is sufficient scientific research to show that offenders and victims engaging with one another helps to process what has happened. “Perpetrators are often also victims in some way. In many cases, punishment alone is not the solution for them.”

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