{"id":161291,"date":"2023-11-20T11:26:05","date_gmt":"2023-11-20T10:26:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=161291"},"modified":"2026-02-10T16:31:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T15:31:57","slug":"farewell-interview-with-martin-blok-i-hope-people-will-take-each-other-to-task-for-transgressive-behaviour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2023\/11\/20\/farewell-interview-with-martin-blok-i-hope-people-will-take-each-other-to-task-for-transgressive-behaviour\/","title":{"rendered":"Farewell interview with Martin Blok: \u2018I hope people will take each other to task for transgressive behaviour\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

After 33 years as a confidential counsellor and ISS dean of students, Martin Blok is about to retire. A farewell interview about transgressive behaviour, sense of community and his fondness of music.<\/p>\n

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Martin Blok is about to retire.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKim Casamitjana<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

For the past six weeks, Martin Blok has been absent from what used to be \u2018his\u2019 office on the first floor of the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in The Hague. This office has instead been occupied by his successor. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to get in the way, so I moved to a different room\u201d, he explains. He is leaving behind the display cases inside and in front of his old office. They are filled with souvenirs \u2013 gifts that he received from students from all over the world. He has already taken some of them home, including a miniature guitarist<\/a> made of bottle caps, to which he is particularly attached. \u201cBut my wife won\u2019t let me take the balafon home.\u201d He indicates the wooden musical instrument from Gambia. \u201cIt\u2019s too big\u201d, he laughs.<\/p>\n

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Martin Blok in front of 'his' display cabinet. <\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKim Casamitjana<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

Can you tell me about your first day here at the ISS?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I started here in 1990, I was the first welfare officer, or dean of students, to be appointed at the ISS. The institute needs someone who keeps an eye out for students, with particular attention to their wellbeing. Our international students are a bit older than the average student, and many of them have had to leave their partner and children behind to study here. Pressure to perform in a foreign country, without a social safety net to fall back on, makes it more intense for them than it is for young students.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy idea was to turn the welfare office into a kind of community centre within the academic community. A place where you could drop by for a cup of coffee, talk about your problems or organise fun activities. And that\u2019s how it went.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018Clear rules on what should and should not be considered acceptable behaviour are crucial\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Two years after that, you were also appointed confidential counsellor at the ISS.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cYes. The ISS had drawn up policy to combat sexual violence around that time. That also included confidential counsellors, so I took on that role at the institute in 1993 together with two colleagues.\u201d<\/p>\n

What was the reason for that policy?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cSexually transgressive behaviour can happen anywhere and at any time. The ISS is no exception to this. Back then, the ISS lacked clear rules for how to deal with this, while clear rules on what should and should not be considered acceptable behaviour are crucial, especially in a multicultural environment, like the ISS, that is prone to misunderstandings in communication.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just about sexually transgressive behaviour, of course; it\u2019s also about how we treat each other. We have a very mixed student population here, from conservative to progressive, left-wing activists. Students from countries that have banned homosexuality have to share classrooms with LGBTI+ activists. They need to be able to treat each other with respect \u2013 preferably even with appreciation. That is why the ISS drew up this policy and why we offer training sessions and workshops<\/a>, for example, to foster a healthy environment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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