At age 38, she has worked in many different cities in Europe. Dr. Maria Schiller finds it fascinating how cities deal with migration and diversity. Since 2019, she has been working as an assistant professor of Public Policy, Migration and Diversity at Erasmus University Rotterdam. About Rotterdam, she says: "It is a city that has embraced its diversity. Other cities can learn from that."
Could you briefly tell us what you are researching? Maria comes up with a telling example when asked how she would explain to a child what her research entails: "Suppose a new child comes into your class mid-year. How does the class respond? Are the reactions of all the children the same? How can you organise a class to deal with this properly? A way that's good for the whole class? I'm doing research on that, only for a whole city."
Conditions for an inclusive city
Maria has discovered over the years that there are 3 prerequisites to developing an inclusive city: ownership, commitment and a clear concept. "By ownership, I mean that municipal authorities have to take the responsibility to tackle diversity and put efforts into making diversity work. Involvement means involving the people of the city in your plans from the very start. This is the only way to truly get people on board. The last condition answers the question of where we want to go. A clear concept about diversity and inclusion, for example, gives people perspective." According to Maria, the EUR is a key player in this context. "A university trains future leaders. This is where our research relates to our education: our mission is to train students to become involved policy makers and leaders, who know how to deal with differences in the city. That's why the topic of diversity in our education is so important."
Black Lives Matter
Maria saw a good example in the past year of how a city can deal with a theme that clearly overlaps with her research: racism. During the Black Lives Matter protests, the municipal authorities of Rotterdam had to set frameworks to keep the protests on the safe side. On the other hand, Rotterdam seized the moment of the protests to draw up an anti-racism plan. Mary: "The city of Rotterdam has achieved a lot in a relatively short period of time. And in a positive way that fits in with the city. Rotterdam can be proud of that! The ‘just do it' mentality became the basis of a new policy plan for a city that is brimming with diversity. I wholeheartedly applaud that the municipal authorities are happy to involve science in this respect."
Connecting networks
Structural cooperation is in any case the key to success, Maria believes. "Just look at EUR itself. We attract a lot of students who don't come from a college-educated background. What we learned about diversity in it, we can feed back to Rotterdam." According to Maria, it is not only about cooperation between the municipal authorities and the university: "There are a lot of networks in a city. Only by building on and strengthening those networks can we move forward." In line with this vision, Maria's dream for the future is to be allowed to work on developing an environment where people can grow and meet. "We don't want a city where the rich live in one district and the poor live far away in another, do we? Then there will be no contact, but removal. An inclusive city is one where people have opportunities to talk to each other, where everyday encounters between different layers of society take place."
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This interview previously appeared in Spark magazine. This magazine is for students, alumni and partners of ESSB and showcases the positive impact that the faculty's education and research have on society.
Dr. Maria Schiller is themelead Inclusive Cities and Diversity within the Erasmus Initiative Vital Cities and Citizens.