Meet the team
Aziza Zijlstra
Aziza was born and raised in the city of Groningen and has “always stuck around”. She lived in Manchester for one year while getting her bachelor's degree in English Language and Culture. After that, she studied for a master's degree in Euroculture, for which she spent some time in the Czech Republic. In her spare time, Aziza enjoys watching films and series with her boyfriend Jelle, or the culinary delights he cooks up. She also enjoys reading and discussing books in a book club. Aziza has been painting since she was a child. She still takes regular classes — a way to stay motivated and clear her head. She likes to meet her friends on a terrace or during a walk. She also takes yoga classes — sometimes in a studio, but mostly at home.
Working on the future of Groningen
After completing her studies, Aziza knew one thing for sure: she wanted to stay in Groningen. A traineeship at Nationaal Programma Groningen caught her eye because of its promise to ‘work on the future of Groningen’. In this position, she gained work experience at the Province of Groningen and the municipalities of Oldambt and Het Hogeland. She conducted research on farmers in the gas extraction area for the Agroprogramma, and at the municipality, she contributed ideas for Nij Begun, among other things. Gradually, she became more and more familiar with the gas extraction case — and that's how she found her way to the Knowledge Platform.
Impact and glimmers of hope
During her traineeship, Aziza really got acquainted with the gas extraction case. As a resident of the city, she had hardly noticed it until then and had no idea how much impact it has on people. That realization came when she talked to the farmers. “What these people are going through!” She explains that, unfortunately, a lot goes wrong and that is why the case is often discussed in negative terms. “But there are also glimmers of hope, which we at the Knowledge Platform can see from a distance. You can learn something from that. That’s nice.”
The common thread
Aziza's work is diverse, but her main task is conducting research. This involves a lot of reading, keeping track of new studies, and collaborating on short-term projects for the Knowledge Platform. She interviews many people — which is very interesting, but sometimes also intense. The content is poignant, and each conversation draws you into a different perspective. The challenge here is: “trying to discover the common thread. What keeps coming up in the conversations?” In addition to conducting research, she helps organize events and gives presentations. The best moment in her work? When all the separate pieces of the puzzle fall into place and form a logical story.
Bucket list across the border
Aziza has already explored Europe extensively, so she would like to discover other continents. High on her bucket list: Southeast Asia — with Malaysia as her favorite. Together with Jelle, she also dreams of living and working abroad for a while. So far, they have only done that separately. “You experience a place differently when you live there.”
A soft spot for Christmas
Her guilty pleasures are Christmas books and bad Christmas movies — because you know how they'll turn out from the start. Everything goes wrong, but in the end, it always works out. Her love for these stories began at the book club, where they always read a Christmas book in December. She thoroughly enjoys the Christmas atmosphere. As far as she's concerned, the Christmas tree can be put up as early as possible, with a Christmas star on the door, lights, and of course Christmas music in the background.