From the start of the preparation of the conference, it was clear that being together and utilising the experiential expertise should become the starting point for the inclusion programme. In order to outline a future, determine strategies, or reshape the design of cities, the public domain and leisure time, the participation of a diverse society was desired from the principle of "universal design". For everyone, by everyone. Not a conference merely talking "about" inclusion, but at its core striving for inclusiveness itself.

The joint industry associations in the cultural and creative sector presented the Diversity & Inclusion Code (CODEDI) on 1 November 2019, a broadened version of the Diversity Code developed in 2011. The content of the CODEDI is in line with the Culture Governance Code and the Fair Practice Code, the two other codes of conduct as instruments for self-regulation within the cultural and creative sector. These three codes of conduct reinforce each other.

“I thought we would get an inclusive society!” That was the cry from the heart of a participant at a conference on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2018. The Netherlands ratified the Convention in 2016. Since then, in the perception of many people, little has been achieved to make the country more accessible and inclusive.

In the context of our work in the fields of inclusive education, research and design, we sat down for a chat with Koen Deweer, founder and director of Konekt (www.konekt.be). Konekt radically champions a world in which persons with and without disabilities live, learn and work together. The goal is clear: to allow people with disabilities to live fully in an inclusive society. In doing so, Koen and Konekt focus both on developing individuals’ full potential and on making the environment more inclusive. The origins of his drive lie in his own school experiences, as well as those of his son. Both times he observed how everyone is pushed through a system which is the same for everyone and therefore not set up to utilise personal talents. When someone is not good at something, it may lead to biased advice from teachers: “Something with psychology and pedagogy is probably beyond your depth. Maybe becoming a forester is more suitable.” When Koen noticed the same thing happening to his son, he felt: now we really have to change things.

The expert perspectives from Madelon Gilaude, Rutger de Wit and Simone Kramer on the future of leisure.

Everything is space! But how everyone arranges that space for themselves and for others is becoming increasingly complex. The world is experiencing a rapid transformation in urban development, which has led to the emergence of new design approaches such as placemaking and experience design. These processes have become crucial components in creating spaces that are not only functional but also socially and culturally significant.

Leisure has an important relationship to time, space, and place. In leisure studies we are used to thinking about time as the basic resource for leisure. We need leisure time in order to be able to enjoy leisure, and so the struggle for leisure time has been an important focus of leisure research.

What happens if 120 second-year students go on a placemaking mission in the city of Amsterdam? A story about happy communities, making international headlines and contributing to the agenda of the Night Mayor.

It is a term you see pop up in strategic plans, policy documents and in education more and more: placemaking. Will it be the new ‘buzzword’ of the 2020s, or is there more beyond this flashy concept? At the Future of Leisure conference last March, it was one of the central themes, and it already has a prominent place within education. How does the Academy for Leisure & Events make sure that placemaking has a meaningful and practical application within our programmes? This article shows how and why we give placemaking a ‘place’ in our leisure curricula.