University of Amsterdam Honors Maaike Verrips, Maik Larooij, and Tom Etienne with Alumni Impact Prizes

The first UvA Alumni Impact Prizes have been presented to Maaike Verrips, Maik Larooij, and Tom Etienne. Each of the three UvA alumni received €3,000, which they are required to invest in their respective projects.

The UvA Alumni Impact Prizes (formerly the AUV Alumni Award) are annual incentive awards from the Amsterdam University Association and the Amsterdam University Fund, presented to UvA alumni who make a significant contribution to society through an inspiring project.

Maaike Verrips – Drongo

Maaike Verrips is the director of Drongo, a platform for multilingualism. Drongo provides information and networking opportunities on the impact of language and the increasing influence of multilingualism in society. She was awarded the UvA Alumni Impact Award for the “Videoroute Multilingualism” project, which supports discussions and work sessions on the use of home languages in primary education.

Maik Larooij – WooGLe

Maik Larooij received the UvA Alumni Impact Award for WooGLe. WooGLe is a search engine for Woo files, documents released under a Freedom of Information (Woo) request. By bringing government information together in this searchable and connected way, the project provides greater transparency for citizens.

Tom Etienne – Een wereldwijd kieskompas

Tom Etienne is the project leader of ‘Een wereldwijd kieskompas,’ a global voting tool for the U.S. elections. This voting tool informs citizens outside the United States about the American elections and helps them gain a better understanding of the candidates, their positions, and how the results may impact their own country.