Liza Mügge, Senior Lecturer in Political Science at the University of Amsterdam, the feminist movement Dolle Mina and women's organisation Vrouwen van Nu have been nominated for the Joke Smit oeuvre prize. The nominees for the Joke Smit encouragement prize are Sara Alaoui, Nienke 's Gravemade and Zoë Papaikonomou. During the award ceremony on Monday 3 November, Koen Becking, State Secretary for Education, Culture and Science, will announce the winners in the Stadsgehoorzaal in Leiden.
The Joke Smit Prize is a biennial state award that goes to a person or organisation working in the field of gender equality. The winner of the oeuvre prize receives an art object and a sum of €10,000. Eligible for the incentive prize are individuals or initiatives that have worked to make a successful contribution to improving the position of women in the Netherlands. The winner of the incentive prize receives an amount of €1,000. The nominees are determined by the Joke Smit Prize jury. The prize is named after feminist Joke Smit (1933-1981), who played a leading role in the women's emancipation movement in the Netherlands.
Nominees oeuvre prize
Liza Mügge is a senior lecturer in political science at the University of Amsterdam. She has been committed to advancing the position of women for more than 25 years. She is a connector and bridge-builder who can link science and society.
The feminist movement Dolle Mina was founded in 1969 out of dissatisfaction with the position of women in society. They drew attention to women's rights with playful actions. In 2025, Dolle Mina is still committed to improving women's rights, such as during the actions in which women cycled in 15 cities calling attention to women's safety.
Vrouwen van Nu is a women's organisation with thousands of members throughout the Netherlands committed to a society in which women and men participate equally and fully. With specific projects for women in, for example, energy transition and women in politics.
Nominees for incentive award
Sara Alaoui is founder of The Safe Space club, a physical meeting place where women from all backgrounds come together for workshops and conversations on topics such as boundaries, sexual violence, recovery and self-determination.
Nienke 's Gravemade is an actress, writer and not least an online feminist activist. With humorous videos on Instagram, she brings attention to toxic masculinity. Nienke 's Gravemade wrote the poignant poem 1TP5Right on the night, after Lisa's murder.
Zoë Papaikonomou is a journalist, lecturer, writer and podcast creator. By inverting texts, she "improves" suggestive and misleading headlines. In doing so, she shows that texts can wrongly influence readers' perceptions, often to the detriment of women.
The jury
The jury for the Joke Smit Prize consists of jury chair Janneke Wittekoek (cardiologist for the female heart), Belle Barbé (founder of De Seksualiteitschool and known from TV programme De Slimste mens) and Iven Cudogham (author of Anansi the spider books and cartoon series, and is known from TV programme Een huis vol).
