Where Culture Lives · About the research

About the research

A 50-page, four-phase mapping of the cultural ecosystems of the six Dutch Caribbean islands — designed with island coordinators, validated by the communities it studies, and built to be communicated back culturally.

Lemonade BV For OCW & RCN 2026 581 respondents EN · NL · Papiamento · Papiamentu
50Pages, final report
4Research phases
581Survey respondents
943Open-ended responses
6Islands validated
Methodology

Four phases, six islands, one shared design

The research was structured around four sequential phases, each feeding the next. The design favoured participation and context-sensitivity over scale: focus groups on Aruba and Sint Maarten, clustered sessions on the smaller islands, and a closing validation round on all six.

Phase

Desk research

Literature review, policy scan and cross-island document analysis to scope the six cultural domains and build the survey instrument.

Boekman · NAAM · USM
Phase

Focus groups

Six sessions across Aruba and Sint Maarten; clustered sessions on Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba and Sint Eustatius. Designed with island coordinators.

Qualitative depth
Phase

Surveys

25-question instrument in English, Papiamento and Papiamentu. 581 respondents across the six islands; 943 open-ended answers coded into 14 themes.

581 respondents
Phase

Validation

April 2026 — findings returned to all six islands for verification, correction and sense-making before publication of the final report.

April 2026
Validation signal · Sint Maarten

Research that returns to its community

A clear ask from the Sint Maarten validation session — and the design principle behind this longread website itself.

"
We are researched-out. Bring it back in a form people can actually use — Lego animation, music, creative formats. Research about culture should also be communicated culturally.
— Validation session · Sint Maarten · April 2026
Project team

The core team at Lemonade

Four researchers led the project end-to-end — from desk research to validation — supported by a network of island coordinators and a data analyst.

Project lead
Jorien Wuite
Researcher
Gregory Richardson
Researcher
Ludmila Duncan
Researcher
Elton Villarreal
Data analyst
Rainier Kock
Island coordinators

The eight people who anchored the work on the ground

Each island had at least one local coordinator. They opened the door to focus-group participants, helped translate context, and validated the findings before publication.

Coordinator
Maria-Liz "Liesje"
Coordinator
Ashayna
Coordinator
Sharifa
Coordinator
Paula
Coordinator
Elton
Coordinator
Gregory
Coordinator
Ludmila
Coordinator
Lara
Knowledge partners

Institutional collaborators

Three knowledge partners contributed to the desk-research phase and to the framing of the six cultural domains.

Boekman Stichting
Cultural-policy research — Amsterdam
NAAM
National Archaeological Anthropological Memory Management — Curaçao
University of St. Martin
Academic partner — Sint Maarten
Project timeline

From scope to validation

2025 · Q3

Scoping & instrument design

Commissioning by OCW/RCN; selection of the six cultural domains; survey-instrument design in three languages.

2025 · Q4

Desk research & focus groups

Literature and policy review with Boekman, NAAM and USM. Six focus-group sessions on Aruba and Sint Maarten; clustered sessions on the smaller islands.

2026 · Q1

Survey fieldwork

581 respondents across the six islands; 943 open-ended responses coded into 14 thematic categories. Cross-island statistical testing.

2026 · April

Validation on all six islands

Findings returned for verification and sense-making. Sint Maarten asked for cultural communication formats — this longread is one answer to that ask.

2026 · May

Final report & longread launch

Publication of the 50-page final report and this companion website — designed to make the findings accessible to policymakers, the cultural sector and the islands themselves.

Closing reflection

A village, not a survey

Method · Spirit

The methodology favoured listening over measurement, and triangulation over volume. 581 survey respondents anchor the numbers; 943 open-ended answers and dozens of focus-group voices anchor the meaning. Where the data are silent — for instance on aspects of the recommendations chapter still marked "to be discussed" — the report says so. Where Culture Lives is a snapshot of a moment, a method open to refinement, and an invitation to the next round of monitoring across the Caribbean Kingdom.

Download the full 50-page report

Numbers, quotes, the six-domain framework and the cross-island analysis — together in one PDF, with all annexes.

Download the report →
Colophon

The people behind the research

Commissioned by

Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW), with RCN.

Research & consultancy

Lemonade BV.

Project team

Jorien Wuite · Gregory Richardson · Ludmila Duncan · Elton Villarreal.

Island coordinators

Maria-Liz "Liesje" · Ashayna · Sharifa · Paula · Elton · Gregory · Ludmila · Lara.

Knowledge partners

Boekman Stichting · NAAM · University of St. Martin.

Data analysis

Rainier Kock.

WCL Artist Prize Jury

Chaired by Jerry Gumbs — seven members representing all six islands.

Website

Ian van der Kooye

Read the full report (PDF) ← Back to homepage