The Royal Dutch Geographical Society (KNAG) in the Netherlands was founded already in 1873, and has played various roles in society over time. In the beginning, she served the interests of the Dutch state, among other things, by mapping the earth. This facilitated the economic interests of the great colonial power that the Netherlands still was at the time (with Indonesia as one of its colonies, for example).
After the Second World War, the emphasis was on the exchange of knowledge between geographers working at universities. The Tijdschrift voor Econonomische en Sociale Geografie TESG (Journal of Economic and Social Geography) is still an important international scientific journal. Congresses were organized on social themes, such as the spatial planning of the densely populated Netherlands. Over time, however, the KNAG has mainly become the association for geography teachers in secondary education. She is successful in this, with numerous activities. An annual geographer's day is attended by 900 teachers.
Unfortunately, KNAG is losing its connection with scientific geography. The magazine Geografie (Geography) is successful, but mainly read by teachers. An established website of the magazine is better able to share geographical knowledge among a wide audience. However, the KNAG does not play a major role in the discussion about major socio-spatial issues, and an opportunity is missed to share the enormous knowledge of university geographers and planners. How can we improve the relationship with scientific geography?
Mots clés : Geographical Society|Netherlands|Societal impact
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