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Building community:
Message from the Executive Board
Enschede, 9 February 2026
At the beginning of 2026 the Executive Board of Ariëns KSE is looking forward both with enthusiasm and a sense of urgency. The search for new board members has proven to be challenging in a culture of polarisation. However, the board remains committed to strengthening the Catholic presence on the Enschede campus. Our aim remains to make Catholic students feel at home, and to experience together the value of a Catholic student community where various opinions can coexist together in the unifying love of Christ.
In the coming months, the board wants to enhance understanding of the needs of our target audience. Our primary target audience consists of students from University of Twente (UT) and Saxion. This is a requirement from the UT Student Union. We also welcome students from other nearby institutions. During our activities we meet students from a variety of nationalities. Some grew up in Catholic environments, while others are recent converts to the Catholic faith. We also meet students who are not Catholic at all, yet they are very interested in Catholic faith life, or they simply like the atmosphere in our community. Some students have an Orthodox or Protestant background.
In order to grow closer to our target audience, the board has formed a student panel consisting of members of specifically our primary target audience. At the moment , this student panel consists of 12 student members. A first meeting between the board and the student panel is expected to be in February or March 2026. Together we will explore the target audience’s needs and wants. The board is aware of a common tendency to only see things that confirm one’s own views. But with the members of the student panel by our side, we hope to be able to help each other towards our goals.
In 2026 the board also wants to increase student participation in our organisation. Therefore, we are welcoming UT/Saxion students to join our Ariëns Team as volunteers. We aim to find at least 3 students to join our Ariëns Team before Easter (5th April 2026).
The board remains committed to creating an environment where students can live their faith in a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment. Furthermore we made it easier to contact the board through our website and other media channels. Finally we improved moderation in our Whatsapp groups. This helps interactions to stay civilised and charitable.
For the coming months we pray that the Holy Spirit will give us wisdom and strength. With God’s help we can increase our success in sharing with students the joy, inspiration, and peace we receive from our Catholic faith.
The Executive Board of Ariëns KSE
Age characteristics of target audience
Age characteristics of target audience
While the main descriptive of our target audience is studentship, it’s also worth taking a look at the age characteristics of our audience. Most students we meet are at least 18 years old. Occasionally it can happen that younger students participate in our activities (some Saxion students are only 16 years old). This adds an extra responsibility when organising activities.
On the other end, most students in higher education graduate before the age of 26, but not all. Some PhD-students are in their thirties. We consider it however suboptimal that one participant might be twice as old as another. Therefore the board primarily focuses on people within the range of 16-32yo. Younger and older people may find that activities by other organisations, like the local parishes, accommodate them better.
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