Pitch Poster Winner 2024: Dylan Power

We are proud to announce that Dylan Power won the poster competition at the Dutch Caribbean Research Week 2024. His research focuses on the development of active mobility policy on Bonaire — and asks a compelling question: how do you "de-Dutch" the bicycle?

Bonaire faces a range of interconnected societal challenges, including high rates of non-communicable diseases, traffic congestion, poverty and widespread physical inactivity. Promoting walking and cycling could help address many of these issues at once. Yet simply transplanting Dutch cycling culture to a Caribbean island is not the answer. Power's research, carried out through a four-year collaboration with the Government of the Netherlands, investigates what an active mobility policy that genuinely fits the Bonairean context would look like.

Using a mixed methods approach — surveys, on-the-ground observations, stakeholder interviews and GIS analysis — the study maps current mobility patterns and attitudes on the island. The findings reveal that active mobility levels are low, that socioeconomic inequalities shape who walks or cycles, and that barriers such as car-dependent infrastructure and political instability make change challenging. At the same time, the research identifies real opportunities to build on.

As poster competition winner, Dylan Power will present his work during DCRW 2026 on Statia Day, 24 June. We look forward to welcoming him back!