Former editor-in-chief of Folia Arjan Paans has passed away

Former editor-in-chief of Folia, Arjan Paans, passed away on Tuesday 17 January. Until recently, he was editor-in-chief and director of Folia, succeeding Altan Erdogan. In the short time that Arjan worked at Folia – he had to take sick leave after four months due to a serious and incurable illness – the editorial team got to know him as a driven and unconventional man who wanted to try to lead the almost 75-year-old Folia into a new era by thinking out of the box.

Arjan Paans was a highly experienced journalist. Before joining Folia, he had held various positions at the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad (AD), where he had also been deputy editor-in-chief. In addition, he was editor-in-chief of Metro and interim editor-in-chief of Erasmus Magazine, the independent medium of Erasmus University in Rotterdam. Since May 2018, he had been editor-in-chief of a start-up, the online medium Innovations Origins, a digital journalism platform with news and background information on technology and (sustainable) innovation.

Upon his appointment, he said that the internationalisation of the UvA would be “the biggest challenge and also obligation for Folia” in the coming years. “We write our stories in Dutch and sometimes in English, but not enough, which means that a significant part of the UvA community is currently unable to access as much news as it could. I am committed to serving all nationalities at the UvA equally.” He also said that Folia had already achieved “many great things” in the field of video and that he wanted to build on that. He wanted to start making podcasts with Folia “and strengthen contact with our target group via social media”. Arjan was unable to realise his plans and ideas for and with Folia, but the editorial team will continue to pursue them.

Arjan Paans, son of Boudewijn Paans, former editor-in-chief of the weekly VPRO television magzine who passed away in 2021, leaves behind a wife and son. Arjan was 53 years old.