Dr. Moniek Hover 

Steering Committee Member
Professor Storytelling
Breda University of Applied Sciences, Breda (the Netherlands)

Dr. Moniek Hover is Professor of Storytelling at Breda University of Applied Sciences. Moniek researches the connections between storytelling and experiences (emotions, memories and meaning) in leisure, tourism and cultural heritage contexts. 

Moniek and her interdisciplinary BUas team also provide storytelling-based design projects in leisure and tourism. This includes story-based concepts, storylines, and interactive digital applications, e.g., for Van Gogh Brabant, Markiezenhof Museum, Libéma Zoos, World War II heritage sites. In line with this, she also develops brand guides, books, scripts, dialogues, scenarios, and transmedia storytelling approaches. 

Since 2019, Moniek and her team have developed around 16 cycling storytelling-enriched cycling routes in collaboration with VisitBrabant. These routes are based on legends and folktales, industrial heritage sites (Made in Brabant), and stories across the Dutch-Belgian border. Recent high-profile projects include the creation of interactive museum exhibits where visitors can have actual dialogues/interactions with characters from the past. 

Moniek is currently involved in several international Research & Design projects, co-funded by the EU. One of these is Jewels Tour Interreg Europe, which aims to develop the cultural and tourism potential of several European cities, preserve their unique Jewish heritage, and create new opportunities to attract tourists through storytelling. 

Moniek and her colleagues strive to understand the impact of their storytelling projects on visitor experiences through mixed methods, such as biometric wearables, surveys, participant observations, and in-depth interviews. These insights not only lead to publications but also enhance the team’s storytelling skills and techniques for future design projects. 

Moniek also develops and delivers workshops and training programs for the international theme park industry (e.g., IAAPA EMEA), marketing organizations, the cultural heritage field, and tourism entrepreneurs.  

Moniek received her Ph.D. from Tilburg University for the intrinsic case study of “The Efteling as a ‘Narrator‘ of Fairy Tales”. Efteling is a high-profile European theme park, established in 1952. For 10 years, with Efteling’s then director of imagineering, she co-lead the Efteling Academy, a talent development program for students from various disciplines.