The Autumn 2008 Issue contains a.o. the following articles:

COLUMN

Funny You Should Ask…
About Dutch Thriftiness

By Shirley Agudo

The paradox is that the Dutch are one of the most generous charitable givers in the world. Says Jacob Vossestein: “In contradiction to its reputation, this nation that eagerly accumulates money and saves it, can also spend it just as easily on others than itself. Dutch expenditures on international schemes such as development cooperation, relief funds, UN peace missions, ecological projects worldwide, and so on, represent one of the highest percentages of gross national product in the world.

LEGAL AFFAIRS

Offering Expat Law Support

“The Dutch judicial system is based on a code of law, supplemented by case law. Case law is only used to clear up ambiguous issues, or to accommodate for new developments. In other countries, such as England, there is only case law. In my opinion, having a legal code supplemented by case law stimulates both equality before the law and legal certainty; the law is clearly stated in the code. This makes clients far less dependent on their lawyer’s and the judge’s knowledge of the vast quantities of case law.”

Godelijn Boonman
www.gmw.nl

INTERVIEW

From the Point of View of… Billy Allwood

“If we offer children an education, then they not only increase their chances of a future, but they also learn more from life’s lessons as they go along. If you believe that offering these children an education is important then you deal with it. This is not something that should be dictated by the market, but by personal belief. Cost should be no issue. We have developed a coping mechanism that allows us to not think about the plight of homeless children. If we don’t think about them, they’re not there and they’re not a problem. We should see ourselves as more of a global village. In a small village, we share the responsibility for the children we see on the street.”
 

 LEISURE

Undercover Museums

By Shirley Agudo

Holland is home to several world-class museums – the top ones being the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the Mauritshuis in The Hague, and the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam – but, unbeknownst to many, there are a slew of other museums to whet your appetite… some indeed rather unusual. To give you an idea of the scope, some of the more obscure museums listed in the latest edition of Here’s Holland include: African culture, aviation, baby carriages, bell casting, bicycles, cars, cheese, clocks, costumes, circus, lace, peat, police, prisons, psychiatry, purses, scissor art, seashells, shoes, taxes, tobacco, toys, windmills, mustard-making, and even alcohol and witches. In this article, a shortlist of some of the more off-the-wall museums, some of which are relatively new. 

www.heresholland.com

SPORTS

Terry Fox Run

At the age of 18, Terry Fox was confronted with the terrible news that he had bone cancer. One of his legs was amputated above the knee and during the course of his treatments he was gripped by the plight that children with cancer have to go through. In order to raise more money for research to help these children, he initiated his own personal run across Canada. However, after 143 days, he was forced to stop, as the cancer had spread. He had run 5,373 km. He passed away in June 1981, after developing pneumonia and going into a coma.
Canadian business man Isadore Sharp, who lost a son to cancer in 1978, contacted Terry Fox while he was in the hospital and offered to organize an annual run in Terry’s name, to continue raising funds for cancer research. This way, Terry Fox’s initiative continues to thrive and is organized annually – with the support of Canadian Embassies world round – on more than 5,000 locations across the world, including four in the Netherlands.
Sunday, September 21 will be the day that this all takes place in The Hague. Runners can sign up for the Vogelwijkrun, a 5 km-race through The Hague’s Vogelwijk, in which entire streets sign up with as many people as possible. The Vogelwijkrun has been organized in cooperation with the Terry Fox Run. A 2 km kids’ race will be organized as well. The entire proceeds of the Runs organized here go the Queen Wilhelmina Cancer Society, known as KWF Kankerbestrijding.

Date: September 21, 11 A.M.
Location: Sportpark Laan van Poot, Laan van Poot 353a, The Hague
For more information: Canadian Embassy, tel.: 070 – 311 16 00 or visit: www.terryfoxrun.org or www.vogelwijk.org.

ECONOMY

Creativity Starts Here… in Rotterdam 

Rotterdam is a city that is not afraid of change. Since the devastation of WWII, its image has shifted from an industrial centre to a world class service and communication centre as the Gateway to Europe. Today, the city is planning to position itself squarely in the 21st century as a centre of creative innovation.
The concept of a creative economy is a relatively recent urban development trend. The idea is that western cities can improve their competitive edge in the global economy by stimulate ng creative entrepreneurship. New ideas, concepts and technological innovation are assets that add value and support economic growth.
In this article, an overview of the initiatives of a city that is positioning itself in the future.

New Expat Desk

Foreigners coming to work and live in Rotterdam can have all their questions answered at the Expatdesk Rotterdam. The aim of the Expatdesk is to provide all expats coming to the city with top-notch service on all relevant issues.
The Expatdesk Rotterdam will be based in the World Trade Centre (WTC), located in the town centre at the Coolsingel. Expats arriving from around the world to work in the Rotterdam area will be able to find information here on a wide variety of practical issues, e.g. work permits for knowledge migrants or information on schooling, child care, living, public transport and cultural activities in the city. 

Contact:
Expatdesk Rotterdam
World Trade Centre
Room/Kamer 337 / 338
Beursplein 37, Rotterdam
Internet: www.rotterdam.nl/expatdesk
E-mail: expatdesk@rotterdam.nl
Tel.: 010 – 205 28 29

CULTURE

Rem Koolhaas – Visionary Architecture

By Connie Moser

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then viewing one of the magnificent architectural wonders created by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas may well be worth a thousand emotions. And being able to experience one of his iconic structures both inside and out, is awe-inspiring, to say the least.
He is considered one of the most influential Dutch persons in the cultural arena today, which is why we chose to dedicate an article to his work. Though we would have been greatly honored to meet him in person, Rem Koolhaas’s work has him constantly traveling around the globe so that unfortunately an appointment can only be scheduled months in advance. We have therefore chosen to write a profile based on the many sources of information available on this remarkable architect.

 

ECONOMY

Rolling Out the Welcome Mat in Amsterdam

Amsterdam’s City Council has defined an ambitious plan for its four-year term in office. One of the city council’s priorities is to (re-)place Amsterdam among the top five most popular investment cities in Europe. Successfully; today Amsterdam is back in the top 5 of European cities.
In order to achieve its goal, the Council has initiated what it calls the Amsterdam Top City program, with eight priority strategies aimed at stimulating the private and public sectors to cooperate in order to reinforce the international position of the city. The very first priority is to make people feel welcome when they first arrive in the city. Amsterdam is leading the way in the process with its recently opened Expat Center in the World Trade Center in Amsterdam South. The Center is a joint effort of the municipalities of Amsterdam, Amstelveen and the national Immigration and Naturalization Services (IND).

www.expatloket.com/expatcenter

EXPAT LIVING

HSBC Expat Survey; Expats Stay Here the Longest

In July of this year, the first in a series of three expat surveys, carried out by HSBC Bank International, came out, containing a ranking of expat destinations based on a number of criteria, such as level of luxury and accommodation, salaries and being able to ‘earn&save’.
Overall, the best locations to come out of the first survey are: Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and the US. What we really want to know, of course, is how did the Netherlands fare? The answer can be found in the article; quite well, in fact – judging by the fact that, of all expat countries, expat stay here the longest…

INTERVIEW

Hostmanship – Jan Gunnarson

By Connie Moser

Expats who move to the Netherlands are, for the most part, satisfied with life here. However, there are two issues that clearly leave something to be desired. One is; the weather. There is not a whole lot we can do about that. The other is; the level of service offered in the Netherlands. The sentiment is that the people who serve us, help us, or answer our questions are often short-tempered, unwilling to help or to take responsibility, and largely seem to want to keep the interaction to a minimum. High time, in other words, for a change. High time for hostmanship.
Hostmanship is a beautiful word that embodies both ‘welcome’ and ‘let me take care of you’. Robert Greenleaf coined the term in 1970s to explain servant leadership and the art of creating hospitality. It makes no difference whether you are dealing with customers, visitors, patients, colleagues, fellow citizens or your own partner; everyone is seen and treated as guests, and guests deserve excellent, caring service.
In the Netherlands people are working with the Hostmanship Development Group in Naarden because they want to create a better experience and service delivery.
More information can be found on the following websites: www.hostmanship.com, www.hostmanship.nl, and www.greenleaf.org
 

INTERVIEW

A Case of Mutual Admiration

By Connie Moser

A decade of dedication and a friendship that continues to be a case of mutual admiration for Bert van Essen and Stephanie Dijkstra − the dynamic duo behind every issue of The XPat Journal − remains a source of inspiration. For the past 10 years they have enjoyed a convivial partnership full of adventure, challenges and changes, and they are still enjoying every minute of it!
A business partnership can be likened to a marriage, some say. For Bert and Stephanie, there is no secret to their success. “We are both spontaneous, flexible and we don’t make each other, or ourselves, crazy.” Bert states. The Dutch have a saying “we kunnen lezen en schrijven met elkaar” (we can read and write with one another), and according to Stephanie, this exemplifies their working relationship, “We can practically finish each other’s sentences. And it’s always fun, there is always something happening, it’s never boring. And we laugh a lot.”

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