2018Spring
s e r v i n g t h e i n t e r n at i o n a l co m m u n i t y
In this issue | New ACCESS website! | Nuffic Alumni Network |
Amazing shifts | Visit Leeuwarden, this year’s European Cultural Capital |
Archives around the world | Connect International | Parthian chicken |
www.access-nl.org
Expat stories live on
Free for you to pickup
Setting the Standard
Sixth Zein Childcare location in The Hague region is now open in Voorburg! Offering an award-winning approach, luxurious homely environment & large natural playground.
Zein’s unique Early Childhood Curriculum focusses on the individual needs of each child, providing a high level of care and fun filled programme in an internationally oriented nurturing learning environment – ensuring a smooth transition into school when the time comes…
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Zein International Childcare • Day Care • Pre-School • After School Care • Holiday Camps
Contact the friendly team for more information or to arrange a visit
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2018 SPRING.indd 5 2/13/2018 5:36:54 PM
ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 3
Dear ACCESS readers
Letter from the editor
Future explorers will benefit from our stories, our lessons, our lives
Having a baby has triggered memories of my own childhood: favourite games and
toys, various misadventures with my brother… I find myself wishing I had brought
photographs and artefacts with me from my mother’s attic, to better reflect on
where I come from and how I grew up. Raising a child in a foreign land is, well,
foreign. Nowadays I look especially to my past to inform my present and to plan
my family’s future here.
For those of us who’ve moved around every few years, or settled permanently in the
Netherlands, we struggle to make room for shoes and luggage—and bicycles!—
let alone for boxes of memorabilia. It’s a luxury to store our personal memories.
We’re fortunate, then, to have the Expatriate Archive Centre in The Hague. The cen-
tre, celebrating its 10-year anniversary, collects and maintains archives from expats
and internationals anywhere in the world. I encourage every one of our readers to
contribute one story or one photograph to the collection. For as globalisation
encourages mobility, future explorers will benefit from our stories, our lessons, our
lives. Find out how to share your tales in the cover story by Sarah Bringhurst Familia.
So how and where does a country as far-reaching at the Netherlands keep its
me mories? Pretty much all over the world! Alice Burke introduces us to just a few
of the archives recording Dutch history and influence in the Americas, Australia,
Indonesia and beyond. Jochem Lips explores
the c hallenges of trans lating history in Arts &
Entertainment. For our Food section, Stefan
Penders cooks up an ancient Parthian chicken
dish from the Romans, and there's exciting news
from ACCESS at the centrefold! There’s much
more in the pages to follow, so grab some oranje-
koek in honour of Europe’s Cultural Capital
Leeuwarden, and get reading!
Finally, I offer big thanks Kelly Merks for the splendid work she did as interim
e ditor of the magazine during my maternity leave. As Kelly and her husband soon
begin their journey into parenthood, we here at ACCESS wish them great joy, and,
naturally, meaningful memories, recorded carefully, to last many generations.
Mandie van der Meer-DanielskiACCESS Editor
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4 | ACCESS | WINTER 2017
Colophon
Publisher
Stichting ACCESS
Editorial content
Advertising
070 345 1700
Editor
Mandie van der Meer-Danielski
Assistant Editors
Nancy Kroonenberg, Kelly Merks
Design & Layout
Marek Moggré, M-space
Printer
Edauw en Johannissen Drukkerij
Cover image
Expatriate Archive Centre
Contents images (clockwise)
Carmen Morlon, Warner Bros.
Entertainment Inc., Nederlands
Openluchtmuseum, Hans Jellema,
pikselstock
Contributors
Alice Burke, Sarah Bringhurst Familia,
Shimrit Florentin, Katarina Gaborova,
Cathy Leung, Jochem Lips, Stefan
Penders, Bob Powers, Karen Prowse,
Molly Quell, Deborah Valentine,
Olivia van den Broek-Neri, and
DutchNews.nl.
About ACCESSFor 30 years ACCESS has been an independent
not-for-profit organisation serving
internationals so they may settle successfully
in the Netherlands. Our mission is to provide
essential, comprehensive and unique services
nationally, through the expertise and
experience of our dedicated volunteers from
the expatriate community.
Our magazine complements the services we
provide through our Helpdesk, FAQ Guides,
Counselling Service Network and Trainers
Network. Our intention is to further facilitate
our readers’ settlement process in your new
home, by providing content which helps you
better understand the country; discover
things about it you may not have been aware
of; encourage connection with your Dutch
neighbours and colleagues; and offer con-
tributors a platform to share your skills.
Have feedback for us? Interested in contributing to the magazine?
Please contact the Editor at [email protected]. We love to hear from
our community!
Executive Board: Chairman: Gary Hays, Valshebnik Consulting . Members: Koosje Ploegmakers, ABN AMRO - Godelijn Boonman, GMW Advocaten - Lowri van der Linden, the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency, Pauline O'Brien, Council of International Schools.
ACCESS Magazine aims to be:
• welcoming • informative • educational• entertaining• original
Join ACCESS on
@
0900 2 ACCESS (0900 2 222 377) local rate 20c per minute
www.access-nl.org
Laan van Meerdervoort 70 - 1st Floor2517 AN The Hague
ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 5
Contents
7 What’s On for Spring
10 Cover Story A home for
expat life stories
19 Reviews The Dutchman
behind Dunkirk
20 Health & Wellbeing
Amazing shifts
22 Arts & Entertainment
The challenge of translating history
26 ACCESS News Our new website
29 Education Nuffic: enabling
graduates to stay
32 Dutch Lifestyle Corners of
the world, tinted orange
36 International Community
Connect International
38 Travel 6.5 Reasons to visit
Leeuwarden
42 Food Ancient Parthian chicken
45 Humour from DutchNews.nl
Spring 2018 Vol. 31 No. 1Circulation: 4,500
Also available online at: magazine.access-nl.org
Copyright ACCESS 2018
All rights reserved. No part of the ACCESS Magazine may be
used in any form without explicit permission in writing
from the Publisher. Every effort has been made to ensure
that the information in this publication was correct at the
time of going to press. However, ACCESS and its writers
cannot accept any responsibility for the accuracy of the
information included.
10
38
20
19
22
We’re here to make it easier for internationals to work and register in the Amsterdam area. Qualifying companies can start the paperwork before arrival and a single visit to International Newcomers Amsterdam (IN Amsterdam, formerly called the Expatcenter Amsterdam) will complete the process. What’s more, our website has loads of valuable information on a wide range of topics including education,taxes, healthcare and housing.
The cities of Amsterdam, Amstelveen, Almere, Diemen, Haarlem, Haarlemmermeer, Hilversum and Velsen are working with the Immigration and Naturalisation Services (IND) to bring you the IN Amsterdam services.
To learn more please visit: www.inamsterdam.com
Settling in, simply.
ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 7
What’s On
Special events in March
Paleo Time International Fossil Show
english.fossiel.net/beursede
10 March – Ede
Come see, exhibit, sell or buy fossils in
this rocking fair whose slogan is:
“For fossil collectors by fossil collectors.”
Here you can learn more about fossils
and get the advice of experts, as well as
exchange impressions with fellow fossil-
enthusiasts. Entertainment and activities
for children are also on the programme,
so come have fun with the whole family.
The Dark Animal Kingdom
nhmmaastricht.nl/exposities/het-duistere-
dierenrijk.html (Dutch only)
Through 6 May – Maastricht
Discover the life of nocturnal animals—
animals who become active at sun-
down—at this exhibition in Maastricht’s
natural history museum. We all know
that owls and bats like the darkness,
but some surprising animals, like geckos
and mice, also join the party. Activities
for families and workshops for children
create an opportunity to experience the
life of animals that are only active when
we are sound asleep.
Seafood Festivalfacebook.com/seafoodamsterdam
31 March - 1 April – Amsterdam
Dive deep into deliciousness at this
lekker festival. This is an excellent place
to discover all that the sea has to offer,
from shrimp to octopus. With such
abundance you can try new, exciting
combinations and fun drink pairings,
or return to old favourites, there’s some-
thing for everyone!
International Theatre Festival Brandhaarden 2018stadsschouwburgamsterdam.nl/information-in-english
20 March - 1 April – Amsterdam
Brandhaarden is an international annual festival organised by Stadsschouwburg
Amsterdam honouring a single theatre maker. This year, theatre legend Peter Brook will
be honoured. The Parisian Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord will take the stage with five differ-
ent productions, a rare opportunity to enjoy their work right here in the Netherlands.
The festival is meant to provoke thought about old versus new styles of theatre and the
mix between them. Two of the productions are in English: “Battlefield,” which brings a
peak scene from the Mahabharata into life, and “The Prisoner,” about a prisoner some-
where in the world whom we know nothing about.
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ACCESS thanks our March Volunteer of the Month, Shimrit Florentin, for her contribution to the Winter 2017 edition of
the magazine. She was mistakenly not named
as a contributor.
Thanks to Shimrit! And thanks to our Helpdesk
volunteers for their list of best events.
8 | ACCESS | SPRING 2018
What’s On
Special events in April
Bonfire Beach Festivalbonfirebeachfest.com (Dutch only)
20-21 April – Scheveningen
Food, culture, games, sports and
music in a free access festival area—
what more can you ask of a festival?
Oh, yeah—a laid-back beach location
at Scheveningen! This year a unique
and exclusive fire show by the French
theatre company Carabosse will be one
of the festival’s highlights. So let the
waves wash off the cold of winter and
come give the rising temperatures a
warm welcome!
Trajectum Lumentrajectumlumen.nl/en/tours
Ongoing – Utrecht
Explore the beautiful city centre of Utrecht through bright eyes! A local guide will show
you around and point out historic monuments lit by light art installations in this luminous
route. Combining ancient architecture and modern art, this is a true celebration of old and
new with a touch of magic. (Also possible to enjoy for free without a guide.)
Taletún (Language Garden)
friesland.nl/en/events/3493125596/taletun
30 March - 28 OctoberLeeuwarden
The Taletún is an exciting event for
c hildren ages up to 12, and their families,
that is all about playing with language.
Here, children can enjoy stories, inter-
active installations and even invent their
own language! Special activities for each
age group make sure that everyone can
join in the fun. You also have the oppor-
tunity to meet writers and enjoy various
performances, so make sure to visit this
European Capital of Culture 2018! (See
also the Travel article on pages 38 - 41
for “6.5 Reasons to visit Leeuwarden.”)
Motel Mozaïquemotelmozaique.nl/en
19-21 April – Rotterdam
A festival that is also an adventure giving
you a chance to (re)discover Rotterdam.
During the festival you can join guided
tours that will lead you to performances
given across various locations in the city.
Enjoy new music and visual art perfor-
mances as you observe the city with a
fresh perspective.
TestBash Netherlands 2018
dojo.ministryoftesting.com/events/
testbash-netherlands-2018
12-13 April – Utrecht
TestBash Netherlands is a two-day soft-
ware-testing conference that promises
a professional and friendly environment
to share experiences and ideas. The first
day consists of training sessions; on the
second day, the conference day, you
can enjoy talks by different speakers on
a variety of software-testing-related
topics. Come test them out!
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ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 9
What’s On
Special events in May Want to post a community event in this magazine? Contact ACCESS Magazine at [email protected] subject: ‘What’s On’.
Poetry International Festivalpoetryinternationalweb.net/pi/pif2017/festival/events
29 May - 3 June – Rotterdam
This thought-provoking festival invites visitors to enjoy language while contemplating
messages. Come listen and feel the words, meanings and emotions. The festival offers
a variety of activities and opportunities to attend poetry readings, workshops, talks and
dialogues. Other forms of art, like film and music, are also honoured, so don’t miss it!
Children’s Route Along the River Dommel
thisiseindhoven.com/en/visit/things-to-do
Until 30 May – Eindhoven
This 3K route offers a unique adventure
for children and families. This interactive
and educational experience is meant to
teach children about the river Dommel
and the surroundings of Eindhoven.
Fête de la Naturefetedelanature.nl (Dutch only)
25-27 MayThroughout the Netherlands
Salute nature in this weekend-long inclu-
sive national festival. As part of the festi-
val, any individual or group are encour-
aged and supported in organising an
event celebrating nature with their local
community. Nature walks, cooking work-
shops, games and stories—the sky is the
limit. Creativity, community and nature—
it doesn’t get more gezellig than that!
Sum Thoughtsndt.nl/en/tickets/sum-thoughts
8 March - 12 MayThroughout the Netherlands
Sum Thoughts consists of four dance
performances by the Nederlands Dans
Theater. From a rhythmic performance
created by choreographer Hans van
Manen in Short Cut, to the short, sharp
movements in mutual comfort by chore-
ographer Edward Clug. The remaining
two performances are world premieres
created by former dancer and current
choreographer, Marina Mascarell, and
the choreographic duo of Sol León &
Paul Lightfoot. Sum Thoughts allows
both audience and dancers to experience
a full range of (e)motion.
North Sea Regattansr.nl/english
8-20 May – The Hague
The biggest sailing event on the Dutch
coast is back again and you can take an
active part in the exciting sailing races!
Not sure this is your cup of... North Sea
water? Then come test the waters and
cheer on from dry land. Social events
are organised to make sure the fun
keeps on flowing.
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10 | ACCESS | SPRING 2018
Cover story
A home for expat life stories
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ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 11
Whose stories will be told?
History is subjective. It is, in essence, no more than a
collection of stories about the past, told of necessity
from a limited number of viewpoints. Someone
must choose which stories will be told and how to
tell them. Human memory is fragile, unreliable, and
suggestible. So historians focus on written sources,
preferably recorded as soon as possible after the
events. Hence, the idea of an archive as a place to
store these records follows naturally enough.
Most archives are official sorts of places. Governments
keep archives, useful as they are in establishing an
idea of shared national history. Depending on the
country, one can usually find some combination of
national, regional, state, provincial, and municipal
archives. Corporations, universities, churches, and
other institutions traditionally keep their own
archives as well. By the very act of choosing what
to preserve in their archives, these organisations
make judgement calls about what types of stories
and documents are important.
What are often left out are the everyday stories of
ordinary humans. This is doubly true of internation-
ally-mobile people. Fragments of their lives—a birth
certificate here, a ship’s manifest or naturalisation
application there—may be preserved in this or that
regional archive. But even these documents generally
contain data about people rather than stories told in
their own voices. By their very nature, geographi-
cally-bound archives lack the interest or focus to
preserve the full stories of those whose lives take
them from one country to another. Unless someone
takes the time and trouble to preserve the details of
these international lives, they are doomed to fall
through the cracks of history, unremembered.
In the 1960s and 70s, historians began to take more
interest in ‘social history.’ Social history is the lived
experience of ordinary people, as distinguished from
the sweeping events of political history. Accordingly,
new archives started to spring up to meet the demand
for personal documents recording people’s lives.
“The Expatriate Archive Centre (EAC) in The Hague,”
as our team pointed out in a chapter of the book
Global Mobilities last year, “can be seen as a part of this
movement that recognizes the lives and experiences
of ordinary people, studies and analyses their stories,
and places them within the larger historical narrative
or revises it in light of newly acquired knowledge.”
BY SARAH BRINGHURST FAMILIA
Archives are places where writings, documents,
p hotographs, and other important cultural
artefacts that tell the story of our shared history
are kept safe. But why do we need to keep these
materials in the first place? Who determines what
is worth saving and what is not? And is anyone
even reading everything that has been saved?
Join us as we visit the Expatriate Archive Centre in
The Hague to find some answers and learn why
expats need their very own archive.
Cover Story
»
12 | ACCESS | SPRING 2018
Cover Story | A home for expat life stories
The Expatriate Archive Centre
The idea for an archive dedicated to preserving the
life stories of expatriates, people who temporarily
live outside their home countries, grew out of two
books published in the 1990s. Judy Moody-Stewart
and Glenda Lewin met and bonded over a shared
expat past. They had, respectively, been living around
the world with their partners who both worked for
Royal Dutch Shell. They collected material for two
anthologies about the everyday lives of Shell families
posted all over the world. After the volumes were
published, the “Shell Ladies Project,” as they called
themselves, kept the documents relating to the
books in a sturdy antique suitcase. That suitcase,
like them, had spent decades traveling the world.
The response to the books was overwhelmingly
positive. Moody-Stewart and Lewin sensed that the
material they collected would have continuing
value. This conviction was confirmed when they
were joined by Dewey White, another “Shell wife”
who was a social historian. White needed the
materials they had collected to be preserved
for academic research. She later explained,
“Quotations from letters, diaries, postcards,
and journals give voice and vision to the past.
Historians and other social scientists require such
primary sources as evidence for specific, unique
details about people, places, emotions, and events
available only to participants of these experiences.
Without these documents, researchers have only
the surmise of scholars based on secondary evi-
dence. Even the most learned social scientist lacks
the vantage point of personal, contemporary
expression.”
A permanent home
On a memorable day in 2003, Moody-Stewart,
Lewin and White took the suitcase and all the orig-
inal material for the books across town to a house
on a quiet street in The Hague’s Archipel district.
There, they opened up the Outpost Family Archive.
Even though none of these women had archival
training, they put their faith in the importance of
the undertaking, as well as the ingenuity they had
developed over their many combined total decades
of conquering the challenges of expat life. The
famous suitcase became a sort of mascot or sym-
bol of the newly-formed archive. In 2008, the
founders widened their scope. They formalised
their mission to archive the life stories of expats
and their families from all backgrounds and from
anywhere in the world. As part of this expansion,
the archive was officially constituted as a founda-
tion and given the name Expatriate Archive Centre.
From its beginnings as a dream to make expat voices heard, it has grown and professionalised into an important international repository of expat ego documents
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ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 13
The EAC today
The EAC now holds more than 120 personal and
family collections from over 80 countries, including
over 20 different languages. Researchers in a variety
of disciplines travel from around the world to study
these documents and incorporate their contents
into historical, sociological, and other writings.
From its beginnings as a dream to make expat
voices heard, it has grown and professionalised into
an important international repository of expat ego
documents.
However, the EAC has remained true to its roots,
not least in the fact that its archival activities are still
carried out almost exclusively by a team of dedicated
and skilled international volunteers. These volun-
teers organise, catalogue, and describe the material
in the archive. They maintain the supplementary
library of books on expat life. They also assist in
public relations and other functions.
Because the volunteers are often expats themselves
and here temporarily, volunteer positions are regu-
larly available for people who are interested in
history and want to make a difference. Current
volunteer Alex van Goetham says, “I felt welcomed
onto the team from as early as day one and have
since been excited to come to work here every day.
Though my main aim for my time here was to
develop my knowledge of an archive, I found
myself quickly learning something new and differ-
ent every week. From interesting conversations
between v olunteers and employees at the lunch
table to stumbling upon f ascinating life stories
found within the collections, the EAC always has
something to surprise you.”
Inspired exhibitions
To make the collection more visible and relevant to
both academic audiences and the public at large, the
EAC conducts regular outreach events. These
include small information mornings where local
residents are invited to tour the archive and learn
about its history. There are also larger, internation-
ally-focused projects. An academic sympo-
sium hosted by the EAC in 2013 brought
together international scholars to discuss
“The Expatriate Experience: Past and Present.”
In 2015, the EAC partnered with ACCESS, The Hague
Municipal Archives, international schools, and other
expat-related organisations to present an exhibition
titled “Expat Impressions of The Hague.” The exhi-
bition drew on photographs and personal writings
by expats living in The Hague from the 1950s to the
present. It opened in the atrium of The Hague City
Hall with an address by then-mayor Jozias van
Aartsen. Conceived as a traveling exhibition, it has
visited many locations in The Hague and remains
available for display at schools, businesses, galleries,
and other venues.
Did you know... The EAC co-founded the Families In Global Transition affiliate in NL.
»
PHOTO NATALIYA VOLOSOVYCH
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ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 15
The Saudade Project
The EAC celebrates its 10th year as an independent
foundation this spring. The centre marks the occa-
sion with its most ambitious project yet: an art exhi-
bition and book honouring its founders, their vision,
and the legacy that has grown from their dream of
creating “a home for expat life stories.” Saudade:
an Intersection of Archives and Art is named for a
Portuguese word denoting the longing for an absent
beloved. This word choice is a nod to the homesick-
ness that expats often feel for the people, places, and
lives they have left behind. The Saudade project gives
the EAC an opportunity to explore its collection from
an artistic angle, rather than the usual academic
viewpoint.
Artistic director Natalie McIlroy, a Scottish expat in
The Hague, was “keen to lead a project that encour-
aged artists to enter an archival collection, undertake
research, and create new work.” McIlroy described
the working method of Saudade as “rigorous and
pluralistic.” She also saw a larger relevance for
Saudade in the current political and social climate,
pointing out that “in today’s society, in which the
movement of people, whether in search of financial
or personal safety, is under fierce scrutiny, an archive
like the EAC is topical and crucial to understand the
many reasons people relocate and start anew in a
strange land.” Her website: nataliemcilroy.com
Ten artists, five based in The Hague and five inter-
nationally, have each chosen something in the EAC’s
collection and used it as inspiration for an art piece.
The artistic media they have used are varied, from
photography to sculpture to rubber stamps and
f abric printing. To symbolise the inherently transient
nature of expat life, all the art pieces have been
designed to fit together into the iconic EAC suitcase.
Personal associations
The artistic journeys of the artists have turned out
to be deeply personal. They have connected experi-
ences from the artists’ own lives with the stories
they encountered in the archive. For example, Euf
Lindeboom, a Dutch artist who spent several years
of her childhood in Indonesia, found that her
research in the collection of a Dutch family living in
Indonesia around the same time period triggered
many personal memories. Her art piece for Saudade
was inspired in part by an occasion in which her
brothers took her to a nearby botanical garden and
dared her to stick her hand inside a carnivorous plant.
Her website: euflindeboom.nl
Some of the artists conducted interviews, either with
those whose personal collections reside in the EAC
or with other internationals. Thomas Nondh Jansen,
an artist who was adopted from Thailand as a young
child, interviewed expats about smells, tastes, and
other ephemeral things that reminded them of their
More info
Expatriate Archive Centre: xpatarchive.comIn-depth artist blogs for Saudade: eacanniversary.com
Saudade Exhibition: 11-15 Apriltwelve twelve Gallery, Prinsestraat 53, The Hague
Saudade can be viewed as an exploration of the sometimes complicated ways expats navigate the emotional side of their travels
Cover Story | A home for expat life stories
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ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 17
home countries. His art is based on these associa-
tions, which are as varied as chaotic traffic jams, the
smell of spices, or what is the ‘real’ time in an expat’s
home country. His website: thomasnondh.nl
The Saudade project offers a glimpse into the inner
lives of those who have left their original homes
behind. Japanese artist Masaaki Oyamada, based
in The Hague, expressed his “great joy to be able to
deepen the understanding of expatriates, emigrants
and immigrants, as well as their social environments
through this project.”
His website: masaakioyamada.com
The paths that change us
Saudade can be viewed as an exploration of the
sometimes complicated ways expats navigate the
emotional aspects of their travels. For example,
the loss of home, relationships, or even parts of
their personal identity. The art pieces in the suitcase
recall choices made, places and people left behind,
but also friendships, experiences, and perspective
gained. The artists remind us that while our inter-
national paths may be different, they inevitably mark
us, change us, and develop us in ways we never could
have imagined had we stayed at home.
Visit the exhibition
The underlying, intertwining stories—both of the
artists themselves and the expats whose collections
reside in the archive—are as fundamental to Saudade
as the art pieces. The EAC is publishing a companion
book to the Saudade project, which will be available
for purchase. The Saudade exhibition will be open
and free to the public at twelve twelve Gallery in
The Hague 11-15 April 2018.
With its mission to give expat lives their rightful
place in history, the EAC is a unique institution
even in The Hague, that most international of cities.
Tucked away in its quaint little house-turned-office
with a tiny garden, it holds a whole world of experi-
ences and memories, kept safe for posterity and
future research.
Visit the Saudade exhibition to see it through the
eyes of artists. Tour the archive itself during an
i nformation morning, or just be happy knowing
that somewhere the stories of internationals like
you can find a home where they will be treasured,
preserved, and read. «
About the author
Sarah Bringhurst Familia lives in Amsterdam and does PR for the Expatriate Archive Centre, serves on the board of Hiraeth Magazine, and blogs at casteluzzo.com.
...while our international paths may be different, they inevitably mark us, change us, and develop us in ways we never could have imagined
Cover Story | A home for expat life stories
PH
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OR
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18 | ACCESS | SPRING 2018
Education | Partner Feature
070 354 9494www.disdh.nl
Taking part in a history competition supported by
the Federal President of Germany under the head-
ing, “God and the world. Religion makes history,”
the students won a special prize for the creation of
the website paul-kaetzke.de in which they presented
their findings.
In The Hague’s archives, they discovered Dutch
newspaper articles on Paul Kaetzke’s life and brav-
ery. Old church records chronicled further facts
relating to the German pastor and the difficult
times during which he lived and worked in the
Netherlands. In addition, an interview with
Kaetzke’s youngest son provided the students with
a personal view of the hero they grew to admire.
Due to the danger involved, no records were kept.
To this day, neither the number nor the identities
of those hidden is known. It was in the attic above
the church vault and between the organ pipes that
Kaetzke hid those in need. This area was inaccessi-
ble for the church parishioners, making it an ideal
hiding place. Moreover, the Nazi regime did not
expect Jews to be given refuge in a German church.
The present church pastor brought the students up
to the hiding place. They physically experienced
the narrow confines and darkness. They said,
“We could imagine the fear, the danger and the
hopelessness which those hiding must have felt.”
Paul Kaetzke is indeed a hero who risked his life to
save others. His memory lives on, and thanks to his
courage, the three young students now see it as their
duty “to take a stand for what they believe in every
facet of their lives.” «
Paul Kaetzke was a pastor at the German Protestant
Church in The Hague from 1935 to 1966. He was
critical of National Socialism, and in the attic of his
church on Bleijenburg Street in The Hague, he made
the conscious decision to hide Jews and others flee-
ing danger.
Discovering a hero through history
Delving into the past, DISDH
Grade 9 students Alizée, Anna
and Chiara came face to face
with the true story of a hero
who helped save lives during
the Second World War.
“I did what had to be done. And I am not a hero.” – Paul Kaetzke
ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 19
Review
In this stylish Second World War film, though there’s
a strong, three-pronged story to tell, it’s told in an
overwhelmingly visual manner with brilliant camer-
awork. Nolan is known as a bit of a perfectionist
and he chose Van Hoytema (pictured above, left) for
this responsibility. Indeed, Van Hoytema has now won
several awards for his cinematography on Dunkirk.
Surrounded by the German army, thousands of Allied
soldiers await their fate at a place called The Mole.
The small boat Moonstone participates in the mass
evacuation project played out across the English
Channel. Meanwhile, a steely airman carries out his
duties from the sky. There’s very little dialogue in
all of this; you could easily watch with the sound off
and still follow everything. I recommend you don’t
though–there’s a beautiful score by Hans Zimmer,
and top-quality acting from Kenneth Branagh, Tom
Hardy, Mark Rylance, Fionn Whitehead and more.
The role of the cinematographer in this film is
significant. Here, Nolan and Van Hoytema have an
ace up their sleeves: they shot most of Dunkirk on
65mm IMAX film and the rest on 65mm film, with
the sound recording bringing these up to 70mm.
Now, there’s lots of techie stuff online explaining
why 70mm is amazing, but I think Van Hoytema
himself expresses it best when he says: “The reso-
lution of film is basically infinite. As a result, film
still captures much more colour and detail.”
Can the untrained eye notice this added quality?
I think so, but in a film like Dunkirk it’s incredibly
subtle. The colour palette is already a muted one
—military fatigues, a cloudy blue sea, wide sandy
beaches, warplane cockpits, navy interiors, and
night scenes. If you look for it, you’ll pick up on
the “inky black” waters and the rich tones in the
darkness. More likely, this format will just give you
a general feeling of greater authenticity.
Though Van Hoytema was originally rejected by
the Netherlands’ film school, as an internationally
renowned cinematographer he is now described
by the Dutch press as taking on the mantle from
Dutch Golden Age painters such as Rembrandt
and Vermeer, revered “masters of light.” «
• Rent via Pathé Thuis and iTunes.
• Available for purchase on DVD, Blu-ray or
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, bol.com.
The Dutchman behind Dunkirk
BY CATHY LEUNG
About the author
Cathy Leung runs Broadcast Amsterdam broadcastamsterdam.wordpress.com, a non-profit producer of English language radio, video and television for Amsterdam. Tweets @cathycentral
Strictly speaking, the 2017 movie Dunkirk is director
Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece, but an important
presence behind the camera is the Director of
Photography, Hoyte van Hoytema—a Dutchman.
PH
OT
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RN
ER
-BR
OS
20 | ACCESS | SPRING 2018
Health & Wellbeing
Well, a few years back, one innocent April, I joined
a friend to the beach in Scheveningen. It was 20
degrees Celsius and sunny. Dutch people were walk-
ing around and excitingly commenting on how warm
it was. To my surprise, some people even brought out
a chair and soaked in the sun, sitting half naked in
their tiny front gardens. I thought to myself, “It’s not
that bad. This country is actually quite fun. What on
earth were my friends back home talking about?”
It all hit me a few days later as the skies turned grey.
Suddenly, the country got cold and the wind was
blowing so strong that I couldn’t possibly keep my
hair out of my mouth. Okay, I got my friends’ mes-
sage! After that, everything seemed so gloomy.
Amazing shifts
BY KATARINA GABOROVA
Before I moved to the Netherlands, I lived in
warm climates. My friends knew that I loved
the sun so they couldn’t understand what
could I possibly do in a country full of wind,
rain and grey skies?
PH
OT
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NB
TC
HO
LL
AN
D M
AR
KE
TIN
G
ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 21
Did you know... The Netherlands gets an average of 45 sunny days per year (via KNMI).
Shifting attitudes
How had I gone so quickly from a positive to negative
outlook? Many of us expats and immigrants regularly
experience such amazing shifts in our new country.
We face various struggles and pitfalls: the language
barrier; lack of physical and emotional support;
l iving far from our roots, the known, loved ones,
or from everything built by previous generations.
Add to the equation peoples’ other general chal-
lenges like having the flu, helping the children man-
age busy schedules, keeping the household duties
organised, cooking, etc. Then, there you are, having
a day or two when you can’t help but think about
what you miss tremendously or notice everything
that saddens you.
On top of that, we have been given the evolutionary
capacity to emphasise the negative rather than the
positive (known as negativity bias). It is our inborn
critical survival skill to be aware of and to avoid dan-
ger. Did you know that negative experiences or the
fear of them has a greater impact on us compared to
positive experiences? Or that our attitudes are more
heavily influenced by negative news as opposed to
the positive? Then it will also not surprise you that,
according to a prospect theory (Kahneman and
Tversky), we make choices primarily based on avoid-
ing losses rather than on gains.
Luckily, we can get around it. We can train our minds
to consciously start focusing on the positives in our
environment. It takes practice and effort but the
result is surely worth it.
Shifting to the positive
Try one or all of these tricks to help shift your
attitude:
• Write in your journal for a week about how much
you are complaining and what annoys you the
most. See for yourself whether anything can be
changed or improved immediately. Complaining is
venting; however, it may also focus attention on the
negatives. Replacing one negative thought with
three to five positive ones helps to compensate.
About the author
Katarina Gaborova is a licensed psychologist and NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) life coach and member of the ACCESS Counselling Service Network. Her specialties include positive psychology, integration challenges, stress management and more. psychologistinthehague.com
For example, you may have just started studying
Dutch. You may feel embarrassed to speak this
new language, fearing that others will make fun
of you. Encourage yourself with statements like:
“I am brave to learn a new language. I am improv-
ing my cognitive abilities. I can pull myself out of
my comfort zone and my confidence grows every
time I do so.”
• End each day by exercising appreciation. Write
down at least three positive experiences and spend
two minutes describing them in detail, such as a
surprise from a friend, enjoying your puppy on the
sofa, or a smile that came your way.
• Do something nice for others. Random acts
of kindness give a sense of belonging and
nurture our mirror neurons (which ‘mir-
ror’ the behaviour of others). By making
others happy, you become happier too.
Now, if there is a grey sky, rain or wind or
you are put to the test to see how fast you can
climb out of yet another hole, pause for a moment.
Look at the scenario as a challenge rather than a
hardship. Even though you may not find a solution
immediately, you certainly have the power to find the
silver lining. «
Reach out
The ACCESS Counselling Service Network (CSN) supports the mental health requirements of the international community in the Netherlands. CSN is composed of licensed professionals speaking several languages, all personally familiar with the expatriate experience.Confidential ACCESS On-call Counsellor Contact Form: on-call.access-nl.org
22 | ACCESS | SPRING 2018
Arts & Entertainment
Did we just arrive in a parallel universe? Though
that would have been pretty awesome, Rodri, my
Argentinian companion, and I had actually just
walked into the main exhibit of the recently installed
Canon van Nederland (The Canon of the Netherlands).
As part of a larger national network of museums
and cultural organisations, the exhibition, forming
part of the Openluchtmuseum (Open Air Museum),
features video, sound, games, and more to impart
history.
The large circular room that we had entered was
divided into ten different areas, each themed towards
a distinct era of the past. As we went from the Stone
Age to Roman times, trees and rocks gave way to
wood and stone. The artefacts on display changed
from skeletons and primitive tools to swords and
pots, while large screens on the walls played videos
of ships approaching harbours on the Rhine River.
This all blends into a great experience for the visitor,
though it might be difficult to connect the different
episodes of history at times.
Or, as Rodri put it, “It’s all a bit hard to understand.
You [Dutch people] learn your history in school,
but I am missing some context here. Something that
glues it all together, like an overarching story.” Of
course, the fact that there’s hardly an English word to
be found in the entire building didn’t exactly help
either.
Budget or conspiracy?
I came home that day wondering why I’d just had to
translate a gazillion labels and captions from Dutch
to English, just to make sure that Rodri would ever
want to come on a museum visit with me again. I had
to consider that perhaps it is not so easy for non-
The challenge of translating history
TEXT BY JOCHEM LIPS
PHOTOS: NEDERLANDS OPENLUCHTMUSEUM
We went through a dark tunnel. Images flashed by to the left and right of us—people
turning on lights, lighting candles, and then bonfires. Fashion changed as we kept on
going, from modern jeans to primitive rags, until we ended up way back in the Stone Age.
We looked around, gathered our bearings, and were a little confused—everything was in
Dutch. What’s going on?
ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 23
»
Dutch speakers to learn about this country’s national
history. As it was obvious that this museum had
made some large investments, it had me wondering
how much a few extra signs would have cost. Or was
there some big conspiracy going on with the aim of
keeping Dutch history for the Dutch only?
Although it would have been great to uncover such
a plot, I deemed it quite unlikely. I asked the
museum what was going on—as the rest of the
Openluchtmuseum does feature English. Maaike van
Dam, spokesperson for the museum, elaborated:
“The Canon of the Netherlands tells Dutch history
in 50 chronological ‘windows,’ each of which sym-
bolises a certain period, change in history. [It] is
indeed aimed at Dutch visitors, though we do have
a ‘z-card’ for English and German visitors that
elaborates on each of the windows.”
A little research goes a long way, it seems, as neither
Rodri nor I was aware of this special card, which
would have helped. It still would not have made the
experience completely accessible for non-Dutch
speakers, however, as the interactive audio-visual
elements would still have been incomprehensible.
Fortunately, Maaike did tell me that the museum has
the ambition to further develop the presentation for
English- and German-speaking visitors. There’s still
hope for those who prefer to come without a per-
sonal interpreter!
Rodri and I emerged back from the Stone Age, pass-
ing through different eras of Dutch history, until we
ended up in modern times again. Patting the time-
travel dust off our clothes, we arrived into a large
area. Dispersed across the room were some display
History on your screen
Some museums have apps to enhance the visitor’s experience, such as the Rijksmuseum or the Maritime Museum. An app called MuseumTV helps the user in picking their next excursion with the aid of videos. MuseumApp promises to deliver phone-guided tours through museums and city districts. The range of options on these apps is still rather limited in the Netherlands, but Google Translate can translate text on the fly by using a smartphone camera.
Exhibition11th - 15th April 2018
Twelve Twelve Gallery Prinsestraat 53
2513 CB The Hague
Masaaki Oyamada / Euf Lindeboom Natalie McIlroy / Monique Prinsloo
Carla Wright / Thomas Nondh Jansen Christopher Squier / Janne van Gilst Nico Angiuli / Kevin Andrew Morris
ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 25
cases filled with old artefacts and associated cap-
tions, but dominating the space was a huge timeline
of Dutch history. “This is the kind of background
info that would have been useful,” Rodri said. Next
time, we’ll make sure to get one of those z-cards!
Understanding beyond language
Of course it is worth noting that the Openlucht-
museum is located in Arnhem in the province of
Gelderland, not exactly on most international visi-
tors’ top places to visit list. Those visiting major
Dutch museums such as the Rijksmuseum (National
Museum) or Anne Frank House need not to worry,
however, as the entire exhibition is multilingual to
serve the throngs of tourists passing through.
Luckily, a language barrier is not the same as an
experience barrier. From the canals of Amsterdam to
the hunebedden (dolmens, or prehistoric monuments)
in Drenthe, some historic places do not need any
translation to be appreciated. The same goes for
v isiting most museums and cultural sites —while
words add context, a Van Gogh is still a Van Gogh,
and an awe-inspiring medieval castle does not
change its facades for anyone.
Rodri and I experi-
enced this first-hand at
the Openluchtmuseum.
We sailed trade ships across the
seas, playing the museum game Canon. It didn’t
matter anymore who spoke Dutch and who did not.
Final tip! Non-Dutch speakers won’t have to miss
out on museums that don’t offer an English-
language option. Check out MuseumkaartMatch
museumkaart.nl/match. If you have a Museumkaart
(museum card), you can find a ‘museum buddy’
using this platform. «
Openluchtmuseum openluchtmuseum.nl/en
Canon van Nederland exhibition canonvannederland.nl
(Dutch only at time of publication)
About the author
Jochem Lips is a recently-graduated tourism management stu-dent with a passion for travel. Whenever he’s not fixing bikes, he prefers to spend his time riding one, preferably in some far-away destination!
Did you know... About 1% of English words have Dutch roots.
Arts & Entertainment | The challenge of translating history
26 | ACCESS | SPRING 2018
ACCESS News
Nonetheless, finding the guides was not very user
friendly. Since we are here to serve, it was high time
we reviewed how we could better provide informa-
tion to our website visitors. Now, all those ques-
tions we have been responding to over the years will
be far more easily accessible—and at your fingertips.
We are excited to share that
this March, we are launching
our new ACCESS website!
For all phases and stages
The team behind ACCESS is
made up of people just like
you: internationals finding
their way in a new country.
So we know from experience
the many questions one has
just before or upon arrival.
As life goes on, still other
questions arise. Regardless
of how long you, as an
international, have been
in the Netherlands,
ACCESS has answers to
the questions for each new
phase of your settling pro-
cess. In fact, for the longest
time, our FAQ guide Leaving
the Netherlands was among
our most popular!
Our new ACCESS website: the community leads the way
For years, our Frequently Asked Questions Guides have been ‘hiding’ in various PDFs on
our website. Well, not completely hidden. In 2017 alone, our guides were downloaded
over 40,000 times by the international community from across the country and around
the world.
ACCESS Guides & Features: downloaded 90,000+ times in 2017.
New site made pos-sible by six dedicated volunteers from five countries!
ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 27
Over the past six years, we have
been keeping track of the ques-
tions from the community, ensur-
ing we are up to date and aware of
what it is people want to know. They
are impressive numbers, steadily
growing as we improve our commu-
nications, and increase our presence at
expat centres and international fairs,
and through our magazine.
To give you an idea, we responded to:
· 7,177 inquiries in 2014
· 8,876 in 2015
· 10,404 in 2016
· 12,072 in 2017
What you can find
What we collected from your inquiries
(anonymously, of course) has allowed us to
tailor our new website to a few main catego-
ries. On our new website, you can find ques-
tions and answers in these categories:
· Relocating to the Netherlands
· Housing & Living in the Netherlands
· Healthcare
· Education
· Dual Careers
· Leaving the Netherlands
You’ll also find a quick access tool to
our Counselling Service Network—the
heart of our history. As always, you’ll
find information on our Childbirth
Preparation Courses, events sponsored
by our partners, details on how to join our
team as a volunteer, and more. Finally,
you can reach out directly to our
Helpdesk for any other questions you
may have.
Mission and Vision guiding
the way
Besides the quantitative data we used to guide our
design process, at ACCESS we continue to be driven
by our mission and vision, and the values behind
them.
We provide guidance: drawing from our collective
knowledge and experience to guide others. Offering
empathy and helping to manage the expectations of
people arriving to live and work in a new coun-
try and culture. Our support is pro-
vided in confidence and our resources
are objective, tested and trustworthy.
We foster cultural diversity: by respect-
ing the diversity of our community and
appreciating that the guidance we pro-
vide must come from a place of creating
understanding for the country
of destination.
We facilitate connections: through the vol-
unteers we recruit, train and respect with
professional courtesy we provide a commu-
nity within which, and from which connections are
made. We welcome partnerships with others who
share our vision.
We encourage growth: Personal development
is at the core of what we do. For our volun-
teers, the community we serve and the
organisations we are partners with. Our
growth is defined not by more, but by
improving and extending the service we
provide to individuals, civic organisations,
government services and corporate
employers. «
Take a look!
Visit us at access-nl.org. We welcome your feedback on the new website. Please write to us at [email protected].
Our new ACCESS website: the community leads the way
356
questions
are
answered
on our new
website.
ACCESS
welcomed
313,302
unique
visitors to
the site in
2017.
ACCESS Guides & Features: downloaded 90,000+ times in 2017.
New site made pos-sible by six dedicated volunteers from five countries!
Meet the ACCESS Counsellors: visited 9,791 times in 2017.
28 | ACCESS | SPRING 2018
070 328 1450www.ishthehague.nl
Education | Partner Feature
From a small international stream as part of a Dutch
school, to the 1,800-student Primary and Secondary
School it is now, I have seen its development from
different viewpoints: as a student, a relative, and now
as an employee. After all this time, it still has a very
special place in my heart.
In 1993, when I was a shy and awkward 11-year-old,
I started in what had just officially become The
International School of The Hague. I loved all
seven years I was a student there. It was a nurturing
and safe environment. It provided me with a great
education that helped prepare me for the world.
And now that I work here, I still feel this is as true
for current students as it was for me then.
In 2006, the Primary School and Secondary School
joined in a purpose-built building on the outskirts of
town next to the dunes in Kijkduin. From then on,
growth, both phy sical and educational, has been
exponential. For some, it can be seen as too much
change too fast. I, however, think it’s exciting to see
how the community surmounts these challenges.
It’s truly amazing how the students thrive and adapt
to all the technological changes to become genuinely
enquiring and involved members of society. And the
teachers who support them are passionate educators
who love to find new ways of bringing their message
across to each individual student.
Although the school has undergone so many changes
since it was the small school I attended, the essence
of ISH has not changed. It remains a school that
allows the kids to explore who they will turn out to
be. It is one of the reasons why I am delighted to be
a Communications Officer at ISH, being involved
in finding the best ways to communicate with the
whole school community and maintain and build
the level of engagement. So that ISH c ontinues to be
a place where the community feels comfortable and
able to prosper. So that students can continue to feel
what I felt back in 1993. «
The International School of The Hague
A brief history by an observerWhat can I say about the International School of
The Hague (ISH)? I should feel quite qualified to
say a lot about ISH. I’ve been involved in some of
the biggest transitions in the school’s history.
BY JOY DAVIS
So that students can continue to feel
what I felt back
in 1993
ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 29
»
The country’s appeal
The number of internationals studying in the
Netherlands doubled between 2006 and 2016.
There are now 80,000 internationals in a Bachelor’s
or Master’s programme. “We are one of the main
non-English speaking countries that offer English-
speaking programmes. That is definitely a plus for
us,” says Karen de Man, Communications Advisor
at Nuffic, whose headquarters are in The Hague.
“We have over 2,100 programmes in English.”
At age 19, Warris Jacob chose to study in the
Netherlands because of an international business
programme offered in English, and because it was
less expensive than studying in an English-speaking
country. Originally from India, Jacob has remained in
the Netherlands since graduating in 2016.
“The Netherlands fits my needs as an individual,”
says Jacob. “I like getting on my bike and going to
work. On Friday evening, I can finish early and go
for a run.” Aside from a good quality of life, Jacob
points out that the Netherlands also supports entre-
preneurship. “If you’re hard working, you’re going
to be rewarded for it,” he says.
Oana Chitu moved to Amsterdam from Romania in
2011 to study game creation and production. “I got to
know a lot of people and things were working fine,”
says Chitu. “I had no reason to leave the country!”
She credits her programme with preparing her for
the Dutch workforce. “They built this mindset and
that has helped me as a person and in my profes-
sional career too,” she says.
Nuffic around the world
Maria Kurbatova got connected with Nuffic while on
an exchange programme at Fontys in Venlo. At a 2011
event in The Hague, she met the Director from Nuffic
Russia and was asked to share her experience as a
student. When she returned to Moscow, she became
a board member.
“We were organising events for people who had
studied in the Netherlands and live in Russia,”
says Kurbatova. After consulting with members of
the Holland Alumni Network, she chose to pursue
an MBA at Nyenrode University. “I was lucky to
Nuffic: enabling graduates to stayBY OLIVIA VAN DEN BROEK-NERI
The Nuffic Holland Alumni Network launched an
interactive website to assist graduates with
entering the Dutch workforce. So far it has 60,000
registered members.
Education
PHOTO: DAVID VAN HAEREN
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Innovative International Education
“Learning is the Heart of The International School of The Hague”
ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 31
have that connection with Nuffic in Russia,” says
Kurbatova, who has lived in Amsterdam since
graduating.
Keeping alumni in the country
The Holland Alumni Network has 20 Holland Career
Ambassadors who help guide international students
wanting to work here. When Jacob was first studying,
there was no such network. “It was really hard,” he
says, “especially for people who moved from outside
the EU.” He is currently an ambassador at the net-
work he describes as “a bridge between the student
community and Nuffic.”
A marketing manager living in Zoetermeer, Victoria
Manolova moved from Bulgaria in 2009. “I like to
share my experiences and to help [students] out,”
says Manolova. As a Holland Career Ambassador,
Manolova helps organise career cafés for interna-
tional students looking for work.
She says that the Orientation Year Visa is an impor-
tant topic of discussion during these events. This visa
allows internationals graduating from a Dutch uni-
versity to look for a job for up to one year after gradu-
ation, and is especially important to those coming
from outside of the European Economic Area (EEA).
About the author
Olivia van den Broek-Neri has lived in the Netherlands for over 10 years and is currently Project Coordinator for Communications & Events at Holland Expat Center South.
Education | Nuffic: enabling graduates to stay
According to research released in “Analysis of
st udent mobility and stay rates per region - 2017,”
the vast majority of graduates from outside of the
EEA are more likely to stay in the Netherlands after
completing their studies. The stay rate for these
in dividuals five years after graduation is 45% in
co mparison to 32% for those who come from
within the EEA.
English-language job platform
“We have heard from alumni that they are looking
for job opportunities,” says De Man. “We thought
we have to cater to that need.” The result is a feed
for English-language jobs on the Holland Alumni
Network’s website, already one of their most popu-
lar pages. Via this platform, alumni (and the gen-
eral public) can share vacancies, including job
and internship opportunities. Kurbatova says,
“Sometimes there are opportunities that are not
online—internal jobs. That’s where the network
can help you!”
The future of the network
This year the organisation will ask companies to post
their vacancies here. The network will also organise
more regional events, inviting international students
in the last stages in their studies to see what opportu-
nities are available. The success of the network
depends on the members, such as Jacob who says,
“As an ambassador, what I can do… is link my Dutch
network with the Holland Alumni Network.” «
hollandalumni.nl
Facebook: studyinholland
LinkedIn: hollandalumni
Nuffic is the Dutch organisation for internationalisa-
tion in education. nuffic.nl/en
PH
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VID
VA
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AE
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N
Did
you know...
Of the international
students who graduated in
NL in 2007, 4,381 were
still here seven years
later.
32 | ACCESS | SPRING 2018
Dutch Lifestyle
“The grit of New York’s earliest days is still to be found, on
paper, at the Municipal Archives. Thanks to an inspired digi-
tization project, the movers and shakers of New Amsterdam
are all there… the people who founded a teeming little city at
the southern end of the island they called the Manhattes.
It was a rough place, but one that was uniquely infused by
two things that were part of the Dutch mentality in the
17th century: tolerance and a free-trading sensibility. Roam
through these documents—in the 17th century originals or
in the 19th century English translations—and a realization
dawns on you: New York was New York right from the start.”
So writes Russell Shorto in Island at the Center of the
World, a history of Dutch Manhattan. Shorto’s book
is based around an incredible set of records acquired
in 1985 by the New York City Municipal Archives, and
gives credence to the fact that the Dutch gave such
crucial flavour and shape to this great city and what
it became.
For many, the story of New Amsterdam and the
Dutch in America may be a familiar one, but the
reach of the Dutch was global. Dutch contributions
Corners of the world, tinted orangeBY ALICE BURKE
PH
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OR
TIE
R,
VIA
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.CO
M
ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 33
The archives mentioned here are but a drop in the ocean when it comes to surveying the scope of the Dutch and their global footprint
England
The Association for Low Countries Studies (ALCS),
based in Sheffield, England, is an organisation that
focuses on the history of the Low Countries. Dutch
Crossing, published since 1977, is an interdisciplinary
peer-reviewed journal, devoted to all aspects of Low
Countries Studies: Dutch language and literature;
history and art history of the Low Countries; the
social sciences and cultural studies; and Dutch as a
foreign language. Coverage includes the Netherlands
and Belgium, as well as other places where Dutch
historically had or continue to have an impact,
including the Americas, Southern Africa and
Southeast Asia.
Australia
The Dutch have a long history in Australia, with the
first recorded landing there in 1606 by the Dutch East
India Company. Bas de Groot, senior records man-
agement officer at Flinders University, Adelaide,
Australia, has worked in records management and
archives for over 15 years. He told us a little about his
experience of Dutch records in the country:
“Australia as a country has few specifically Dutch
archives, but there are numerous collections within
archives that have a Dutch connection, notably
archaeological collections that document 17th century
exploration, and World War II collections…” said
Bas. He has recently embarked on a small research
project “about Dutch migrants enlisting in the AIF
[Australian Imperial Force-the Australian army]
du ring World War I, using National Archives’ service
records. »
to commerce, trade, art and culture, internationally,
can be seen in archives the world over, as well as the
harsh impact of colonisation and the devastation of
slavery. From Adelaide to Sheffield, and Colombo to
Jakarta, we take a look at legacies traced around the
world in foreign lands that Dutch forefathers grew to
call home.
The Americas
The records referenced in Shorto’s book on the
Dutch history of Manhattan include a fascinating set
of ordinances, court minutes, and administrative
minutes, and offer us a glimpse into the lives of the
Dutch in New Amsterdam at a time of immense
change. They include business contracts, loan agree-
ments, wills, deeds, court transcripts, marriage con-
tracts, and much more.
The Dutch had landed in the Americas in the 1600s.
They claimed land in North and South America and
across the Caribbean. Centuries later, in 2016, histor-
ical documents from the Dutch Caribbean islands
were digitised as part of the project “Dutch
Caribbean Collections up to 1954,” a collaboration
among several institutions in the Netherlands and in
Curaçao. In total, there are more than half a million
scans available of books, articles, magazines, archive
material, photographs and maps relating to the six
islands long-ago colonised by the Dutch (Aruba,
Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius and Sint
Maarten).
A research site launched in 2013 offers a detailed
look into life in the Dutch Caribbean colonies
between 1670 and 1870. The site, dutch-caribbean.huy-
gens.knaw.nl, allows for searches by archives, their
creators and also legislation. The archives cover
co llections in the Netherlands, the UK, Curaçao,
Suriname and Guyana, focusing especially on slavery
and multicultural relations. One can read through
Church resolutions in Suriname, documents regard-
ing instructions for the Orphans, Ownerless and
Insolvent Estates Chamber, and various records from
slave plantations and estate houses.
Are you looking to expand your horizons and meet new people?
Then Connecting Women
is for you!
Come join us to meet an international community of diverse women and share
and connect at one of our gatherings or events. We meet on the first Tuesday of
every month (except January and August) in The Hague.
For more information visit our website... www.connectingwomen.nl
19 - 21 April 2018 Cry Havoc!
24 - 25 May 2018 Mrs Picasso
20 - 21 July 2018 The Greatest ThingZuiderparktheater The Hague
A musical fairytale about LOVE
By Silent Rocco and
Ms Walker (DE)
Branoul Theatre The Hague
"Pablo was a bastard"
By Carlijn van Ramshorst (NL)
Koninklijke Schouwburg The Hague
Shakespeare's words in a veteran's story
By Stephan Wolfert (US)
21-22 April 2018 A Midsummer Night's Dream (5+) Koninklijke Schouwburg The Hague
Shakespeare for the small ones!
By Infinite Jest (UK)
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ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 35
“And there are numerous Dutch clubs all over the
country, notably in the big cities, that document
some of the life of Dutch migrants post-World War
II. Adelaide’s Migration Museum even has a number
of Dutch items in their exhibition. Other than that,
however, the Dutch as a migrant community tended
to blend into Australian (British) society as much as
possible, and quite often did not keep specific archi-
val collections.”
The National Library of Australia also holds a very
large collection of archives from the Dutch colonies
in Indonesia. Online database “Dutch Australians at
a Glance” is also a treasure trove of information on
Dutch-Australian history, and is supported by entities
from both countries.
Indonesia
Apart from the considerable amount of records in
Australia regarding the Dutch East Indies (1800-1949),
there is also a huge archival collection held at the
National Archives of Indonesia. The task of archive
management in the early period of Dutch presence in
Indonesia fell upon the General Secretariat of the
colonial government. Archive material received little
attention during this period and was often unmain-
tained, resulting in an accumulation of material, and
slightly more unusually, insect damage.
The archives changed hands during the years preced-
ing sovereignty, which was won in 1949, and were
moved to their current home in 1975. Indonesia also
holds the largest archive collection related to the
Dutch East India Company in the world, with docu-
ments dating from 1612 to 1811.
Sri Lanka
The Dutch Burghers are an ethnic group in Sri Lanka,
of mixed Dutch and Sri Lankan descent. With sur-
names such as Van der Straaten, Van Dersil, Scharff
and Prins, the Dutch Burgher population show their
heritage clearly, while making up less than 1% of the
population today. In 2005, the Dutch Reformed
Church of Sri Lanka established the Wolvendaal
Foundation to focus on the renovation, mainte-
nance and improvement of the historic Dutch
churches and monuments on the island, before his-
tory is lost. The historic buildings under the founda-
tion’s care comprise the Wolvendaal Church at
Colombo, the Groote Kerk located in the Dutch Fort
of Galle, the Cayman’s Gate Belfry at Pettah, and oth-
ers. The National Archives of Sri Lanka also holds an
extensive collection of records relating to the Dutch
coastal settlements between 1640 and 1796.
The world over
The archives mentioned here are but a drop in the
ocean when it comes to surveying the scope of the
Dutch and their global footprint. It is possible, how-
ever, to get a glimpse of the breadth of travel and
exploration carried out, and the role that the
Netherlands played as a colonial power. Some Dutch
travelled to dominate and conquer, but many voy-
aged to find new lives and grow new families in for-
eign lands. In archives throughout the world, we find
corners tinted orange. «
About the author
Alice Burke is a writer and editor based in The Hague. Connect with her at @auroraborealice.
Dutch Lifestyle | Corners of the world, tinted orange
Did you know... Dutch East India Company (1602-1799) was the world's first listed public company.
PHOTO: HESSEL GERRITSZ, VIA RAREMAPS.COM
36 | ACCESS | SPRING 2018
International Community
What Connect does
An important function of Connect is providing prac-
tical information and personal advice to familiarise
expats with all aspects of living, working and study-
ing in the provinces of Groningen, Friesland and
Drenthe, to feel at home as quickly as possible.
Equally important for members and non-members
alike are the events and activities that Connect organ-
ises to facilitate further network connections as well
as the intercultural trainings available to internation-
als and companies.
“Moving from Amsterdam to Groningen and leaving work
was a big change for me. I was very lucky to meet Nina at
our Dutch course. Thanks to her, I got introduced to Connect
International. I remember my first Coffee Morning....”
Connect Internationalfor expats and international companies
This year, Stichting Connect International
(or Connect) celebrates its 20th anniversary!
Founded in 1998, it continues to serve the
international community in the northern
Netherlands. Connect is proud to be one of
the founders of the International Welcome
Center North (IWCN), a cooperation
between the municipality of Groningen, the
University of Groningen, the Dutch
Immigration and Naturalisation Service
(IND) and Connect.
PHOTO: EWOUD ROOKS
BY KAREN PROWSE
ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 37
Did you know... about 187,000 internationals live in northern Netherlands.
Knowledge and resource sharing
Connect offers twice-monthly Easy Dutch Café
workshops focused on practical daily matters that
every expat faces sooner or later: from grocery shop-
ping to medical affairs, from the Dutch birthday
party to traveling around the country on a budget,
and more.
Every week, Connect staff members select and trans-
late into English the most interesting events and
activities in Groningen, Drenthe and Friesland.
Members receive Weekly Tips with the newsletter
containing the most relevant news such as interna-
tional vacancies in the north, changes in local law,
etc., via e-mail.
“I was very surprised to find out that there were so many
expats in such a small city and many felt exactly like me in
many ways. I started to attend Coffee Mornings, Culinary
Club, and Dutch Conversation.”
For visitors who have a few questions, Connect main-
tains a wealth of practical and up-to-date information
about the northern Netherlands. Visitors can visit the
IWCN during regular office hours, email or call. Also
included in Q&A visits is a weekly opportunity to meet
a tax expert for expats seeking advice in financial
matters.
Clubs, events, courses and activities
Regular events presented by Connect are
International Coffee Mornings in Groningen and
Leeuwarden, Parents’ Coffee Mornings, and Pub
Nights. Unique events vary throughout the year,
depending upon the needs and interests of inter-
nationals in the region. In the past, these included
Men’s Night Out with a Tesla, sports outings, a
Sinterklaas party, and special regional occasions.
Connect offers special interest clubs: Book Club,
Writers’ Circle, Crafts Club, Arts Club, Culinary
Club, Sports Club, Beauty Club and Running Club.
All special interest clubs originate from Connect
members who want to meet like-minded people to
enjoy mutual interests together.
“Not only have I made many great friends through Connect,
but I have also improved my Dutch (thanks to Janny), and
learned several international recipes (thanks to Adeline).”
There are also language learning opportunities for
Connect members: courses and conversation groups
are offered in Dutch and in English.
Personal advice packages
International residents moving to the Netherlands
have a great deal of organising and planning ahead.
To fill the knowledge gap, Connect also offers its
members a Personal Advice Package for €170: a two-
hour consultation tailored to assist with the process
of moving to and settling in the Netherlands.
Practical information
Connect is supported by its knowledgeable inter-
national staff, generous volunteers, a Board of
Directors and an Honorary Board. People can join
Connect online; a one-year subscription is €25 and
offers many benefits.
Connect manages and updates the IWCN website
(iwcn.nl) with up-to-date, pertinent information and
resources for internationals. The online resources
offer an invaluable collection of interviews, articles,
advice columns for newcomers, profiles of local
businesses and reviews.
Lastly, on the Connect Facebook page the best of
all activities are highlighted as well as entertain-
ing facts, funny images, educative infographics,
must-visit events and more—all related to expat
living in the northern Netherlands.
“Being a member of Connect International was a great
opportunity for me, and I will miss it greatly.”
- Burcu Inanc van der Meulen (Turkey) «
About the author
Karen Prowse, an American expat for more than 20 years, has managed Connect since its early days and helped it grow into a major support organisation for expats in the North.
Contact
@
connect-int.org
facebook.com/ConnectInternational
38 | ACCESS | SPRING 2018
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Travel
6.5 Reasons to visit Leeuwarden this year
BY MOLLY QUELL If you’ve properly acclimated to living in the Netherlands, traveling more
than an hour for any reason seems like an eternity. So if you’re living in
the Randstad, Leeuwarden might as well be Lima. But whether you live in
Lioessens or Lemiers, you should make visiting this northern city a priority.
And here’s the six (and a half) reasons why.
ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 39
PH
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MU
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»
1It’s the European Capital of Culture
for 2018
Dreamed up by the Greek and French culture ministers
in 1985, the Capital of Culture designation is granted
to two European cities every year. Under the title, these
cities organise events highlighting European culture.
For 2018, one of those two cities is Leeuwarden
(and its province of Friesland more broadly).
Together with the capital of Malta, Valletta,
Leeuwarden is hosting a wide range of events, from
museum exhibitions to film festivals this year.
Highlights from the events include exhibitions about
Mata Hari and M.C. Escher (see number six for more
information about Leeuwarden’s famous daughter
and son), the final of the Tall Ship Race, a weekend
filled with giant French marionettes that will take
over the streets of the city, and many more activities,
all of which were crowd-sourced from the commu-
nity itself. In fact, the Frisian mienskip (community)
was the theme of the city’s bid, and the organisers
credit that notion for Leeuwarden’s win.
For more information about the events during 2018,
check out the LF2018 website: www.friesland.nl/en/
european-capital-of-culture or www.facebook.com/LF2018.
All programme materials are available in English,
Dutch, Frisian and German.
2To have a great meal
Leeuwarden food is more than just suiker-
brood and oranjekoek. (Both delicious baked goods.)
There’s Eindloos (‘endless’ in Dutch), a cosy restau-
rant in the city centre which specialises in organic
and seasonal food. They only offer a surprise menu
so no need to stress about what to order. The nearby
Post-Plaza Grand Café also serves up an excellent
menu in the location of the former post office build-
ing. There’s plenty of room, comfy couches and a
great cocktail menu. Or for something totally differ-
ent, check out TOTT (standing for Talk of the Town),
an inexpensive place specialising in saté, for which it
was named the best in the Netherlands.
tott-leeuwarden.nl (Dutch only)
If you do want to sample those Frisian baked goods,
behind the train station you’ll find Bakkerij Nijstad
for some oranjekoek and pretty much any other pastry
you can imagine. Or for a nice lunch and a good cup
of coffee (or so I was informed by my dining com-
panion—I don’t drink the stuff ), Barrevoets offers
a good sandwich. You can also get very good
smoothies there.
3To visit the Princessehof Museum
The Keramiekmuseum Princessehof gets
its name from the fact that it was once a small palace
for Marie Louise, dowager Princess of Orange.
The museum acquired a second building next door,
a former 15th-century military building. The build-
ings themselves are beautiful but the collection of
ceramics, started by Marie Louise, is the real draw.
The permanent collection showcases ceramics
throughout the ages and the museum also has a vari-
ety of exhibitions using ceramics in interesting and
innovative ways. Plus the gift shop has a great selec-
tion of ceramic items and other cool things on sale,
making for a great place to get a souvenir from your
trip or a gift for someone who deserves it.
Leeuwarden has three other museums that accept
the Museum Card: Verzetsmuseum Friesland,
Natuurmuseum Fryslân, and the Fries Museum.
The Verzetsmuseum Friesland is actually part of the
40 | ACCESS | SPRING 2018
Travel | 6.5 Reasons to visit Leeuwarden this year
Fries Museum and displays the history of the Frisian
resistance during World War II. The Natuurmuseum
features a variety of natural history exhibits and
offers a lot of activities for children. The Fries
Museum is where you can find history and art of
Friesland (more on that in Reason #6).
4To take an 11-cities tour
Anyone who has lived in the Netherlands
through a winter has heard of the Elfstedentocht. This
200 km, 11-cities (how the event gets its name) speed
skating competition is only held when the natural ice
along the course reaches 15 cm in thickness. The first
organised tour was held in 1909 with 22 participants,
though stories of skaters skating to all 11 cities date
back to as early as 1760. The last race took place in
1997, and every year any prolonged period of cold
leads to bets on whether the race will take place.
Even though it’s unlikely we will see another race in
the near future, you can follow the route and visit the
cities without the need for freezing temperatures.
There are four other official routes: two by boat with
one for larger ships and one for smaller ones. If you
can’t sail, you can always try biking the tour. The offi-
cial cycle route clocks in at 257 km. Walking is also
an option. The 209-km hike will take you a while,
but you’ll get to see a lot of Frisian nature. Of course,
you can always drive.
5To take in the stars
Leeuwarden is situated in the north of the
Netherlands, and heading north has another benefit:
there’s s ignificantly less light pollution. The
International Dark-Sky Association (Yes, that is a
thing.) designates places in the world with minimal
light pollution where you can best see the stars, known
as International Dark Sky Places. There are about 40
such parks in the world and two are in the Netherlands.
Even though it’s unlikely we will see another race in the near future, you can follow the route… without the freezing temperatures.
PHOTO: SERGE KOUTCHINSKY PHOTO: SERGE KOUTCHINSKY PHOTO: RUBEN VAN VLIET
ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 41
About the author
Molly Quell is a writer and journalist living in the Netherlands. She is a contributing editor at DutchNews.nl, where you can find her analysing Dutch politics and writing about beer and animals (together, if possible). @mollyquell.
De Boschplaat is a 40-square-km nature park on
Terschelling, one of the Wadden Islands, a short
drive and then ferry trip from Leeuwarden. De
Boschplaat is open to the public 24 hours a day and
includes eight designated spots for stargazers.
Lauwersmeer National Park is a half -hour drive
from Leeuwarden and is also reachable by public
transport. It was underwater until 1969, when it
was reclaimed from the sea and the saltwater was
gradually replaced by fresh water. There’s little
nearby light pollution and thus makes for an excel-
lent stargazing location, but it also offers sanctuary
for migratory birds and is also a good location for
bird watchers.
6Mata Hari and Escher
Leeuwarden boasts two of the most famous
Dutch folks: Mata Hari and M.C. Escher. Born
Margaretha Zelle into an affluent family in the Frisian
town, Mata Hari’s family lost everything when she
was 12. She married well, her only option for societal
advancement in the early 20th century, but ended up
divorced and desperate. So she moved to Paris to
become a performer. And, according to the French,
a spy for the Germans during World War I. An exhibi-
tion covering her life is on at the Fries Museum
until 2 April as part of the Capital of Culture year.
The exhibition brings together a wide variety of
items from Mata Hari’s life, including her wedding
dress and order of execution. (Mata Hari is pictured
above, right.)
Dutch artist Escher was famous for his black and
white illogical sketches like Drawing Hands (1948)
and House of Stairs (1951). He may have his namesake
museum in The Hague, but he was born in the city
palace in Leeuwarden, now home to the Princessehof
Museum. The exhibition at the Fries Museum follows
M.C. Escher, born Maurits Cornelis Escher, during
his 73-year-long life, from studying at the Technical
University of Delft (then called Institute of Technology)
to his maths-inspired work to designing postage
stamps. Starts on 28 April and runs until November.
6.5One tiny, but good, beer bar
The craft beer movement that’s dominating
the rest of the country hasn’t quite made it the whole
way up north yet. Cocktails have. The aforemen-
tioned Post-Plaza Grand Café makes an excellent
Moscow Mule while Kelder 65 has a well-stocked bar
whose staff can mix an excellent gin and tonic. But if
it’s a special beer you want, off to De Markies you
must go. It’s a small brown café with a large beer list.
The tap list has a few staples (The Hague-based
Kompaan, Haarlem-based ’t Uitlje) but also a few
surprises, including a brewery from Virginia (USA)
and a number of Dutch craft breweries from the
northern provinces. Plus a bottle menu 200+ long.
Looking for more tips? Visit leeneenfries.nl/en to experi-
ence Friesland with a local. «
Did you know... The name Mata Hari is Malay for “eye of the day,“ or ”sun.“
PHOTO: DE MYTHE EN HET MEISJE, LEEUWARDEN-FRYSLÂN 2018
42 | ACCESS | SPRING 2018
Food
Julius Caesar led the first Roman troops into the Low
Countries in 57 BCE. His adoptive son Augustus, the
first Roman emperor, made it clear that they were
here to stay. Under Augustus and his successors, the
Romans constructed a network of forts, camps and
watchtowers right across the country. Behind these
so-called limes, locals and Romans mingled, traded
and worshipped.
New treats
With the Romans came a food revolution. Roman
troops were largely fed with local produce, but
archaeological excavations in Nijmegen have shown
that they also enjoyed imported goods. Wine, olive
oil and fish sauce from Spain and Italy were com-
monplace, and troops also nibbled on dates from
far-away Egypt. The taste for Mediterranean foods
spread to the locals, particularly in urbanized areas
such as Nijmegen (Noviomagus) or Voorburg (Forum
Hadriani).
Vegetables that feature in a lot of Dutch cuisine, such
as onions, leeks and endive, were first introduced to
the Low Countries by the Romans. New herbs such
as dill, coriander and mint gave flavour to boring old
porridge and stew. Orchards—planted for the first
time in the Roman period—grew newly cultivated
varieties of apples, cherries, pears, peaches and
plums. And for ancient Dutch carnivores, the
Romans offered a delicious new treat: the chicken.
Eastern flavours
The Romans had been familiar with the chicken for
many centuries. The birds played a role in divination
(a means of attempting to foresee what will happen
in the future) but also found their way to the Roman
dinner table. The Roman author Columella even
wrote a detailed how-to guide on breeding and keep-
ing chickens. From the first century CE onwards,
chicken bones also start appearing in the archaeo-
logical records of the Low Countries, suggesting the
new bird caught on quickly.
Kip met appelmoes or kip saté was not on the Roman
menu. Luckily for us, however, we do have a few
ancient chicken recipes. Most are from the only
s urviving Roman ‘cookbook’, De Re Coquinaria.
The book was written in the late fourth century CE,
and intended for a wealthy audience. Some of the
recipes are a little daunting—roasted flamingo,
a nyone?—but most are not all that difficult or com-
plex. Take for example pullum Parthicum, or ‘Parthian
chicken’. The Parthian in the title refers to the
Parthian Empire of Iran, which for several centuries
was Rome’s arch-enemy in the East. Despite the hos-
tilities, the Parthian empire was the main source of
laser, a spice that features prominently in the dish.
We don’t know if it was ever served at a banquet in
the Roman Netherlands, but it’s sure to make one
delicious meal for modern diners.
Ancient Parthian chicken
BY STEFAN PENDERS
The Dutch love their chicken. Poultry is one of
the most popular meats in the country,
accounting for almost a third of Dutch meat
consumption. We have the Romans to thank for
that. For nearly five hundred years, the Low
Countries were part of an empire stretching from
Scotland to Syria. And with such a massive empire
came new foods and flavours.
ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 43
Parthian chicken
“Dress the chicken and prepare it. Grind pepper, lovage seeds,
and a modest amount of caraway seeds, moisten them with
fish sauce, and dilute with wine. Put the chicken into an
earthenware dish and pour the seasoning over. Dissolve some
laser in lukewarm water, add it to the chicken and cook until
done. Serve sprinkled with pepper.” (De Re Coquinaria,
6.9.3)
Preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Place the chicken pieces in a shallow oven dish.
3. Grind the caraway seeds in a mortar and pestle or
spice grinder, then mix with the asafoetida, lovage,
fish sauce, wine and black pepper to taste.
4. Pour the wine-spice mixture over the chicken.
5. Place the dish into the oven and roast until done;
the thighs should be ready in about one hour. Baste
occasionally and cover if the chicken pieces are
getting too dark.
6. Take the dish out of the oven and taste, add a bit
more fish sauce if needed. Sprinkle with freshly
ground black pepper and serve.
Tips
Asafoetida: Imported into the Roman Empire from
India and Iran. The spice was a substitute for the real
laser, an herb which had gone extinct in the first cen-
tury BCE. Asafoetida is still prevalent in South-Indian
cuisine and is available at most Asian supermarkets.
Use it in curries, or any other dish in need of a gar-
licky taste. If you can’t find it, try mixing equal meas-
ures of onion and garlic powder.
Lovage: Seeds are hard to come by, but the leaf is avail-
able in dried form from many online spice retailers.
The flavour is deeply savoury and similar to celery; it
works wonders in stews and sauces.
Sauce: The wine mixture serves as a sauce but it’ll
remain quite thin. Thicken it with some cornstarch if
you wish; the Romans would have used wheat starch
or old bread. «
About the author
Stefan Penders is a historian and freelance editor. He’s currently working as a PhD candidate at Leiden University.
Ingredients
Yield: Four individual tarts
• 4 chicken thighs (or your cut of
choice)
• 200 ml of red wine
• 1 tsp of asafoetida
• 1 tsp of caraway seeds
• 1 tsp of lovage (or celery leaf )
• 1 tbsp of fish sauce
(plus extra to taste)
PH
OT
O:
CA
RO
LE
RA
DD
AT
O
44 | ACCESS | SPRING 2018
070 361 5048www.legalexpatdesk.nl
Law | Partner Feature
In May 2018 the General Data Protection Regulation
(GDPR) comes into effect and replaces the old EU
Privacy Directive and the Dutch Data Protection
Act (DDPA). The new regulation focuses on trans-
parency, including strengthening and expanding
privacy rights. The GDPR also gives residents of
the European Union two more rights: the right to
be forgotten, and the right to data portability.
The right to be forgotten
Article 17 of the GDPR grants people the right to
be forgotten. This means that a person can ask for
p ersonal data to be deleted once those data are no
longer necessary.
This right was granted by the Court of Justice of the
European Union, after, in 2010, a Spanish citizen
filed a complaint against (among others) Google.
The citizen complained that an auction notice of his
home in Google’s search results infringed his privacy
rights because the issue had been fully resolved; the
reference was therefore irrelevant. He requested that
Google remove the reference. The Court ruled that
individuals have the right, under certain circum-
stances, to require search engines to remove certain
personal data. This ruling applies where the infor-
mation is inaccurate, inadequate, irrelevant or exces-
sive for the purpose of the data processing.
Although the right to be forgotten is not entirely new,
article 17 GDPR modernises European data protec-
tion rules. It is now clear that non-European compa-
nies, when offering services to European consumers,
must apply European rules, and that it is for the
company—and not the individual—to prove that
the data are still relevant.
The right to data portability
Under the GDPR, citizens are entitled to data porta-
bility. In other words, you can transfer your personal
data between organisations that may collect data on
you. This is to ensure that it is easy for you to pass on
your data to another organisation.
The principle behind the right to data portability is
to increase the control that citizens have over their
personal data. Citizens can decide for themselves
which data they share and with whom. This also pre-
vents vendors from locking customers in by refusing
to transfer personal data.
If you have any questions about your rights under
the GDPR or any other questions about data privacy,
please contact our experts at the Legal Expat Desk. «
Data protection and privacy are hot topics these
days. Most of us have left a digital archive all over
the internet. But what are your rights to that
information and to have that information deleted?
The right to be found,
or forgotten
Under the General Data Protection
Regulation, citizens decide for themselves which data they share
and with whom
ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 45
The Dutch Language Union
Humour
ABN
The official form of Dutch is known as
Algemeen Beschaafd Nederlands (ABN), liter-
ally general civilized Dutch, or standaard-
nederlands. It is monitored by the Taalunie
(Dutch Language Union). Every 10 years or
so there are changes to the official spell-
ing. Years ago, if you wanted to advance
socially, you had to speak ABN. Not to be
confused with ABN AMRO bank.
Gehaktdag
Gehaktdag, or mince day, is the name given
in political circles to the third Wednesday
in May when ministers present their
departments’ annual reports, summing up
their successes and failures. The somewhat
strange label comes from the idea that if
ministers have not done well, the opposi-
tion and the press will make mincemeat of
them.
MR
The abbreviation mr stands for meester in de
rechten or master of law and is the official
form of address for anyone, male or
female, who has the title. So do not be sur-
prised to see a letter from mr. Nicola Smit
or the like. If you are addressing several
meesters, the form of address is mrs. Nicola
Smit and Jan Groen… The Dutch short
form of Mrs, as in a married woman, is Mw.
For fun, and to help internationals relieve their frustrations over
Dutch acronyms and puzzling terms…
Dictionary of Dutchness Courtesy of DutchNews.nl
CA
RT
OO
N ©
BO
B P
OW
ER
S
46 | ACCESS | SPRING 2018
ACCESS Partners & Trainers
Thank you for helping ACCESS!Relocating
ABN AMRO
Dutch Tax Returns
Expat Management Group
FVB De Boer
GMW Advocaten (Legal Expat Desk)
J.C.Suurmond & zn. Tax Consultants
Tulip Expat Services
Housing
Agent 4 Property
Expat Mortgages
MVA Certified Expat Brokers
My Home Relocator
Living
American Book Centre (ABC)
GMW Advocaten (Legal Expat Desk)
In-Lease
STET The English Theatre
Healthcare
Bloom, House of Health
International Health Centre
Loonzorg B.V
De Boezemvried
Dual Career Support
AWC (American Woman’s Club)
CIYS (Career in your Suitcase)
Connecting Women
Stichting Present
Volunteer The Hague
Women’s Business Initiative Int'l
Learning & Education
American Int’l School of Rotterdam
American School of The Hague
Big Ben Kids
British School in the Netherlands
BSN Language Centre
Direct Dutch Institute
Flowently
German Int’l School of The Hague
HSV (Haagsche Schoolvereeniging)
International School of The Hague
Kickstart School
Kinderopvang 2SAMEN
True Colors
Zein Childcare
Patron
TU Delft
Government
City of Delft
City of Leidschendam-Voorburg
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City of The Hague
Expat Center Leiden
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IN Amsterdam
Community
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Broadcast Amsterdam
Check-NL
Dutch News
DutchBuzZ
Expat Events
Expatica
Expatriate Archive Centre
Here in Holland
IamExpat
I am not a Tourist (Fairs andEvents for the International Community)
InTouch Rotterdam
M-space
The World In Your Classroom
TheHagueOnline
Xpat Media (Xpat Journal)
Trainers
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Megan Alter
O'ona Souissi
Petra Fisher
Ria Wiertz
Teresa Moynihan
Truus Gale
Ute Limacher-Riebold
There are many ways in which you can support the work ACCESS does: as a Patron, Partner, Trainer and Advertiser. Contact our Public Relations Department at [email protected] for our Helping ACCESS 2018 Media Pack for opportunities.
How to buy a house in the Netherlands..
Save time and trouble.
Buying a house can be a smart move for expats. Interested in knowing more about tax benefi ts, mortgage types and monthly costs? We’ll be happy to help. Read more on abnamro.nl/house and schedule a free orientation meeting with one of our mortgage advisers.At our International Client Desk we can help you in English. Or 25 other languages. So you feel at home in the Netherlands. Contact us any time. We’re here for you 24/7.
214749 adv How to buy a house_215x280.indd 1 30-05-16 11:49
