#2 JULY/AUGUST 2011 €5,99
Sports & Business
DUTCH fOOTBALL FLOURISHING ON THE FIELD BUT NOT IN THE BOARDROOM + wHAT’S YOUR GAME? SPORTING CLUBS FOR EVERY TASTE
MARATHONISTA LORNAH KIPLAGAT
Multiculturalism
Eindhoven
Private Clinics
‘ Reports of my
THE LIGHT-BULB GIvES BIRTH TO A GLOBAL HIGHTECH CENTRE
NEw KIDS ON THE DUTCH HEALTHCARE BLOCK
death are greatly exaggerated’
8 717973 661238
31 35 59
02
‘Maybe I earn more than before, but I’m still just Lornah from Kenya’
landrover.nl/
A CLASS ABOVE
Fuel consumption combined min./max.: 6,0-14,9 l/100 km, resp. 16,7-6,7 km/l, CO 2 -emissions resp. 158-348 g/km.
Contents 6 the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT
Introducing
The Big Issue - new column
ON THE BRINK Of A PARLIAMENTARY REvOLUTION Silly questions
Attitudes to learning and work distinguish the EU from ASEAN
Political pollster Maurice de Hond gives his verdict on remarkable trends in Dutch politics.
On the European debt crisis and EU response
18 13
What, where, when The importance of being cultural
64
Fenna Ferweda - new column
82
LORNAH MEANS BUSINESS
What, where, when
67
This top athlete is both building a business empire and helping the disadvantaged.
The latest toys for the boys
Gadgets
80
16 Q&A
The Uitmarkt is not just a unique Amsterdam event, but lucrative for companies we all want to be a bit more Greek
Summer time... and the living is al fresco
21
Politics
HAS MULTICULTURALISM REALLY GONE SOUR? Or is that just wishful thinking?
29 Coverstory
THE BUSINESS Of fOOTBALL Orange Inc. How to sell off the family jewels and become insolvent
Lifestyle
37
PRIvATE HEALTHCARE IS HERE TO STAY Business is booming as private clinics take over
59
News working in the Netherlands Personal finance Lifestyle Dutch Golf what where when International Living Dutch Style Gadgets Testing, Testing,... 1,2,3
11 49 51 59 61 63 71 77 80 81
Short the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT 7
I came from nothing so I have nothing to lose Marathonista Lornah Kiplagat, page 21
Business
Education
Top 10
The most intelligent community in the world
Is Dutch on its deathbed?
Green entrepreneurs
Eindhoven, in the southeastern part of the Netherlands, was once called Philips-town - dominated by a light-bulb factory. Today, its High Tech Campus is one of the largest science parks in the world and its Open Innovation environment acts as a magnet for technological talent. Yet, according to the expatriates it attracts, it’s as cosy as an old pair of slippers. Emily Gordts narrates how the transformation took place.
English is rapidly replacing Dutch as the medium of instruction in schools and universities. Yet Parliament has just imposed legislation to enforce broadcasting of ‘Dutch-language’ music on Radio 2. Economic –and cultural- considerations mandate a switch to English, but that it comes at the cost of the country’s linguistic heritage. Lack of clear government policy has led to the most priceless comedy, Niala Maharaj discovered as she investigated the Battle for the Dutch language.
A ferment of innovation typifies the sustainable business sector in The Netherlands. Energy-generating algae rub shoulders with sustainable plastics and responsible banking. Jeroen Jansen looks at the projects being undertaken to make serious money while saving the planet and ranks The Netherlands’ green entrepreneurs for their effects on that other global crisis – the environment.
33 47 56
Editorial
Colophon
PHOTOGRAPHY Maarten Bezem
the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT 9
THE INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT www.theinternationalcorrespondent.nl EDITION July/August 2011 Edition 2
Trading in passion-fruit The business of sport fAIR PLAY Some go drinking on Friday afternoons, others race home to well-deserved rest. I end my week ploughing through the loose sands of the North-Holland dunes, on a ‘jog’ with world champion long-distance runner, Lornah Kiplagat. Victory is certainly not assured. But a good chat is. This marathonista is the example of how athletic success offers business possibilities. Kiplagat and her manager-husband run a training school in her land of origin, Kenya, deal in real estate, and control a substantial part of the country’s trade in passion-fruit. In between, she travels the world to bring gold to her new homeland, The Netherlands. In this issue of the International Correspondent, we tell her life story. Sport binds, that’s clear. It breaks through language barriers and leaps over cultural differences. That’s why so many international companies employ sport to bring empoyees together. Yet sport presents the chance for peoples to differentiate themselves from each other. Many see the achievements of the Orange legion, The Netherlands’ football team, as one of the most important elements of national culture. Losing the World Cup final last year was regarded as a national disaster. But pride in sports accomplishment can muddy business instincts, as Jeroen Jansen shows in this issue. He reveals that a gro-
wing number of football clubs are getting into the red by throwing money at international players in the effort to participate at the world’s top level. In this issue, we also publish a searing plea for multicultural society. Recently, David Cameron, Nicolas Sarkozy, Angela Merkel and the Dutch Foreign minister, Maxime Verhagen, rushed to declare everything that smacks of multiculti dead. That’s just a political response to rising populism in Europe. That taking-over of conservative nationalist ideology is, in my view, not only idiotic -there is sufficient evidence that monocultural society has a short shelf-life- but it’s also hypocritical. The criticism by politician Geert Wilders and his right-wing colleagues abroad is aimed at the bureaucratic monster born in the 1960s from the wish to regulate and direct the establishment of multicultural society. Top-down integration to prevent tension between different social groups has been absolutely pointless. A multicultural society, which is what The Netherlands is, creates itself. Just like players’ co-operation on the football field. Criticism of multiculturalism by political bigwigs is disguised criticism of their own mistakes. Ladies and gentlemen of politics: FAIR PLAY, please!
Floris Muller
Publisher The International Correspondent
PUBLISHER & EDITOR Floris Müller floris.muller@theinternationalcorrespondent.nl ADJUNCT EDITOR Niala Maharaj niala.maharaj@theinternationalcorrespondent.nl CONTRIBUTORS Thomas Dieben, Fenna Ferweda, Martin van Geest, Emily Gordts, Jeroen Jansen, Frank Krajenbrink, David Lemereis, Mark Maathuis, Dennis Roelofsen, Sanjay Sharma, Marco de Vries DESIGN AND ART DIRECTION POP www.popadores.com PHOTOGRAPHY Maarten Bezem SPECIAL THANKS TO Wendy van Bavel, Jolijn Besemer, Alvie Bhailal, Remco Buurman, Bas Ten Dam, Willem Elzenga, Jeroen van Evert, Ramon Groen, Natascha Heijstek, Marjolein Hof, Christiaan Huijg, Torben von Otte, Roel Prins, Lilian Van der Steen, Patrick Smolders, Friso Uriot, Andrew van der Ven, Sabine Wölfel wEB DEvELOPMENT Sketches From Heaven SALES & MARKETING Ignace Breemer Ter Stege Ignace.Breemer@correspondentmedia.nl ACCOUNTANT IUS Statutory Audits PRINTING Westdeutsche Verlags- und Druckerei GmbH, Mörfelden-Walldorf, Germany DISTRIBUTION TO STORES Van Gelderen/ VanGelderen Inflight The International Correspondent is the business magazine for the international community in The Netherlands. It offers quality reports on finance and economics as well as expositions of Dutch politics, education, innovation and lifestyle. It also provides independent advice on living in, working in, and enjoying The Netherlands. The International Correspondent appears every two months and is published in collaboration with partners in business, government and the education sector. It is also distributed by AKO and Bruna bookshops and magazine stores in the Randstad and surrounding cities. The International Correspondent is not dependent on the government and receives no funding or other assistance from official sources. The editors try to ensure the correctness of all information in this magazine. However, mistakes and omissions are, regrettably, possible. No rights may therefore be derived from the material published. We are perfectly willing to publish corrections in the following issue, if they are brought to our attention. For questions or information, please contact the publisher. All rights reserved. Nothing in this edition may be multiplied, stored in an automated database, or made public, in any form or by any means, whether electronic, mechanical, by photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the publisher. For more information about the partnership programme of The International Correspondent, contact partnerships@ correspondentmedia.nl The International Correspondent is published by Correspondent Media CORRESPONDENT MEDIA info@correspondentmedia.nl www.correspondentmedia.nl Postbus 75526 1070 AM Amsterdam The Netherlands Chamber of Commerce Nr. 34394092 Vat. No.:148998203B01 Rabobank Amsterdam 12.58.16.030
Dynamic Business center Vibrant and dynamic, an international business and conference center, a community with more than 352 businesses and 37 nationalities. a multi-cultural center of knowledge and the top in the area of commerce. Based at the heart of the ďŹ nancial center of the netherlands, only seven minutes from amsterdam. World trade Center Amsterdam brings businesses together and provides them with a range of services that help them succeed. Want to know more about available ofďŹ ce space? Contact us at +31 (0) 20 575 91 11 or email realestate@wtcamsterdam.com
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the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT 11
News
“EU SAvED fOR NOw” Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte adresses a news conference at the end of an European Union finance ministers meeting in Brussels in july.
News 12 the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT
INSHORT
WHO STOLE THE COOKIE FROM THE COOKIE JAR? >THE GOVERNMENT
wITH MAYONAISE? OR wITHOUT?
KLM TO fLY ON USED fRENCH-fRY OIL From September, used oil from restaurants and bars will power KLM flights between Amsterdam and Paris. ‘A global first for the Netherlands and a spectacular breakthrough for the aviation industry,’ is how KLM’s CEO, Camiel Eurlings, described the news.The oil from the French fries will be half-mixed with kerosene and will power over 200 flights.‘That way we don’t need to make any adjustments to the engines, but we’ll be flying a good deal cleaner,’ says Eurlings, who was once The Netherlands’ transport minister. The move is part of the airline’s efforts to secure a positive recommendation from the Dutch Sustainability Board. It is also an expression of support for Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) research, which suggests alternative fuels from biomass are the only acceptable replacement for fossil fuels used in the airline industry
Dutch internet companies and webshops are not amused. Parliament has introduced legislation to remove tracking cookies from the cookie jar of consumers’ computers. Webshops will no longer be able to tempt buyers to indulge in new purchases after tracking their surfing habits. As part of a new telecom law, strict controls were introduced to restrict the embedding of the cookies that now act as Peeping Toms, snooping on citizens’ surfing habits and shopping preferences. Web-businesses say such privacy protection will affect their competitiveness in relation to companies based abroad. They argue that consumers can just remove the cookies every year if they don’t want them. Parliamentarians argue that if consumers want cookies they can place them themselves. Yet another dilemma posed by globalisation and the world-wide web (sigh!). So far, porn-providers haven’t complained.
GROwING... GROwING... OR NOT GROwING? THE DUTCH ECONOMY
As Greek drama threatened to bring down the euro in June, The Netherlands’ Central Planning Bureau (CPB) predicted growth of 2% for the Dutch economy this year. But it added that ‘a high level of uncertainty’ accompanied its prognosis. ‘Control of government deficits in various highly developed economies and the debt crisis in Europe could restrict (Dutch) economic growth,’ noted the CPB. In
other words, don’t order that Veyron just yet. The CPB forcast growth of 1.75% in 2012, and a drop in unemployment to four percent. But consumers will experience ‘a fall in median purchasing power’, due to high inflation, modest wage increases and ‘restrictions in health insurance and childcare allowances in 2012’. In other words, don’t even order your Ipad 2 until further notice.
Flatworld
News the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT 13
SILLYQUESTIONS ABOUT THE EUROPEAN DEBT CRISIS
The Dutch are growing increasingly critical of the European Union and participation in the euro currency itself. The continuing credit crisis in Greece and elsewhere is a major contributor to this. Many wonder whether The Netherlands should really be helping to shore up ailing EU member-states. The Dutch blame ‘elite-politics’ in Brussels. Below, Professor Rene Tisser of Nyenrode Business University explains Dutch scepticism and the crisis unfolding in Europe. why are the Dutch so critical of the EU’s approach to the crisis? The hope for a united Europe based on citizens’ agreement and the practical experience of communal existence was always there, but it was never realistic. The politicians stressed the interests of Europe, but didn’t explain concretely how citizens would be better off as a result of the union, at least not in the actual context where, in practice, people just see things getting worse. Many Dutch people blame the EU for losing control of member-states’ indebtedness. Is that criticism justified? With this crisis, from the European perspective, there has been no vision developed, no strategy defined, no policy formulated and no exit-strategy (Plan B). In fact, it is politics by incident. Europe has turned itself, as it were, into a union for transferring debt. The real policy is geared to offering European banks (including the ‘bad banks’ that exist all over Europe) as much time as possible to shift their debts to the European Central Bank, the European Stability Mechanism and the International Monetary Fund. How long can The Netherlands and other rich European countries carry the burdens of the other member states? The Greek debt crisis has cost The Netherlands between five and ten billion euros. If other countries get into trouble, it will raise the sums that The Netherlands has to cough up. The Irish banking sector is, to all practical purposes, completely bankrupt, and so the country can be the next short-term credit case. It’s a fact that these debts will weigh heavily on The Netherlands’ budget. The right-wing movement, Pvv, preaches that member states like Greece should be expelled from the EU if necessary. Is that a realistic scenario? Greece has long been an economy of limited scale in relation to the size and current welfare standards enjoyed by the population. Large subsidies and cheap bank credit has pumped up the economy. It isn’t unrealistic to let the country go bankrupt outside the union and let it recover. Liquidity support in the form of short-term credit is now holding off bankruptcy. But the question is how long that can continue. Many economists are arguing that the crisis actually boosts increased European integration. Europe is rushing, in the short term, to form a fiscal union in which member-states’ individual sovereignty will simply be abandoned along the wayside. For practical reasons, the principle of integration and unity is being forced. The motto being pushed on citizens is: stop griping about democracy. That means, for the Greeks, that they must now swallow a host of cuts imposed by Europe. I wonder how liveable the whole of Europe will be if parts of it are treated this way.
Business News 14 the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT
€15 BILLION
DUTCH ANNUAL EXPENDITURE ON vACATIONS
€12 BILLION
DUTCH EXPENDITURE ON fOREIGN vACATIONS
82%
Of DUTCH PEOPLE wENT ON vACATION AT LEAST ONCE IN 2010
STAMP DUTY SLASHED BUT BANKING TAX ANNOUNCED
The government announced in July a major reduction in stamp duty paid on house purchases, but stated that the shortfall to the treasury would be made up via a tax on banking. The measure was taken to pull the housing market out of the dolldrums it had been stuck in since the financial crisis of 2008. Home buyers will now pay 2% tax rather than the 6% they previously donated to the state coffers. Prime Minister Mark Rutte advised citizens to buy a house now as the reduction will only be temporary. The treasury will lose 1.2 billion euros in income, but the government hopes to raise 300 million via the banking tax as of January 2012. The banking tax, which is supposed to cover the risks of bank failure, ‘can cause damage to the economy,’ noted Boele Staal, chair of the Dutch Association of Banks (NVB). But Minister of Finance, Kees Jan de Jager, pointed out that Germany, the UK and France have similar taxes in place. ‘The European Commission is considering a proposal on this at the moment,’ De Jager said. ‘The aim is to create a level playing field.’ House viewings increased by 10-25 percent in the first week after the announcement, according to a survey by the real estate agents’ association, VBO.
+25% HOUSE VIEWINGS
DUTCH PEOPLE wENT ON vACATION
36 MILLION TIMES IN 2010
year, but dozens have followed. Now, Bouman, supported by investors including former prime minister Ruud Lubbers, expects that energy companies will soon want to develop national networks with a charging station for every fifty kilometres of highway. Other countries are interested. Estland and Norway have orders in for 250 highway charging posts at a cost of five to ten million euros.
COMING SOON TO A SUPERMARKET NEAR YOU: A POST TO PLUG IN YOUR CAR Supermarkets, hamburger joints and furniture emporia will soon have poles where you can plug in your electric car for recharging while you eat or shop. Epyon, the Dutch builder of electrical charging posts for automobiles, has just been taken over, lock, stock, barrel, employees and directors, by Swiss giant ABB. ABB has a world-wide distribution and maintenance system that can expand the scope of Epyon’s operations. It’s a dream come true for 33-year-old Dutch developer, Crijn Bouman, Epyon’s founder. Even before graduating in industrial design at Delft Technical University, he designed a speed-charger that reduces the time needed for charging car-batteries from eight hours to half-an-hour and set up his company. Today Epyon employs sixty people at head-offices in Rijswijk and at its research-centre at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven. Epyon’s first charging post was set up in Leeuwarden last
DUTCH RANDSTAD RE-EMERGING fROM fINANCIAL CRISIS The Randstad, (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and their surrounding areas) is recovering well from the financial crisis compared with other major urban centres in Europe. It is now fifth in size and economic growth. But its position is under stress, according to the Randstad Monitor 20102012, issued by the research institute TNO. The Randstad is a one-sided service-economy and investment in innovation isn’t falling faster anywhere else. COMING SOON TO A HOSPITAL NEAR (OR NOT SO NEAR) YOU: HEALTH-CARE COMPETITION The market is taking over the health-care sector in The Netherlands. An agreement has been struck between health minister Edith Schippers, hospitals, care centres and health insurers. This is part of a new health system introduced in 2006, which will be rounded off in 2014.In the new system, hospitals will specialise in particular areas of treatment, and will negotiate with health insurers for contracts to provide care. The government’s role in determining the costs of patient care will shrink. Fears have been raised that patients will have to travel to distant hospitals because of specialisation, imposing difficulties on their families who need to visit them.
Business News the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT 15
LOCALBUSINESS
The Zuidas
The Zuidas, Amsterdam’s financial centre, has survived the crisis well. Klaas de Boer, Director of the area’s development organisation, Dienst Zuidas, would like to expand it considerably. A central role has been reserved for foreign companies and local firms that operate on an international level. ‘Here, you can easily establish contact with other companies and become absorbed into a commercial network,’ says World Trade Center director, Christiaan Huijg. A gigantic scale-model occupies the lobby of the Dienst Zuidas. In one corner of it is the glass conference centre, Rai. Opposite that are faculty blocks of the Free University. In the middle are the nine towers of the World Trade Center. Between these detailed miniature buildings are a remarkable number of incomplete blocks. ’Reservations for future projects,’ explains director Klaas de Boer. He wishes to build nearly 2.5 metres more in the coming decades. The economic centre will be nearly six times its current size, according to his plans. The first step is to get the A10 highway underground.‘The current government’s programme includes maximal expansion of the Zuidas,’ he says. ‘Budget cuts won’t touch us.’ The Zuidas can be called the financial centre of The Netherlands. In the business district between Amsterdam South and the Amstelveen suburb, dozens of banks, giant legal concerns, investment companies and real estate firms have set up their headquarters. About 20,000 people work here.In a mere 20 years, the area has become the headquarters for multinationals such as ABN Amro, Akzo Nobel, Houthoff Buruma lawyers and the ABP pension fund.
While most office blocks in The Netherlands are afflicted with empty offices, here only 12 percent is unoccupied. The Chamber of Commerce projects that the capital city’s economy will grow twice as fast this year as the rest of The Netherlands. The financial sector, prominent at the Zuidas, is recovering particularly fast. wORLD TRADE CENTER De Boer notices a remarkable shift by national companies from other cities to his economic centre. Many international firms are also lured here by the Zuidas’ international allure, the fiscally-friendly climate in The Netherlands, and this business centre’s proximity to Schipol International Airport.
The gleaming centre of the foreign business community is the World Trade Centre’s office towers. The WTC houses nearly 300 companies, including merchant bank Kempen & Co, legal firm Nauta Dutilh, recruiter Michael Page, Bank of Tokyo and Bank of New York. ‘Foreign entrepreneurs find the business climate here particularly comfortable,’ says WTC’s director, Christiaan Huijg. ‘You can make quick contacts with other companies and get integrated into a commercial network.’ WTC fosters this with participation in numerous activities such as the Zuidasrun, an annual race where thousands of lawyers, bankers and economists get acquainted with each other. WTC’s Business
Club organises large discussion events focused on topical business subjects. GROwTH Huijg is no old-fashioned office landlord, but an advocate of the so-called new way of working. Flexible work locations in which employees aren’t confined to a fixed office space or rigid office-hours. The WTC offers numerous facilities: a meeting-room, restaurants, laundry, travel agency, barbershop, post office, copyshop. ‘Perfect for smaller companies who prefer not to manage all of this themselves,’ says Huijg. Accessibility is a major factor in the Zuidas’ growth. When, in a few years, the North-South metro-line is complete, the financial centre will be a hub within the capital city’s infrastructure. Commuters using the Zuidas station will rise in number to 125,000. That figure will double if the High Speed Train Service also gets a station there in 2020. But both De Boer and Huijg want the Zuidas to remain a living space. ’We want to prevent it from turning at night into dead grey office blocks like London’s City or La Defense in Paris.’A third of the area is therefore reserved for housing and another third for theatres, shops and restaurants.
Business News 16 the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT
INTRODUCING Maurice de Hond is well-known in The Netherlands as an internet entrepreneur and pollster. Since 2002 his market research bureau, Peil.nl, publishes weekly polls on political and social issues. He’s now predicting that The Netherlands, and Europe, are on the brink of drastic change, economically and politically. ‘If the results of last year’s national elections had been just a little different,’ he points out, ‘we’d be like Belgium today- still missing a government.’ Anyone who visits a pollster can’t escape an update on the political situation. It’s no different with Maurice de Hond. In recent years, his name has become synonymous with Dutch political polling. ‘The politicians and public are increasingly keeping track of shifts in the political arena,’ he says. ‘The media amplifies every little movement upwards or downwards.’ His opinionempire has thus become a political force to be reckoned with. Despite this, Peil.nl has remained a simple concern. De Hond runs it from his home in Amstelveen. Everything occurs on a basic laptop. For De Hond’s weekly poll, he sends a questionaire to 2,000 members of his 45,000-strong opinion panel. Statistical programmes do the rest. That stress on efficiency and technology is a left-over from De Hond’s career as an internet entrepreneur. At the end of the nineties, he formed the web investment company Newconomy. A year after its stock-market launch in 2000, the air went out of the web-boom. ‘A disproportionately large amount of money was pulled out of online businesses in The Netherlands,’ he says. ‘The first generation of internet companies were more or less swept away.’ THE POLITICAL ESTABLISHMENT wON’T LAST ANOTHER 10 YEARS He recovered quickly. When, in May 2002, hot election favourite Pim Fortuyn was murdered, a television station asked De Hond if he could provide up to date polls. With his skills in internet and technology, he established the foundations for his current market research bureau. Politics in Europe, and particularly in The Netherlands, is becoming ever more issue driven, his polls show. As a result, the traditional political establishment, do-
minated by a couple of dominant parties, has fragmented. ‘We now have six parties of about the same size that are pretty far from each other in ideogical terms,’ he points out. ‘This makes it difficult to form coalitions. If the results of last year’s national elections had been just a little different, we’d still be –like Belgium- without a government today.’ The current political establishment won’t last another ten years, he says. ‘We are on the brink of a parliamentary revolution.’ He isn’t too cheerful about the future of Europe as an institution. ‘Citizens feel dragged into a course of development against their will.’ The fracture is located in the national politics of individual member-states. ‘Eurosceptic leaders are emerging everywhere in Europe. Marine Le Pen in France, Nigel Farage in the UK and Geert Wilders here. If they have their way, European integration can be seriously delayed.’
Premier Mark Rutte is doing fine. His party less so, according to the polls
PHOTOGRAPHY Maarten Bezem
THE STATE Of THE UNION AS SEEN BY THE DUTCH POLLSTER
MAURICE DE HOND
Business News the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT 17
BUSINESSCALENDAR SEPTEMBER
9-13
International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) If the Oscars is the biggest event for those in front of the camera, the International Broadcasting Convention is for those behind it. IBC is the jewel in the crown of the Amsterdam conference centre, RAI, attracting over 48,000 visitors from all over the globe. Some 1,300 exhibitors from 140 countries display their latest technological goodies and breakthroughs in mobile television, IPTV and digital signage. The highpoint of the four-day event is the presentation of the renowned IBC Awards, with categories for Innovation, International Honour for Excellence, Exhibition Design Awards and Conference Award.
AUGUST
2-7 & 12–21
Gay pride Networking on the canals
AUGUST
25-28
Traditionally, IBC was largely a focus for the television and film industry, but in recent years the emphasis is shifting to new forms of communication, where the role of the marketing and advertising world is growing. It makes the event less structured and offers increased opportunity for networking. But IBC remains a technological event. The IBC Certified Training Programme offers training in Apple, Avid and Adobe software. On the last day, two sets of prizes are presented. Innovation awards celebrating the very best within the industry at a technological level, as well as the International Honour for Excellence and the Judges Prize.
Annual Congress of The International Association of Young Lawyers
SEPTEMBER watersports
6–8
fair
Gay Pride Amsterdam has morphed, from an international demonstration for gay rights, into a top networking focus for entrepreneurs in the ‘pink sector’. The climax is the boat parade on August 6, where, along with gay groups, companies sail along the canals. Not to be missed – but also not for the faint of heart. The gays really whoop it up.
Despite the name, it’s not just lawyers who attend the annual AIJA conference. All international offices with a bit of a name sends a weighty delegation to Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky on Dam Square in Amsterdam. The programme comprises lectures and numerous cocktail events. Participation is restricted to invitees and members of AIJA.
Whether you prefer a surfboard or the wheel of a seafaring yacht, if you’re a water-sports-person, the Hiswa is a must. This year visitors can admire hundreds of new toys, from simple sloops to oceangoing palaces. For the first time, practical demonstrations, competitions and testruns will be part of the event held near Amsterdam, in IJmuiden.
www.canalparade.nl
www.aija.com
www.hiswa.nl
Column TheBig Issue 18 the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT
The EU & ASEAN Communities MELTDOwN vS MELTING POT
By Sanjay Sharma Presenting a critique on “Establishment of Monetary Community in East Asia”, at a conference in Korea in 2005, I confronted yet again a very innocent but perplexing question: could Asia replicate the EU model? My response was ‘maybe not’. In the wake of the Asian financial crisis of 1997, that inflicted enormous pain. Several pundits of international relations and global economics argued that the EU could be a model for Asian financial integration. The region’s economies, especially smaller ones, seriously started flirting with the idea of creating an economic union (the Chiang Mai Initiative) like the EU’s, to nip an IMF-type crisis in the bud.Although the EU and ASEAN models appear to have some resemblance, in essence they are quite different. It’s not the aptitude of the blocs, but the attitude, that determines the altitude of the economic resonance. MODUS vIvENDI Many observe that the EU’s most impressive achievement is its ability to sell the notion of interdependence to its members, who, until its formation, were highly adamant on sovereignty. That is understandable
given the history of the region – especially during the two World Wars. So the inception of this new entity not only eliminated the possibility of any armed conflicts, but also bolstered confidence to open up geo-political boundaries, which paved the way for closer cooperation for mutual prosperity. But, in the process, the ‘big brothers’ failed to eradicate the trust deficit and rift among smaller members; hence the PIGS type of malady with ‘too late to cure’ diagnosis.In the case of ASEAN, though the concept stems from a similar desire for prosperity across the region, the initiative has been in the hands of smaller and more uneven economies. Big brothers like China and Japan were kept away. This very setup infused a sense of assurance for equal opportunity without worries about ulterior motives on the part of the selected few. MODUS OPERANDI Though expanded in due course, the EU restricted its membership to only a certain group and kept a few promising economies out of the fold for some unconvincing reasons. A good example is Turkey, which until 2010 was still keen about its EU membership but was given the cold shoulder. It is interesting to note that none at that time would have imagined that Turkey would surpass even
China in growth rate in June 2011, while the rest of the EU would be struggling to keep Greece, and the entire EU zone for that matter, afloat. In contrast, ASEAN is a melting pot of many diverse political and religious communities, with financial disparity. Interestingly, ASEAN, albeit chaotic, has succeeded significantly in cultivating more trust and coordination for regional trade and investment. DOLCE fAR NIENTE Last, but the most decisive distinction, is the attitude towards learning and work. Understandably, as a club of prosperous economies, EU politics and policies are driven by a ‘dolce far niente’ [blissful laziness –ed] tendency – a rather relaxed approach to work – whereas ASEAN, or rather most of Asia, stands for collective restlessness and a quest to outperform, combined with an aim to become a knowledge-driven economic zone. Cultural traits and extraordinary respect for learning do play a pivotal role in this outstanding drive for higher education and hard work. Willy-nilly, the current financial meltdown has brought an unprecedented opportunity to revisit our so-called best practices – be they in policy formation or implementation - and reinvigorate regional as well as global integration, which surely is the exigency of the times.
DR SANJAY SHARMA Former director of Maastricht University India Institute and Professor of International Relations, is a strategy advisor on global business and economy.
sharma@theinternationalcorrespondent.nl
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the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT 21
Q&A MARATHONISTA
LORNAH KIPLAGAT EVERY SECOND OF MY LIFE IS PLANNED Lornah Kiplagat bestrides the running world like a colossus. Since she started representing The Netherlands in 2003, she’s been smashing national, as well as international, records. with the fame and fortune she has amassed as an athlete, she is now building a career as a business woman and development worker in the country of her birth, Kenya. She has established a sports training centre there and runs the country’s largest passionfruit farm, as well as building a secondary school for poor girls. The International Correspondent tried to keep up with her at a training session for a major race in New York.
PHOTOGRAPHY Maarten Bezem
By Floris Müller
Q&A 22 the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT
YOU wON THAT NEw YORK RACE fOUR TIMES ALREADY. IS THERE ANY POINT IN PARTICIPATING AGAIN? Ha ha, I’m doing it just for the prestige. But that doesn’t mean I won’t do my best. The medal is still worth something. And, in the run-up to the race in New York, there’ll be training events, pressconferences and meetings. wHAT A BUSY LIfE! IS THAT NORMAL fOR A TOP ATHLETE? I think so. Professional sport is not a nine-to-five existence. You’re continually travelling to races abroad. You have to be disciplined to keep up. I keep close watch on how often I train, what I eat, and if I get enough sleep. Time-management is key. Every second of my life is planned. YOU SEEM vERY RELAXED, THOUGH. I’ve learnt not to waste energy on irrelevant things. Stress eats into my achievements. That attitude, not to get wound up unnecessarily, comes not only from my experience with sport, but is an African trait. Compared with Kenyans, Dutch people are a bunch of stress-consumers. But my attitude is not to be confused with disinterest. I’m extraordinarily passionate. About sport. About philanthropy and business.
PHOTOGRAPHY Maarten Bezem
SPORT AND BUSINESS. IS THE PURSUIT Of SPORT COMPARABLE wITH RUNNING A COMPANY? Absolutely. Particularly at the top level. I’ve become a brand. A lot of money circulates around my sports achievements. I have a team of doctors, trainers, coaches, lawyers and managers around me. I spend 60,000 euros per year on medical care alone.
wITHOUT RUNNING, I HAvE NO LIfE. I wOULDN’T KNOw wHAT TO DO wITH MYSELf. RACES ARE JUST THE ICING ON THE CAKE.
THAT’S A LOT. YOUR wINNINGS ARE SO HIGH? I run an average of seven races a year, including two marathons. You can win 200,000 euros with a marathon. Smaller races pay just 3,000, but you get a lot of starting fees. That can amount to a couple hundred thousand. Participation in European and world championships bring in the least money: no start fee and nothing to talk about in prize money. You just need those races to keep your name in play. Apart from that, I have a sponsor who reimburses my clothing costs and entourage. PUT TOGETHER, THAT’S SOME REAL MONEY... It looks good, but my successes and training took nearly 20 years in preparation. You don’t get to the top just like that. A long period of investment is now paying off. YOUR HUSBAND, THE DUTCHMAN PIETER LANGEHORST, IS ALSO YOUR TRAINER. DOES THAT COMBINATION wORK? Ha ha, sure. We complement each other. He knows exactly what I can do and what I can’t. I don’t need to explain. He takes care of things I don’t have time for: organising training schedules, contracts with sponsors and planning new races. YOU wERE BORN IN THE wESTERN RIfT vALLEY IN KENYA. IT’S fAMOUS AS A NURSERY fOR CHAMPION RUNNERS. Walking and running is part of Kenyan culture. Particularly in the countryside where there are few paved roads and buses. For most people, getting to the doctor, or to school or work, is a matter of using your legs. The area around the Rift Valley town of Eldoret lies pretty high up, so the air is clean and light. Athletes are attracted to that ideal climate. It’s important to keep those big names coming there. wHY? Role models are important in Kenya. Top athletes demonstrate that you can escape from poverty if you’re good at something. In my own youth, Susan Sirma was my example. She inspired me to
the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT 23
I EvEN PUT ASIDE MY UNIvERSITY STUDIES FOR RUNNING keep training professionally for 20 years. I even put aside my university studies in medicine in India. I didn’t see a future in that. wHEN DID YOU REALISE THAT RUNNING wOULD TAKE YOU SO fAR? I’ve run my whole life. Since I was 19, I was training professionally. I took part in local races, then regional and national competitions. Eventually I got into the national team in Kenya. That group had a very high level. You didn’t get to be part of it easily. I’vE STAYED SOBER: I’vE NEvER BEEN OvERwHELMED BY SUCCESS ONE Of YOUR fIRST BIG fOREIGN RACES wAS THE LOS ANGELES MARATHON. YOU CAME fIRST. wAS THAT RACE THE BEGINNING Of THE REST Of YOUR LIfE? Yes, and actually very unexpectedly. I’d planned to go back to Kenya after ten days. I’d thought that nice hotel room and all the luxury was temporary. But also later, with other big races and victories, I’ve never become overwhelmed by success. I’ve stayed sober. IN 1999 YOU CAME TO THE NETHERLANDS wITH YOUR HUSBAND, PIETER LANGENHORST. fIvE YEARS LATER YOU GOT A DUTCH PASSPORT... My choice to live in The Netherlands was pure romance. I used to train a lot with Pieter in Germany. But my family lives here. I came after they did. Eventually, it seemed that I could also progress in my sporting career from The Netherlands. I felt accepted very quickly, and Holland became my new home. People here are open and direct, and you are quickly judged on your background as well as your achievements. I appreciate that a lot. YOU’vE BEEN PART Of THE DUTCH TEAM SINCE 2003. THAT DOESN’T fEEL DISLOYAL? No. A Kenyan woman can easily make changes. In Kenyan culture, if you get married, you’re adopted by your husband’s family. I’ve been adopted by The Netherlands. It’s different for Kenyan men. They have to be patriotic and loyal to the fatherland.
AS RUNNER fOR ‘ORANGE’, YOU’vE BROKEN ALL THE NATIONAL RECORDS THAT EXIST. IS THE NETHERLANDS IN fACT THE IDEAL COUNTRY fOR YOU? THAT ISN’T SETTING THE BAR TOO LOw? The Dutch are relatively athletic, you know. But they do it from a different motivation. Dutch people engage in sports as recreation, not so much to acquire medals. From the time they are 15 or 16, people here choose a sport they enjoy. That’s different from, for example, the US. There, there’s more competition. But that is also not a recipe for success. wHAT DO YOU THINK Of THE fACILITIES HERE IN THE NETHERLANDS? Basic. The Netherlands can do more. Young people aren’t involved in sports enough. Membership of a sports-club is often not cheap. I think the media should give more attention to sport, and not only at the highest level. AN HOUR Of Tv TIME ON SUNDAY ISN’T ENOUGH? Ha ha, no! You see mainly football on Dutch television. I think new talent in all fields should get attention. That inspires other young people. And you can track talent more easily. If I’m not mistaken, The Netherlands wants to organise the Olympics at some point. For that, you need not only facilities but an eager generation of sportsmen and women. Today’s kids are tomorrow’s champions. wHAT ABOUT OLDER PEOPLE, BUSINESS PEOPLE? SEEMS THEY SIMPLY HAvE NO TIME fOR SPORT. That’s nonsense. You have to make time for sport. It raises productivity and helps you get rid of negative energy. Running is absolutely accessible and suited to busy business people. Even if you do it only a couple times a week. The biggest Dutch decision makers are runners – former ING-head, Ewald Kist, Kees Stam, manager at Aegon and Frans van Houten (CEO Philips). YOU GO A BIT fURTHER THAN THOSE BUSINESSMEN. YOUR LIfE IS BASED ON SPORT. YOU wON’T GET BORED wITH IT
IN THE LONG RUN? AT A BIG RACE, YOU NEvER THINK, ‘I DON’T REALLY fEEL LIKE IT’? Without running, I have no life. I wouldn’t know what to do with myself. Races are just the icing on the cake. And every race is different. wHICH RACE wAS THE MOST IMPORTANT fOR YOU? Without doubt the 2007 world championship in Mombassa, Kenya. Runners from all disciplines run that race, and I came first. That made me unbelieveably proud. I was the best. For real. The best runner in the world. NO LONELINESS fOR THIS LONG-DISTANCE RUNNER DID IT MATTER THAT YOU wERE RUNNING IN THE LAND Of YOUR BIRTH? Absolutely. The Kenyans saw that I hadn’t dumped them. That created a lot of goodwill. And all my Dutch friends and sports colleagues were on the sidelines. My past and present came together in that race. That was very moving for me. IS IT IMPORTANT TO MAINTAIN THAT LINK wITH YOUR NATIvE LAND? Yes. I find, as a top athlete, you shouldn’t ever let your origins fade. Maybe I earn more than before and there are bigger interests involved. But actually, I’m always Lornah from Kenya. I haven’t lost contact with my old friends. DO YOU SEE YOURSELf AS A ROLE-MODEL fOR YOUNG KENYANS? I hope I am. Not only for people in Kenya but also for young Africans making it in the world. In the US, there are over a hundred Kenyan students at Ivy-league Universities. I say to them: go back to Kenya. Take the knowledge and experience you built up in the rest of the world and help build the country. Kenya must be independent of the rest of the world. AfTER ALL THE vICTORIES, 2008 wAS NOT SUCH A GOOD YEAR fOR YOU. YOU wERE INJURED TwICE. THAT’S TOUGH ON SOMEONE fOR wHOM RUNNING IS
Q&A EvERYTHING... It was tough to begin with. But I began to realise I wasn’t 19 any more. It gets harder on the legs.
the political environment. But I also think Dutch people should remain open to newcomers. People aren’t mountains. We aren’t fixed in a given place.
HOw LONG DO YOU PLAN TO CONTINUE AS PROfESSIONAL RUNNER? Don’t know. Every day I examine my body to figure out whether I can carry on. Ideally, you can go on with professional sport up to age 41 or 42. I’ll see when my sports career comes to a close. In any case, I’m proud of what I’ve achieved so far.
THE CURRENT CABINET IS SLASHING fUNDS fOR DEvELOPMENT CO-OPERATION. wHAT DO YOU THINK Of THIS? Development co-operation is a great good. But it’s not just about giving money. You shouldn’t give poor people the fish, but the tools and knowledge to catch the fish. Development cooperation should be a bit more constructive.
YOU’LL HAvE ENOUGH TO DO wHEN THAT TIME COMES. I UNDERSTAND YOU’RE vERY ACTIvE IN BUSINESS. Yes. I started a passion-fruit plantation in Kenya together with my husband. We bought land there and investigated what the best crop would be. That turned out to be passion-fruit. We invested heavily in an irrigation system and modern agricultural business. Now we’re the biggest exporter of passion-fruit in Kenya. And I also invest in real estate. Mainly commercial buildings and shops for rent. AND YOU RUN A SPORTS CENTRUM IN ITEN IN THE RIfT vALLEY... Yes. We offer facilities for professional athletes. We even have a sports hotel with 72 beds. It’s going well. We are nearly always full. At the moment, we have mainly young American students, but once summer is over the athletes will come. We offer specialised care for them. Physiotherapists and sports doctors are flown out from Europe. YOUR CLOSE fRIEND, wORLD CHAMPION RUNNER, HAILE GEBRSELASSIE, IS JUST AS ENTERPRISING. IS THAT BUSINESS ORIENTATION AN EXTENSION Of THE ATHLETICISM? Haile holds nearly 20 world records and has been world champion and olympic champion several times. He has built a huge name. He uses it to get into business. He’s now the official importer of Hyundai in Kenya. And he owns several top hotels. He has nearly 2,000 employees in total. It’s an advantage if people know you from sports. I noticed that in my own business as well. PEOPLE AREN’T MOUNTAINS, ROOTED IN A fIXED PLACE DUTCH POLITICS IS SHIfTING TO THE RIGHT. NEwCOMERS AREN’T ALwAYS wELCOMED wITH OPEN ARMS HERE. wHAT’S YOUR vIEw ON THIS? I’m not very interested in politics. Newcomers have to make some effort to be accepted in their new country, whatever
PHOTOGRAPHY Maarten Bezem
24 the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT
THE ZAMBIAN ECONOMIST, DAMBISA MOYO, CALLS fOR AN END TO DEvELOPMENT AID fROM RICH COUNTRIES (DEAD AID: WHY AID IS NOT WORKING AND HOW THERE IS A BETTER WAY FOR AFRICA, 2009 - ED.) TO MAKE AfRICANS INDEPENDENT fROM THE wEST... According to Mayo, you are hindering local business by dumping development aid into the economy. I find that a reasonable observation. Western governments are greedy. They shove money at Africans to keep them quiet. But, as they say, money isn’t everything. YOU STARTED AN ORGANISATION PARTICULARLY TO HELP YOUNG wOMEN IN KENYA. wHY? In Kenya, the economy is run by women. If you want to change perspectives in the next generation, you have to reach young women who raise children. My organisation, the Lornah Kiplagat Foundation, aims to reduce the educational disadvantages faced by young women. I’m particularly targetting secondary school training. I think it’s the most important part of education. I would like to set up a high-quality secondary school. And I want to stimulate athletic development via the Lornah Kiplagat Sports Academy. YOU TARGET MAINLY COMPANIES, NOT GOvERNMENTS. In government or semi-government organisations, a lot of money is lost in bureaucracy. Managers earn up to 200,000 euro a year. That’s not necessary. Till now, we’ve got a lot of attention from big companies, but not much financial support. wHY? Building that secondary school costs eight million euros. Companies would rather contribute in kind than in cash. So at the moment we are concentrating on smaller projects, such as facilitating computer training. But I haven’t abandoned my big idea. I haven’t got to the finish-line, but I will.
Why should you know Lornah Kiplagat ? Lornah Kiplagat is holder of world records for 5 K, 10-mile, 20 K. and half-marathon. She has won nearly every major road race in the world and holds many course records. She won the Los Angeles marathon twice as well as the marathons of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Osaka. She also won the world Championships Cross Country in Mombasa in 2007. PERSONAL BEST TIMES 5 K road 14:47 (World record) 10 K Road 30:32 15 K Road 46:59 (European record) 10 Mile 50:50 (World record) 20 K Road 62: 57 (World record) Half Marathon 66:25 (World record) 25 K 1:23:41 Marathon 2:22:22 She received the UN’s Millenium Shoe Award and the Abebe Bikila Award. In 2006 and 2007, she was the AIMS world Athlete of the Year.
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the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT 29
Politics
THE MULTICULTURAL FAILURE: A SELffULfILLING PROPHECY
By Mark Maathuis
for years, it has been politically incorrect to criticize the multicultural society. Now, throughout Europe, the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction. It seems nothing related to multiculturalism can do any good. In July, this led the Dutch Secretary of State to turn his integration policy inside out. If Europe wants to have a healthy discussion about something as complex as ‘the multicultural society,’ moving from one extreme to the other is less helpful than making decisions based on facts and a positive attitude.
Politics 30 the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT
THE SAME COUNTRY THAT CALLS MULTICULTURALISM A fAILURE IN 2011, STATED IN 2004 THAT DURING THE LAST 30 YEARS, INTEGRATION HAS BEEN A (PARTIAL) SUCCESS It`s not very often that one book leads to a radical change of views in several European countries. But that`s exactly what Thilo Sarrazin, a member of the Executive Board of the German Central Bank, achieved with his Germany Does Away With Itself. In this 21st century version of Emile Zola’s J`accuse, Sarrazin wrote that each succeeding generation of ethnic Germans is approximately one-third smaller than the preceding one. Since it takes 2.1 children to maintain a steady population rate, the current replacement rate for ethnic Germans –around 1.4 - does not suffice. In other words, Germany is doing away with itself.
Former German central bank executive Thilo Sarrazin
Sarrazin’s publication meant the end of his career at the Central Bank. While his views are not entirely original – the same was said about the US in the 1930s – his conclusions caused uproar. Not long after he advised Germany to abandon its ‘wishful thinking about immigrants’, Prime Minister Angela Merkel went one step further and called the multi-cultural society ‘a complete failure’. Her words seemed to ease the way for similar statements by her British, French and Belgian colleagues, David Cameron, Nicolas Sarkozy and Yves Leterme. Even in the Netherlands – the country long known for its über-tolerance –Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Verhagen hurried to agree, saying ‘immigrants aren`t proud enough of their new home country.’ According to Verhagen, they should take a look at the US, ‘a good example of a successful multicultural society’. NO CRITERIA TO MEASURE SUCCESS OR fAILURE Of MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY While it may be politically and/or electorally wise to claim the failure of the multi-cultural society in these times, that doesn`t mean that this statement should be accepted at face value. Apart from the fact that nobody has established any criteria by which failure (or success for that
Multicultural festival DUNYA, Rotterdam
matter) can be measured, can one say that, in general, the multi-cultural society has failed? A closer look at modernday Germany suggests the contrary to be true. Or has everybody forgotten that little thing called the Cold War and the fact that the two Germanys had been separated for over 50 years? If uniting East- and WestGermany in 1990 – a fusion between two countries with very different economic, political and – yes – cultural systems – cannot be called a success, I don`t know what can. On the other side of this spectrum, one finds Belgium. Even though this European country hasn`t had a government for over a year thanks to the eternal battle between the French and Dutchspeaking parts of the population, nobody is calling it a perfect example of a failed multi-cultural society. And, for anybody interested in diagnosing the Dutch multicultural society, here`s some advice: take a walk in Amsterdam on a sunny weekend afternoon. It`s like going on a world trip thanks to all the different languages, exotic foods, headscarves, dreadlocks and the omnipresent global brands one encounters on the streets. Probably the only reason Amsterdam doesn`t have more cultures represented is because they`ve been discovered yet. And we should call all of that a failure?
the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT 31
Clearly, the statement that ‘the multicultural society has failed,’ needs some adjustment because apparently we`re not talking about all cultures and the failure isn`t based on proof you can see with your own eyes in your street, neighborhood or city. So in a more nuanced world, what Merkel, Sarkozy, Cameron and Verhagen probably meant to say was that the parts of their government policy focused on nonWestern, Muslim immigrants and their (grand)children need a critical shake-up because elements aren`t working or are even contra-productive to successful integration. Definitively not as catchy and saleable as the aforementioned one-liner, but a lot closer to the truth. MULTICULTURAL GLASS DEfINITELY HALf-fULL But with regards to the situation in the Netherlands, even this nuance can raise some eyebrows. The same country that calls multiculturalism a failure in 2011, stated in 2004 that ‘during the last 30 years, integration has been a (partial) success.’ At least, that was the conclusion of the report, Building Bridges, by the Blok Committee (named after the Dutch VVD politician Stef Blok.) Of course, there was room for improvement, according to the committee, and some groups of immigrants were less successful than others, but the multi-cultural glass was definitively half-full. So what caused this drastic change of view in the last seven years? Has everything gone sour multi-culturally? Are immigrants and locals moving away from each other, opposing one another or even threatening ‘the others’ with open warfare? Are native Dutch closing shops with Turkish olives or boycotting Islamic butchers and falafel restaurants? Do we have Muslim ghettos where the Dutch rule of law is not accepted? Focusing on the timeframe 2004-2011, that`s clearly not the case. So it`s more likely that, in this discussion, we are faced with the same developments that are hitting other parts of Dutch society: a more critical population eager to complain about government spending, a polarized outlook on institutions that used to be regarded as neutral, public discussion where opinions matter more than facts, a populist ‘just-say-no’ attitude among some politicians and media outlets more interested in making the news than just reporting it. And, last but not least, the Dutch turn to the right, institutionalized by the current government, cooperation between the Christian-Democratic CDA, the liberal VVD and the right-wing, antiimmigration and Eurosceptic PVV, Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party.
INTEGRATION IS A SLOw PROCESS This political development can be seen throughout Europe, where most left-centrist governments have been replaced (or are threatened) by their right-leaning colleagues since the outbreak of the financial crisis in 2008. But while these changes and developments might be relatively new for the Netherlands and the rest of Europe, it`s almost business as usual for the US. So how can it be that the US is mentioned as a good example of a successful multicultural society, when all the ingredients for a similar conclusion are available? According to Frans Verhagen, a Dutch author of several books on American society and Why Failed? The Facts of Dutch Integration, that`s an easy question to answer.
your own eyes what`s happening, don`t go to the city of Volendam or the province of Limburg, but visit the Vrije University in Amsterdam or the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. EvERY SOCIETY IS PERMANENTLY BUSY wITH INTEGRATION ‘We need to change the way we think,’ he continues. ‘Every society is permanently busy with integration, and that`s an ongoing process. It`s impossible, therefore, to speak of “success” or “failure”. In conclusion, saying ”the multi-cultural society has failed” has probably as much value as claiming the downfall of the rule of law because we still have crime. But stating that integration policies based on idealis-
HA-SCHI-BA: the ‘Haagse Schilderswijk’ Bazar
‘Unlike many European countries, the US never had an integration policy. Americans know that governmental influence on social processes is limited. What the US can teach us is that integration is a slow process that cannot be pushed and requires a lot of patience. There`s nothing any government can do to change that; in fact, they shouldn`t even try to do it.’ On the other hand, he claims against idealizing the American melting pot by downplaying Dutch successes. ‘We are blind to our own achievements, because on so many levels – education, work, the relation between men and women – second-generation immigrants from non-Western countries are generally leaning more and more towards the overall Dutch average. In fact, the group with the worst image – Moroccans – is the fastest developing one. If you want to see with
tic views of changing people overnight with government rules and regulations and no-strings-attached government grants is outmoded - now that`s something one can agree with. “For European politicians, this insight should lead to less micro-management and a more laissez-faire attitude regarding integration. But most importantly, it should clear the way for a different tone of voice in Berlin, Paris, London and the Hague. Because if we Europeans think that the US is a good example of a successful melting pot, we are more helped in reaching that same goal by following the US Constitution’s Preamble to ‘ form a more perfect Union’ than by declaring the death of the multi-cultural society. Unless we want the multi-cultural glass to dry up completely.
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the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT 33
Business
EINDHOvEN & ENvIRONS THE WORLD’S MOST INTELLIGENT COMMUNITY By Emily Gordts
Eindhoven was named the world’s most intelligent community this year. Its High Tech Campus is one of the largest science parks in the world. Its Open Innovation environment acts as a magnet for technological talent. How on earth did a region based on agriculture until the 20th century, regularly stricken by wars and infested with plagues, gain such importance? Co-operation.
Business 34 the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT
‘Suzanne, keep May 26 free, will you? I won’t be coming in that afternoon,’
professionals instructed their secretaries earlier this year. Two hundred men in black –industrialists, politicians and professors – were gathering on May 26 at High Tech Campus in Eindhoven. My Industry 2030, a study conducted by ING Bank, was being presented. Everyone wanted to hear what Jan Hommen (CEO of ING), Harry Hendriks (CEO of Philips Netherlands) and Peter Wennink (CFO of ASML) had to say about the importance of manufacturing to the Dutch economy. Wim van der Leegte, VDL Groep’s wellknown CEO and Dirk-Jan van den Berg, ex-ambassador to China and recently-appointed president of the Technical University of Delft, listened as the researchers painted a rather interesting picture. The researchers concluded that Dutch manufacturing has the potential to double in value by 2030 - from ¤23 billion in 2010 to ¤47 billion, but only if companies attract first-rate staff, invest more money in R&D, and collaborate more closely with educational institutes. A BRAvE NEw wORLD IN EINDHOvEN It struck listeners that there was a brave new world that already resembled the researchers’ vision. It’s situated in the south-eastern part of The Netherlands, and, yes, it’s called Eindhoven. ‘It’s no coincidence that we hosted this event in Eindhoven,’ said Bert Woltheus, an industry sector manager at ING, during the event. ‘The study concerns the entire country, so Amsterdam would have been the logical choice. But Eindhoven is the industrial centre of Holland. High Tech Campus and its surroundings account for 30% of the Dutch technological industry. We consulted about fifty major organizations and companies for this study, and ne-
arly all of them are present. Don’t you just love the atmosphere?’ We do, actually, and we’re not even into science, cars or, well, other nerdy stuff. We never realized that Eindhoven is a renowned centre of excellence. Its economy is second only to Rotterdam’s, with Amsterdam coming in third. Absorbing more than a third of all private Dutch R&D spending, it generates ¤24 billion of GDP and ¤55 billion in exports, a fourth of the Dutch total. In April, the weekly magazine Elsevier examined the economic strength of Dutch cities. Eindhoven ranked fourth, way ahead of Amsterdam (18th place) and Rotterdam (21st place). Last November, Eindhoven won a Eurocities Award thanks to its ‘triple helix’ structure. The city accelerates its success by encouraging industrial, educational and governmental institutes to cooperate. Then in June the region (including the nearby cities of Helmond and Veldhoven) pocketed the 2011 title of Most Intelligent Community of the World – having been nominated twice before.
Philips ruled the region. It was especially keen on inventing, and put time and money into R&D, spitting out radios, televisions, electric razors, audio tapes, and so on. Henk Rosman, director of Eindhoven’s Chamber of Commerce, is certain the Dutch mentality kindled Philip’s fire. ‘To open the human mind to new views and inventions, it’s no good being restricted by superiors,’ he says. ‘Dutch technicians are articulate. They don’t just obey orders; they think along with the engineers. Innovations are hardly ever the product of a one-man show.’ BRAINPORT IS BORN But in the nineties the economy showed signs of stagnation. DAF went bankrupt and Philips was forced to carry out major reforms. ‘When 36,000 people lost their jobs, the city council raised the alarm,’ recalls Henk Brink, the city’s alderman for economic affairs. ‘It wasn’t right that the people of Eindhoven depended to such a great extent on two companies.’ A foundation comprising employers, research institutes and the government was set up and came to be called Brainport. Its members meet regularly to identify potential challenges, make plans to overcome them, and bring these plans into effect. They focus on five key areas: life technologies, the automotive industry, high-tech systems, design and nutrition. Meanwhile, Philips managed to convince lots of R&D companies to settle in a single area in Eindhoven. This turned out to be a golden move, says Bert-Jan Woertman, Manager Business Development of High Tech Campus Eindhoven, which came into existence in 2003. ‘Physical proximity greatly stimulates cooperation,’ he says. ‘If you have a problem and you know that your neighbour might be of help, you just pop into his office and talk things over. Eight years ago, Philips decided to bring down the fences and open up the gates. Technological companies that had nothing to do with Philips were welcome to set up shop on our campus.’
IT STARTED wITH PHILIPS In 1891, Gerard and Frederik Philips founded a light bulb factory. They didn’t choose their hometown of Zaltbommel but Eindhoven, where they found an inexpensive building and lots of cheap hands. Female hands, specifically, as no one could handle those carbon filaments better than finefingered girls.
In an area of just one square kilometre, High Tech Campus now houses over 90 companies. Many of these were once part of Philips. NXP Semiconductors, for example, whose roots were founded by Philips over half a century ago.
By 1910, with 2,000 employees, Philips was the largest single employer in The Netherlands. Together with DAF, an automobile factory founded nearby in 1928,
EXPATS wELCOME People with over 40 nationalities now work for NXP Eindhoven. Why would they come all the way to the Netherlands?
the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT 35
EINDHOVEN GIANTS
PHILIPS ELECTRONICS Global producer of consumer electronics, lamps, communication- and medicalequipment. At the end of the 1990s, Philips relocated its head office to Amsterdam, but remains entrenched in Eindhoven.
Annual turnover (2010): € 25.4 billion Profits: € 1.45 billion Global workforce: (2010) 121,732
ASML world’s largest supplier of photo-lithographic systems for the semi-conductor industry, set up under the wings of Philips
Annual turnover (2010): € 4.5 billion Profits: € 1 billion Global workforce (2010): 9,245
NXP SEMICONDUCTORS former Philips semi-conductor division
THE DUTCH MENTALITY KINDLED PHILIP’S fIRE. DUTCH TECHNICIANS DON’T JUST OBEY ORDERS; THEY THINK ALONG WITH THE ENGINEERS. Henk Rosman, director at Eindhoven’s Chamber of Commerce ‘Our knowledge workers are extremely well cared for’, scientific director Gerard Beenker explains, ‘even when the economic tide turned.’ Thanks to watchful eyes in both the industrial and the governmental institutes, cyclically sensitive companies such as NXP were able to keep all of their knowledge workers on their payroll when the recession hit them hard. ‘As soon as we noticed the economic tide was turning, everyone got together to discuss how to cope with the crisis,’ Beenker says. ‘The so-called kenniswerkersregeling helped to bring our R&D costs under control. It allowed for our knowledge workers to work with educational institutes and research organizations on societal challenges – until we could pull them back in.’ The region houses about 440 foreign companies. To help foreign knowledge wor-
kers and their families make the move to Eindhoven, an expat centre was built in 2010. ‘When I came to Eindhoven in 2009,’ recalls David Gatley, ‘I had appointments at different locations for different things that I didn’t understand. Imagine what it’s like if you don’t speak English or Dutch. An expat centre is no luxury for a city like Eindhoven.’ Gatley is director of the International School Eindhoven, another crucial asset to the city. AS COMfY AS A PAIR Of OLD SLIPPERS ‘When I moved here two years ago, I felt at home right away,’ says David Gatley. ‘The great thing about Eindhoven is that there’s always something going on. It’s a busy little place. And it’s truly an easy city. I find it as comfy as a pair of old slippers.’
Annual turnover (2009): € 3.8 billion Profits: € – 120 million Global workforce (2009): 28,029
vDL GROEP International company focused on the development, production and sale of buses and final products
Annual turnover (2010): € 1.5 billion Profits: € 76 million Global workforce (2010): 7,126
OTHER LARGE COMPANIES DAf TRUCKS Truck builders, part of US company PACCAR
Total annual turnover (2010): € 5.0 billion Profits: € 222 million
JDSU Producer of optical equipment that absorbed Philips Optoelectronics in 1998
Total turnover (2010): unknown Profits: € 660 million
STORK PX Subsidiary of Dutch technology conglomerate, Stork
Total turnover (2010): € 1.7 billion Profits: € 156 million
TOMTOM Dutch producer of navigation systems
Total turnover (2010): € 1.5 billion Profits: € 108 million
fEI COMPANY American producer of electron microscopes
Total turnover (2010): € 307 million Profits: € 27 million
PHOTOGRAPHY Maarten Bezem
36 the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT
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Coverstory
‘BRILLIANT ORANGE’ IN THE RED By Jeroen Jansen
Coverstory 38 the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT
Football is big business in the Netherlands. Every Sunday night millions of people tune in for matches broadcast on national television. At every big tournament, men and women of all ages are dressed in orange. The Dutch eat, live and breathe their football. But football clubs are being hit by financial woes. Is a football nation hailed for its sporting achievements about to drown in financial misery?
Dutch football may be flourishing on the field, but, in the boardroom, it’s a different story altogether. According to the national football association, KNvB, only five professional clubs out of 36 can be considered healthy financially . None of these are amongst the best in de Dutch first division. PSv is the latest in a series of clubs with serious cash problems. Once a solid club backed by multinational Philips, PSv recently offered the city of Eindhoven its grounds for 49 million euros. The KNvB has issued a warning to all Dutch league clubs. from 2013, there will be no European Cup football for clubs still in danger of bankruptcy. They must solve their financial problems. Playing against other European teams -in the Champions League or less glamorous Euopean League- means extra income for the clubs. without that, they are even further from home. wHO BENEfITS fROM THE DUTCH SURPLUS Of TALENT? The financial malaise being displayed by Dutch football contrasts with its success on the pitch. In 2010, the national team was runner-up in the World Cup, only to be beaten by Spain in the finals. For decades, the Dutch have been praised for their surplus of youthful talent, which is rather amazing for such a small country. Since 1970, The Netherlands’ football players have been among the best in the world, playing for such illustrious sides as Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United, AC Milan and Chelsea. English author, David Winner, is lyrical in his 2001 book, Brilliant Orange - The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football. ‘From the birth of Total Football in the sixties,’ he states, ‘through two decades of World Cup near misses to the exiles who remade clubs like AC Milan, Barcelona, Arsenal and Chelsea in their own image, the Dutch have often been dazzlingly original and influential.’ But who benefits most from the Netherland’s talent development? The Dutch football clubs? Yes and no. On a sporting level, they only profit from the early stages when a talent comes to age. Nowadays, even at the age of 14, 15 and 16, talents are recruited by the most powerful teams in Europe. Dutch international, Jeffrey Bruma, joined Chelsea’s youth setup at the age of 15. By then, he was one of the biggest talents at Feyenoord Rotterdam, who sold him for ¤135.000. Last season, Feyenoord took another blow with the sale of Luc Castaignos (18) to Milan’s Internazionale. Or so you might think. But, considering Feyenoord’s total debt of more than 15 million euros, Castaignos’ transfer fee of three million must have caused a party in the boarding room. SPENDING MORE MONEY THAN THEY MAKE Some youthful talents can resist the lure of playing for the best sides in Europe. They choose to mature in their own country. But, sooner or later, they all move to England, Germany, Italy and Spain. If they are (still) good enough, that is. Wesley Sneijder changed his side, Ajax Amsterdam, for Real Madrid at the age of 23, his teammate Rafael van der Vaart joined German side, Hamburger SV, when he was 22. A major loss for Ajax from a sporting perspective, but a financial boost. Ajax got 27 million euros for Sneijder, while selling Van der Vaart added another five million to the cash desk. Last year, Ibrahim Afellay’s transfer from PSV to European champions, Barcelona, was yet another example of the Netherlands being a talent pool for other football nations. Barcelona paid only three million euros for Moroccan-born ace, Afellay (24), a bargain. Afellay’s contract with PSV would have ended this summer anyway, so selling him during the winter was probably the best option for the club. At least they made some money from Afellay’s announced departure. And yet Ajax and PSV are among the clubs being cautioned by the Dutch football association. How is this possible? Apparently, these clubs earn serious cash by selling their biggest talents. But it seems not enough to compensate for their debts. According to
PHOTOGRAPHY Maarten Bezem
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sports marketing expert, Frank van den Wall Bake, one or two big sales doesn’t outweigh the purchase of a whole bunch of players who are just mediocre. 600
MANCHESTER UNITED BARCELONA BAYERN MÜNCHEN
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OPPORTUNISTIC According to Mark Boetekees, head of KNVB’s legal department, the recent slump in Dutch football can’t be separated from the global financial crisis. ‘Our clubs need their sponsorship incomes,’ he notes. ‘And if companies are forced to cut their costs, they start looking at their marketing budgets first.’ But there is more. Most clubs are guilty of mismanagement, says Van den Wall Bake. ‘Their policy is rather opportunistic. They spend money before earning it. The common opinion is - if we finish at the top of the league, we will make a lot of money, so why not spend it now? Let’s invest in new players. But what happens if they finish fourth or fifth? They have to buy new players and borrow even more money. The end of the story is that they can’t pay the interest. Clubs are on the brink of bankruptcy, begging local authorities for a capital contribution.’ In the last few weeks, that is exactly what happened to two clubs in the south of the Netherlands, giant
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‘These clubs are spending more money than they make,’ he says. ‘They still need to perform. If you sell your best players you have to compensate. Good results mean more sponsors and mediaattention, higher ticket sales and the financial benefits of playing in the Champions league. But the world’s best players are out of their reach, so they have to settle for less talented players.’ Over recent years, Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV bought some ‘mediocre’ players who didn’t perform on the pitch. In retrospect, PSV benefited little from recruiting former Dutch international, Orlando Engelaar. Engelaar earned a salary of one million euros per year and will leave the club this summer. PSV’s director, Tiny Sanders, recently announced a cut in player salaries. Fees of one million or more are out of the question, Sanders declared. Players might think twice now before joing the Dutch champions of 2008.
A world in debt
vALENCIA
MANCHESTER UNITED
-1000 MILLION
In 2010, the total debt of football clubs from the Netherlands’ first division (‘Eredivisie’) increased to 71.8 million euros. You think that is a lot? Think again. The combined debts of the Premiership clubs was estimated at 4 billion euros. And, according to some sources, clubs in the Spanish first division, La Liga, had a total debt of 3.5 billion euros. On the other hand: the total assets of the Premier League rose to 4.5 billion. See above for the clubs with the highest debts and total revenues in 2010.
Coverstory 40 the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT
PSV and modest RBC (from Roosendaal). The city of Eindhoven was willing to negotiate a ‘rescue plan’ with PSV. RBC’s directors were less lucky. Roosendaal’s city council refused to close the gap of 1.6 million euros. A death sentence. The club was about to celebrate its centenary in 2012, but got stuck at age 99. DUTCH Tv AUDIENCES SMALL BY COMPARISON How unfair! On the day of RBC’s bankruptcy, European champions Barcelona proudly announced a reduction of its debts: from 431 million to 364 million euros. Still over 360 million, which - by the way - won’t prevent ‘Barça’ from spending money on this summer’s transfer market. The Spanish number one wants to invest some 45 million euros. ‘It’s possible we will spend more than that,’ Javier Faus, treasurer of the club, was quoted as saying. Right. Boetekees is not impressed by Barcelona’s debts. ‘I have a mortgage as well. But my house is my collateral. I guess Barcelona has enough assets to compensate for their debts. But some clubs don’t. These are the clubs that end up having serious problems.’ Van den Wall Bake agrees. ‘Sure, the biggest clubs have debts as well. But they can pay for them. With TV income as their biggest cash cow. And in the most unlikely scenario that they cannot pay the interest, no bank will ever pull the plug. Suppose Barcelona’s bank did that? It would cost them a lot of customers.’ Last year, Manchester United passed through the TV income barrier of 60 million British pounds (68 million euros). Blackpool were the lowest earners in the Premier League, but still saw nearly 40 million pounds enter their coffers. That’s why Dutch clubs will never be able to compete - on a financial scale - with those from England, Germany, Spain or Italy. ‘Maybe they shouldn’t,’ says Van den Wall Bake. ’These countries’ competitions are far more lucrative. Premier League games, and matches from Spanish Primera Division, have much larger audiences than games in the Dutch league. So the revenues are also larger. Ajax and PSV might think they can compete financially with clubs from other countries, but they simply cannot. Instead of trying and taking unacceptable risks, they should invest in the training of youthful talent. Because that is what they are good at and where they can make a difference.’ MONEY RULES THE wORLD Of fOOTBALL In 1995, Ajax Amsterdam won the Champions League with a team of very talented youngsters. A year later, they reached the
finals with nearly the same squad. After that, the exodus of players began. It seems very unlikely that a Dutch club will step into Ajax’ shoes soon, despite the surplus of talent. Money rules the world, and especially the world of football. Van den Wall Bake advises Dutch clubs to forget about Europe. ’They should focus on the national league. And hope that FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) will take measures to protect them against the loss of their most talented youngsters.’ For years now FIFA has been discussing a so-called 6+5 rule. This would mean that teams must start each match with at least six players who would be eligible for the national team of the country in which the club is domiciled. It would thus make no sense for clubs to buy a lot of foreign players. Boetekees would welcome such a rule, but understands why establishing it takes its time.’Sadly, it has been dismissed as illegal by the European Commission,’ he says. Most EU governments argue that if enforced, the 6+5 rule would amount to discrimination in the workplace and a restriction on the free movement of workers. THE RICHEST CLUBS wILL GET RICHER Both Boetekees and Van den Wall Bake also plead for stricter rules concerning the transfer of young talents. FIFA is against the transfer of talents younger than 16, but this is also in violation of the EU’s free movement of workers. In addition, most clubs are clever enough to get around the rules. Jeffrey Bruma was 15 when he went to Chelsea.’The age-rule has exceptions,’ Boetekees says. ’If a talent’s parents move for reasons of their own, their son is allowed to join a foreign club.’ Recently, Henk Kesler, former president of KNVB’s professional football department, cynically noted that the number of well-paid Dutch taxi drivers in London must be overwhelming. According to Boetekees, FIFA is investigating some questionable transfers of under-16 football players. Right now, that’s the least they can do. Van den Wall Bake predicts that the richest clubs will only get richer, at the cost of the not so rich. He pleads for more solidarity (from the top clubs) with the medium and smaller clubs. ’If the gap between the few top clubs and the majority gets bigger, the future of football might be at stake. Without competition there is no suspense. These competitions will get more and more predictable and fans and sponsors might lose their interest. The Dutch competion might lack some world class teams, but at least we have seen some exciting finishes over the last few years.’
THE 10 BIGGEST TRANSfERS In the business of sports, Dutch football players are among the most valuable ‘export products’. The likes of Real Madrid, Chelsea and AC Milan are willing to pay millions for the most gifted athletes trained by the best clubs in the Netherlands. See below for the ten biggest transfers in Dutch football history. Please note that these transfers include a Dutch team. The most ‘valuable’ Dutch player ever to move from one to club to another was Marc Overmars. In 2000 Barcelona signed Overmars after transferring 40 million euros to Arsenal’s bank account. This list doesn’t include foreign players who moved from a Dutch club to another European country. Last year, Ajax sold Luis Suarez from Uruquay to Liverpool for 25 million.
1/Ruud van Nistelrooy €30.4 million
2001, age 25, from PSV to Manchester United
2/Wesley Sneijder €27.4 million
2007, age 23, from Ajax to Real Madrid
3 /Klaas-Jan Huntelaar €30.4 million
2008, age 25, from Ajax to Real Madrid
4 /Arjen Robben €18.1 million
2004, age 20, from PSV to Chelsea
5/Dirk Kuijt €18.0 million
2006, age 26, from Feyenoord to Liverpool
6/Jaap Stam €17.0 million
1998, age 26, from PSV to Manchester United
7/Ryan Babel €17.0 million
2007, age 21, from Ajax to Liverpool
8/Dennis Bergkamp €16.0 million
1993, age 24, from Ajax to Internazionale
9 / Royston Drenthe €13.0 million
2007, age 20, from Feyenoord to Real Madrid
10/Frank de Boer €11.0 million
1998, age 28, from Ajax to Barcelona
the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT 41
PHOTOGRAPHY Maarten Bezem
THESE CLUBS EARN SERIOUS CASH BY SELLING THEIR BIGGEST TALENTS. BUT IT SEEMS NOT ENOUGH TO COMPENSATE FOR THEIR DEBTS.
VS22 | VS26 | VS32
On show at:
Van Speijk Yachts m: +31(0)6.54.60.4986
www.van-speijk.com
Different Angle 44 the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT
GO DUTCH... OR STICK WITH YOUR GAME Foreign influences has turned The Netherlands into a multidisciplinary sports country. From cricket to Gealic Football: we’re not very good at it, but at least we know how to play it. For expats wanting to play their own game, this sports-minded country has what it takes. And if not... you can always try something new. Like pole vaulting over a ditch full of muddy water. THE GENTLEMAN’S GAME (JUST NOT wHEN INDIA MEETS PAKISTAN) Fancy a good old cricket game? Then pick your team. The Netherlands has over 50 cricket clubs. That’s rather amazing for a country in which cricket is far from popular. The Dutch prefer their football, ice skating, cycling and hockey. That’s why cricket clubs welcome expats with open arms. Punjab Cricket Club in Rotterdam attracts a lot of Pakistani people. They outnumber the five Indian members by far. During the World Cup semi-final in April, when the old rivals stood against each other, the clubhouse of the Punjab Cricket Club was occupied by Pakistanis only. It is said that the Indians watched the game at home. For their safety, this might have been the right decision. India won by 29 runs. Most Dutch cricket clubs benefit from Indian and Pakistani expatriates. voorburg Cricket Club (VCC) in The Hague also attracts
a lot of expats from England and Australia. VCC is a regular supplier of players to the Dutch national team. The same can be said for Haarlemsche Cricket Club (HCC) Rood en wit in Haarlem. The third team of VCC entirely consists of expats from the British Isles. For more information on Dutch cricket clubs, visit the website of the Dutch cricket association, www.kncb.nl. fOOTBALL? wHAT fOOTBALL? As we all know, European football is quite different from American and Australian football. And then there is also Gaelic football, mother of all sports for any true-blooded Irishman. Whatever football you like, you can play it in the Netherlands. To start with the Gaelic version, Den Haag Gaelic football and Hurling Club is one of the longest established and most successful GAA clubs (‘Gaelic Athletic Association’) on mainland Europe. It comprises mainly Irish, but also French, English, Turkish, Indian, Swiss,
the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT 45
Canadian, Australian, and German expats and Dutch players. The club is facing stiff competition from Amsterdam Gaelic Athletic football Club, which was founded on St. Patrick’s Day 2003 and has grown into one of Europe’s leading GAA clubs over the past eight years. American football can be played from Groningen in the North to Maastricht in the South. Visit the website of the Dutch American football Bond (AFBN) for a list of the competing teams: www.afbn.org. A little less modest is the name of DAFA’s website www.aussierules.nl. DAFA is short for Dutch Australian football Association. It was formed in 2007, with the aim of organising and developing Australian Football in the Netherlands. Last year it launched the Netherland’s first Australian Football league, consisting of four teams: Amsterdam Devils, Den Haag Ooievaars, Eindhoven Eagles and Utrecht Saints. They all supply players to our national team, The Flying Dutchmen. If you are a fan of the real deal football, then finding a club nearby isn’t too difficult. wilhelmus International football Club is an expat football team based in The Hague. The club is a mix of over 40 nationalities. The Saturday senior teams are predominantly made up of expats who work for local international organisations, such as ICC, Shell and EPO. There is also one ladies’ team. More on www.vvwilhelmus.nl NO RYDER CUP, BUT PLENTY Of TOP COURSES Golf has become increasingly popular in the Netherlands over the last few years. Clubs range from traditional links courses on the North Sea dunes to heather and woodland courses inland. To play golf on a Dutch golf course, you need a Dutch golf certificate (GVB) or a handicap card from your own country. The GVB (‘Golfvaardigheidsbewijs’) was introduced because the Netherlands is a small country and there are few golf courses in relation to the number of (wannabe-) golfers. To acquire one, you’ll have to pass a test. Most courses offer the GVB test and it’s pretty easy, as long as you know how to play the game. The rates for playing golf vary from club to club, as well as from weekdays to weekends. Green fees range from ¤35 to ¤130. Advance reservations must be made for tee-off time. The Kennemer Golf & Country Club near Zandvoort is considered to be among the best in Europe. It’s the oldest golf course in the country, situated in an area of massive dunes and stands of pine trees. Other top courses are Koninklijke (Royal) Haagsche, the most southerly of an excel-
lent triumvirate of links golf courses located between The Hague and Amsterdam, and Eindhovensche Golf, one of the finest examples of a wooded heathland course. But the highest profile 18-hole golf course in the country has to be The Dutch, near the city of Gorinchem. This amazing new course, designed by top golfer, Colin Montgomerie, who also performed the official opening in May, was put forward as the Netherlands’ candidate to host the 2018 Ryder Cup. Unfortunately, Ryder Cup Europe recently decided in favor of France. For a complete list of all 240+ golf courses in the Netherlands, see en.leadingcourses.com/ europe+netherlands. For an overview of the top courses, visit www.where2golf.com/netherlands/ top-golf-courses.asp. THE BEST Of THE REST If you like some variation, then join omnisportclub De Kieviten in Wassenaar. It has sections for cricket, golf, tennis, hockey and squash. Part of the membership fee is for joining the club, and then for each sport you play you pay a fee to that section.
As for the cricket section, they currently run a 1st and 2nd team. These consist entirely of foreign players. www.kieviten.nl Fitness junkies have many different gyms to choose from, each catering to a different clientele and price range. Expats from the UK will be pleased to know that David Lloyd also operates 7 clubs in the Netherlands. They all offer state-of-theart equipment, as well as racquet sports, swimming pools, beauty salons, steam rooms, saunas, different classes (from holistic to dance and weight loss) and even a kindergarten. www.davidlloyd.nl The first and only open British Sub-Aqua Club in the Netherlands serves the area of Den Haag, Amsterdam, Utrecht and Rotterdam. The Randstad Harings Dive Club has over 40 members from several countries, and offers a full calendar of social, training and diving events within the country and abroad. www.randstad-harings.nl
Ever heard of fierljeppen? Probably not. It’s a typical Dutch summer sport, in which an athlete using a pole tries to cover a maximum distance by ‘jumping’ over a ditch. This is as Dutch as you can get. For fierljep clinics, visit www.pbholland.com.
the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT 47
Education
TILTING AT wINDMILLS THE BATTLE fOR THE DUTCH LANGUAGE By Niala Maharaj
The windmills that once powered the world’s first industrial revolution are picturesque anachronisms today. The Dutch language can also turn into a museum piece, its defenders warn. But no-one is listening and frustration has turned into farce.
Education 48 the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT
On January 25, Stichting Nederlands (The Dutch Language Association) wrote to Prime Minister Rutte asking him to please ‘purify’ his speech by expurgating English phrases. The PM replied that that would be a ‘tall order’ – using the English phrase.
Stichting Nederlands is used to such snubs. Its website is a catalogue of failure in its mission to defend Dutch against ‘unnecessary English’. It reads like the novel Don Quixote - idealistic souls battling ‘cultural decline’ - and constantly getting beaten up. When SN organised protests against Albert Heijn supermarkets for labelling products in English, Albert Heijn said it just wanted to sell goods across Dutch borders, thank you very much. ‘It’s the economy, Stupid.’ ‘We haven’t been Dutch for a long time,’ says René Boomkens, professor of social and cultural philosophy at Groningen University. ‘The Netherlands is far further along the process of internationalisation than people think. McDonaldisation has penetrated the furthest reaches of our country. The Dutch have always been translators. We’ve been oriented to America and Europe for centuries.’ The three basic skills now being tested at Dutch primary schools are reading, rekening and English. Leading universities offer the majority of their programmes in English; Maastricht U. all. And bilingual secondary education has raced down the education ladder. ANGLOMANIA! It has sparked resistance. A rash of stichtings (associations) have risen up to defend the Dutch language from being destroyed by English. A legal battle is underway against English primary education in Rotterdam schools. ‘If children are taught geography in English, they will never learn the Dutch terms,’ Ab Braamkolk of Stichting Taalverdediging (the Language Defense Association) pointed out in 2007. ‘So they will never acquire fluent Dutch.’ ‘The adoption of English education can cause a weakening of the position of the national language, or even its disappearance,’ wrote Hilda Schram in 2001 on Groningen University’s website. ‘It increases social inequality and puts democracy in danger.’ Dutch doesn’t fall into UNESCO’s list of threatened languages, since 23 million people speak it in Holland, Belgium and Surinam. But linguists say the dominance English has attained is unprecedented in this planet’s history, so it’s impossible to predict the fall-out. Half the world’s 6,000 languages are expected to die in the course of this century. Defenders of Dutch warn darkly of a ‘silent revolution’. But it isn’t silent at all. Nearly everyone on TV peppers their Dutch with English phrases, not just because current jargon is in English,
The annual “Groot dictee der Nederlandse Taal”
but simply for cachet. Since 1995 onethird of ads have been partly or completely English, according to a study by Nijmegen University. Even Geert Wilders, prime Defender of All Things Dutch, spat the words ‘Good Riddance’ when his legal accuser recently quit the arena. ‘We are losing the nuances of the Dutch language,’ grieves Arno Schrauwers of Stichting Nederlands. ‘We are buying poverty, spiritual poverty. We are giving our lives away. People live in their language.’ A study actually showed that students of the bilingual schools perform better in both Dutch and English than those who get Dutch-language instruction. Onze Taal (Our Language) magazine says ordinary people feel their language
is under threat. Yet those same ordinary people are traitors to the language. ‘Chill’ seems to be the most common word used by Dutch teenagers. They want to sound ‘cool’ on Twitter. The Voice of Holland says it all. That was the name of the most popular TV show last year. An English name. And contestants sang in English. English lyrics are normal for Dutch pop groups eyeing the international market. In May, John de Mol, The Voice’s producer, sold its format to NBC in the US, demonstrating the value of abandoning Dutch. ‘MOTHER-TONGUE MASOCHISTS’ Dutch language expert, Wim Daniëls, laments over a ‘Wim Crisis’. No-one gives
Proposal to Enshrine Dutch in the Constitution (A Study in Irony) ‘At this moment, the government wants to enshrine Dutch in the Constitution. That implies that Frisian [the language spoken in the north of the country- ed.] must also be enshrined as an official language in the Constitution. Soon, the Antillian island, Bonaire, will become part of the Netherlands, so Papiamento must also be in the Constitution. But the islands of Saba and St Eustacius will also become part of The Netherlands and English is the official language there. So we have the strange situation that, in order to defend Dutch, we have to enshrine English as an official language in the Constitution. Such legislation doesn’t seem useful. Other legal measures have to be found to protect Dutch, suited to the specific situation in The Netherlands. French legislation is a source of inspiration for this.’ RESPONSE BY THE DUTCH SOCIALIST PARTY FEBRUARY 2010
the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT 49
speaking outside world. Radio Netherlands World Service’s 47-million budget was slashed and it resorted to an English motto: Free speech, Dutch values. But what are Dutch values? ‘Most of Dutch culture is not created by the elite, but by the masses,’ says Boomkens. ‘And the masses have always been highly influenced by other countries, particularly, since the Marshall Plan, by the US. The band Pussycat sings about the Mississippi, not about the river Maas. To resist this by creating an artificial Netherlandism is pointless.’
their sons good Dutch names like Wim anymore. Nowadays, kids are called Rodney and Nick. But Onze Taal writer, Gaston Dorren, thinks the change has only taken place in the working-class. It’s clear that the Dutch can no longer do without English, though. Daniëls’ own cabaret show is called: What is a world without Wimmen? Even the Dutch defenders themselves describe their crusade with the English term ‘lobbying’, as Onze Taal’s editor pointed out. J.J. Bakker says The Netherlands is a country of ‘mother-tongue masochists’ displaying ‘xenomania’, the blind rejection of everything that comes from outside.‘The elite feels threatened at the moment, along with some politicians,’ says Professor Boomkens on Groningen University’s website. ‘They want Dutch high culture, whatever it costs. Museumise civilisation, stick it in a jar and ensure that no-one damages it.’ It’s a matter of money for the elite. Translate a book from English, and you’re creating ‘Dutch literature’, entitled to live off the taxpayer. People have to be compelled to read in the language, so only 15% of applicants for ‘literary’ grants are turned down, some because they can’t even fill out the application form properly. But the buck stops sometimes. In June, the government ceased funding for Dutch shortwave broadcasts to be zapped into the non-Dutch-
fRUSTRATION TURNS INTO fARCE Petitions are being organised against the abandonment of Dutch-language overseas broadcasting. But the Dutch defenders have a talent for winning enemies and failing to influence people. Last year, they tried to get the Constitution changed to protect the language - via adoption of a French law. The results were hilarious. [see box] Dutch is a political hot potato: it’s used as a weapon in immigrant-bashing and discrimination. Last November, Parliament quietly buried the idea. In paroxysms of disappointment, Stichting Taalverdediging accused Prime Minister Rutte of having ‘language-degraded brains’ from working with the Anglo-Dutch washingpowder company, Unilever. ‘Mark Rutte thinks in English,’ thundered its newsletter, like an activist from China’s cultural revolution pointing out a traitor to the crowd. The enormity of their enemy, Globalisation, makes the stichtings look Lilliputian, and Swiftian comedy attends their every utterance. Two years ago, Stichting Nederlands announced that Princess Laurentien [the queen’s daughter-in-law] would ceremonially accept its Dictionary of Unnecessary English Words at a language fair. It later announced that the Princess’ minders led her to the wrong stall by mistake, and the stall-holders there seized the opportunity to present her with their book instead. Now, in the same newsletter where it derided the prime minister’s brains, Stichting Taalverdediging has revealed Princess Laurentien’s dirty secret. She’s sending her kids to a Frenchlanguage school! Princess Laurentien lives in French-speaking Brussels, but that didn’t stop the stichting from calling on the (language-degraded) prime minister to express his disapproval to the royal family. We can guess how the PM reacted. ‘That would be a tall order,’ he probably said, in English.
COLUMN WORKING IN THE NETHERLANDS By Frank Krajenbrink, Business Psychologist The world is changing faster and faster. It’s important to focus on the right way to develop and adapt yourself to be the fittest to survive. A lot of employees and managers are still stuck in the ‘modern times’ of Chaplin, stuck in the industrial revolution, stuck regarding selection, training and development, losing momentum and energy on betting on the wrong horse/person/capacity. Meanwhile, the Einstein generation adapt themselves relatively easily to the fast-changing demands of our global digital world. How to make yourself employable for different jobs, branches and countries? How to learn faster and network yourself from opportunity to opportunity? It is who you know and not what you know that counts! The new way of working is all about diversity, flexibility and being able to respond with the best set of general personality traits. So train such characteristics as being extravert, flexible, a networker, persuasive, outgoing, innovative, proactive and decisive. All these traits can be strengthened, but not in regular team-training, which is suitable for specific capacities, knowledge and skills. Personality traits are more stable; they make up your character and can be strengthened via reliable psychological diagnosis followed by personal coaching combined with exercises (practical work-simulations). This will reinforce the desired personality trait step-by-step. All this will lead to stronger personal leadership and better personal and professional effectiveness. You will redefine your own entrepreneurship. But why do we Dutch need you? Us Calvinists exist in an illogical split between the VOC mentality, that is, entrepreneurship and thinking beyond borders, and, on the other side, hiding behind mental dykes, that is, being moralistic and conservative. A great Dutch saying illustrates this identity: behave normally and you behave crazy enough. We need you to help us tear down those dykes in order to bring back the personality traits we need to ride the waves of the world. Together we can make the world our home!
the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT 51
Personal Finance
Entrance to the Amsterdam Stock Exchange (AEX). The AEX merged with the Brussels Stock Exchange and the Paris Stock Exchange to form Euronext. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange is considered the oldest in the world. It was established in 1602 by the Dutch East India Company (vOC).
Personal Finance 52 the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT
INvESTING YOU WORKED HARD FOR THAT MONEY. MAKE IT wORK fOR YOU NOw In today’s uncertain world, what to do with our life savings? Paul Rodenburg, managing director of Darion Capital Management, suggests some alternative investment strategies and gives his opinion on some hot issues among investors. ‘People just don’t know what to do with their money any more,’ says Paul Rodenburg, managing director of asset management firm Darion Capital Management. ‘The future is so full of potential risks and pitfalls and investors are more insecure than ever. Shares? Very volatile. Bonds? Interest rates are extremely low. Real estate? No way.’
investments. Clients can choose from a range of non-traditional funds that invest in a variety of assets, including art, historical documents and commodities. In the Netherlands and Belgium, it is the only firm to offer clients the opportunity to invest in the International Life Settlements Fund (ILSF), a fund that invests in life insurances in the US.
Rodenburg and his colleagues propose so-called guaranteed products – in which part or all of your initial investment is guaranteed against losses – as an attractive alternative to traditional investments.
Rodenburg: ‘Every year, tens of thousands of Americans who own life insurance policies decide they’d rather get cash now than have their policy pay out upon their death. These people can sell their policy to ILSF.’ The fund then takes over the premium payment obligations and pays the policyholder approximately 25 percent of the eventual payout. Upon the policyholder’s passing away, the fund receives its payout. It does sound a bit morbid, collecting money when someone dies? ‘It’s not morbid. People are not forced to sell their policies and the fund never buys policies from people who are ill. The policyholders are very happy with the opportunity to sell their policy at a fair price.’ What if people live longer than expected? ‘That’s a risk, but the fund owns more than 300 policies right now. Some people will live longer than expected, some shorter. Statistically, it all evens out. On average, one can expect to make 8 percent a year. Last year the fund netted an exceptional 15 percent.’
‘People think these products are complex, but they’re actually quite simple. We may offer a product that expires in six years. In 2017, you’re guaranteed to get your initial investment back, regardless of market conditions. On top of that, if the Eurostoxx 50 Index shows a positive return, you participate in its performance for 80 percent. So if the index rises 40 percent, your investment grows by 32 percent. These numbers are hypothetical, but what it comes down to: you give away a little bit of your upward potential, but in exchange, you’ll never have to worry about losing your money.’ For clients who have an appetite for larger risks, there are ways to build a more aggressive product. ‘We might conceive a structure in which only 80 percent of your capital is guaranteed, but in return your upward participation rate is 140 percent.’ Darion can fully customize its guaranteed products to each client’s liking: one can participate in any stock index, ranging from the Dutch AEX to the GSCI Global, but also commodity or bond indices. LIfE SETTLEMENTS Another specialty of Darion is alternative
Darion does not require minimum deposits and happily accepts clients who bring in only a couple thousand euros. ‘The big banks are making a huge mistake when they say you need to bring at least half a million to get personalized advice. Listen, if you have managed to save 50,000 euros, you have probably worked hard for that money. As a relatively small firm, we understand that 50,000 euros is a lot of money by any standard.’
Paul Rodenburg
THE EURO ‘The eurozone will not fall apart, but it is not my favorite currency. The Swiss franc is a safe haven, but very expensive. The Australian dollar is a good alternative. It’s backed by huge commodity reserves, Australia is a stable democracy and the country benefits from its proximity to Asia.’ CHINA ‘I’m not as enthusiastic as most. Yes, China has immense potential, but how can I be sure that the official growth figures are accurate? And is this growth sustainable? There are cities being built that could house hundreds of thousands of people but sit empty. Plus, the market is not well regulated and corruption is still a problem.’
THE INTERNET BUBBLE 2.0 ‘Outrageous. Back in 2000, we saw price-earnings ratios of 300 and in hindsight we all agreed this was totally irrational exuberance. Now Linkedin has a PE of 1600. Mind you, this means we have 1600 years to go before you earn your investment back.’ fAvORITE PIECE Of fINANCIAL wISDOM ‘Since the dawn of capitalism, there has been one golden rule: “If you want to make money, you have to take risks.”’
ABOUT DARION Darion Capital Management started back in 1966 as a brokerage firm specialized in ‘soft’ commodities, such as potatoes, sugar and wheat. In 2009, Bas Dijkman, former head of sales Europe-structured products at ING, bought the company and decided to put an emphasis on asset management. Rodenburg: ‘We’re still very active in soft commodities, but now, about half of our business is asset management. We have offices in Amsterdam, Brussels, Helsinki and an agent in London, so our staff includes native English, French, German and Finnish-speakers.’
Personal Finance the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT 53
BANKING
WANT TO BUY SINGAPORE SHARES, BAHRAINI DOLLARS OR PORK BELLY fUTURES?
Stock trading used to be cumbersome and expensive for small investors. Fees could be as high as 2.5%. Then came internet trading. Transaction fees as low as 0.3% forced traditional brokers and banks to slash their own fees and build their own electronic trading platforms. End of story? Not quite. Some investors are looking for something more exotic than European and American stock. And Saxo Bank is rapidly gaining popularity as their trading platform of choice. Pieter Jan Datema, CEO of Saxo Bank’s Amsterdam office, explains. MOST PEOPLE HAvE NEvER HEARD Of SAXO BANK... Saxo Bank was founded in 1992 by two Danish currency traders who saw that the advent of the internet offered great opportunities for traders. They started by building a platform for online trading of the Danish kroner and deutschemark, which was a huge hit with traders at the time. Over the past twenty years, the company has evolved into a global investment bank that still specializes in online trading. CURRENCY TRADING IS STILL YOUR MAIN BUSINESS? It’s a large part of what we do and what we’re famous for. We offer trading in 160 currency pairs, more than any other provider in Europe. But our range of services is much broader than that. For example, our clients have access to over 11,000 individual stocks listed on 23 exchanges worldwide, including Toronto, Sydney and Tokyo, and we offer thousands of CFD’s (contracts for difference), futures, funds and bonds. wHAT TYPE Of INvESTORS DO YOU SERvE? Mainly experienced and active investors who have an international orientation and don’t want to limit themselves to shares that are listed on Euronext. They usually have a little bit more to invest than your average retail investor. wHY wOULD I wANT TO TRADE fOREIGN CURRENCY? If you feel that the American economy is going to be stronger than the Swedish economy in the near future, you’ll buy US dollars and sell Swedish kroner. Even when the stock markets are flat, there’s always movement in the foreign exchange markets; they’re by far the biggest financial markets with over $4 trillion of transactions every day. I’D LIKE TO GIvE fOREX OR fUTURES TRADING A TRY, BUT I DON’T HAvE ANY EXPERIENCE. We offer free demo accounts, so you can practice for twenty days with 100,000 virtual euros, try out market strategies and familiarize yourself with our platforms. Then there’s our TradeMentor program that teaches you how to trade through live online seminars and video tutorials. But you’re also welcome to visit our office or give us a call. We have offices in 13 countries and we offer support in many languages, including Czech and Chinese.
YOUR wEBSITE BOASTS Of UP TO 200 TIMES LEvERAGE ON fOREIGN EXCHANGE INvESTMENTS. THIS SOUNDS QUITE RISKY? And it is risky! Such leverage is only suitable for the most experienced traders and our margin requirements are much stricter for beginners. But even with lower leverage, foreign exchange trading is a risky activity. We always advise traders to set stoploss levels so their potential loss is limited and we do monitor every trade. If we notice someone making an odd decision, we give them a call. SINCE THE fINANCIAL CRISIS, PEOPLE HAvE BECOME MUCH MORE CRITICAL ABOUT THE BANKS THEY DO BUSINESS wITH. NO ONE wANTS TO GO THROUGH ANOTHER ICESAvE-TYPE DRAMA. The crisis was caused by banks investing in complex derivatives and un-transparent loan packages. Saxo Bank is not involved in those types of investments. We continued to make a healthy profit in 2008 and 2009; in fact those were two of our best years ever. IN THE EvENT Of A BANK fAILURE OR BANKRUPTCY, ARE THERE ANY GOvERNMENT GUARANTEES? Being a Danish bank, our client’s deposits are guaranteed by the Danish Guarantee Fund for Depositors and Investors with up to ¤100,000 for cash deposits. As a general rule, securities, such as shares or bonds, are not affected by suspension of payment, as they’re not on our balance sheet, but held in safe-custody. ONE MORE QUESTION: wHENCE THE NAME SAXO BANK? Our bank is named after Saxo Grammaticus, a Danish historian who lived in the 12th and 13th century and wrote the Gesta Danorum, ‘Story of the Danes’. It’s a mythical depiction of Denmark’s ancient culture and traditions, and rumoured to be the original source of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, something the Danes are very proud of.
13 3 offices
continents
€4.18 BILLION assets under management
€20
BILLION
daily transaction value in foreign exchange
Personal Finance 54 the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT
BUSINESSTALK
HOw TO SURvIvE A ‘BEDRIJfSBORREL’ By Reinildis van Ditzhuyzen
Ever heard of our bedrijfsborrel? You probably have. At least I hope so, because this is a word not easy to translate. It’s like an informal reception with lots of alcohol and some snacks. In other countries, cocktails or receptions are much more formal, and often precede a business dinner. Ours is just a ‘small reception’ with drinks and finger food – such as the inevitable bitterballen. Some companies organize a borrel for their employees about once a month. It’s also quite common to give an informal reception for business partners and such purposes. Informal is the keyword here. In The Netherlands we have this saying: ‘Doe maar normaal, dan doe je al gek genoeg’. In English this would be something like: ‘We like you to behave normally (i.e. like all the others) and not too pretentious please’. In these receptions the rules are quite simple. Mostly, we don’t want you to get (too) drunk, and, if you are hungry, please don’t go grabbing all the snacks off the plates. Oh, and as unrestrained as our country is, one shouldn’t lay one’s hands on the behind of that pretty waitress or coquettish colleague. For the rest: be as informal as you can be. For many foreigners, this is something they will have to get used to. So what can you expect? Well, first of all, we like to kiss. Not twice, but three times. It’s pretty disgusting indeed. Suppose you have a reception with thirty people, thus be prepared to be kissed at least forty times. If you are a man, that is. Women should be ready to kiss just about everybody. If you don’t want to, then welcome every person by stretching your arm out so that a person can’t reach you. Don’t start kissing and then quit halfway through. The persons you still have to kiss may be offended. As if you think it’s gross to kiss them, and not the others. Once you start kissing, there’s no turning back. Once the kissing part is over, the asking of questions starts. Now the Dutch like to be nice and sympathetic. And therefore their questions are pretty personal. Don’t get them wrong: it’s really not their meaning to be intrusive or meddlesome or offensive. So if they ask you why you and your wife don’t have children yet, or why you are still single, or how much you paid for your new car, try not to be too shocked. Just smile and realize you are in this strange little country where people think they can ask each other pretty much anything. Always remember: the road to hell is paved with good intentions! As for clothing: if you are a man, it doesn’t really matter if you wear a suit or jeans. If the reception is a formal one, and part of a declaration or ceremony, then a suit will be appreciated. But still, don’t be too surprised if someone else isn’t dressed for occasion. I know of one case where a Dutch citizen was honored by the German ambassador at the ambassador’s residence. While the declaration was about to start, the ambassador’s wife had to greet the son of the honored Dutchman. This youngster was dressed in yellow shorts and a Hawaiian Aloha shirt. It seemed as if he came straight from camping. Even by Dutch standards, this was quite embarrassing. The Dutch like equality and yes, we can be pretty ‘frugal’ as well. So we don’t display all of our snacks
on one table in the corner of the room. We just provide them by making a ‘snack-round’ every 15 minutes or so. Every person is supposed to take one hors d’œuvre at a time (equality!). Take notice of that. In most other countries it’s rather to walk up to the table and fill up your plate. So don’t make the mistake of being too greedy when the waitress suddenly shows up with a plate of bitterballen. This is pretty much the opposite of how the Dutch behave at a buffet. There, we tend to fill our plates to the brim - it gets almost embarrassing, while foreign eaters are usually more modest. Now, let me end with the golden rules of ‘how not to behave at a bedrijfsborrel, whether you are Dutch, American, British, German, Asian or of any other ethnicity.
4 Things Not to Do
1.
Get drunk. Now there’s a huge difference between drunk and tipsy. In general, it’s not a big deal if you drink more than three beers or glasses of wine. In fact, it will probably make you more relaxed and ready for our direct and often intrusive way of communicating. But please make sure that you remember everything you did and said the next day.
2.
Showing up to early and leaving too late. If you are the last man standing and your host is looking at his watch every five minutes, then you are either too drunk or very senseless.
3.
Talking on your cell phone. Nothing is more irritating than being in the middle of a conversation and you are interrupted by a cell phone. Turn it off, or if it’s really, really important, excuse yourself and explain why this phone call is more important than the conversation you just ended.
4.
Ask for drinks or foodies your host didn’t provide for. The host sets the standard, so if it’s not there, accept it.
Reinildis van Ditzhuyzen is the Dutch queen of etiquette and author of many books on (business) etiquette. In every issue of the International Correspondent, she’ll be giving advice on rules and manners, social behavior and etiquette in different areas of Dutch business.
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56 the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT
GREEN... GREENER... GREENEST!
Every country has its ‘green’ entrepreneurs. They show what it means to attack the most pressing problems of our time and make serious cash along the way. Some of them are related to green energy, others to recycling and sustainable banking. But they all share a mission: to make as much money as possible. Just not at the cost of our environment. This time in TIC’s top-10: Holland’s greenest businessmen... and one Joan of Arc. 1 / Ruud Koornstra
Like many other ‘green pioneers’, Koornstra earned a whole lot of money before committing himself to the environment. At the age of 23 he founded his first company, K&B Events & Television, a producer of TV-shows. Mr. Koornstra grew the business from zero to 400 people, with over 120 million in annual revenue. After selling his company in 2000, he founded Tendris Holding, a conglomerate of sustainable companies. One of them was Durion Energie (later Oxxio), which offered green energy to the public for less money than gray energy. Koornstra also introduced VisaGreencard, a creditcard that promises compensation for the CO2-emissions of certain purchases. With Lemnis Lighting (developer of the Pharox led-lamp, which uses 90 percent less energy than an incandescent bulb) he won the “Pioneer Award” from the World Economic Forum. Last year, Lemnis Lighting was listed in America’s top-10 of most innovative companies in consumer products. Do you want more proof? Well, here it is:
The world’s sole owner of an electric Lotus 2 / Paul Hamm
Based in the province of Limburg, Hamm owns a total of 36 companies. The former director of DSM invests heavily in biofuels, sustainable plastics, the fabrication of wind engines and electric cars. Mr. Hamm is the main initiator of BioMCN, near the city of Delfzijl. BioMCN is not only the world’s first bio-methonal plant, but also the world’s biggest producer of a second generation biofuel. Hamm took a serious blow with the recent bankruptcy of Econcern (2009), a renewable energy firm. As an Econcern shareholder, he lost 30 million euros. The drama also affected Hamm’s company Duracar, daughter of Econcern. This manufacturer of rather unattractive electric vans was recently sold to a Chinese company. But Hamm remains ambitious. His newest pet topic is algae farming. If you wonder why - algea can be used as biodiesel fuel.
the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT 57
3 / Henk Keilman
As CEO of RIG Investments, Keilman invests in wind parks, solar parks and biofuel production units. He earned millions with the sale of American telecom company MTC Netsource (1998). Today, Keilman owns 40 percent of London exchange market listed Emergya Wind Technologies (EWT), the biggest Dutch wind turbine supplier. RIG also took a substantial share in We Are Green 2 BV (publisher of Green.2, the world’s first green glossy) and Algaelink, an international manufacturer of algae growing equipment for generating biofuels. In his spare time, Henk Keilman is chairman of the Dutch Vegetarian Association and juror in the Dutch version of the TV-show Dragons’ Den. Last but not least: Keilmann is involved in the Dutch Hare Krishna movement and well known for his spiritual lectures.
4 / Coen van Oostrom
A familiair face at the Clinton Global Initiative (a meeting of leaders dedicated to a sunstainable global community) and CEO/ founder of real estate developer OVG. After seeing Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, Van Oostrom also saw the light and promised to establish sustainable buildings with a total value of one billion euros within five years (2007 - 2012). Despite the financial crisis, he still believes he can do it. OVG is currently developing the most sustainable building in Europe: TNT Green Office, near Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.
5 / Peter Blom
Triodos Bank is one of the few banks that benefits from the financial crisis. This European registered bank finances companies, institutions and projects that ‘add cultural value and benefit people and the environment’. Triodos won the Financial Times Sustainable Bank of the Year Award in 2009. Its charismatic leader, Peter Blom, was the second Dutchman to join the Club of Rome, a global think-tank and centre of innovation and initiative. Not bad for someone who never finished his studies in Economics and gave up his moonlighting job at one of the the first organic food centres in the Netherlands for a career at Triodos (1980).
6 / Wouter van Dieren
Godfather of the Dutch environmental movement. Became the Netherland’s first member of the Club of Rome and is co-founder of several environmental institutions. Van Dieren has long been forecasting the end of casino capitalism and the fossil-fueled industrial era. The financial crisis marked his come-back as a popular lecturer. Since 1985, he has been chair of IMSA Amsterdam, a leading European think-tank and consultancy on sustainability and innovation. Van Dieren has recently called for the construction of small nucleair plants. That was before the Japan disaster.
7 / Jeroen de Haas
Under the inspiring leadership of Jeroen de Haas, Eneco (The Netherland’s third energy company) is investing throughout Europe in sustainable energy production: onshore and offshore wind farms, thermal and solar energy, biomass and hydropower. By 2013, 20% of its supply will be generated by sustainable sources. As early as 2030, Eneco expects its electricity supply to be entirely sustainable. In 2009, De Haas acquired core parts of Econcern, which strengthened Eneco’s sustainibility strategy. He also announced the purchase of electric scooters and 500 electric vans to be used by Eneco personnel. And the CEO himself? He rides a bike.
8 / Feike Sijbesma
How strange that the CEO of a chemical company has been granted the UN’s 2010 Humanitarian of the Year Award. In Feike Sijbesma’s case, not so strange. The CEO of Royal DSM won the award for his commitment to corporate social responsibility and DSM’s partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme. In 2010, DSM retained its number one position in the chemical industry sector in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. Under Sijbesma’s management DSM’s focus shifted from making plastics to hightech sustainable materials.
9 / Ewoud Goudswaard
Before the turn of the millennium, Ewoud Goudswaard was an old-fashioned banker. He was cured by an Australian trip reflection with his wife and son. Mrs. Goudswaard gave up advocacy and commited herself to social welfare. And her husband? He became managing director of ASN Bank, The Netherland’s largest sustainable bank. In its investment and lending decisions, ASN pays strong attention to issues like child labour, climate change, human rights and genetic technology. Since the start of the financial crisis, the bank has doubled its customer file, to nearly 500,000 in 2011.
10 / Hannet de Vries-in ‘t Veld
Despite her artistic ambitions, Mrs. de Vries-in ‘t Veld ended up in the world of garbage. In 2006, she became general director of VAR, a leader in waste recycling technology. When she took over, De Vries (also known as the Dutch Joan of Arc of recycling) promised to turn VAR into an energy-neutral company by 2009. She kept her promise, thanks to an organic waste fermentation installation, which generates electricity from vegetable-based waste. It also provides 5,000 households with green energy. But De Vries wants more. One of her ambitions is to clear rain-water with the use of algae. Unsurprisingly, she has written a book about waste recycling and Cradle to Cradle.
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the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT 59
Lifestyle PRIVATE CLINICS ARE HERE TO STAY By Marco de Vries
There are a hundred state-approved private medical facilities in The Netherlands at the moment. This number will grow if the government forces hospitals to deliver services at market prices. Marco de vries spoke with three current leaders in this ďŹ eld: Michiel Luger of visionClinics, CornĂŠ Otto of the Mauritsklinieken and Bert Malenstein of the Bergman Klinieken. They see a bright future for private clinics.
Lifestyle 60 the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT
Public health in The Netherlands is about to change. Instead of visiting a regular hospital for medical help, more and more people are finding their way to specialized private clinics. This is relatively new. In the old days, you had the odd dental clinic with a wealthy following, but that was about it. The Dutch are used to claiming their medical expenses from their insurance, and private treatment couldn’t be claimed. But that situation has been changing over the last 10 years. Not because Dutch health care got a bad reputation, but because some specialists thought medical care could be delivered at a much more specialized level. Ophthalmologist Michiel Luger is founder and medical director of VisionClinics, a private eye laser clinic, repeatedly named the best in its field by the Dutch Consumer Board. Luger is convinced that, to become an expert in this field, you have to do an operation as many times as possible with the best material available. ‘This is something that is impossible in a regular hospital with a nine-to-five mentality and more limitations than opportunities,’ he says. That’s why he left mainstream medical care years ago and started VisionClinics. In the last ten years, they’ve done over 70,000 operations and he himself over 1,500. vICTIM Of ITS OwN SUCCESS Corné Otto, managing director of the Mauritsklinieken in The Hague, agrees. His isn’t a private clinic but a so-called ZBC, or independent treatment centre, where the cost of treatment is refunded by most medical insurance firms. Costs of treatment here are strictly regulated by the government. Otto, a non-practicing doctor, underlines that there is more to a private clinic or ZBC. The special attention and care given to a patient in a pleasant environment is something that can never be matched by a hospital, which is often strapped for cash and understaffed. The waiting list for treatment is much shorter. But a clinic can become the victim of its own success, says Bert Malenstein, CEO of the Bergman Klinieken, which started with plastic surgery and later expanded into orthopedics and other specialties. He stresses that if the best specialists in a field are working at your clinic, the waiting list for them will gradually lengthen. Malenstein tries to solve that problem by employing high-potential specialists who keep waiting time down to three weeks. But if you want the most senior doctor, says Malenstein, ‘be prepared to wait for your turn,’
40
%
Of EXISTING HOSPITALS MIGHT DISAPPEAR
At present, the number of private clinics in The Netherlands is limited to about a hundred state-approved ones. But that could change if the government implements its policy to force hospitals to deliver services at market-competitive prices. According to insiders, hospitals are not ready for this. If the market-oriented approach really hits them, Malenstein assumes that close to forty percent of existing hospitals might disappear or start functioning in a different way. Luger, Otto and Malenstein all expect that the number of private clinics and ZBCs will grow. But whether the newcomers can operate at a
high level is a question that remains to be answered by time. One thing is certain. A clinic that doesn’t have enough clients and turnover cannot keep up with the established ones like VisionClinics, which has the best and most modern medical equipment. Michiel Luger hopes that newcomers will share his ambition to deliver the best possible care. Whatever happens, Luger, Otto and Malenstein are quite sure about one thing. Private clinics and ZBC’s are here to stay.
the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT 61
CENTRES FOR SPECIALISED TREATMENT Dental implants Tandartspraktijk Garderen is one of the most experienced dental practices for general dentistry, with a special focus on dental implants. Dentist and implantologist Peter van der Schoor has performed more than 22,000 dental implants since he introduced this technique in 1984. He is considered to be one of the most experienced implantologists in Holland. But Van der Schoor and his colleague, Paul van Dam, are capable of much more. Dental rehabilitation is another field in which they excel.In more difficult indications, an operation is first performed virtually in a computer model of the patient’s bone. This is done with the help of 3D computer technology. Through this technique, risks are avoided and the operation itself takes place much more quickly. When a patient is in need of new bone in his jaw, Van der Schoor doesn’t use the patient’s bone itself, or artificial bone, but bone from a donor. This causes less stress and discomfort for the patient. Van der Schoor and van Dam use the most modern equipment, techniques and materials and perform all the operations in their own clinic in Garderen. Even general anaesthesia is possible. But apart from all this, Van der Schoor stresses that it is their experience and expertise that cause them to be the leading practice for general dental care, dental rehabilitation and implant technology. Tandartsenpraktijk Garderen Paleisweg 5 3886 LC Garderen 0577 461990
www.tandartsenpraktijkgarderen.nl
Vision treatments VisionClinics was one of first private eye clinics in The Netherlands and is one of the most renowned. It has six clinics well spread over the country and one treatment centre in Utrecht. VisionClinics offers a range of state-of-the-art refractional surgery, ranging from laser treatments, contact lens implants, reading-glasses cor-
rections and prelex operations (a cataract operation in which the lens is replaced with a lens implant exactly on your strength and partly refunded by Dutch health insurance). The reason VisionClinics can maintain their high standards is because they keep investing in equipment and always do elaborate preliminary research. The continuously monitor their treatments (more than 70,000 since 1999) by eight certified ophthalmic surgeons. VisionClinics is ISO and ZKN certified, and inspected and approved by IGZ (Dutch Health Care Inspectorate). vision Clinics 1 treatment centre in Utrecht 6 clinics in Den Bosch, Amsterdam, Delft, Utrecht, Zwolle and Velp. 0800-8888999
www.visionclinics.nl
Plastic surgery The Hague’s Haaglanden Kliniek is a leading centre for plastic surgery and skin therapy. It also houses a beauty clinic. According to managing director and plastic surgeon, Dr John van der Werff, many of its plastic surgery treatments are refunded by Dutch health care insurance. Cosmetic treatments like breast enhancements are excluded from coverage. Van der Werff is an authority in the field of hand surgery, and a leading practitioner of so-called Dupuytrens disease which employs injections instead of surgery. The Haaglanden clinic is also the first in Holland that uses a laser for liposuction treatment, which is less painful and very accurate. Also groundbreaking is their new treatment for acne, which will be launched in October. The Haaglanden clinic works closely with Medisch Centrum Haaglanden Hospital, where staff of the clinic perform operations requiring general anaesthesia. The highest quality of care and safety possible is guaranteed. Haaglanden Kliniek/Nederlands Centrum Plastische Chirurgie Koninginnegracht 94 2514 AK Den Haag 070-338544
www.haaglandenkliniek.nl
DUTCH GOLf
SWEET SPOT HOLLAND Back in the 13th century, in Loenen aan de vecht Dutch aristocrats played a game with a stick and a leather ball. Some say this is the origin of the golf game. Nowadays Holland is not often mentioned for its golf courses. with more than 150 golf courses there is a lot to choose. GOLfCOURSE NUNSPEET About an hour from Amsterdam, the Nunspeetse Golf Course is beautifully located within the forests of the Veluwe. The course offers 27-holes which are appointed within a wide variation of landscapes. Forrests, ponds, hills and great panoramic views make this course very attractive. The fine architecture of the 3 x 9 courses completes this excellent course. The Nunspeetse offers different packages to combine a greenfee with a dinner or lunch. Greenfee (18 holes) starts at 57,50 euro for weekdays and 67,50 euro for weekenddays. Plesmanlaan 30, 8072 PT Nunspeet 0341-255 255, www.golfenophetrijk.nl ROSENDAELSCHE GOLf CLUB The Rosendaelsche Golf Club is formed in 1895 and therefore one of the oldest courses in the Netherlands. The clubs is located in a wonderful woodland setting near the National Park the Hoge Veluwe. The 18 holes were designed by golf architect Frank Pennenk and after some current renovations the fairways and greens are magnificent and challenging. Visitors are welcome during weekdays and need to have a handicap of 24 or less. Apeldoornseweg 450, 6816 SN Arnhem 026-442 1438, www.rosendaelsche.nl GOLf & COUNTRY CLUB EDDA HUZID The 18 holes of Golf & Country Club Edda Huzid are built in 1989. The championship course is well built and the club offers all the facilities for a nice game. The variation of woods and water make the 18 holes fairly attractive. Greenfee starts at 53,50 euro (weekdays) and 60,50 euro (weekenddays). The club offers different packages to combine greenfee with lunch or dinner. Hunnenweg 16, 3781 NN Voorthuizen 0342-473832, www.eddahuzid.nl
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What Where When LUNCH wITH A TwIST… OR TwO TwISTS… OR THREE MAÎTRE D’HÔTEL MARC BOULJON
PHOTOGRAPHY Maarten Bezem
page 67
What Where When 64 the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT
THE IMPORTANCE Of BEING CULTURAL
Every August, Uitmarkt rings in the start of the new cultural season in Amsterdam. The event inspires, entertains and astounds theatre, music, book and film lovers. One of The Netherlands’ most popular cultural events, it attracts 500,000 visitors from all over the country. But this year’s edition is overshadowed by the spending cuts outlined by the coalition government. Uitmarkt’s general director, Jacques van Veen, fears for the future of many (young) performers and producers. The International Correspondent talks to an upset Mr. van Veen. MR. vAN vEEN, wHY SHOULD wE ALL GO TO THE UITMARKT fESTIvAL? “Uitmarkt offers a wide range of performers, troupes and cultural institutions from every part in the Netherlands. Even if you are living in Friesland, in the far North, you will still get an impression of what this region has to offer when it comes to arts and culture. On our stages one can witness parts of performances that will be shown during the cultural season of 2011 - 2012. So if you’re an expat and you love culture, Uitmarkt is just the festival for you.” wHAT GREAT PERfORMERS CAN wE EXPECT DURING THIS YEAR’S EDITION? “Let’s see. We have Racoon, Mook and New Cool Collection, some of the finest bands around. Nederlands Dans Theater will perform, along with Het National Ballet and Scapino Ballet Rotterdam. In Ruben Hein we have the Netherland’s most talented jazz musician. But there is so much more. From an open air cinema on Museumplein square to a children’s festival in Vondelpark. I would say: check our website for a complete program.” wE wILL. NOw, IN RECENT INTERvIEwS YOU STRONGLY CRITICIZED OUR GOvERNMENT’S ECONOMY MEASURES. ‘THE HAGUE’ IS ABOUT TO SAvE 200 MILLION EUROS ON ARTS AND CULTURE.
BUT DON’T YOU AGREE THAT IN THESE TIMES, wE ALL HAvE TO TIGHTEN OUR BELTS? “Sure. But these savings are out of proportion. We are talking of 30 percent here. Other sectors are cut by eight, nine or ten percent. This will surely damage a blooming sector which is consumed by millions of people. Culture not only costs money, it brings in a lot more: around 5 billion euros. And even 70 billion, if we figure in the importance of culture for the touristic, film and music industry. That’s far more than the 800 million euros our government has been contributing. Also, let’s not forget that only 18 percent of all the performing arts is state-aided. The other 82 percent is independent.” SO MAYBE THIS 18 PERCENT IS JUST NOT THAT POPULAR AND DESERvES TO BE REDUCED. “What should we cut then? Classical music concerts? National museums? Operas? These acts and institutions will never be independent, even if all their performances are sold out. And believe me, they are. Do you know how much an orchestra costs? Or to produce an opera? Yes, you can raise the ticket prices, but it already costs me at least 100 euros to attend the opening night of La Traviata. So they are
popular, and reduction is no option. The same goes for youthful performers. Most of them cannot earn a living for themselves. Yet. Reduce financial support and you will also reduce the growth of new and promising artists. Where are we then 10 or 20 years from now? Even the world’s greatest needed some support in the first stages of their careers. Again, I’m not against saving money. But can somebody please explain me where this 30 percent comes from? Because I never heard any reasonable arguments. What is happening now is that our government is chopping down a whole sector in a way they will regret later. We will prove that these savings will cost more than they produce. Everybody knows that culture is one of the main reasons for people to settle in a particular region. Dutch employees, but also expats. Even companies. Decreasing the cultural supply of a region will surely affect the migration to this region. Also, in Amsterdam 30,000 people are working in the cultural sector. Some of them will surely lose their jobs. Did someone think of that?” YOU ARE REALLY GETTING ANGRY HERE, AREN’T YOU? “Well, what’s making me angry is the ignorance of our policy makers in The Hague. They are just not interested in what we have to say. They don’t listen to our ar-
the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT 65
guments, while they have no arguments of their own. What’s also making me angry is that some right-wing politicians are labelling arts and culture a ‘left-wing hobby’. As if people who vote for the right parties don’t attend a musical, or never go to the museum. Even citizens are looking down upon culture now, using the same words as their favourite politicians. Parents who seem to forget that their children are going to Lowlands (a music festival in the polders of Flevoland -ed) or the summer carnival parade in Rotterdam. That is culture too, you know.” BUT SURELY, THE ARTS AND CULTURE SECTOR HAS TO DELIvER. wHAT SOLUTIONS DO YOU HAvE? “I agree with our Raad voor Cultuur (National Cultural Council -ed.). If we have to save 200 million euros, then spread it over a couple of years, instead of all at once on January 1, 2013. With this phasing, stages and institutions will have more time to prepare themselves for their loss. And let’s abandon the ridiculous intention to raise taxes on tickets for concerts and theatre, which will further harm the sector. But sadly, our government is rejecting the council’s advice.” wHAT ABOUT COMPANY SPONSORSHIP AS A SUBSTITUTE fOR STATE-AID? “Companies will never bear the costs without any state contribution. I know that in the United States they are, but over there income tax rates are much lower than the 52 percent Dutch companies are sending to the treasury. With that money, our government takes care of certain services, like public health service, education and
cultural institutions. Dutch companies are only interested in sponsoring events, festivals, concerts and stages that are healthy, with or without the help of our government. Their money is additional and meant for realising extra projects and not the basics. Maybe they can contribute more, but let’s not forget that, in Amsterdam only, businesses are supporting the arts sector with 30 million euros per year. That is already a lot of money.” DO YOU fEAR fOR UITMARKT’S fUTURE? “Not really. This festival costs one million euros. Seventy percent is covered by sponsorship. The rest is state-aided. For companies, Uitmarkt will always be a lucrative event. This festival is broadcast on national TV, with over three million viewers. Also, the significance of this event for the total sector is immense. I can’t see our policy makers wanting to skimp on that. I do fear, however, for the number of performances at Uitmarkt. These harsh savings will affect a lot of artists, as well as production companies. This year, we are able to stage more than 450 performances by some 2,000 artists. It could very well be that in the near future we have to make our festival smaller. That would be very unfortunate.”
Uitmarkt Amsterdam takes place from 26 to 28 August, on Leidseplein and Museumplein and in Vondelpark. www.uitmarkt.nl
AMSTERDAM? WHY NOT UTRECHT OR ROTTERDAM? UITfEEST UTRECHT Visit Uitfeest Utrecht for a complete overview of Utrecht’s cultural program 2011 - 2012. Uitfeest is Utrecht’s version of Uitmarkt Amsterdam. Over 250 cultural institutions offer a preview of their acts, exhibitions, shows, festivals, concerts and more. These institutions will open their doors free of charge. Neude Square, in the heart of the city, offers film, music, theatre and dance. Uitfeest Utrecht takes place at 4 September.
www.uitfeest.nl
24 UUR CULTUUR ROTTERDAM 24 Uur Cultuur marks the start of the cultural season in Rotterdam. This event starts at Saturday, September 10, at 17.00 and ends 24 hours later. Being a smaller version of the ‘national’ Uitmarkt, one can expect a lot of dance, architecture, theatre, music, plastic arts, film and more, but on a regional scale. www.24uurcultuurrotterdam.nl.
What Where When 66 the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT
Music on the canals Every year in August the canals of Amsterdam are host of one the country’s biggest open-air concerts, the Grachtenfestival. This year it takes place from 12 - 21 August. The Grachtenfestival is a classical music event, featuring performances in extraordinary locations in central Amsterdam and along the IJ River. While the festival is on, Amsterdam grows at least 50 rare concert locations richer, from canal house salons to open-air locations along or on the city’s waterways. Many of the concerts are free of charge or accessible against a small fee. Theme of this years’ edition is ‘Dance’. The first Saturday of the festival, 13 August, is dedicated to Street Performances, with new talent playing outdoors in a concert route. The House, Garden and Roof Terrace series of concerts is scheduled to take place on the following Saturday, 20 August, showcasing the winners of national and international competitions. For a programma and ticket sales, visit www.grachtenfestival.nl.
The End of Money Imagine a world without any money. That’s exactly what a host of international artists did for the group exhibition The End of Money, in center for contemporary art Witte de With in Rotterdam (Witte de Withstraat 50). This exhibition (until August 7) reflects upon the fears, hopes, and expectations associated with the end of money and its ominous consequence: the dissolution of an absolute standard of value. The works included in The End of Money range from reflections on the arbitrary ways in which value is ascribed to things, to explorations of the absolute loss of representative value, as in Christodoulos Panayiotou’s 2008, a monumental pile of shredded Greek Cypriot Pounds, the totality of which the artist was able to acquire when Greek Cyprus adopted the Euro. www.wdw.nl
Forget Hollywood, forget Bollywood When do you get to see the finest of African cinema? Not often, we presume. And yes, there are some excellent filmmakers on this continent. As well as in Asia and Latin America. You want proof? Visit World Cinema Amsterdam, a festival that celebrates the many exceptional films made in countries near the equator. For twelve days (from 10 to 21 August), World Cinema Amsterdam presents the best world cinema currently has to offer, with some forty full-length and short films. A noticeable tendency this year is the lighter, more carefree tone of many of the films, disproving the common preconception that world cinema is often ‘heavy going’.The festival opens with the Dutch premiere of Iranian film A Separation, Golden Bear winner in Berlin, 2011. In its Soul of India programme World Cinema Amsterdam puts independent cinema in India in the spotlights. India leads the world in terms of the number of films produced. There is however more to Indian cinema than Bollywood, as you will be able to see during the festival. All the films are shown in Rialto Cinema (Ceintuurbaan 338) and on Marie Heinekenplein square.
www.worldcinemaamsterdam.nl
What Where When the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT 67
Chef ’s Table
fANCY MOUSSES OR fROTH ARE NOT OUR CUP Of TEA. BUT WE DO LIKE TO GIVE CLASSIC RECIPES A BIT OF A TWIST.
PHOTOGRAPHY Maarten Bezem
By Marco de Vries
I went to interview the Jagershuis’ owner, Marc Boeljon, on exactly the right day. Typical Dutch skies full of milkwhite clouds with sunshine penetrating through. while he made me a cappuccino in the bar I observed waiter frank laying the tables on the terrace. Obviously he wasn’t very interested in a couple of beautifully-restored wooden boats that were passing by. Not really surprising since he’s been here for ages. Marc Boeljon, who also owns the Michelin-starred boutique hotel, the Posthoorn, in Monnickendam, took me for a stroll along the terrace. It had recently undergone a complete renovation and become even more beautiful. Quite an expensive operation, but luckily partly paid for by the provincial government. Why partly by them? Because they own the last meter of the terrace close to the water. Something landowners don’t usually like too much, but in this case Marc Boeljon was the last one to complain. ‘Running a boutique-hotel with a good restaurant is already quite a costly affair these days’, he says. The Jagershuis is housed in a beautiful –expensive to maintain- listed building. Moments later we are seated. The table is covered with a linen tablecloth as white as the clouds above us. CATCH Of THE DAY When I asked why his terrace is so popular among foodies, I hit the right button.
Restaurant the Jagershuis [hunter’s home -ed] is the last stop on the culinary ‘strip’ along the bank of the Amstel river in the picturesque village of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel. A roomy and beautiful terrace right on the river is just the place to enjoy a sundrenched lunch. He emphasized that this was a restaurant where you go for a proper lunch or dinner. ‘This has always been so, and I like it that way. My chef, Sander Looren de Jong, cooks in the tradition of the classic French kitchen. Fancy mousses or froth are not our cup of tea. But we do like to give classic recipes a bit of a twist. Especially in summertime when lots of guests eat on our terrace’ ‘Take our steak tartare,’ he continues. ‘We prepare it in the classic way using beef. But we add a touch of sweetbread, tuna or truffles.’ Speaking of a twist, one of Boeljon’s personal favorites is tartare made from crayfish and salmon. A popular dish on the terrace is the Catch of the Day. Chef De Jong calls his fish supplier every evening and asks what is the freshest fish available. If he likes what’s available, it’s ordered and comes in next morning. The day that I visited the Jagershuis it was halibut -with a twist of course! Served with a little gnocchi, a few prawns on the side, and Dutch asparagus finished with a classic sauce beurre blanc. Best presented with a bottle of chilled Sauvignon Blanc from the Staete Landt vineyard in New Zealand. On a warm day, like the one when we visited, Boeljon advises the set menu, involving tartare of crayfish & salmon as a starter, and Dutch lamb from Boerderij
Lindenhoff as the main course. And, for dessert, strawberries mixed with rhubarb with a scoop of yoghurt ice-cream slightly marinated with a touch of Grand Marnier, sugar and fresh lemon. Waauw! Chef De Jong mentions another dessertwith-a-twist. ‘We mix all kinds of red berries and top them with crème caramel with a touch of sea salt. That stimulates your taste buds to become more sensitive to the taste of the crème caramel.’ Looren says he loves to create new desserts and has just put one together made of sweetened couscous flavored with grapefruit juice. Served with a scoop of very, very creamy ice-cream. Anything else extraordinary happening this summer on the terrace? ‘Yes certainly,’ says Boeljon. ‘If the weather permits we also barbecue marinated meat just outside the kitchen. A terrace like ours is just perfect for that kind of cooking. As long as it is with a twist.’ Het Jagershuis Amstelzijde 2-4 1184 VA Ouderkerk aan de Amstel 020-496 20 20 www.jagershuis.com Lunch: 2-course menu including coffee/tea from €37.50. Hotel: 9 rooms & 2 suites, from €150 per night.
What Where When 68 the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT
HAvE A BREAK THREE GOOD HOTELS
Exactly the right note
Go south
Trip down memory lane
Been to Jerusalem lately? You did? Maybe you stayed in the Mamila hotel and liked it as much as I did. Beautiful building, with a serene minimalist interior from the hand of maestro Piero Lissoni. He’s playing exactly the right note in his newest creation: the Conservatorium Hotel in Amsterdam. It opens later this summer as an event space. Rooms can be booked from September.
Normally we don’t get excited at all when we hear the name Bergen op Zoom. A somewhat dull city not far from the Belgium border. But recently our Editor-in-chief returned from a romantic weekend break, and couldn’t stop raving about the Stadsparkhotel. A sauna-resort of almost unDutch standards, he told us. And also very well positioned halfway between Rotterdam and Antwerp. Although the hotel sits very close to the city centre, it’s well hidden in it’s own park-like setting. Of course food was good as expected, we were told, but what impressed him most was that you could walk straight from your roomy bedroom (rumour is that he had the suite) to the 1,500 square meter wellness centre. The Fonteyn Thermen are just one of three baths in The Netherlands filled with special ‘a cure for everything’ heilwasser. It certainly cured his headache after one glass too many. But we thank him for putting the Stadsparkhotel on our maps. It’s certainly seems worth the trip.
Hotel Van der Werff on the small carfree Wadden island of Schiermonnikoog is not a hotel. It is an institution and a trip back in time. It hasn’t seen any significant change since the late fifties, when Prince Bernhard used to come here shooting hares with his ‘mates’. Stepping into the dim, brown bar with it’s billiard-table is already quite an experience. Locals and guests buy each other drinks till late into the night. Don’t expect the grumpy owner to be friendly, because he won’t be. Not when you arrive and not when you leave. But one way or another, Jan Fischer knows how to please his guests. There are stories of families that have been going there for generations. Maybe it is the restaurant that’s the magic of this place. Waiters in pitch-black serve you through and through old-fashioned Dutch cuisine. So, meat with gravy, vegetables with a sauce, and of course potatoes á la Van Gogh. It might sound a bit outmoded, but the food is done so well, you have to try it. Is there more? Yep. Reservations are made without the usual request for a creditcard number. I told you - it’s a trip down memory lane.
Gertrudisboulevard 200 4615 MA Bergen op Zoom 0164-260 202 Doubles from ¤ 155 www.stadsparkhotel.nl
Reeweg 2 9166 PX Schiermonnikoog 0519-531 203 Doubles from ¤ 57.50 www.hotelvanderwerff.nl
It occupies a 19th century brick building that used to be a music academy. Glass is the dominent material used in the respectful re-design. A glass-covered 20-metre-high atrium houses the lobby. The restaurant is spectacular. The atrium also houses the brasserie where chef Schilo van Coevorden is in charge. The hotel, and its spa, is set to become a chic hangout for visitors as well as locals with the ritzy shops of the PC Hoofstraat and the Van Baerlestraat nearby, as well as popular attractions like the Stedelijk, Rijks and Van Gogh museums just around the corner. Van Baerlestraat 27 Amsterdam 020-670 1811 Doubles from ¤ 400 www.conservatoriumhotel.com
PEARL AT THE RIVER AMSTEL . . . Threading its way through the region, the river Amstel unites the soft landscape like a slow-flow highway to the backland of the Netherlands. Here you can enjoy a divine boat trip, lovely walks and cycle-tours.
Jagershuis is a comfy-cosy, sit-back-and-put-your-feet-up kind of place. It is known as one of the romantic hide-aways with rooms and suites which all have a magnificent view at the Amstel. It has been said that the interaction between light and water is nowhere as beautiful as it is here.
Chef de Cuisine Sander Looren de Jong combines his knowlodge of the French Cuisine and fundemental techniques with exiting culinary imagination. With a strong preference for ingredients from small regional and biological farmers the kitchen staff, cooks FrenchMediterranean dishes. As summer sets the monumental garden terrace, located in between the restaurant and hotel wing, becomes one of Holland’s best kept secrets where one can enjoy lunch and dinner. Famous for its restaurant and majestic views over the river and the old village centre of Ouderkerk this is one of the hotspots.
Amstelzijde 2 � 4 | 1184 VA Ouderkerk a/d Amstel | www.jagershuis.com | 020 496 2020
A FREE ONE NIGHT STAY in one of our apartments to test our service, quality and discuss corporate discounts if you are a TravelMobility- or HR manager in the Amsterdam region. Please contact: reservations@a-partments.com tot make the appointment. www.servicedcorporateapartment.com
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International Living
BIG LOfT IN EINDHOVEN’S CITY CENTRE By Marco de Vries
INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE AT ITS BEST
International Living 72 the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT
There are quite a few industrial landmarks in Eindhoven. But the Philips Lichttoren (Light Tower) is definitely the most famous one. This former Philips headquarters was inaugurated in 1921 and everybody in Eindhoven will tell you the story that the lights inside the tower were never switched off because the engineers tested the endurance of new kind of lightbulb. But, like a lightbulb, nothing lasts forever, and after Philips sold the building in the early 2000’s this fine example of modernist building was converted into an appartment building. In other words: industrial heritage at its best. The loft that’s shown here is the biggest situated in the tower itself. Not only is it an astonishing 381 square metres, but it also has an even more astonishing view over the city centre. And the four metre high concrete ceiling adds quite a bit to the sense of space. To keep all this within human limits, the architect chose to divide it into three main spaces. The central livingroom is its heart. The wide views over the city centre are the first thing that will catch your eye when you enter the room through the two big glass doors that separate it from the hall. The open kitchen is very much part of this area but it doesn’t draw too much attention with its built-in cupboards that hide the fridge, a steam oven and other state of the art necessities. Next to the kitchen is a small cosy bar that’s built into a recess in the wall. The two bedrooms are situated on either side of the living-room and the kitchen. Here, the architect consciously chose to lower the ceiling and create a kind of room inside a room to create a
the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT 73
more intimate feel. Apart from a bath and shower, the master bedroom also has a jacuzzi and a sauna. The great thing about both bedrooms is that they offer the same panoramic views as the living-room. Actually the only two spaces without a view are the sauna and the small home theatre with its lovely plush red upholstered chairs. You share a rooftop terrace and small bar with the other occupants of the building. The idea behind this is that you can book it if you’ve got something to celebrate with friends and enjoy the views together. Because that it what this loft is about: space and views. Not just lots of space to live in but also views that make the space you are living in even look more….. spacious!
features
Location Eindhoven Centre Property type penthouse Year built 2008 Volume 1.500 m³ Living space 381 m² Number of rooms 3 Extras
- 2 privatly owned parking spaces in underground garage - owner open to rental propositions For more information and photos please contact Walter Verweij of MRE Makelaars BV at 06 4611 9409 or visit www.mremakelaars.nl
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INTERBASICS INTERIOR Eerste van der Helststraat 41 1073 AC Amsterdam www.interbasiscs.nl
International Living the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT 75
adjustable
Dutch designer collective Atelier Van Lieshout has created an innovative series of furniture with movable backrests for maximum flexibility. These sofas and footstools are adaptable to any use. Whether you feel like having an intimate conversation, watching television or just relaxing, just slide (‘glyde’) the backrest in the desired position. Fabrics by Danish textile maker Kvadrat; choose contrasting colors for seating and backrest for a striking effect. AVL Glyder medium sofa, starting from ¤ 2178. www.lensvelt.nl.
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able
sustain
We all need extra chairs from time to time, but they tend to take up lots of storage space and foldable chair s can be downright ugly. Kadré by Angelo Dall’Aglio is not only lightweight and ultrasleek but also stackable, saving you room when you don’t have guests over. But since these chairs are so comfortable and stylish, why not use them every day? Available in black, beige, gray, beige/orange and beige/brown. Kadré, from ¤ 269 www.segis.nl.
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©2010 Bose Corporation. Patent rights issued and/or pending. The distinctive design of the headphone oval ring is a trademark of Bose Corporation. Risk free refers to 30-day trial only and does not include return shipping. Delivery is subject to product availability. The following countries are participating in the Bose Flying Blue Earning Miles promotion: The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, Ireland, Austria, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Spain, USA and Canada. Reddot design award, winner 2010.
the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT 77
Dutch Style EvERYTHING IN THE COLLECTION IS 100% ‘NATURE fRIENDLY’ ALEXIA VAN ENGELEN, SAGE & IVY By fashion editor Dennis Roelofsen
Earlier this year, Alexia van Engelen (1981) showed her collection at the Amsterdam International Fashion Week. The designer for Sage & Ivy based her designs on the St.Petersburg milieu, a mixture of Russian folklore and French high fashion.
‘Everything in the collection is 100% ‘nature friendly’, from the tweeds to the velvets to the mohairs and the rich embroideries on the lace. I am keen on using the best materials to support our tomorrows.’ By the end of summer this eco-friendly collection will be available in a limited number of exclusive stores in The Netherlands and Belgium.
PHOTOGRAPHY Maarten Bezem
With a subtle taste for colours and materials, Alexia managed to keep things elegant. The lightness of the colours for the coming fall/winter collection - whites, icy greys, bright taupes and silver lavender - suggest a Russian winter landscape. The contrast between voluminous and huggable materials and smooth surfaced fabrics bring a fresh look to the catwalk.
www.greve.nl
Stapel op Greve locatie: schoenenfabriek Greve Waalwijk 2010
Dutch Style the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT 79
EvERYBODY KNOwS
Price Star Catalan ¤119,95 www.cruyffclassics.com
With a founding father like Johan Cruyff, who needs further inspiration? We all admire him for his iconic style, vision and accomplishments on and off the pitch. Don’t know who he is? Go to the most remote and thinly-populated place on earth and ask anybody there. Make sure you wear these sneakers, and you’re in the friend-making business too.
SIMPLE AND ORIGINAL
Price ¤50,00 www.keds.nl
We almost forgot how simple the original sneaker was. Like all the good stuff in life, we should go for simple and ori-
ginal. Keds has been making its famous Champion sneaker since 1916. This is the ultimate I-don’t-wanna-think-about-myoutfit-today footwear. Wear it with a pair of jeans and a nice white t-shirt and you’ll stand out for simplicity.
JAMES DEAN MEETS NEw INDIE PUNK Price ¤100,00 www.samsoe.com
James Dean meets New Indie Punk at Samsoe & Samsoe in a pure Scandinavian way. The brand is rooted in its knitwear and is now working its way to the Dutch streets with complete collections for men and women. These chino-like pants are incredibly comfortable and playful. This season Samsoe & Samsoe is available in more than 20 stores in The Netherlands. For example Raak and Spoiled in Amsterdam and Puurr in the Haque.
wHO JUMPS fIRST?
www.vans.com
We didn’t plan on going for a swim wearing last years swimwear. We also didn’t plan on bumping into these cool new silhouettes from Vans because we thought Vans was for dudes and dudettes on skateboards. The Havana swimsuit is the newest one-piece but is created with the look of a two piece tied together on the sides. The question is; Who jumps first?
THE ULTIMATE fASHION ACCESSORY
Price per bottle ¤ 35.00 www.zarbchampagne.com Some people go to the park with a nice bottle of wine and some French bread and sit in a calm
and shady place. Others sit in the middle of the field, bring friends and music... and an artistic bottle of Zarb Champagne. Just as you can’t be overdressed, you cannot overdo champagne. Zarb is a balanced and modern champagne with great photography on every bottle.
Gadgets 80 the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT
SENSATIONAL
A smartphone named Sensation arouses high expectations. Can HTC fulfill these expectations? Well, they surely convinced us. Simply because there aren’t many smartphones that can offer a 4.3-inch touchscreen with qHD resolution (960x540p). To be honest: there are none. Add to that its 1.2 GHz Snapdragon processor, 8MP instant capture camera, full HD video, stereo sound and ‘sensational’ is just the word that comes to mind. Did we forget something? Sure, about a trillion extra features. Not to mention HTC Watch, a new streaming service that allows you to pull down movies and television shows for viewing on the handset. It’s all yours for ¤ 479,-.www.htc.com
SLIDE IT
Is it a tablet or is it a netbook? Well, Samsung’s new Sliding PC 7 is actually a little bit of both. On first sight, this might be a tablet. But slide out the keyboard, and you got yourself a netbook. This hybrid comes with a 10-inch touchscreen (1366x768), 2GB of RAM, 32/64 GB SSD drive, Windows 7, dual front and rear cameras, 3G and WiFi connectivity. Its 6-cell battery boasts an impressive 9 hour battery life. With 2.2 pounds it’s a bit too heavy for a tablet, and at ¤ 499,- it’s more expensive than most netbooks. But with the Slider you get the best of both.
www.samsung.com
TRYX AND TwIST
It looks a bit weird. And at first glance, you might think it’s a crab. But you have to think again. Casio’s futuristic new camera Tryx is really something else. It has some impressive specs: 12MP, 1080p videos, a 3-inch touchscreen and wide-angle 21mm lens. But what really makes us want to write about this, is its versatile design. The camera features a super thin plastic frame, one that fits perfectly outside the display and can be swiveled 360-degrees. In short, the TRYX can turn, twist, hang and stand, to get shots from angles you never thought possible. Imagine the possibilities! Price ¤ 269,-.
www.casio.com
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TRAvELAPPS
A good selection of travel apps on your smartphone can make travel so much easier. These three can save you money, help you communicate in a foreign language and easily calculate expenses shared with travel partners. By electronics and gadgets editor David Lemereis Touchscreen smartphones have transformed travelling. Just zap back a few years and imagine yourself on a business trip abroad. Good chance you couldn’t speak or read the language. Finding the nearest taxi, figuring out which subway to take, what to eat and where -while constantly calculating exchange rates- really was a chore. Sure, the paper travel guide, the subway map and the tiny phrase book eased the pain of getting around a little, but still... Nowadays, you just open Google
GOOGLE TRANSLATE
“Excuse me, could you please tell me where Sony’s main office is?” Such a simple question. Yet so daunting when you don’t speak the language and the people around you don’t speak yours. Google Translate will convert words and phrases between some 58 languages. Just open the app, choose the language and type in a phrase. Google Translate
will display the translation on the screen so you can show it to the person you’re trying to communicate with. You can also simply say your phrase into the phone. Google Translate will type it out so you can check whether it understood you correctly. Even better, the app will utter your translated phrase out loud in some 23 languages. This is especially handy in countries where illiteracy is common. You can even choose which English, Spanish or Chinese dialect should be spoken. You can bookmark common phrases to speed up communications. Available free for iOS and Android at Google.com
Maps on your smartphone and it helps you find the nearest taxi stand, restaurant and hotel. Don’t understand the Spanish sign on the door? Just photograph it and it translates it to English. If you want to book a flight, hotel or rental car, pop open a subway map, spot the nearest restaurant with good reviews from fellow travelers or calculate exchange rates - there’s an app for it. Here are three gems.
SHARE-A-BILL
Have you ever been on a trip with colleagues and had to share food, taxi and bar bills? Then, at the end of the trip you had to figure out who owes what to whom and how much? It can be utterly confusing to calculate. With Share-a-bill you can easily split multiple bills. You enter all the bills, enter who paid what and who shared those expenses. If you’re country-hopping for business, Share-a-bill will take care of the different currencies and exchange rates. At the end of the trip you simply mail your colleagues a detailed report of who owes whom and how much. iOS only; from mileware.com
ONAvO
Traveling with your smartphone has one major drawback: data roaming costs. Every time you check your mail or use Google Maps when out of range of a wifi connection, the cost of mobile internet soars, especially abroad. Onavo is a free app that compresses data you download and can save up to 80% on your data roaming bill. Just sign up and turn it on. Onavo shows your savings in detail on each app. It’s a real money saver but beware. It doesn’t work with video or voip apps such as Skype. iOS only and free for a limited time at onavo.com
Column 82 the INTERNATIONALCORRESPONDENT
If you burn your butt, you must sit on the blisters
By Fenna Ferweda
fenna works as a corporate lawyer for an international firm at the Zuidas, Amsterdam’s financial heart. Sometimes amused, sometimes bewildered, she observes the comings and goings in this square kilometre of Dutch high-rise. fenna is not her real name. That whole tax-issue with the Greeks, I don’t get it. Everyone’s condemning their black market and massive fraud on tax declarations, but I think most of us would love to be a little more Greek and bend the rules a bit, especially where it concerns taxes. I mean, why would you tell the taxman about your precious baby-blue pool if you can get away with it? Everyone else does it, anyway, so why shouldn’t you? We’re all just pointing fingers, conveniently ignoring the fact that, in the Netherlands, large-scale tax-fraud is still commonplace if we talk about, let’s say, company cars. If you don’t exceed the 500-kilometres-peryear threshold for personal use, you get a lucrative tax-cut. I know the Netherlands is a small country, but did you really do no more than 500 km. of personal driving with your company car? Sure, right. Two rides to the Albert Heijn and back and there you are. A couple years back, the Dutch tax department got fed up with it and started to take pictures of number plates at the Efteling, our Dutch Disneyworld but smaller, to check how many ‘less-than-fivehundred-kilometres-cars’ had driven from their homes all the way to Brabant. For most people, that’s an easy two hundred kilometres in just one day. They handed out large numbers of fines that year. Turned out everybody made that third drive to the Albert Heijn. So yes, I understand Greek people. I myself once pulled a Goldman Sachs while applying for my mortgage. No reason why the bank should know about my student loans, right? I must admit that maybe this wasn’t the smartest move. After signing a dizzying amount of paperwork, I was the proud owner of an expensive apartment and ditto interest repayments. A few unexpected bills later, I was suddenly broke. Very broke. An old Dutch proverb goes: if you burn your butt, you must sit on the blisters. I think you get the meaning and the English equivalent sounds very boring to me. Anyhow, I needed a plan, and I needed it fast. After some research into my spending behavi-
our, the maltreatment of my salary and savings account became painfully clear. Who needs to spend six hundred euros on clothes three months in a row? No wonder I was searching for change in my drawers and old jackets to buy milk. So I turned to my fellow countrymen for advice and started doing what we’re good at: being frugal. The story goes that the Netherlands received a significantly higher amount of funds out of the Marshallplan because the Dutch first lady served one (yes, one) dry biscuit to the American Commissioner who came to pay a visit. Reason enough to trust us with billions. I just never behaved like that myself: I preferred to lavish my guests with champagne and oysters. During my own debt crisis, I quickly replaced those with prosecco and salty sticks - only 18 cents at the Appie (Albert Heijn –ed.) a real bargain. Those salty sticks sure paid off. Things are looking up - I can now proudly announce that I’m actually saving for my tax bills next year. I even managed to set aside enough money to buy a washer-dryer, a real dream come true. Of course, maybe it wasn’t the best of ideas to include Greece in the eurozone, but was there really no way to see what was coming? Money was being pumped into Greece since it joined the EU in 1981 without any significant results. The Greeks didn’t pay their taxes then, so why start doing so after becoming a member state without any economic incentive at a personal level? The European Union stood by and watched, so in a way we are also responsible for what is happening in Greece. We let this happen. So Greece, here’s what you need to do. Invite the heads of state of all eurozone members to coffee. Invite the new head of the IMF. Throw in some CEOs from various European banks. Serve them just one cookie and pray for the best. In the meantime, I will support the Greek economy by buying feta cheese and Kalamata olives. I’d happily give up my salty sticks for those.
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1956, was thE first watch to displ ay thE datE, as wEll as thE day in its EntirEty. a powErful ExprEssion of ElEgancE and stylE, its cl assic dEsign quickly bEcamE a favouritE among world lEadErs.
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