DON’T FORGET TO LOOK FOR THE GOOD IN THE WORLD
PRIMARK AND CHILD LABOUR
THE COST OF CLIMBING THE TOP OF THE WORLD
much More inside 3rd Edition of 2016/2017
ue University
Magazine made by students of The Hag
editor’s note
contributors Tereza Janotova
Irina Strugaru
The quest for knowledge is an old one, and hopefully a never ending one. The journey of knowledge has been well documented to say the least. From the Persian Poet Ferdosi, to the King James Version of the Bible there are sentiments that echo what Thomas Hobbes writes in Leviathan, “scientia potential est” meaning “knowledge is power.” The sentiment being that as we as humans evolve there is unimaginable strength in understanding and knowing. Someone once said education is the one thing no one can ever take from you, the same can be said about knowledge. As university students we have become more than well acquainted with the unbounded quest for knowledge, and understanding. Sometimes it’s a choice, and other times it is forced upon us through this journey we call “higher education.” In this edition of Globetrotter we have taken it upon ourselves to come up with some things we think you should know. Thus, the theme “Thought you should know.” This edition covers everything from why scaling Mount Everest has changed, to Dutch politics, as far as reminding you, dear reader, why the world is a better place than we often think it is. Because after all, knowledge is power. On behalf of the whole Globetrotter team, I wish you happy reading. May this edition leave you feeling a little more powerful. Isabelle Brooking
Emily Van den Heuvel
Katie Thurson
Bella Franco Oria Damjan Stefanov Jet van der Kolk Giulia van Zwam Kackar Ozkaya
design
Bianka Urbanovska Martin Vybostok
content
4 The Cost
of climbing the top of the world
8 The Poetry 12 Primark
of global citizenship
and child labour
16 Don’t forget 20 Take Notes! 22 The Dutch 26
to look for good in the world
Here’s what’s happening in The Hague
political system
Technology IS advancing and will continue to
Despite not ranking among the most beautiful, most diverse or safest ones, there has been a fascination about the mountain that lures hundreds of climbers every year to try their best on summiting. Even though there have been several major accidents the last few years and climbing it costs you a fortune, the number of climbers is increasing annually. What makes them risk their life like that?
IB NG D M ORL I L C W F O HE T S FT O C PO E TH E TO TH
BY ZA RE TE VĂ TO NO JA D AN ILY EM N VA
T? M A E H H T ET S E LIK K A E M LIF T A H EIR W TH SK I R
N DE EL UV HE
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What does it take to climb it? In the last few years, the number of climbers trying to reach the top of the world increased rapidly. In many peoples’ eyes the journey has become easier. It is not so hard to get a permit to climb as it was a few decades ago, and there is a saying that whoever can pay for it can do it. Besides there are lots of agencies who provide all-inclusive service for climbers, such as Sherpas, food, medical care and even internet connection.The equipment has gotten better, oxygen devices lighter and nowadays, no one can imagine climbing the mountain in tweed suits and hobnail shoes anymore like Mallory and Irvine did in 1924. Still, the mountain should not be underestimated. It takes a great deal of time to get in the “Everest shape” – you need to prepare your body (and mind) for moving in deep snow in temperatures far beyond the freezing level (average of -26 °C) with far less oxygen than you are used to. This preparation takes at least 8-12 months and is supposed to prepare you for the climb of 6 to 9 weeks altogether. As mentioned before, the conditions are so extreme, that if you tried to summit without acclimatisation, you would die right away.That is why you must spend 3 to 4 weeks in a base camp to get your body used to it before you can continue your approximately week long journey to the summit. You have to take one of 22 possible routes with South Col Route from Nepal and Northeast Ridge Route from Tibet being
the most favourite ones. In average it takes 40 days between arriving to the basecamp and reaching the summit. Most of the summit attempts are made in May due to nicer weather without heavy storms, but the nature is still very unpredictable. Just in 2015, at least 22 people died in camps as they were hit by an avalanche caused by an earthquake. The routes have been closed and as a result, for the first time in 41 years, nobody summited the mountain that year. Why do people still try? Citing George Mallory (the man who died there in 1924) – “Because it’s there”.
Corpses on The Mountain The estimation is made that there are around the 280 corpses laying on the Mount Everest. Bodies that have been laying there since the mountain has been climbed for the first time by George Mallory in 1924, whose body was discovered in 1999. Ever since, the mountain has been climbed by over 4,000 people from around the world. The climbers who died while climbing the mountain died of different causes and in different places. Contrary to what you might think, most mountainclimbers die while descending from the summit. When climbers continue their climb to the summit they start early in the morning when the weather conditions are often at its best. When they finally have reached the top and start descending back to
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basecamp they are often very tired, low on oxygen and faring in dangerous weather conditions. All this combined creates a greater risk of death than on the climb to the top. Besides the place of death there is also a common way of death for the Everestclimbers, which is fatigue. Climbers who are in a bad physical shape and haven’t taken enough rest in between are often struck by this cause. They climb the mountain, but often run behind schedule because of their bad condition, causing them to reach the top too late in the day. When they finally descend, they are so tired they want to rest for a while, and sit down. Although this seem may seem like the best option at that moment, it’s not. Later in the day, the temperature on the mountain drops rapidly which causes hypothermia. When a climber gets hypothermia and fatigue, descending back to basecamp is almost impossible. The one thing that the climber awaits then is death. The number of corpses on the Mount Everest is increasing every year, with the expeditions that keep taking place. An obvious way of baring the bodies would be bringing them to the mainland and burying them. But this is a very dangerous and expensive operation. For an operation like this at least six people are required to relocate the body, because moving and striving is a severe challenge on thousands of metres from the ground.
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‘Famous’ Corpses on the Mount Everest There are several stories known about people who tried to climb the Mount Everest but died on their way to the summit. Since most of these bodies aren’t buried, they are known for lying on the mountain. One of these corpses that is lying on the Mount Everest is that of ‘Green Boots.’ Green Boots is believed to be an Indian climber named Tsewang Paljor who died on the Mount Everest during the blizzard of 1996. Although this can’t be said with any certainty. Tsewang Paljor was given the name ‘Green Boots’ because of the green climbing boots he still wears. Over the years ‘Green Boots’ became a common term since all the climbers who climb the Mount Everest from the North Side had to pass the corpse. Another ‘famous’ unburied corpse on the Mount Everest is that off the American Francys DistefanoArsentiev. Who is better known as the ‘Sleeping Beauty’ of the mountain. In May 1998 Francys went on an expedition together with her husband Sergei Arsentiev. The couple made their way to the Mount Everest’s summit together without the use of oxygen bottles. When the couple was
descending back to basecamp they got separated. Whereas Sergei made his way back to basecamp, Francys was stuck in the mountains. When Sergei arrived he found out that his wife hadn’t. So Sergei climbed the mountain again in search for his wife. Meanwhile Francys was in such a poor condition that she wasn’t capable to descend back to camp. In the morning of May 23 Francys was found by an Uzbek team. The team tried to help Francys the best way they could. They carried her down as far as possible and gave her their last bottles of oxygen. The next morning, on May 24th, Francys was found by the two climbers Ian Woodall and Cathy O’Dowd. They found her in a critical condition, Francys was barely conscious and in a very bad physical condition. The couple stayed with her for an hour, trying to help her. They eventually went back to basecamp to get medical assistance for Francys. They found it hard to leave her like this, but they promised her to come back. Unfortunately it was already too late. When they returned the next morning to the place they left Francys, they found out Francys had passed away. As for Sergei, he never found his wife and went missing himself. His corpse was found a year later. In all probability he had fallen of a cliff, while searching for his wife. The fact that there is so much known about the cause of death of Francys and Sergei Arsentiev, is because of the many
witnesses who told their story. In 2007 an expedition named: ‘The Tao of Everest’ took place. This expedition was made to bury the bodies of David Sharp, ‘Green Boots’ and ‘Sleeping Beauty.’ The expedition was led by Ian Woodall together with Cathy O’Dowd, who he married in 2001. Woodall and O’Dowd succeeded in finding Francys. They relocated her to an out-of-side location and gave her a proper ‘Death Zone funeral.’ The body of Francys was wrapped in an American flag. As her last words were: ‘I am an American.’ As for David Sharp and ‘Green Boots’ the body wasn’t located.
The Cruel and Magnificent Mountain As mentioned before, one bad step, unwise decision or underestimating of your powers on the mountain can kill you. There are numerous people who tried to summit the top. Some of them failed with their death as a result, and other succeeded some even multiple times. The mountain is cruel, but magnificent at the same time. Many people say, that surpassing the “Death zone”, standing on the top of the world and returning back home safely is a life-changing event that makes you realize what is most important to you. Just as respected Everest blogger and mountaineer Alan Arnette said “There are thousand reasons to turn around and only one to keep going. You have to focus on that one reason that’s most important and unique to you”.
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Often, when we speak of others We speak of them with a tone so hard Getting to know them? No one really bothers And yet, with an unkind word we start. We have heard their stories, but not from them Whether they fled from Syria or Bethlehem Where they come from and what they have seen And how different they willed it to have been But this also goes the other way around You have to adjust, when you set foot on new ground What our norms and values are, they have yet to learn Belonging to a country, a people, is something you have to earn As of now, we do not have a clue And this limited knowledge of each other, is long overdue Ought we not to turn the page? Get rid of all the anger and rage? As good as these words may sound In my country, these principles do not seem to simply hold ground In the Netherlands, populists are on the rise And their words fuel the fear in people’s eyes They tell us the stories of those who come from elsewhere They tell us how bad, strange, scary and different the culture is over there Creating a negative image of people, is what they do And they base their sayings not on the lot, but on the infamous few The Netherlands has always been a country where people in need could stay But now, too many of us want to send the refugees away People are afraid that their own culture will suffer
The Poetry of Global Citizenship Essay Entry for Many Languages One World contest by Giulia van Zwam
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freepik.com That, in the end, we will have nothing left to offer This is a problem and it is both imminent and real Because there are millions of refugees worldwide, awaiting an ordeal Can they find shelter and a safe haven or will they be sent back? We must all realize that the human rights of these people are under attack. They were forced to leave behind their homes, families, friends and schools Because they were not equipped enough to fight against terrorist means and tools In these wars, no man woman or child is shown mercy or is spared Ordinary civilians, victims of a war they would have never declared In only a moment, everything can all of a sudden turn black Terrorism takes away people’s homes, families and never brings them back Crushed and pained, innocent victims of the war are forced to flee their motherland Because what is happening there is beyond them, beyond anyone, to understand And when, after a dangerous journey to safety, they arrive The only thing they seek for is a chance, a purpose, a life How, if we know all this, can we ever turn a blind eye? Should we not at least give them a chance, let them try? For those who do not think the answer to that question is yes, I do understand your agitation and migration-related stress Journalists and the media have been making lots of claims And some politicians have been calling refugees lots of names Also, In Europe we have seen some of the horrors of terrorism unfold before our eyes And many are afraid that more is to come in a refugee disguise But whether all this is true or not There are millions of innocent people who deserve another shot So is it not strange that we want to shield ourselves from that which is truly bad While at the same time, we are sending other people back to exactly that? Such hypocrisy is not something I want myself nor my country to identify with And that is also why I think we should do something about it The Netherlands have faced bigger crises And there is no reason why we should let this one bring us to our knees So let us focus on who we as a people want to be And how we can fit in a refugee Instead of deliberating about whether we are going to take more refugees in I think there is something else with which we should begin As I mentioned earlier on, When refugees get here, they do not know how everything is done
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So, when we want to make both ourselves and them feel good There is so much more that we need to provide besides water and food On the one hand, they should know and respect our norms values and beliefs But on the other hand, we should learn more about theirs and stop seeing them as thieves Now, if we want them to understand Who we are, what we do and which practices we banned We should be willing to teach them right away That there is something they ought to know about us if they want to stay For this purpose, I shall make a start As a proud Dutch woman, I know my country and culture by heart Herewith I reach out my hand And hope, sincerely hope, that they will try to understand; The Dutch value equality in every sort of way And we should not discriminate, because that is not okay Here people are free to choose whatever belief they want And no one is allowed to tell them that they can’t That being said, it is important that people respect Whatever other religion they may encounter as they connect We do not do oppression, because that is not fair And you can voice your opinion, if you do it respectfully, everywhere We are not so bad if you learn to adjust I know that we are different, but integration is a must Some people may seem hostile, but they will come around If you show them that they are willing, you too will be invited to the playground Yet, if we want to all play there in peace There is a lot of mutual uncertainty that we need to decrease Whereas the Dutch know who they are and what they value Most of us do not know much about the culture of people from Syria, let me tell you So, in order for us to mutually understand They, too, need to give us a little hand They can share their stories and tell us who they are We need to know, since they have come from far The story does not have to be long Because in telling who you are there is no right or wrong What we want to know, is what these people are about Really, most of us are eager for them to come out And of course, if those who are let into our country want us to understand They must know that we cannot speak the tongue of their motherland If they come here, it is thus important that they learn our way of speech And they will find that with multilingualism, the Dutch society is within their reach
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freepik.com
It is important that refugees who come to our country learn to communicate the way we do So they can tell their stories themselves, and the Dutch people will have a first-hand alternative to the populist point of view Multilingualism is the key in all of this as it encapsulates and unifies all sorts of cultural norms It creates new connections in many different ways and forms A mutual language can function as the bridge between two different sides The refugees who speak our language can be our intercultural guides They have a connection to their own people and to ours Together, we can build a bridge with our multilingual powers This, for me, is what global citizenship is about To rise to a challenge together, and hear each other out In times like these, we are confronted with how different we are But, in the end, we need to work together to really get far The refugee crisis is a major problem that we will face tomorrow and today But I am sure that there exists a way To unite ourselves in our diversity by speaking in the same tongue By exploring each other’s cultures norms and values, to become strong This is the goal that I would want us to achieve And it may not seem realistic to some, but it will never be if we do not believe In our abilities to set our differences and aside So that in each other we can confide To help the people who are in need To find a solution that will succeed To make sure that we adjust And create a bond of mutual friendship and trust I think we would all like to live in the Netherlands in companionship and peace And for that to happen, there is a bias we must release Try to get to know the people and cultures that you now fear Talk to them, and listen carefully to what you hear Someday I hope that this vision will come true, Because to me, this is essentially what a global citizen should do They should build bridges, where others build a wall Because they realise that only that way, we can together stand tall.
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Everyone knows or at least has heard of Primark. Cheap, average quality, cute trendy style. But, their success was cut short when the surprise investigation emerged. A far cry from where the brand began, when the first store was launched, the streets were filled to the brim with eager new customers. They sold a bit more than one million clothing pieces in the first week. Its brand image was rising with the help of Vogue’s great review of a certain featured Primark jacket.
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By Irina Strugaru
Thought you should know about the news that rocked the world. The news that made Primark sales plummet. Said news being an investigation for the BBC and the Observer that uncovered young children working in Indian refugee camps, labouring the beloved cheap clothes everyone wears.
AND CHILD LABOUR 13
The investigation shocked Primark’s clientele to the very core. News emerged about children in Indian refugee camps working long hours, in incredibly bad conditions. Children working to tailor the clothes and the designs we see on the racks every day. This was big news considering that Primark eclipsed big competitors in the mass-market fashion industry, taking £1 of over every £10 spend on clothes in the UK, for example.
This was not the first time, nor the last time that retailers have tried to get away with human rights violations. It is estimated that Primark owns over 5 million m2 across 11 countries, with 325 number of locations and employing over 68.000 personnel. However, this scandal showed that the clothing giant had little control over the supply chain, or knew even knew about the issue at all. Corporate social responsibility is needed now more than ever, seeing as big campaigners are demanding for the national governments to impose stricter rules and tariffs over these abuses. The release of the documentary caused the drop of 3 of its top suppliers. Naturally, huge negative publicity in regards to the brands reputation. Cynics say that the conglomerate published a statement to make sure that the rest of the worried suppliers would not back down, and not to calm down the international community. In that statement, Primark explained that as soon as the investigation surfaced, they cancelled orders with said factories and retracted thousands of clothes from the stores. Some say that the rapidity with which Primark responded may have semi-restored its position on the market, and its reputation before the costumers even knew it. However, a further look into the Indian chain of supply will show that nothing changed. The Guardian tells the story of little Mantheesh, a labourer of Primark. She is 11 year-old orphan and a refugee, that fled the bombings of Sri Lanka, abandoned by a compensated trafficker on a reef. After this horrible jour-
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ney, she was rescued by fisherman just as she was near death. Nevertheless the story does not end here. Mantheesh ended up in a transit camp around Arichalmunai, a place for Sri Lankan smuggled refugees. She then mass-migrated up north to Tamil Nadu, where jobs for desperate citizens could be found. For months, she has been working deep in India’s economic system, sewing for a sheltered entrepreneur. She is working long hours, together with hundred other refugees for other European clothing companies, such as Otto-Heine, Esprit, Gap Inc.
Those ateliers are situated behind closed doors, in poor areas, without no control over the units. For example, some of the labourers were hidden behind trapdoors, under demolished buildings reached only by a rope ladder. Those parts seem to be off limits for police or for foreigners, as reporters write about their experiences in secluded India, about being chased, being stripped by their photographic equipment and also threatened for their life. Lawyer of Global March Against Child Labor, Bhuwan Ribhu, agreed on the danger of exposing child labour, and concludes that this is the reason many international corporations get away with such violations. As Primark felt responsible, it established a charitable foundation for children, and hired help on tracking down and controlling those units. The Primark Better Life Foundation was initiated, according to their spokesman. Fur-
thermore, he assured their clients that it is safe to continue shopping at Primark because its ethics are to provide the best to their customers. The hunt for the supply chain was extremely complex, as they travelled from Mantheesh’s camp to London’s centre. Its’ subcontractor employed only and just only child refugees. Turned out that region was ,indeed, poverty-stricken, where food could not be found as easily and a job was hard to acquire. In those camps, the children’s situation were troublesome. Many were even born there, others orphaned, home to most diseases, drought and famine swallowing the place whole. Because of the long hours, the children’s health was deteriorating, their posture hunched at the workstations, their childhood broken by threads of cheap silk. They had no fixed hours, nor a trade union that could fight for their rights, and a wage of one fifth of an adult. “Sometimes we get major orders in and we have to work double quick. I am paid a few rupees for finishing each garment, but in a good day I can make 40 rupees (60p). The beads we sew are very small and when we work late at night we have to work by candle - the electricity in the camp is poor.” said Mantheesh. It is believed that child labour was unavoidable because of the mass production, the long supply chain and because of selling goods at very low prices. The prices for the suppliers were not changed, the same €2 for a T-shirt as the bull market retailers, who charge customers more. In 2014, the news rose from the investigation. The result it seems to be unclear in regards to the shopper, as sales continue to increase. The low prices being just too attractive to the consumer. The conglomerate is now worth hundreds of billions of euros, and still children are working in factories, sewing clothes, weaving silk carpets and so on. The demand here does not seem to waver, thus the children will continue to spend their childhood in unsuitable and unfair conditions.
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Don’t forget to look for the good in the world By Isabelle Brooking
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H
ey you, yes you, flipping through the magazine. I know things have been hard lately. The world is ever changing, and everyone has this feeling that we as a species are on the cusp of big changes. Especially politically speaking, big elections have been held and are upcoming. From America to France things are changing. Racism, bigotry, sexism, and general extremism are no longer hiding in the corner. Strengthened by recent events, they have marched right to the media forefront and are unafraid of neither criticism nor rebuke. But fret not, dear reader, just as there is bad in the world so is there good.
Women’s March With the election of Donald Trump, I along with many others struggled hard against the tsunami wave of despair, shock, and sadness. As a young American woman who had cast her first ballot for the first female to have a chance at winning, November 10th proved especially heartbreaking. But, after a day of class skipped, wine drunk, and ice cream eaten, I was ready to face the world again. I was ready to get to work. It seems like a I wasn’t the only one who was ready. The women’s march on Washington popped up quite early on social media. It began as a statement to Donald Trump, that we women would be heard, and not forgotten. A movement whose strength was shown in the sheer number of people who came to D.C. to march. More than 5 million people gathered together to march for women’s rights, because “Women’s Rights are human rights.” (WomensMarch). The movement has evolved, for International Women’s Day, March 8th, women were invited to participate in a day without women. There were three ways in which they could participate.
1 2 3
Women take the day off, from paid and unpaid labor Avoid shopping for one day (with exceptions for small, women- and minority-owned businesses).
Wear RED in solidarity with A Day Without A Woman
Additionally, there is a grab your wallet movement, which encourages women to enact political action with your wallet. They say the questions consumers should be asking are “Do businesses support our communities, or do they drain our communities? Do they strive for gender equity or do they support the policies and leaders that perpetuate oppression? Do they align with a sustainable environment or do they profit off destruction and steal the futures of our children?” (Women’s March). The movement has contributed to 15 companies cutting ties with the Trump family. When the world saw darkness these men, women, and children saw light. Determined to be heard and seen, in droves they braved the cold, the rain, and snow and marched. When darkness rises and hopelessness abounds, people, good people, stand up
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and speak out. Determined to make sure that just because the election was lost, the country we’ve been building- the one that accepts the tired, hungry and poor- isn’t lost for good. This election has done something important. It has mobilized people. People are awake, informed, and ready to voice their opinion. For the first time in a long time people are participating in what we value most- our democracy. For a while there, we had forgotten something critical. Something Barack Obama reminded us of during his farewell speech. We have the power, we the people, have the power to seek change. But to also be the change we seek, start small. Look around you, how can you be a light, a beacon for the people who surround you? I read something that recently that truly reso-
nated with me, the quote was, “practice reckless optimism.” How do I practice reckless optimism? Honestly, still a work in progress, but I’ve started by looking around, and remembering that when bad things happen, look for the people who jump into action and help. Choosing, consciously choosing to look for the good in the world. Because at the end of the day you’ll see a lot more helping hands than anything else.
Most Diverse American Congress ever to be elected Many forget that November 9th wasn’t just the election of a president but also many congressional members. The 115th Congress is officially the most diverse congress ever to be elected, 102 minority members, 7 LGBT members, and 39
When the world saw darkness these men, women, and children saw light.
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non-Christian members were elected to office (The Hill). While still not an accurate reflection of the American populous, definite progress has been made. Progress may be slow but little by little our congress is starting to reflect the America we are today. Now, more than ever, does congress play a vital role in deciding how American politics will play out. People have started to understand this, and are now, more than ever, active in voicing their opinions with their local representatives. The job of congressman/congresswoman may have gotten certainly more uncomfortable, as the phone calls, letters and emails, continue to roll in from constituents.
ly have a moment to breathe before the next disaster hits. Yes, things have changed, we as a world are no longer who we were twenty years ago. History happens, life happens. Things may be more uncertain than they used to be, but with uncertainty comes progress. When there isn’t a path to follow, we as a society are given the opportunity to forge our own. To make a future that is hopefully better, kinder, and just generally more decent. Because the world is filled with good people so let us let them lead us into a brighter, kinder era where “love thy neighbor” is not just preached, but also practiced.
It’s easy to get sucked into the constant news cycle, where it seems like we as a society bare-
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Take notes! Here’s what’s happening in The THE Hague…
The Hague is known as the political capital of the Netherlands, but that does not mean it is a boring place. Despite all the political facets, the city is also full of alternative activities for its citizens, and visitors. Now that the good weather is coming, there are many outdoor activities to do both in the city centre and in its surroundings. Activities for the enjoyment of children and adults abound, as The Hague has rich and varied proposals on its local agenda. In order for you to not to miss a single thing, we propose some options for the months of April and May regarding music, art, and other cultural events.
By Bella Franco Oria & Damjan Stefanov
“The exhibition unravels the history of a friendship that produced the fundamental philosophy of De Stijl”
ART Do you enjoy spending time in museums? If you are interested in art (in all its formats), The Hague has some of the best artistic offerings in The Netherlands. Throughout the year in its various galleries there are permanent exhibitions of classics such as, Johannes Vermeer’s The Girl from the Pearl or Rembrandt van Rijn’s The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp at the Mauritshuis Museum. But, also there are modern artists as Piet Mondriaan and his Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow at Gemeentemuseum. In addition to these outstanding works and many others, the museums of the city also offer a big variety of temporary exhibitions for every art
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style. Such is the example of Piet Mondriaan and Bart van der Leck’s exhibition at Gemeentemuseum, from the 12th of February to the 21st of May. Under the title “Inventing a new art”, the approach of this exposition is to introduce people into the concepts the Dutch artistic movement, De Stijl. This is considered to be one of the most important national contributions to the international art. These two artists are emblematic of De Stijl, founded in Leiden in 1917 by the architect Theo van Doesburg out of a magazine that was given the same name, and characterized by the colours red, blue, yellow, grey and black. The pieces that constitute this exposition are mainly related by the colours, and there can be seen a direct influence from one painter to another.
It should be noted that the Gemeentemuseum has the largest collection of Mondrian paintings, so in addition to this current exhibition, there are around 300 masterpieces to enjoy in the gallery. This is an opportunity to immerse yourself in the Dutch movement De Stijl, which this year commemorates its first centenary. As the proper museum says, “The exhibition unravels the history of a friendship that produced the fundamental philosophy of De Stijl”.
PARTY April 27th is King’s Day, better known as “Koningsdag”. When it comes to celebrating the birthday of a reigning monarch, The Netherlands certainly outdoes itself. No other day do the Dutch drink, eat and revel in merriment quite like on King’s Day. The country is suddenly doused in orange to pay tribute to the Royal Family, who belong to the House of Orange-Nassau. An interesting aspect of King’s Day is the “vrijmarkt” or free market which is the one day a year where the Dutch are able to sell things on the street without a vendors license. So, if you’re in search for the perfect vintage object that has remained elusive on Marktplaats the vrijmarkt may just be a saving grace. In The Hague, King’s Day will start a little early as on King’s Night there is a huge free open-air music event, called “Life I live Festival” which attracts more than 30 bands, both international and local alike. Bands will be performing around the city ranging from the Kerkplein to the Grote Markt. From 7pm2am feel free to wander the streets and explore the musical offerings that this festival has to offer. On King’s Day most of the festivities will be focused around the canals, Statenkwartier and Noordeinde. Be sure to soak up the orange magic that is in the air and watch the Dutch let their preverbal hair down. You’ll have a good time.
DRINK Do you feel like you need a beer after the stress of school and the fourth term restlessness? The Dutch Beer Tasting Festival may just be what the doctor ordered. For three days, from Thursday May 11th to Saturday May 13th over 40 Dutch breweries will share their tastiness with festival goers. A local favorite, Kompaan Beer will also be at the festival, if you haven’t been to their Beer Bar at Saturnusstraat 55, do yourself a favor and go. Beer aficionados can enjoy the unique opportunity to “pop a cold one” at the Grote Kerk. Tickets cost 15 euros per day and can be purchased online. If you’re looking for that one thing to make your resume stand out, you can also participate in a variety of Beer related master classes.
BLOOM Flower lovers beware. Keukenhof? Nope. All the cool kids can be found at Clingendael’s Japanese garden which is open from April 29th to June 11th. The Japanese garden is 103 years young, containing rare and stunning trees and plants. The garden was first planted in the early 20th century by Clingendael’s owner, Marguerite M. Baronesse van Brienen, as a nod to her flowery passion she was also known as Lady Daisy. Lady Daisy travelled to Japan on multiple occasions and brought back various garden related objects such as stone lanterns, water casks, various sculptures, and little bridges. Not only is the Japanese beautiful but it is also rare, as it is the only one of its kind and age in the Netherlands. Because of its fragile nature the garden is only open eight weeks every year and in 2001, was declared a national monument.
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THE DUTCH POLITICAL SYSTEM BY JET VAN DER KOLK & KATIE THURSON
INTRODUCTION
As we are writing this article, the outcome of the elections had just been published. They took place on the fifteenth of March, 2017, however, these are not your regular elections. The reason they are so special, is because absolutely no predictions can be made about the outcome of the voting. This is caused by the fact that there are a large number of parties involved this year, including the big parties, but also radical parties and very small parties that defend certain interests, such as the Party for the Animals (yes, it really exists!). It creates a lot of tension, especially when some of the big parties have admitted that they do not plan on working together in the future. Since the elections are such a hot topic, it is always good to learn more, whether you are an exchange or a native student. This article will walk you through the history of Dutch politics and the current state of affairs. We thought you should know. The Netherlands has been a constitutional monarchy since 1815 and a parliamentary democracy since 1848. The Major political institutions are the monarchy, the cabinet, the States General (parliament). It is important to realize that the Netherlands does not have a traditional separation of powers: according to the constitution the States General and the government (the King and cabinet) share the legislative power. All legislation has to pass through the Council of State for advice and the social-economic council advises the government on most social-
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economic legislation. The executive power is reserved for government. The political landscape of the Netherlands is not particularly polarized, and features several different political parties, which are outlined below. The Netherlands boasts some of the most liberal policies on recreational drugs, gay marriage, gender equality, and welfare in the world. The Netherlands is also an active member in the United Nations and the European Union. The elections for Parliament members are not regionally based, but rather featured on a list based on proportional representation. The King or Queen does not engage in direct decision making in the Cabinet or the States General, but serves as a facilitator of coalitions. It is rare for one party to hold a majority in parliament, so coalitions are formed between parties with similar policies, or who wish to work together. Most recently, several parties including VVD states that they would not be willing to form a coalition with Geert Wilder’s PVV party. Key policy debates in current Dutch politics include immigration reform, the refugee crisis, and the rise of right-wing populism. Environmental issues are also important in Dutch politics, and recently the Green Party (GroenLinks) gained several new seats in Parliament. For more information on the Dutch political system in English, see Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy & Instituut voor Publiek en Politiek’s booklet entitled “The Dutch Political System in a Nutshell”, which is available as a PDF on their website.
MARK RUTTE, VVD
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WHAT’S GOING ON NOW?
The current political system of the Netherlands arose, because people believed it was the best way to organize society. However, the system often seems quite complicated to foreigners, but don’t worry! Even the Dutch natives often struggle with completely understanding the political process. The past few weeks have been an intense period in the Netherlands, since all political parties have been campaigning and preparing for the national elections on the 15th of March 2017. These elections have been more important than ever; for the Netherlands, but also for Europe. After populism took over the United States after the
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election of Donald Trump, a lot of Europeans feared that the same scenario would take place in Europe. All eyes were pointed at the Netherlands these last days, since they were the first in Europe that held their national elections. They were being watched as an indicator whether populism would spread across Europe. After all, there is a big radical party emerging in the Netherlands, called the PVV from Geert Wilders. It’s a much discussed party, since they are firmly against the Islam and immigrants and share similar positions with Trumps party. But on the other hand, one of the biggest parties, the VVD from Prime Minister Mark Rutte, has already announced they refuse to work together with the PVV.
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OUTCOME AND SEATS The 15th of March should put an end to all the guessing, predicting and uncertainty. Luckily, the turnout of voters was way higher than the years before, which shows people are more involved and wanted to make their voice heard.
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HERE’S AN OVERVIEW OF THE OUTCOME AND WHERE THE BIGGEST PARTIES STAND FOR:
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VVD - MARK RUTTE
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The VVD is a liberal party, which strives for a small government where people get the space to realise their ambitions. They’re all about entrepreneurship and supporting other companies.
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D66 is a social liberal party that strives to make the Netherlands a better democracy. Their focus is on improving the educational system, but especially on making the country a better place for every single inhabitant. Therefore, they want to become more sustainable and pay the working people higher wages.
NUMBER OF SEATS WON: 33
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PVV - GEERT WILDERS
The PVV claims the Dutch are done with the spread of the Islam, current violence and immigration. They would like to close all mosques and Islamic schools. Furthermore, they want to step out of the European Union in order to make the Netherlands independent again.
NUMBER OF SEATS WON: 19
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CDA - SYBRAND BUMA
The CDA is a conservative party with a Christian view on society. They put great value into traditions and family and believe it’s society’s job to take care of each other. This is the main reason they would like to reform the Dutch healthcare system. NUMBER OF SEATS WON: 19
GROENLINKS – JESSE KLAVER
GroenLinks is a leftwing party and has won more seats than ever before, a historical moment! The party is very dedicated to become more sustainable and reach equality by, for example, abolishing bonuses. GroenLinks is quite popular among young people, since they have a strong position regarding the educational system and want to increasingly lower the tuition fee.
NUMBER OF SEATS WON: 20
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D66 - ALEXANDER PECHTOLD
NUMBER OF SEATS WON: 14
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SOCIALIST PARTY – EMILE ROEMER
The VVD is a liberal party, which strives for a small government where people get the space to realise their ambitions. They’re all about entrepreneurship and supporting other companies. NUMBER OF SEATS WON: 14
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TECHNOLOGY IS ADVANCING AND WILL CONTINUE TO BY KAÇKAR ÖZKAYA
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ecently, it seems as if technology is not taking big leaps anymore. There has not been a moon landing since late 1972, smartphones haven't changed much, cars haven't changed much, and televisions haven't changed much either. For a big part, this is true - but it is important to note that perfecting a product means that you have to make a lot of small improvements. For example, the first iPhone was announced about 10 years ago. None of the components were special - batteries, displays, processors, cameras were already existent, but compiling them created a new product. Now, if we want to improve smartphones as a platform, each one of those components has to improve. Which has been happening. Displays, chips, cameras have all been making leaps - but they have not received extra features that makes it a different product per se. For example, the original iPhone had 163 pixels per inch, whereas currently we can see phones with 806 pixels per inch. That is a major improvement in one field, but does not make us think that smartphones have evolved a lot.
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Now, you may wonder that how it's possible that smartphones have indeed evolved a lot, that you can still not rely on your phone's battery to make it to the end of the day. That is because batteries seem to be a bottleneck in smartphones. We could of course create more powerful processors and put them in phones, but they naturally require more power, portable power - which is problematic. The same goes for cars. Cars have not changed much, yes, their mileage has improved slowly over the years and they have gotten more comfortable too - but they still depend on fossil Yes, electrical cars exist, but they simply cannot store enough energy to drive you a comfortable distance. Of course, there is the trend of autonomous cars, but they are not actually autonomous - and it does not seem like we will see driverless cars on the road anytime soon So yes, batteries need to improve in order to improve smartphones and cars. But, when they do, will we see it as a big leap forward in technology? Or will we just forget about the days where we rushed to send a meme to a friend on a 2% charge? We seem to have forgotten about the times where
we had dial up routers, which made us pick between calling and using the internet. But then, if the portable power problem is solved, which other problem will need to be solved? This will be a cat and mouse game, with one component being the new bottleneck after improving another. For example, should we manage to get better batteries, we could put in better processors, but then that generates more heat, which needs to be dissipated. Then, we could have the limitation of build materials, so we will need to overcome that too in order to make another slight improvement. Then, what is a big improvement that is lurking? The technological singularity for example. It is not known whether we will reach this stage, but IF it happens, we can expect many changes in a short period of time. You may not have heard about this, and I am certainly not an expert in this as it is fairly complex. But simply put, the technological singularity is the stage of artificial superintelligence. Basically the idea is that, once we are able to create computers that are more intelligent than us, we can ask them to improve themselves, or create better machines. This will then practically increase processing power as far as the laws of physics allow for.
This of course sounds nice, and far away - but there are estimations that indicate we may reach this stage by 2040. That is of course still 23 years away - but then again, the Lion King was released 23 years ago. Indeed, this may sound like a massive leap forward, but we have to admit that all the small improvements over the past years have amounted to a massive improvement during one or two decades. In fact, Moore's law, which states that processing power in computers will double every 2 years, has turned out to remain in effect since 1975. So unfortunately we have to be patient. We have to make the small improvements in order to allow for bigger leaps to be made.
“ THE IDEA IS THAT, ONCE WE ARE ABLE TO CREATE
COMPUTERS THAT ARE MORE INTELLIGENT THAN US, WE CAN ASK THEM TO IMPROVE
THEMSELVES
freepik.com
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Globetrotter April 2017 - 3rd edition of 2016/2017 Magazine made by students of The Hague University of Applied Sciences