The XPat Journal March 2020 Issue by Bert van Essen

THEXPAT JOURNAL Spring Issue

T H E P R E M I E R M A G A Z I N E F O R E X PAT R I AT E S I N T H E N E T H E R L A N D S V O L U M E 2 2 I S S U E # 3 | M A R C H - M AY 2 0 2 0 | € 4 . 9 5

Education SPECIAL When Does My Child Start School in the Netherlands? Why Do the Dutch Speak English So Well?

‘S-GRAVELAND The Former Playground of 17th-Century Amsterdammers

LEISURE ACTIVITIES FOR THE SPRING SELECTED EVENTS ART DIARY Photo by Frans Lemmens

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Lefty Reading the contributions from some of our authors for this issue got me thinking. I went to school in three different cultures; what was that like? My first five years of school were in Holland. When the bell rang, we lined up outside the building and, class by class, went inside. The teachers were frightening, awe-inspiring figures of authority whom we addressed with the formal ‘u’. At first, in kindergarten, I didn’t speak a word of Dutch and had no idea what was going on when the old guy with the beard (Sinterklaas), in his long red cloak and gaggle of colorful helpers entered the classroom in December. That was one scary dude. Thank goodness for the playful Zwarte Pieten! Come Easter-time, we were expected to decorate a smaller version of Jesus’s wooden cross with which we were going to parade through our village in celebration of His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The note they had given my mother – informing her of what I was to bring to school for the occasion – had not had a lot of effect, because she didn’t speak Dutch. Plus, of course, she had never heard of this tradition. I guess my father must have been out of town on business at the time. My kindergarten teacher took pity on me, and – so that I would not turn up empty-handed – took me up to the school attic to go in search of a discarded cross (try to picture that scene; a befuddled five-year-old and her middle-aged teacher crawling across a dusty, cobwebbed attic in a somewhat Addams-family-ish building – where the spirits of frustrated teachers lurked in the corners – in search of Jesus’s cross… I think I’m booking a therapy session for that one). Next was Chile. There, the teachers thought I was pretty okay, because, unlike my fellow American classmates, I used the more formal ‘usted’ here too, which made them quite

happy. The Chilean teachers that is. The American teachers were more flower-power easy-go-lucky, while the European teachers seemed – in retrospect – a bit caught in the middle. The Chilean teachers were stricter – standing rigidly in front of the blackboard, imparting their wisdom as we dutifully listened – and were perpetually annoyed

‘It was a rollercoaster ride – either we were too assertive or not assertive enough’ with the irreverent Americans. The American teachers had us call them by their first names and bounced around the classroom, constantly egging us on to voice our opinions and make ourselves heard. It was a rollercoaster ride – either we were too assertive or not assertive enough, depending on who was instructing us. Belgium, even though it shares a border with egalitarian Holland, was the most hierarchical of all. We all went by our last names – not just the teachers; the students too – and any type of opinion at all was strongly discouraged. Having a Dutch father, my accent undeniably originated from the other side of the border – and the teachers were quite clear about how they felt about their Dutch students; they thoroughly disliked them. One teacher came and stood by my table in class one day and said: “I heard you’re American, too? There’s only one thing I hate more than

the Dutch and that’s the Americans.” (Ah, the safe and nurturing environment of the classroom…) My last brush with the Belgian sense of decorum was when, being left-handed, I stuck out my left hand to receive my diploma at the graduation ceremony. The teacher who was standing next to the principal reached out, snatched what I had in my right hand, threw it on the floor and pulled my right hand towards the principal. That generated a heartwarming memory of one of the best days of my life, I can assure you. Our cross-cultural authors are right: in every culture, you are in for a few surprises – but one of the most valuable lessons I took from it is: there is no one right way. This is unnerving, because you never know when you are going to get it wrong (again) but also liberating, because there really is no universal right or wrong on social decorum – so, better luck next time. Though a little Googling has taught me that left hands are woefully undervalued in the most diverse of cultures.

Stephanie Dijkstra editor@xpat.nl

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32 ’S-GRAVELAND The Former Playground of 17th-Century Amsterdammers

6 LEILA PRNJAVORAC From the point of view of...

ART TIPS FOR THE SPRING

UNRAVELING THE MYSTERIES OF CULTURE THE XPAT JOURNAL ®

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

The premier magazine for expatriates in the Netherlands. Published quarterly since 1998. Volume 22 Number 3 March – May 2020 ISSN 1388 932 X

Stephanie Dijkstra E-mail: editor@xpat.nl

PUBLISHED BY

TRANSLATIONS

The XPat Journal Bert van Essen Van Boetzelaerlaan 153 2581 AR The Hague, the Netherlands Tel.: +31 (0)70 306 33 10 E-mail: info@xpat.nl Website: www.xpatjournal.nl

Across Borders, Driebergen

ADVERTISEMENTS Tel.: +31 (0)70 306 33 10 E-mail: sales@xpat.nl

ACCESS, Yolanda Bokhorst, Stephanie Dijkstra, Inez de Goede, Annebet van Mameren, Nico McGough, Jan Vincent Meertens, Paul Morgan, Willemijn van Oppen, Robin Pascoe, Edith van Ruitenbeek, Greg Shapiro, Chris Smit

GRAPHIC DESIGN Vindustries, Ouderkerk a/d Amstel

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COVER PHOTO Frans Lemmens

© 2020 THE XPAT JOURNAL All rights are reserved. No part of The XPat Journal may be reproduced or used in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. Every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this publication was correct at the time of going to press. However, the publisher and writers cannot accept any responsibility for the accuracy of the information included. The content of The XPat Journal is not intended to serve as legal, immigration or tax advice. Readers are encouraged to consult with professional advisors for advice concerning specific matters

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Education

SPECIAL

When Does My Child Start School? Going to University How Can ‘Significant Others’ Land Successfully? Zoekjaar for Highly-Educated Graduates

Read all about this, starting on page 14

EVENT TIPS FOR THE SPRING

52 TRAINING NETWORK How Can ‘Significant Others’ Land Successfully?

IN THIS ISSUE

ART

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

DUTCH CULTURE

Lefty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

INTERVIEW

From the Point of View of... Leila Prnjavorac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

LEGAL

Art Diary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

EDUCATION MAIN FEATURES

Why Do the Dutch Speak English So Well? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Unraveling the Mysteries of Culture . . . . . 60

When Does My Child Start School in the Netherlands? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

COLUMN

Useful References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Going to University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Dutch Education: Even When You’re Sick, Just Act Normal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Patchwork Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 To Be or Not to Be a Father . . . . . . . . . . . 12

RECOMMENDED READING

How Can ‘Significant Others’ Land Successfully? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

LEISURE

EXPAT EVENT

Zoekjaar for Highly-Educated Graduates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

‘s-Graveland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Event Diary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

The Netherlands at Its Best . . . . . . . . . . . 64 The IamExpat Fair is Coming to Amsterdam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

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That’s It, Folks T

he XPat Journal adventure lasted more than 22 years, but all good things must come to an end. It is with great love and pleasure that I published this magazine, but the moment has come to close this chapter. In the quickly-changing world of media, it has proven quite a challenge to keep a printed magazine alive. Also in light of my ‘ripe old age’, this has led me to the decision to wrap up the dream that I have been living of having my own magazine. A dream that especially Stephanie Dijkstra allowed to come true. From the very beginning, she has been the most talented, devoted and loyal editor-in-chief you could ask for. Without her, I wouldn’t have been able to keep this up for two decades – or, in any case, I would not have enjoyed it as much. Furthermore, I would like to thank my erstwhile business parent Alec for his help in making The XPat Journal become more than just a concept. Also my family, Lorraine, Jonte and Nina, who had to spend many an evening and weekend without me, while I sat behind my desk. And then there are the more than 200 fantastic people who contributed to The XPat Journal over the years. I immensely enjoyed their diversity, inspiration, talent and sense of humor. They offered me a new look on the world, for which I am more than grateful. And finally, there are the countless sponsors and advertisers who helped make this financially possible. A number of them have become personal friends and I would like to sincerely thank them for the confidence they placed in The XPat Journal.

alk about dreams come true! I remember being 12 years old, writing for the school magazine in middle school and dreaming about how great it would be to be able to make a living this way. Over the years, this idea became snowed under by reality, limitations and choices already made – until one day I realized; “Hey, I’m doing it!” That would never have been possible without Bert – the most easy-going, supportive, dedicated and involved ‘boss’ I could have wished for. And with a great sense of humor to boot. So, I want to thank him for giving me this opportunity and for the faith he had in me. These past 22 years have been absolutely great!!! I look forward to continuing working together with him on other projects.

Bert van Essen Publisher

Stephanie Dijkstra Editor-in-Chief

A big THANK YOU goes out to all the contributors and all the others who made this possible! Grant Allan, Geryll Alsén, Hans Aniba, Alison Agudo, Shirley Agudo. Hanco J. Arnold, Rose Arora, Sigrid van As, Vera Atlas, Sieta Autar , Lorenza Bacino, Marian van Bakel, Pieter van den Berg, Nancy van den Berg-Cook, Jeroen Bergervoet, Lois Bergman, Diana van den Bergh, Jessica Berner, Ruud Blaakman, Juliet Bleecker, Sabine Boellaard, Fred Boerefijn, Diana Bogaards, Yolanda Bokhorst, Naomi Bolderhey, Godelijn Boonman, Mary van der Boon, Evelien Bouwman, Monique Brans, Henriëtte de Bree-Hansma, Masha Bril, Olivia van den Broek-Neri, Frans Breumelhof, Ferry Bridié, David Brinkman, Dallas Brown, Simone Brummelhuis,

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Lisa Bruno, Sylvia van de Bunt-Kokhuis, Thierry Burgemeestre, Robert de la Bye, Gisi Cannizzaro, Fiona Cameron, Claire Campagne, David Chapman, Xing Chen, Sevi Christoforou, Oana Cipca, Liliana Castillo,Louis Collignon , Janet Coulombe, Ruth Davis, Jan van Duinen, Djanko, Marleen Dieleman, Claudia Diers Lienke, Frances van Dinther, Nico van Dijk, Stephanie Dijkstra, Neelam Dongha, Han Dou, Arjen Douma, Dominique Darmon, Sandra Degens, Kees-Pieter Dekker, Rina Driece, Jilles Duindam, Jan van Duinen, Coen van den End, Kasper van Eck, Everhard Elferink, Ronald Emanuel, Arjan Enneman, Coen van den End, Lis

van Engelen, Veronique Eurlings, Thijs Faas, Tom Fadrhonc, Erin Findley, Hansje Fischer, Leslie Fox, Barbara Frew, Foreign Friends, Marjo Gallé, Sheila Gazaleh, Loes Geerlings, Wijnand de Gelder, Colleen Geske, Aquinia van Ginderenacher, Lyn Glanz, Martin Glick, Inez de Goede, Mattias Grenbäck, Arthur de Groot, Ilonka Haak, Sabine Haenen, Mathieu Halsema, Frederieke den Hartog, Dirk Jan Frijling, Pim Hattink, Lily Heaton, Gerry Heiligers, Jan van Helmond, Hester van den Heuvel, Frank Heyster, Isamar van Hilten, John Hmurovic, Anke van der Hoeven, Froana Hoff, Gayle Hoffman, Harry Hofman, Han van der Horst,

LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER

Caroline Hunt, Caroline Hurd, Patricia van der Hut, Janet Inglis, Gerard van den IJssel, Henk Jansen, Tiffany Jansen, Rachelle le Jeune, Peter Paul de Jong, Richard de Jonge, Lara Jordaan, Elizabeth Joss, Elisabeth Juillard, Jacques Kaat, Naomi Kamphuijs, Anita Kalmane, Masako Kato, Rosemary Koelewijn, Inge Kool , Sandra Koopmans, Patrick Koppenol, Rob Kossen, Peter Kranenburg, Elise Krentzel, Onno Kreukniet, Tessel de Lange, Lesley Langeraar, Aleid Langevoord, Fernando Lanzer, Richard Laribij, Alex Laybourne, Rebecca Law, Roy Lie-A-Tjam, Sue Leather, Diane Lemieux, Paul Lenos, Anouk Lengers, Elzi Lewis, Lei Li, HansGeorg van Liempd, Marco van Lieshout, Hanneke Lina, Lisa Lipkin, Geoffrey Lloyd, Jan Willem Loman, Jessica Lonis, Philip Loughton, Sander van Lubeck, Almas Mahmud, Christian Malipaard, Anne Maljer, Annebet van Mameren, Holly Marder, Alec Martèl, Ayu Mashita, Nico McGough, Kevin McPeak, Christopher Mead, Jan Vincent Meertens, Amanda

Meijerink, Bart van Meijl, Susan Meijler, Vincent Merk, Paul Michael, Geoff Mills, Mary Mintz, David Moolenburgh, Esmée Mos, Connie Moser, Andrew Moskos, Geerte Mostermans, Robin Mulder, Lesley Murphy, Alexandra Nederveen, Joan van Nispen tot Sevenaer, Ariane van Notten, Mechteld Nije, John Niland, Jussara Nunes Pereira de Souza, Raya Nunez, Fleur Oirbans, Willemijn van Oppen, Rutger Oosthoek, Hanneke van Oss, Fraukje Panis, Jo Parfitt, Robin Pascoe, Tessa Posthuma De Boer, Irina Punga, Molly Quell, Angela Regan. Peter Prud´homme van Reine, Gareth Reynolds, Daan Rhijnsburger, Nannette Ripmeester, Derk Rijpma, Kate Robbins, Kelley Rodgers, Lyly Rojas de Knaus, Sharine de Rooy, Tarich Rovers, Charles Vinita Salomé, Rob Satter, Robin Schalekamp, Claire Schalm, Hedda Schipper, Hans Schmidt, Susanne Schreve, Henk van Seijen, Tara Shannon, Greg Shapiro, Susanne Sikkema, Mireille van der Sluis, Jan-Koen Sluijs, Carla Smeets, Chris Smit, Connie Smit-Gaiser,

Yvonne Sørensen, Sally Squirrell, Koen Straetmans, Hein Stroeve, Wendy van der Stroom, Steven Stupp, Ronald Streijl, Hilly van Swol, Jeroen Swolfs, Roel Teunissen, Peter Hans Teutenberg, Lee Tolman, Julia Townsend, Rick van Tricht, Martin Troost, Deborah Valentine, Divya Susan Varkey, William ten Veen, Dennis Verhoeve, Susanne Verhoog, Ilse Visser, Jeroen Visser, Karlijn Visser, Mirella Visser, Ruud Visser, Jacob Vossestein, Kathy Voyles, Annette de Vreede, Willem de Vries, Liane van de Vrugt, Carla van Waes, Hayley Wakenshaw, Trevor Waldron, Carina de Walle, Barbara Warnar, Paola Westbeek, Richard Wheatcroft, Sandy Weiner, Nikie Welschen, Vincent Westerbeek van Eerten, Sharri Whiting, Steven Whiting, Benno de Wilde, Hans de Wilde, Onno van Wilgenburg, Charles Willigers, Sandra Willis, Pierre Wind, Tijmen Wisman, Constanze Woelfle, Paul Wolf, Nikki Young, Phoebe Young, Nikolet Zwart

And all those who shared their Point of View with us. Thank you for your time, openness, inspiration and wisdom. Ruby Vos, Steve Daily, Julia Townsend, Federico Cheri, Ken Gold, Inga-Lena Wernersson, Aharon Naftali, Diedra Atkinson, Leszek Konopka, Lylian Collier, Prabhat Kumar, Maureen Hughes, Steven Ng, Jon Tarifa, La Reine Reilly, Natasha Geijtenbeek, Alexei Ogrintchouk, Lydia Pieternella, Marc Guillon, Addie Johnson, Jim Collier, Chiharu Nagatani, Rudi Goldman, Yonina, Sherrie Zwail, Marcelo Bendahan, Zhao Hai Zhen,

Guenael Mettraux, Shiva Fallah, Pádraig Collins, Hanane Chreki, Grant Allan, Yana Senicheva and Denisse Ayala, Amanda De Glanville, Bernard Mignon, Hugo Raasveldt, Ehsan Turabaz, Hilde Weidinger, Anders Hellström, Tzu Chen Chen, Michele Visser, Marianne Crone, Billie Allwood, Gary Hays, Tasoula Georgiou, Nana Leigh, Stephen Pegg, Bing Thio, Jing Zhang, József Katus, Lisa Lipkin, Neil Aaronson, Robin Pascoe, Sönke

Holtorf, Cynthia Schneider, Sonia Sin, Kiri Kikis and Leonidas Kikis, Stepan Rektorik, Monika Machała, Thierry Schmitter, Jessie Gordon, Frankie McCoy, Brad Taylor, Mardjan Sanghali, Jonathan Talbott, Arjen Wiersma, Sally Squirrell, Albert Dolmans, Ana Fernandez, Kalindi Soni, Dubravka Krezic, Deborah Valentine, Bryna Hellman, Marjolien Leopold, Nancy Mayer, Ruby Vos, Baraa Alnakawil, Frans Lemmens, Leila Prnjavorac

And of course all the advertisers, subscribers and sponsors for their trust and support over the past 22 years! the xpat journal | 2020 | 5

FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF... In the articles entitled “From the Point of View of…” we tell the story of an expatriate who is living in the Netherlands. In each edition, we interview this expatriate, each time from a different country and each time in a different position (the person who was placed here by the employer, came here on his or her own initiative, the family members, etc.) For this issue of The XPat Journal, we spoke with Leila Prnjavorac, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, who came to the Netherlands as a child, as a refugee from the Yugoslav War.

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INTERVIEW

Leila Prnjavorac In a world populated by people who feel that life has let them down, failed to meet its promises and now owes them, it is reassuring to meet someone who has seen her share of suffering, yet sees each new day as an opportunity to connect with others and to help others see what is worth appreciating about others and life. Photo: Arnaud Roelofsz

eila Prnjavorac was born in Doboj, a city in current Bosnia and Herzegovina, at a time that it was still part of what was called Yugoslavia. “We all lived side by side; Catholics, Muslims, Jews, people of Orthodox religion. We celebrated each other’s religious feasts; the Muslims had a Christmas tree at the end of December, and hid Easter eggs in the spring. The Catholics and Orthodox joined the Muslims for the Festival of Breaking the Fast – there was a spirit of mutual acceptance, of companionship. I never saw us as part of specific ethnic or religious group.”

Hatred “And then, one day, people started pointing at us, saying ‘Death to the Turks!’. I looked up at my mother and said, ‘What Turks? Why are they pointing at us?’ And my mother answered: ‘They mean Muslims, and they are still mad at us for what the Ottomans did hundreds of years ago.’ That afternoon, I was given a speed lesson in history, right there on the street. What this taught me is that hatred, if you let it, becomes a poison that can upset society if we don’t make a conscious effort to heal from it. And that we need to see people as individuals, rather than as members of a religious or ethnic group, because though religion can be used as a means to unify people it can also be used to drive them apart. Sharing other people’s experiences in war as a Freedom Ambassador here in The Hague, I have learned that war doesn’t just come about all of a sudden; it is a gradual process that people are led into. Often they are not aware of it and then all of sudden they are in it so deep that they don’t dare go against it, even though it is not something they signed up for. Which is why it is important to never stop thinking for yourself, and to never lose touch with your conscience, with who you are, or what you believe is right.”

War “One day I was up in the hills with the girl next door and her aunt and uncle, and we were playing in the meadows. All of sudden, we saw dozens of men, rushing

across the meadow, who said to us ‘You have to go, the war is starting!’ We had no idea who they were or what they were talking about, but we rushed back to the city and when we got there, I breathlessly told my parents ‘The war is beginning!’. But they chose to stay, because they just couldn’t fathom that there would really be a war – that from one day to the next, their best friends and their neighbors would become their enemies. A few weeks later, my father was passing the check point to go to his work, when he was stopped. They asked him for his passport and were set to give him a hard time, when a befriended Serb interfered and said: ‘Don’t. This is a good man.’ He was given back his ID card, but as he walked on, someone fired a shot right over his head. ‘They are never good enough’, the shooter said. That was my father’s last day of work and my last day of school.”

Spider in the Web

‘Hatred, if you let it, becomes a poison that can upset society if we don’t make a conscious effort to heal’

“My mother was a very wise and enterprising woman. As soon as she understood that there really was going to be a war, she took an empty wheelbarrow to my uncle’s patisserie in the city and filled it with flour, butter, honey and sugar. She knew that it would no longer be of any use to him and that we, and the people around us, would be needing it. During the war, she became like a spider in the web of our neighborhood, distributing medicine, helping with personal hygiene, dispensing information, cutting people’s hair and sharing the food she had gotten. I always marveled at how she knew who needed what.” Leila reflects: “Though there was a war, these were also some of the most valuable months of my life; what I saw, showed me how kind and compassionate people are – everyone shared whatever they could and they would never let us leave with empty hands. When there is so much uncertainty and fear, and no one has anything anymore, everything changes; there is no more social status, money doesn’t make a difference – everyone becomes equal and everyone wants to

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INTERVIEW survive the day. What you share is love and hope, and the desire to give and to give back. For instance, one day, we went to visit a family in the hills who had a beautiful strawberry patch full of ripe, juicy strawberries. In order to be able to do something back for us, they gave me the only thing they could share; a red bucket, which told me to fill as full of strawberries as I could, to take home.” For a moment, Leila stops, then continues: “At the end of the day, they invited us to spend the night, instead of making the long walk back – which was not without risk for a woman alone and her little daughter – but my mother wanted to get back to my brother, who did not know where we were. Later we heard that that very same night, Serbs had come and killed the entire family. If my mother hadn’t insisted on going home that night, we would be dead now.”

Equal “My mother discussed very profound things with me and treated me like an equal, answering my questions honestly. Mind you, she never showed me her fear; she carried her own fear inside her, and bore mine as well. When we were hiding one night during a razzia, we heard screaming next door as a neighbor was raped and her husband was beaten – in front of their children. Instead ‘protecting’ my innocence, my mother told me what had transpired, because she wanted me to be aware of, and prepared for, what could happen to us. And it was this knowledge that later once again rescued us.” Leila explains: “After a few months of war, my mother and I went back to the barber shop, to see if it was still standing. We were barely inside when a Serb soldier appeared, drunk and carrying several guns. He asked my mother for a haircut, but I could tell that there was something threateningly intimate about how he was looking at her. And I thought about that other woman. I sidled up to him and started asking him about his guns – how did he know which bullets went into which gun? How did they work? What were they for? I kept him busy and distracted, as my mother did his hair. And when she was done, I knew I had to get him out of there. So, I asked him, ‘Could we go outside, so you could show me how they work?’ Which he did. In the end, he found me endearing, which took away the edge and made him see my mother and myself in another light. He showed me a few more things, let me hold one of his guns, and left.”

‘My mother never showed me her fear; she carried her own fear inside her, and bore mine as well’

Lightness Is there a specific conversation that Leila had with her mother that stands out to this day? Leila answers: “One of the things my mother taught me was that everyone 8 | the xpat journal | 2020

carries their own pain and sorrow inside them that could cause them to act or behave in a way that is damaging to themselves too. She told me that we should look at each other with love, compassion and openness. Her actions during those months showed me that one good deed is enough to restore your faith in your fellow human being and that you should continue to engage from a position of hope and trust, because if you lose that, then life loses its lightness.”

Flight Eventually, Leila’s family had no choice but to leave. As part of the efforts at ethnic cleansing, they were loaded onto a bus and taken to Belgrade. There, her father was recognized by someone who had known him from before and who offered to send him an official ‘invitation’ to visit her in Holland. As soon as this invitation arrived, they left for the Netherlands, where they requested asylum. Did they ever see her again? “Decades later, my daughter was attending a Bosnian school in the weekends in Rotterdam and one of the teachers who was helping out there approached me one day and asked; ‘Are you Leila, from Doboj?’ I said ‘Yes’ and she answered, ‘My sister is the one who helped you come to Holland. Just this week, she found your old passports and was wondering what to do with them!’ She told me that they had a date to go to the theater that same night and we decided to surprise her. It was a very emotional reunion and it was like finding a long-lost member of the family.”

Precious “And that is what makes life to precious, you can lose everything, but you can get it all back – just in a different package. It is very degrading to be told that you belong to a group that needs to be cleansed, and it is a very valuable realization that you are worthy, after all. Despite all that has happened to me, and also thanks to all that has happened to me, life is precious. And though, for a long time, I went through life safe in the knowledge that I have my own back, I have learned that it is just as valuable to receive. Provided this is done on the basis of equality – and not on the basis of the giver being superior. No one chooses where they are born, things happen to us and no one is perfect. But everyone can try to make a new start, and learning to receive will help you circle back to who you are, which will make you stronger.”

LVision Leila has founded her own company, LVision, and works together with adolescents and students. “We discuss how important it is to see ourselves and others – and to honor boundaries. I make them aware of how privileged they are to live in a country where they have the freedom to explore, but that they also still have the responsibility to treat each other with respect, both online and offline.” She also works as a speaker, presenter, project coordinator and trainer for NGOs, municipalities, government organizations on a great variety of subjects.

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Patchwork

Family

‘Patchwork families’ are families made up of parents and children, whereby one – or both – of the parents has brought in a child from a former relationship. Sometimes these parents also have joint children.

By Yolanda Bokhorst

lmost 10% of all families are patchwork families. And this is only expected to increase. The relations within such a family are often complex. The children have to get used to the new family and the step-parent and – vice versa – the step-parent has to build a relationship with the step-children.

New Situation Some families are together full-time, others part-time, half-time or during the weekends – sometimes in combination with shared parenting. To some, these new families feel like an enrichment, but there are also plenty of cases in which the newcomers are seen as interlopers or in which conflicts of loyalty arise. Whatever the case may be, it is always good to look into the legal consequences of the new situation and to put things on paper. 10 | the xpat journal | 2020

‘Pursuant to Dutch law, step-parents and step-children do not automatically inherit from each other’

tween the step-parent and the parent comes to an end, the step-parent can request visitation rights. Any obligation to contribute to the sustenance, however, ends.

International Having a Say over the Children and Expenses The premise in Dutch law is that the legal parents share parental authority (the right and duty to raise and take care of the children) over their joint children. Whether or not these parents are in a relationship is of no importance. A step-parent has no parental authority. If the step-parent and the parent are married or have entered into a registered partnership and the step-child is part of the family, then the step-parent is obligated to contribute to the costs of sustenance and in the raising of the child. How much, depends on the circumstances. Pursuant to the European Convention on Human Rights, when the relationship be-

The rules described above also apply in international situations in which the children have their habitual residence in the Netherlands. If the step-child and step-parent share a nationality, the step-parent can lodge an objection against the obligation to contribute to the child’s sustenance if the law of this country of shared nationality does not contain this obligation.

Inheritance Pursuant to Dutch law, step-parents and step-children do not automatically inherit from each other. In the Netherlands, inheritance takes place on the basis of blood relationship. The only exception to this is the spouse or registered partner. Should you want to leave something to your

LEGAL

step-child, you will have to arrange this in a will. There are a variety of options; you can give your children and step-children equal status, you can leave your step-child a certain amount or percentage of the inheritance, or you can determine that your stepchild is a joint heir for a particular share. Does this section of Dutch inheritance law also apply to expats who live here?

International Inheritance Law Since August 2015, the Inheritance Law Regulation applies in the entire EU, except for Denmark (and, insofar as still relevant, the United Kingdom and Ireland). This regulation states that the law of the last country of residence of the deceased applies to the entire estate and its settlement, including assets that are located in another country. In other words, should you pass away while living in the Netherlands as an expat, then Dutch inheritance law applies to your entire estate. Unless, in your will, you have determined that the law of your country of nationality applies.

Married, With (Step-)Children and No Will? Then, in the Netherlands, the rules on intestate succession apply. This means that your (legal) children and spouse are joint and equal heirs. All your possessions and debts go to your surviving spouse, whereby the children have to wait for your spouse to pass away or become bankrupt in order to claim their portion. Before that, they cannot claim their portion, while the spouse

‘If you pass away while living in the Netherlands, then Dutch inheritance tax will be levied over your worldwide estate’ can use up the entire inheritance. Stepchildren do not receive anything, but they can inherit from their own parent. Especially when the surviving spouse is not the actual parent, these rules can lead to some undesired outcomes. Which is why, particularly in the case of a patchwork family, it is wise to draw up a will that contains arrangements for the own children, stepchildren and surviving spouse – both upon the death of the first spouse as well as upon the death of the surviving spouse.

Not Married, (Step-)Children and No Will? In this case, only the own children will inherit. If you live together, but are not married or have not entered into a registered partnership, you will not automatically inherit from each other. In order to protect your partner, you should draw up a will. This will should contain provisions clarifying the position of the surviving partner, the own children and the step-children. Generally speaking, a cohabitation agreement will be necessary in order to strengthen your partner’s position.

Inheritance Tax If you pass away while living in the Netherlands, then Dutch inheritance tax will be

levied over your worldwide estate. The lowest rate applies to children and the spouse. The good news is that, if they are included in your will, your step-children will also be subject to the lowest rate.

Drawing Up a Will Taking into account the complicated situations that may arise in (international) patchwork families, you are strongly advised to draw up a will determining who will be your heirs and taking into account the sometimes sensitive relations between step-parents, own children and step-children. To do this, it is best to contact a civil law notary who is specialized in international inheritance law. In the Netherlands, only a will that has been drawn up by a civil law notary is legally valid. You will have to visit the civil law notary in person to sign the will.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Yolanda Bokhorst is a deputy civil law notary with Van Buttingha Wichers Notarissen in The Hague. She can be contacted at tel.: 070 – 356 68 00 or by e-mail: y.bokhorst@vbwnotarissen.nl www.vbwnotarissen.nl

the xpat journal | 2020 | 11

To Be or Not to Be a Father

12 | the xpat journal | 2020

LEGAL

What does ‘being a parent’ mean? What do custody or parental responsibility entail? For instance, do you have a say in the choice of school for your children? Especially for unmarried expat parents, the answers to these questions are not simple. gotten married in a fourth country, some research had to be done to determine the applicable law before a request could be made to have the birth certificate and the name of the child amended.

By Edith van Ruitenbeek

f an expat father wants to create the best conditions for his children to grow up safely, with the health care and education he considers to be the best, the best thing he can do is make sure that he has a legal say in this.

Parental Responsibility

Are You the Parent? In the Netherlands, at least at the moment, the woman who gives birth to a child, is considered this child’s mother and automatically has parental responsibility. This might change, however, as new legislation is in the make regarding surrogacy. If the biological father is not married to the mother, nor has entered into a registered partnership with her, then he is not considered their child’s parent, at least not from a legal point of view. Pursuant to Dutch law, this can be ‘repaired’ by having the father recognize the child at the municipality or by notarial deed, provided the mother agrees to this – in which case, a DNA test is not required. When foreign law is applied, the rules might be different. If the mother does not cooperate, the father can request permission from the court to recognize the child. In this case, the first thing to take into account is which national law applies. Dutch law states that, in this type of situation, the court might request a DNA test and request the mother to cooperate. If the biological father does not want to recognize the child, or if it is considered important to establish paternity from the day of birth, the court can be asked to establish this by means of a DNA test – unless it regards a situation in which the applicable law does not offer this possibility. This request can only be made by the mother (within five years of the birth of the child) or the child. Not by the father! The father can give his permission beforehand, though. Further rules and regulations on this matter can be found in the applicable legislation.

‘For the sake of the children, parents are advised to arrange joint parental responsibility when the relationship is still good.’ Unmarried Parents As a family lawyer with an expat practice, I regularly meet expat families in which paternity has not been established, particularly for the eldest child. This is often because the parents were not married at the time of birth and forgot to do about recognition of the child. For instance, one couple had to move to another country for job purposes, and simply did not have enough time to arrange recognition of the child in the country of birth. In another case, the parents were married and living in the Netherlands – but only registered with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Because the father had been abroad on a mission when the mother gave birth, and the civil servant had had no means to verify that the mother was married, while the child had also not been recognized by the father in any other way, he was not willing to mention any man as the father on the birth certificate. As the parents had three different nationalities among them and had

From a legal point of view, being a father does not mean you also have parental responsibility. At least, according to Dutch law, not when the father is not married to the mother. Belgian law, for instance, has different rules and does give the unmarried father parental responsibility. If the legal parents are not married and do not have joint parental responsibility, this can be fixed easily – provided both parents cooperate. It can even be arranged online if the child was born in the Netherlands. If the mother is not cooperative, the father can file a request with the court to establish joint parental responsibility. In these situations, however, the children are often ‘caught in the middle’. As this should preferably be prevented, for the sake of the children, parents are advised to arrange joint parental responsibility while the relationship is still good. Referring to the Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), requests filed before a Dutch court regarding fatherhood or joint parental responsibility are likely to be honored, under ‘normal’ circumstances. This is because a child has a right to grow up knowing who his parents are and to be in contact with them.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Edith van Ruitenbeek is a lawyer and partner at van Hilten Advocaten & Mediators, Nassaulaan 15, The Hague, and De Lairessestraat 129, Amsterdam www.vanhilten.nu the xpat journal | 2020 | 13

MAKING THE DIFFERENCE:

Multiculturalism that Matters

Let’s play a game. I’ll give you the name of a country, and you have to tell me something about its culture. Only, there’s one rule; you can’t refer to any of the ‘six fs’: food, flags, festivals, fashion, and famous people or places. By Paul Michael

o, no Eiffel Tower, frogs’ legs or berets for France. No burritos, mariachi bands or Día de los Muertos for Mexico. And no daal, Diwali or dhoti for India. What would you choose?

Fascinating Hard, isn’t it? And for multicultural communities, especially international school communities where there is a steady and heady influx and efflux of families on an almost weekly basis, understanding one another in a meaningful way truly matters. So, in the spirit of the game, how does this work in practice? We have to move beyond simplistic knowledge and pervasive myths about ethnicity, traditions, and even some wonderful recipes. And then we find that what remains is fascinating and can help in forging strong bonds across different cultures. 14 | the xpat journal | 2020

‘We have to move beyond simplistic knowledge and pervasive myths and then we find that what remains is fascinating’ Connecting Cultures Whilst there are clearly important qualities that make nations impressively individual, we must remember the important role that the awareness of interdependence can play in creating meaningful relations between people from different nations. As leading educational thinker Martin Skelton has suggested, dwelling on the experiences and outlooks that connect cultures

and countries is not simply a better way of understanding multiculturalism, or even an attempt to replace it – being Scottish and European, a New Yorker and an American, or Thai yet Southeast Asian are, he says, ‘complementary, not conflicting, concepts’.

Language Language plays a key role here, of course. Whilst on a ‘week without walls’ student leadership trip recently, I remarked to a Dutch colleague that a beautifully-isolated cottage, nestled amongst the dunes, looked gezellig, or ‘cosy’ in its nearest English translation. In the discussion that followed, I learned that the adjective is not usually used for a scene in which there are no people. In Dutch, for something to be truly gezellig, there have to be people, happily and convivially sharing time and space together. I was thrilled to learn this, as English Romanticism holds that the more remote and removed a place is from human civilisation,

EDUCATION

the better. This interaction taught me much about the values of Dutch hospitality and allowed for a richer insight into my host culture.

Starting Point The question for schools is often, how do we explore, celebrate, and seek to better understand the cultures of our cohorts? In classes, corridors and during coffee mornings, cultivating an authentic interest in language, perceptions and presentations of friendship and family dynamics offer a terrific starting point. Ensuring that such opportunities are not only annual, but frequent and friendly, helps too.

Deep Culture At the British School of Amsterdam, we strive to create such opportunities. From providing the environment for cross-cultural encounters to take place between parents to pairing new students with an understanding of their interests and experiences, we aim to engage in what scholar Joseph Shaules refers to as ‘deep culture’. This can encompass areas such as beauty (and its associated myths), authority, leadership, and ideas surrounding cooperation versus competition, as well as how cultural expressions of handling and displaying emotion may be communicated.

‘Multiculturalism allows us to glimpse the exciting potential that we share when we engage authentically with one another’ Improving Well-Being Improving well-being strategies for our students so that they can better cope with the fast-paced and sometimes high-stakes environments they may find themselves in is essential. Last term, as a part of the Elective programme in the Sixth Form, the class was engaging in a mindfulness-based stress reduction course designed especially to support students who experience life from a plurality of cultural perspectives. Some insightful comments leaned into secular and non-secular origins of peacefulness and tranquillity. Other contributions concerned the thorny topic of work-life balance, concluding that we should seek alignment rather than the ideal of harmony in the competing demands on our time and energies. A fortnight later, I heard the same students talking about how what they had learned in this class had reverberated across the days that followed. One student said that they had recognised the moment-to-moment awareness that had been explored in the mindfulness when in prayer. In kneeling and taking time for re-

flection, gratitude, and worship, they had noticed that their ability to sustain attention had improved. Another student said they had noticed something similar. This time it was in the gentle yet persistent pressure of their feet on their pedals as they cycled to and from school and the pleasure of being more present for their journey. Both students rounded the conversation off with smiles of recognition in each other’s experiences.

Bringing Education to Life Ranging comfortably across a multiplicity of socio-cultural meanings, students in richly international settings are seldom drawn into simplistic categorisation and easy compartmentalisation. They eschew narrow interpretation for a more subtly nuanced understanding of what makes each other both unique and independent as well as interconnected and interdependent. In such moments, education comes more fully to life and multiculturalism begins to matter in a manner that more clearly allows us to glimpse the exciting potential that we share when we engage authentically with one another.

Paul Michael MA MSc FRSA Head of Sixth Form British School of Amsterdam www.britams.nl. the xpat journal | 2020 | 15

IS THE INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE

Right for Your Child? Choosing the right curriculum for your child can be quite a challenge. Here is a quick guide to the International Baccalaureate to help you decide if it is the right choice for your child, particularly as they enter their very important pre-university years of 16, 17 and 18. What Is the International Baccalaureate? The International Baccalaureate, commonly referred to as the IB, is a well-respected and comprehensive international curriculum that takes a holistic approach to education, fostering a student’s intellectual, personal, emotional and social skills. The programme aims to develop ‘inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who are motivated to succeed’. While other curriculums feature textbook-oriented learning, centered on memorisation and examinations, the IB system encourages students to develop their own critical thinking and independent inquiry skills. IB students become collaborative, confident and enthusiastic learners who respond to challenges with optimism and an open mind. In many ways, the IB programme is ideal for any expat or internationally-minded family; the programme has gained recognition from the world’s leading universities and now thousands of schools worldwide offer the IB, meaning students can easily transi16 | the xpat journal | 2020

‘Thousands of schools worldwide offer the IB, meaning students can easily transition to another country’

tion to another country and still be confident that they can continue their studies.

The IB Diploma Programme The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is for students aged 1619, and the name of the final two years of IB study. Upon successful completion of the IBDP, students are awarded the IB Diploma. At the Nord Anglia International School Rotterdam (NAISR), the IBDP is the highest-level course that is on offer, preparing

students for entrance to university and beyond. The IBDP is based on the philosophy that students should be free to question the subjects they are taught, and to apply critical thinking skills to real-world situations. The IBDP Curriculum is comprised of six distinct subject groups, with students studying one subject from each group over a two-year period. Three or four of the subjects are taken at Higher Level, and the remaining courses at Standard Level. The choice of subject from each group is determined by the student. Higher Level courses allow students to study subjects that they are personally more interested in, in detail. The six subject groups are as follows: 1. Studies in Language & Literature – The in-depth study of a mother-tongue language 2. Language Acquisition – The study of a foreign language 3. Individuals & Societies – This encompasses Business Management, Economics, Geography, Global Politics, History, Information Technology, Philosophy,

EDUCATION

Psychology, Social & Cultural Anthropology, and World Religions 4. Sciences – Subjects include Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Computer Science, Design Technology, and Sports & Health Science 5. Mathematics – Subjects include Mathematical Studies, Mathematics and Further Mathematics 6. The Arts* – Subjects include Dance, Music, Film, Theatre and Visual Arts (*students may opt to study an additional subject from Groups 1, 2, 3 or 4 instead of a course in the arts). In addition to the six subject groups, IBDP students undertake the three Core Subjects. These are the required courses which broaden a student’s educational experience: • Theory of Knowledge (TOK) – in this course on critical thinking, students reflect on the nature of knowledge and on how we can be sure that we know what we claim to know • The Extended Essay (EE) – an in-depth, self-directed 4,000 word essay in a research area of the student’s choice • Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) – students participate in purposeful and challenging community service-based activities, fostering a sense of accomplishment and enjoyment. CAS acts as an important counterbalance to the academic pressures of the other elements of the IBDP.

How Does the IB Diploma Programme Differ from Other Curriculums? The IBDP places an emphasis on selfdirected, independent learning through

‘The IB system encourages students to develop their own critical thinking and independent inquiry skills’

• The IB has an emphasis on independent and self-directed learning • The IB encourages a global perspective, strengthening the students’ international-mindedness and cultural understanding – for example, students are required to master a foreign language and learn about other cultures and political systems, among other elements • The IB offers a seamless transition from one IB school to another IB school in any country should the need arise.

Receiving a Bilingual IB Diploma research and applying problem-solving skills to real world issues. The diploma certification requires students to engage in a wide variety of activities, and places equal weight on learning inside as well as outside the classroom. The IBDP also offers students the opportunity to study a broad range of subjects, compared to other curriculums, that might encourage students to become specialised in a narrow field of subjects. For these reasons, the IB is becoming increasingly popular amongst Dutch students and expats alike.

What Are the Benefits of Studying the IB Diploma? • Universities in the Netherlands and around the world understand the academic rigour of the IBDP and therefore hold the IB Diploma in high esteem – IBDP graduates are accepted at the best colleges and universities • Students develop life skills such as critical thinking, teamwork, research and time management – which sets them up for success at university and beyond

At Nord Anglia Rotterdam, IB students have the opportunity to gain an IB Diploma in more than two languages. As an IBDP option, bilingual students can study two language courses from the ‘Studies in Language & Literature’ subject group, to be awarded with the prestigious ‘IB Bilingual Diploma’. Alternatively, students who score highly in the ‘Studies in Language & Literature’ and in one other subject completed in a language other than English, will also receive the ‘IB Bilingual Diploma’. This special qualification recognises a student’s high level of multilingual skills and is well-received on university applications.

Hopefully, this brief overview gives you a good understanding of the opportunities available to your child at an IB school. If you have any questions, or you would like to learn more about the IB or the Nord Anglia International School Rotterdam, please don’t hesitate to contact their friendly admissions team at admissions@naisr.nl or 010 422 53 51. the xpat journal | 2020 | 17

When Does My Child Start School in the Netherlands? AND WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? To these seemingly simple questions, there are surprisingly no simple answers. In this article we’ll talk you through the procedures and practicalities, to make sure your child gets off to a flying start.

By Annebet van Mameren

ost children start school the day after their fourth birthday, whenever that is throughout the year. From the first school day of the month after their fifth birthday, a child is obliged to go to school. This is called leerplicht in Dutch. This means that for the first year – when your child is four – you are a bit more flexible in terms of school attendance. You can discuss together with your child’s teacher what works best for your child. Is your son a bit tired after a full day of school? You could maybe keep him home in the afternoons, or every Wednesday, for example. Do you want to go on an extended vacation? You may take your four-year-old daughter out of school without any issues. Of course, you should tell her teacher that she won’t be coming in on those days.

This all changes, however, once your child turns five. The Dutch school attendance law – the leerplichtwet – is very strict. Children are only allowed to miss school because of very specific reasons, for example, an important family celebration or emergency, or if you can prove that your job doesn’t allow you to take time off during the school vacations. Before you ask for permission, make sure you understand the rules very well. Par18 | the xpat journal | 2020

‘If they don’t understand something the first time, they probably will the second or third time. Each child develops at their own pace’

ents risk getting a fine if their children are out of school without permission. You can request an absence permission form from your school’s admin department, or it may be available on the school’s website. You can read more about this subject in my article www.xpat.nl/uncategorized/dutchschool-attendance-law/. There is one exception not many parents are aware of: while your child is still five years old, you may keep him or her home for a maximum of five hours per week. This is called Vrijstelling leerplicht kinderen van 5 jaar. The Ministry of Education has put this exception in place to prevent young children becoming overburdened. You should inform the principal of your school that you’re making use of this rule, but you don’t need to ask for permission. I’m sorry, but you cannot accumulate these

hours… If you feel that your 5-year-old needs even more rest, you may ask for permission to keep them home for a maximum of ten hours per week. In this case, you should explain your situation to the principal and make the necessary arrangements.

So, your child is about to turn 4 and will be starting school. A big step! What is going to happen next? Most teachers invite the parents for an intake meeting about one month before the start of school. Here they will tell you what your child should bring to school, how the school days are structured and other things you’ll need to know. Make sure you are clear about exactly which date they are expecting your child, in order to avoid your child arriving all excited on a teacher training day, or while the class is on a school trip. Often schools don’t let new children start just before the Christmas and summer vacations, as these periods are just too busy. It is very common that a new child starts school with an orientation period. This means that for one or two weeks they only go to school in the mornings. Even for children who are used to full-time daycare, the first days of ‘big school’ can be overwhelming. They need to get used to their teacher, all their new classmates, the new rules, the structure of the day, the building, and many

EDUCATION

other things. This can be very tiring for your little one. The teacher and parents decide together when your child is ready to go to school full days. So, make room in your agenda, or arrange for someone else to pick up your child around noon.

Once your child is fully adjusted to their new school life, what happens next? Most schools combine groups 1 and 2 in the same class, for children aged 4 and 5. This is called the kleuterklas, and the children are called kleuters. During these two years, they focus on learning through play, social skills, sharing, waiting their turn, Dutch language acquisition, gross and fine motor skills, independence, structure, and gradual preparation for reading, writing, and math. They work with themes, go on excursions, and there is a lot of repetition. If they don’t understand something the first time, they probably will the second or third time. Each child develops at their own pace. It is all ok. Most schools use January 1 as their cut-off date for the kleuters. This means that children who are born before this date stay in the kleuterklas less than two years, while children born after January 1 are a kleuter for a bit longer than two years. Children born between October and the beginning of January often find themselves in a bit of a gray area. Apart from the date

‘Teachers look at every child individually and also talk with the parents about how they view their child’s development’

of birth, the teacher also looks at how mature a child is, how socially strong they are, whether they already show interest in reading and writing, and whether they are ready for the more formal learning in group 3. If a child doesn’t speak fluent Dutch yet, this may also play a role in the decision. They look at every child individually and also talk with the parents about how they view their child’s development. In any case, staying in the kleuterklas longer is not seen as repeating a year, and there is no stigma on children who do have to repeat. Sometimes it is needed for a child to mature or to understand the subject matters more thoroughly. This happened to my son, who was born at the beginning of January. Two-and-a-half years in the kleuterklas was very good for him, especially in terms of self-confidence.

What next? Formal reading and writing starts in group 3, at the age of 6. Maybe this sounds a bit late to you. A lot of research has shown that it is better not to introduce reading and writing until the child is completely ready for it. Putting too much pressure on reading and writing at a too early stage can lead to frustration, taking away the pleasure in reading and also resulting in a higher school drop-out rate at a later stage. Most schools use a method where the group 3 pupils learn a new letter every two days, starting with the most common letters in Dutch, so they can already proudly write some new words very quickly. By Christmas they have learned all the letters, which some schools celebrate by throwing a letter party, and then they have completely caught up with their peers in other countries who have started the process earlier. So – now you should be more familiar with the school and their rules, regulations and quirks. I hope that your child’s school career goes very smoothly, and that you will be able to follow it all and enjoy it.

Would you like to discuss which type of school would be most suitable to your family? Contact Annebet van Mameren from New2nl at annebet@new2nl.com. the xpat journal | 2020 | 19

Education References For a complete current listing of international schools visit: www.educaide.nl

International Schools ALKMAAR AREA • The European School Molenweidtje 5, 1862 BC Bergen NH Tel.: 072 589 01 09 www.esbergen.eu ALMERE • Letterland International (Prim.Dept) Roland Holststraat 58, 1321 RX Almere Tel.: 036 536 72 40 www.letterland.nl • Secondary Dept at Int. School Almere Heliumweg 61, 1362 JA Almere - Poort Tel.: 036 760 07 50 www.internationalschoolalmere.nl AMSTERDAM • Amstelland International School Asserring 93, 1187 SM Amstelveen Tel.: 020 820 9091 www.amstelland-international-school.nl • Amsterdam International Community School Main location: Prinses Irenestraat 59, 1077 WV Amsterdam Tel.: 020 577 12 40 South East location: President Brandstraat 29, 1091 XD Amsterdam Satellite location: Arent Janszoon Ernststraat 130, 1082 LP Amsterdam www.aics.espritscholen.nl • Amity International School Amsterdam Amsterdamseweg 204, 1182 HL Amstelveen Tel.: 020 345 4481 www.amityschool.nl • Annexe du Lycée Français Vincent van Gogh Rustenburgerstraat 246, 1073GK Amsterdam Tel.: 020 644 65 07 www.lyceevangogh.nl • British School of Amsterdam Anthonie van Dijckstraat 1, 1077 ME Amsterdam Jan van Eijckstraat 21, 1077 LG Amsterdam Fred. Roeskestraat 94A, 1076 ED Amsterdam Tel.: 020 679 78 40 www.britams.nl

20 | the xpat journal | 2020

• Florencius International School Amstelveen De Savornin Lohmanlaan 2, 1181 XM Amstelveen • International School Amsterdam Sportlaan 45, 1185 TB Amstelveen Tel.: 020 347 11 11 www.isa.nl • The Japanese School of Amsterdam Karel Klinkenbergstraat 137, 1061 AL Amsterdam Tel.: 020 611 81 36 www.jsa.nl ARNHEM / NIJMEGEN • Arnhem International School Primary Dept. at Dr. Aletta Jacobsschool Slochterenweg 27, 6835 CD Arnhem Tel.: 026 323 07 29 Secondary Dept. at Lorentz Groningensingel 1245, 6835 HZ Arnhem Tel.: 026 320 2840 www.arnheminternationalschool.nl BREDA • International School Breda Mozartlaan 27, 4837 EH Breda Tel.: 076 560 78 70 www.isbreda.nl BRUNSSUM (Limburg) • Afnorth International School Ferdinand Bolstraat 1, 6445 EE Brunssum Tel.: 045 527 82 20 www.afnorth-is.com DELFT • International School Delft Primary Jaffalaan 9, 2628 BX Delft Tel.: 015 285 0038 www.internationalschooldelft.com * International School Delft Secondary Colijnlaan 2, 2613 VZ Delft Tel.: 015 820 0208 www.internationalschooldelft.com EERDE • International Boarding School Eerde Kasteellaan 1, 7731 PJ Ommen Tel.: 0529 451 452 www.eerde.nl

EINDHOVEN • International School Eindhoven www.isecampus.nl Oirschotsedijk 14b, 5651 GC Eindhoven Primary Dept Tel.: 040 251 94 37 Secondary Dept Tel.: 040 242 68 35 ENSCHEDE • International School Twente www.istwente.com Primary Campus Johannes ter Horststraat 30, 7513 ZH Enschede Tel.: 053 206 80 35 Secondary Campus Tiemeister 20, 7541 WG Enschede Tel.: 053 482 11 00 GRONINGEN • International School Groningen Esserberg Villa Rijksstraatweg 24, 9752 AE Haren Tel.: 050 5340084 www.isgroningen.nl HAARLEM • Florencius International School Haarlem Florapark 1, 2012 HK Haarlem • International School Haarlem Schreveliusstraat 27, 2014 XP Haarlem Tel.: 023 220 00 01 www.internationalschoolhaarlem.nl HOOFDDORP • The Optimist International Primary School Deltaweg 109, 2134 XS Hoofddorp Tel.: 023 561 9187 www.optimist-international-school.nl THE HAGUE AREA (Den Haag) • Deutsche Internationale Schule (German School) Van Bleiswijkstraat 125, 2582 LB Den Haag Tel.: 070 354 94 54 www.disdh.nl • HSV International Schools Tel.: 070 318 49 65

EDUCATION • International Primary Departments HSV Nassaulaan 26, 2514 JT Den Haag Tel.: 070 318 49 50 Koningin Sophielaan 24a, 2595 TG Den Haag Tel.: 070 324 34 53 Van Nijenrodestraat 16, 2597 RM Den Haag Tel.: 070 328 14 41 www.hsvdenhaag.nl • Le Lycée Français Vincent van Gogh Scheveningseweg 237, 2584 AA Den Haag Tel.: 070 306 69 23 / 070 306 69 30 www.lyceevangogh.nl • Lighthouse Special Education (Primary) Van Heutszstraat 12, 2593 PJ Den Haag Tel.: 070 335 56 98 www.lighthousese.nl

• Rijnlands Lyceum Wassenaar Backershagenlaan 5, 2243 AB Wassenaar Tel.: 070 511 0400 www.rijnlandslyceum-rlw.nl • The American School of The Hague Rijksstraatweg 200, 2241 BX Wassenaar Tel.: 070 512 10 60 www.ash.nl • The British School in The Netherlands (BSN) Admissions: Tel.: 070 315 40 77 Junior Schools BSN Age Range: 3-11 Vlaskamp 19, 2592 AA Den Haag Diamanthorst 16, 2592 GH Den Haag Vrouw Avenweg 640, 2493 WZ Den Haag Senior School BSN Jan van Hooflaan 3, 2252 BG Voorschoten Tel.: 071 560 22 22 Age range: 11-18 www.britishschool.nl • The European School of The Hague Houtrustweg 2, 2566 HA Den Haag Tel.: 070 700 16 00 www.eshthehague.nl • The Indonesian Embassy School in the Netherlands Rijksstraatweg 679, 2245 CB Wassenaar Tel.: 070 517 88 75 www.sekolahindonesia.nl • The International School of The Hague Wijndaelerduin 1, 2554 BX Den Haag Primary Dept. Tel.: 070 338 4567 Secondary Dept. Tel.: 070 328 14 50 www.ishthehague.nl • International Waldorf School The Hague 2e Messstraat 31 2586 XA Den Haag Tel: 070 783 00 30 www.internationalwaldorfschool.nl HILVERSUM • International Primary School Hilversum Rembrandtlaan 30, 1213 BH Hilversum Frans Halslaan 57A, 1213 BK Hilversum Violenstraat 3, 1214 CJ Hilversum Tel.: 035 621 60 53 www.ipsviolen.nl • International School Hilversum Alberdingk Thijm (Secondary Dept) Emmastraat 56, 1213 AL Hilversum Tel.: 035 672 99 31 www.ishilversum.nl

LAREN • Florencius International School (Primary) Leemzeulder 29, 1251 AM Laren Tel.: 035 691 2525 www.florenciusinternationalschool.nl • International School Laren (Sec) Langsakker 4, 1251 GB Laren Tel.: 035 539 54 22 www.islaren.nl LEIDERDORP • Leiden International Primary School at Elckerlyc Montessori Klimopzoom 41, 2353 RE Leiderdorp Tel.: 071 589 68 61 www.elckerlyc.net OEGSTGEEST • International Secondary Dept. at Het Rijnlands Lyceum Apollolaan 1, 2341 BA Oegstgeest Tel.: 071 519 35 55 www.isrlo.nl MAASTRICHT • United World College Maastricht Discusworp 65, 6225 XP Maastricht NL www.uwcmaastricht.nl UWCM Primary School: Tel.: 043 356 11 00 UWC Maastricht Secondary School Tel.: 043 367 46 66 www.uwcmaastricht.com ROTTERDAM • De Blijberg–International Primary Department Graaf Florisstraat 56, 3021 CJ Rotterdam Tel.: 010 448 22 66 www.blijberg.nl • Rotterdam International Secondary School Bentincklaan 294, 3039 KK Rotterdam Tel.: 010 890 77 44 www.riss.wolfert.nl • Nord Anglia International School of Rotterdam Verhulstlaan 21, 3055 WJ Rotterdam Tel.: 010 422 53 51 www.nordangliaeducation.com UTRECHT • International School Utrecht Van Bijnkershoeklaan 8, 3527 XL Utrecht Tel.: 030 870 0400 www.isutrecht.nl

the xpat journal | 2020 | 21

ISUTRECHT INVOLVES STUDENTS IN THE

New Campus Students, staff and parents of the International School Utrecht are very pleased with the design of the new campus that will be located at Utrecht Science Park. It will be an organic, green building where the school community can learn, meet and make new connections.

t’s always been important to the ISUtrecht community to have one building, where all students from Kindergarten to grade 12 can learn together and be in contact with each other. Equally important is a dedicated space for our international parents, who – new to the Netherlands – often make their first connections through their children’s school. They will get a large room for activities such as Dutch lessons, cultural celebrations and workshops, but also a space where they can sit and have a cup of coffee.

Space for All Ages The new building provides our youngest students with a more enclosed, safe and cosy environment, while it gives our older 22 | the xpat journal | 2020

‘We have chosen music to be a binding force in the school, and the glassfronted music studios will be visible at the heart of the school’ students, whose world is getting bigger, spaces to play sports, explore, hang out, study or be creative. The green terraces at the back of the building, for example, can be used to grow fruit and vegetables, but also

to study, or chill with friends. A basketball court on the roof of the building provides a nice addition to the indoor sports hall and will also be available during breaks. The wide, welcoming front entrance at the Cambridgelaan cleverly separates the younger students who find their classrooms and play areas on the ground floor, from the older primary and secondary students who go up one flight of stairs to enter the building at the first floor. They will find music studios, an auditorium and a large library situated around the entrance hall. As we have chosen music to be a binding force in the school, it is wonderful that the glassfronted music studios will be visible at the heart of the school. The centrally-located library is a community space where students from all ages will mingle and connect.

EDUCATION

We communicate across cultures, using music to form strong bonds. That is why we offer an exciting music programme accessible to all students and connected to the rich music tradition of the city of Utrecht. This is one of the four pillars in the ISUtrecht mission statement which underpins everything we do. Music has a special place at our school and that’s why we have three music teachers who teach all students music from the age of 4. Primary students have the opportunity to sing in a choir or play in an orchestra. Secondary students can sing in the acapella ensemble or play in the school band. All students can enroll in private, or group instrumental or singing lessons during or after school hours. International School Utrecht is a fullyauthorised International Baccalaureate World School offering the Primary Years Programme (PYP), Middle Years Programme (MYP) and Diploma Programme (DP). The ISUtrecht is currently a Council of International Schools (CIS) member school and we are working towards full CIS accreditation. The school currently has an enrolment of 850 students aged 4-18. The new ISUtrecht campus at Utrecht Science Park is designed by a consortium of architects, led by Gideon de Jong from SVP Architectuur en Stedenbouw and Marcel Blom from Cross Architecture, who were selected from a shortlist of five renowned firms. The architects translated the school’s mission statement and an extensive programme of requirements made by students, staff and parents into a clever design.

Involving the Students To make sure our students feel at home from the first moment they enter the new building, they will help design some of the common areas. Design teachers Poyee Li and Annabel Kjar recently started with a first project in which all grade 6 student will design a chandelier. The students will work in groups and the best design will be incorporated in the new school building. “The architects recently held a short presentation for our students, giving them the outline of the challenge: design a chandelier made of recycled materials which fits the identity of the ISUtrecht community,” explains Ms Kjar. “The students will go through the De-

sign Cycle to come up with an innovative solution to this design problem,” says Ms Li. Ms Kjar: “They need to think about form and function and come up with a product that suits the space they’ve chosen and is appropriate for the age group their chosen space is for.” Over the coming months, students will do their research, take part in a skills workshop in which they will make a light and gather ideas. The architects will return at the end of April to provide all the groups with feedback on their ideas. Ms Li: “The feedback the students receive will help them to turn their design into a prototype for their final product.” The architects will select the winning design before the summer break. In the next academic year, the Design teachers and architects will work with the students in grade 10, who will design a ‘Serpentine Pavilion’ and the students in grade 8 who will come up with ideas for visual signage and typography within the new building.

Approval As the International School Utrecht is a part state-funded school, it is the municipality of Utrecht which is responsible for the accommodation. The mayor and aldermen of Utrecht recently approved the official zoning plan. This zoning plan will be released for public participation this spring. After final approval by the city council, building work should start early 2021, which means the building should be finished towards the end of 2022.

‘To make sure our students feel at home from the first moment they enter the new building, they will help design some of the common areas’ How the School Grew This is exactly ten years after the school first opened its doors in August 2012 to 53 students in a small primary school building on the east side of Utrecht. From the moment ISUtrecht opened its doors, the student population grew rapidly. That’s why, in March 2015, the school moved to the Van Bijnkershoeklaan on the west side of Utrecht, where a semi-permanent building was erected. To further extend the capacity of the school, the secondary annex was opened in August 2016. This not only freed up much-needed space at the main campus, but also provided the school with a science lab, a black box theatre and a new, bigger visual arts room. In the summer of 2017, an extension and new wing were built on the playground of the main campus. In January 2018, the students moved into this new space. New primary and secondary classes were opened to accommodate a growing demand for places at the school. In August 2019, extra classrooms and a DP aula were rented in an office complex at the back of the main campus to provide our Diploma students with extra classrooms and their own lounge. the xpat journal | 2020 | 23

LEARNING WITH

Head, Heart and Hands The Hague has been home to a Dutch Waldorf school for over 90 years. Since 2018, it also boasts an international, English-language one, aimed at children of kindergarten and primary-school age.

24 | the xpat journal | 2020

EDUCATION

sonal approach – another guiding principle in Steiner teaching.” The school also makes sure the children get some exposure to the Dutch language. “It would be odd to completely isolate children from the context they currently live in, so we introduce them to Dutch through songs, poems and games. The main aim is not for them to become fluent or understand the grammar, but to give them a feeling for the differences between languages. We want them to experience language rather than learn it.”

By Maya Witters Photography International Waldorf School

ased on Steiner’s principles, the school offers children a balanced education, combining social, personal and cognitive development in equal measure. “We’re helping children become critical and engaged world citizens.” The International Waldorf School was founded to make Waldorf-style education (also known as Steiner education) available to children who travel the world with their parents. “We saw a lot of children who don’t have Dutch as their mother tongue join the Vrije School, our Dutch-speaking counterpart,” attests school principal Niels Schieman. “And of course, The Hague welcomes a lot of temporary international visitors, so we recognised the need for an international school.”

Curiosity Is Key The main aim of Waldorf schools is to create a warm and welcoming environment in class, explains Schieman. “We want children to look forward to going to school. We strongly believe they need intrinsic motivation for learning, not just extrinsic reasons like seeing their friends or being rewarded for getting good grades. So we create an atmosphere where curiosity and creativity are nurtured. And by discovering and appreciating each other’s differences, they learn to exist peacefully together.” Rudolf Steiner, the Austrian philosopher upon whose thinking Waldorf schools are founded, observed that curiosity is the key to deeper learning – a century before neuroscientific discoveries confirmed his findings. This concept informs the way every part of the curriculum is taught at the school. “Children have the natural ability to marvel at what they experience – we simply harness that capacity to make learning more effective and more fun. When children truly get involved with the curriculum rather than just memorising it, they gain the capacity to be creative with their knowledge and use it for problem-solving later in life.”

Letting Children Be Children Another underlying principle of the school is that children have the right to be chil-

‘Children have the natural ability to marvel at what they experience – we simply harness that capacity to make learning more effective and more fun’ dren. “We believe that young children should be allowed to stay in their protective fantasy bubble for a while. We don’t start introducing news or current affairs into the curriculum until quite late. The grown-up world can be very scary, we don’t want children to become frightened of it,” explains Schieman. “Instead, we introduce the more difficult parts of life slowly and with a lot of context, so that children have a solid base of confidence in the world. We work with a lot of historical tales: these are often rich in imagery and morality. This principle is common to Waldorf schools around the world, and the stories are usually drawn from the local context or religion – but we see that the underlying morals and themes are the same, regardless of location or culture.”

Happy Parents Schieman and his team want to make sure international parents in The Hague are aware of the existence of the International Waldorf School. “Many people don’t know we’re here, or perhaps they haven’t heard of Steiner education. But we’ve had tremendously positive feedback from parents so far, and some of them express sadness when they move away, because they see such positive development in their children.” One parent, Jon Monastero, who is a performer in Cirque du Soleil, explained how happy he has been with the school. “We know that it is not easy to accept a student out of the blue, so to speak, and for such a short time, but everyone welcomed us with open arms and left such a warm and beautiful impression on our lives. It has been one of the most incredible experiences in our six years on tour.”

Compatibility

Language Support

While the Waldorf curriculum takes a different approach to learning, it is perfectly compatible with other education systems, and children can progress seamlessly to the international secondary school in The Hague. “Our curriculum is of equal academic value to that of any other school. The difference is simply that we have an added focus on helping children to become independent, confident and active global citizens,” Schieman concludes.

Running an international school provides the additional challenge that children come from all sorts of backgrounds, and many do not speak English as their first language. “We offer lots of individual support to make sure every child can participate in class,” says Schieman. “We’re a small school, so there’s plenty of scope for a per-

For more details about the school or Waldorf Schools worldwide, visit www.internationalwaldorfschool.nl. The school has open days, but parents and children are welcome at any time for a tour. the xpat journal | 2020 | 25

Going to University For those seeking an English-language study program, the Netherlands is one of the most accessible countries to explore, for a variety of reasons. For starters, over 2,100 courses are on offer here in English, constituting 23% of the bachelor’s degrees on offer here and 74% of the master’s degrees.

uition

Another reason why studying here is so attractive is because the level of education is high, with some faculties ranking higher than world-famous universities across the world, while tuition is relatively low. Students from EEA (European Economic Area) countries, Switzerland and Surinam pay a tuition fee of €2,143 (academic year 2020-2021), while students from other countries pay between €6,000 and €15,000 for a bachelor’s degree, and between €8,000 and €20,000 for a master’s degree. Compare that to, for instance, $26,000 - $36,000 per year in the US (for non-state residents) and $10,230 for state residents.

International Students There are almost 86,000 non-Dutch nationals in the Dutch universities, from 170 countries, 27% of which are outside Europe. When it comes to bachelor’s degrees, 53% 26 | the xpat journal | 2020

of the international students go to a research university and 47% to a university of applied sciences. While the percentage of international students is 11.5 of all students in the Netherlands, they constitute 23.6% of all students obtaining a research university master’s degree. You’ll notice just how international the Dutch universities are when you visit their so-called open days, where you can follow short classes, meet current students and obtain information about the courses. The pamphlets are available in English, many of the introductory classes are given in English and, among the current students grabbing a bite to eat in the cafeteria, English appears to be the main language – if only because in every group there’s at least one student who doesn’t speak Dutch.

Two Types of University The higher education system in the Netherlands is based on a three-cycle degree

system, consisting of a bachelor’s, master’s and – if you want – Ph.D. degree. It is offered at two types of institutions: research universities (WO / universiteit) and universities of applied sciences (HBO / hogeschool).

Research Universities Academic education (universiteit) is offered to students with an IB-Diploma or the Dutch VWO – or their equivalent – by universities in Maastricht, Eindhoven, Tilburg, Nijmegen, Wageningen, Enschede, Groningen, Utrecht, Amsterdam, Leiden, Delft, and Rotterdam. Some of these universities also have faculties / departments in other cities. The university degree programs are organized around a bachelor’s or undergraduate phase that lasts three years and a master’s or graduate phase that lasts one to three years. These universities offer research-oriented programs (Wetenschappelijk Onderwijs, WO) and the possibility to conduct research in a wide range of disciplines:

EDUCATION language and culture, behavior and society, economics, law, medical and health sciences, natural sciences, mathematics, engineering, and agriculture. As many Dutch universities have partner institutions in other countries, students can follow part of their degree program course abroad. Your university can tell you with which universities it has an exchange agreement.

Institutions may have additional admission requirements. You first need to find a study program and then check its particular admission requirements, and if there are any additional ones. To follow an Englishlanguage course, you must speak, read and write English well, and you will be required to show that you have passed an English language test. IELTS and TOEFL are commonly accepted, but institutions may accept other tests as well, such as Cambridge English.

Hogescholen or ‘Universities of Applied Sciences’ Universities of applied sciences offer higher professional education (Hoger beroeps onderwijs, HBO), which focuses on applied arts and sciences in one of the seven HBO sectors: agriculture, engineering and technology, economics and business administration, health care, fine and performing arts, education / teacher training, and social welfare. The universities of applied sciences offer four-year bachelor’s degree programs as well as master’s programs lasting one to two years. All degree programs focus on preparing students for particular professions. They tend to be more practically-oriented than programs offered by research universities. In addition to lectures, seminars, projects and independent study, students are often required to complete an internship or work placement (stage) which normally takes up part of the third year of study, as well as a final project or a major paper in the fourth year.

International Education Next to the research universities and universities of applied sciences, Holland has a third and smaller branch of higher education, officially known as ‘International Education’ (IE). International education offers advanced training courses, taught in English, originally designed for people from developing countries whose jobs require highly-specialized knowledge. Most of the IE institutions are part of a research university and focus on courses relevant to developing countries.

Finding a Study Program Here and Abroad The site www.studyfinder.nl offers international students an independent and reliable overview of international study programs offered by the Dutch higher education institutions, ranging from short training seminars to full-fledged bachelor’s

Deadlines and DigiD

‘There are almost 86,000 non-Dutch nationals in the Dutch universities, from 170 countries’

and master’s degree programs. On www. scholarshipportal.com you will find an overview of the financial support available from many different sources for those who want to study in Europe.

Requirements for Admission to Higher Education For access to WO bachelor’s programs, students are required to have an IB diploma, a VWO diploma or – in some cases – to have completed the first year (60 ECTS, see further on) of an HBO program. The minimum access requirement for HBO is an IB-diploma (and, in some cases, the IGCSE-diploma with two additional subjects at GCE-level), the Dutch HAVO / VWO diploma or a level-4 MBO-diploma. Students with four GCSEs with marks ranging from A*-C, plus two GCEs at A/S level are also eligible for admission. Potential students older than 21 years of age who do not possess one of the qualifications mentioned above can qualify for access to higher education on the basis of an entrance examination and assessment. To determine whether your diploma qualifies, if you have a non-Dutch secondary school diploma or an IB diploma, you must have your diploma evaluated by your prospective educational institution.

If you want to study in the Netherlands, keep an eye out for the application deadlines. In some cases, for instance numerus fixus study programs, this is January 15. For most other study programs, it is May 1. With some universities, you need to apply via the Studielink website – so be sure to check with your prospective study program whether this is the case for you. In order to register via Studielink, you will need a DigiD – this is a digital identity used to arrange certain things online, such as taxes, healthcare, insurance, etc. You request a DigiD online – for which you will need another of those Dutch acronyms; a BSN (burgerservicenummer, or citizen service number), as well as a mobile phone number and an email address. After about five days, you will receive a letter by mail with an activation code – so be sure to take this into account when preparing to register!

Associate’s Degree The associate’s degree (it goes by the same name in Dutch) program is a two-year ‘short cycle’ degree program offered by universities of applied sciences. It enables students to obtain a professional qualification in a shorter period of time and can help them learn the skills and competencies needed to improve their chances on the job market. Access requirements to an associate’s degree program are the same as for an HBO bachelor’s program (they don’t accept all MBO diplomas, however). Once they have obtained an associate’s degree, graduates can seek employment or continue in the last two years of an HBO-program, to obtain a bachelor’s degree.

International Secondary Vocational Education There is a network of bilingual MBO schools in the Netherlands, currently consisting of 40 schools. At a bilingual MBO the xpat journal | 2020 | 27

EDUCATION school, 50% of the curriculum is taught in English. Students who graduate from a bilingual MBO school are obligated to obtain an internationally-acknowledged diploma or certificate such as BTEC, BULATS, Cambridge or Anglia. Another important part of bilingual education is the focus on international awareness in the curriculum, for instance through international internships or projects. At the moment, there are several MBO schools that offer full degrees in English, like ROC Mondriaan and the Summa College. Other schools in the Netherlands are extending their curricula with international courses, like ROC Amsterdam, where students can follow an intensive one-year international course in denim development.

European Business Baccalaureate Diploma Recently, a new program has been developed: the European Business Baccalaureate Diploma (EBBD), which is recognized all across Europe. The program focuses on business competence and soft skills in an international environment, for professions in the area of business administration. In the Netherlands, the Summa College in Eindhoven, Koning Willem I College in Den Bosch and ROC Midden Nederland in Utrecht offer this program. For more information check www.eurobacdiploma.eu.

Choosing a University The Dutch system of quality control guarantees that the education offered at all the institutions meets the same high standards. When Dutch students choose where they want to study, they are not thinking of which research university or university of applied sciences is best, but instead are looking at which specializations are offered and which emphasis or academic tradition is featured. On www.studyfinder.nl you can search and compare English-language study programs

stitutions have signed the Code of Conduct on www.internationalstudy.nl.

Making the Transition

‘The education offered at all the institutions meets the same high standards, instead students look at which specializations are offered and which emphasis or academic tradition is featured’ based on the criteria that matter to you. How do you know for sure that your course or program is of the right quality? Find out whether it has been accredited by the Accreditation Organization of the Netherlands and Flanders (Nederlands Vlaamse Accreditatie Organisatie, www.nvao.com), which has been appointed by the Dutch and Flemish government for the purpose of monitoring the quality of the higher education courses and programs on offer. All Dutch higher institutions that you will find on www.studyfinder.nl have signed the Code of Conduct. Find out more which in-

Valuable websites: www.studyinholland.nl – for information on requirements, tuition fees, scholarships, etc. www.nuffic.nl – for information on the education system, diplomas, etc. www.duo.nl – for information on the student grant www.uaf.nl – for refugees looking to study in the Netherlands

28 | the xpat journal | 2020

In principle, if you want to come to the Netherlands as a student, you can only come here to follow a particular course (or full study program) and you must meet all requirements. There are, however, three exceptions to this. The first is: if you meet all requirements for studying in the Netherlands, you are allowed to come here for a year first to study Dutch. The second is: if you do not meet all requirements, you can come here for a year to follow a preparatory program for the particular study of your choice. The third option is the so-called foundation year (schakeljaar); a transitional year that has been created for specifically for non-European, non-Western students to help them prepare for their studies here.

Studiefinanciering Based on studiefinanciering rules, students starting in September 2020 can take out a maximum loan of € 1,076 (including a tuition fee loan). If you have a right to the studiefinanciering-loan, you also have a right to the Studenten OV-chipkaart, with which you can travel by public transportation for free either during the weekend or on weekdays (your choice) and at reduced rates during the other days. This public transportation pass is subject to the condition that you complete your studies within ten years. If you are a non-Dutch national, legally residing in the Netherlands, you can apply for the studiefinanciering-loan if: • you are enrolled in a recognized, fulltime or dual course of at least one year • you are an EU/EEA/Swiss national and lived in the Netherlands for five consecutive years with a maximum interruption of six months, or if your non-Dutch parent or partner did • you have a type I, II, III or IV or V residence permit. DUO strongly advises foreign EU-students (if you have not been living in the Netherlands for five consecutive years or more) to contact one of their support offices. They can provide you with further information. EU/EEA/Swiss nationals who do not qualify for the studiefinanciering-loan, can apply for a tuition fee loan, to be repaid upon completing their studies, for more information, visit www.duo.nl.

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Ambassadors for Change

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

Leilani, Raina, Zozi and Trinabh of The International School of Amsterdam

30 | the xpat journal | 2020

EDUCATION

The Stories that Move project, an anti-discrimination campaign and curriculum created by the Anne Frank Foundation in cooperation with The International School of Amsterdam, has proven to be a mark of true innovation in education.

free, online tool and curriculum available in seven languages, Stories that Move is available for any person or organisation that wishes to combat discrimination. The aim of the project is to create a framework and space for safe, open dialogue about identity and discrimination, and to inspire students to take positive action in local and/or global communities. Aimed at middle and high school students, it does an excellent job of underscoring the principles of the IB MYP: “The MYP encourages students to make practical connections between their studies and the real world. The MYP aims to develop active learners and internationallyminded young people who can empathise with others and pursue lives of purpose and meaning. The programme empowers students to inquire into a wide range of issues and ideas of significance locally, nationally and globally. The result is young people who are creative, critical and reflective thinkers.” International Baccalaureate

How It All Began The initiative originated from an international youth voices conference in Berlin in 2013. After the success of the conference, the project leaders were inspired to build upon the powerful messages of hope from the young participants, resulting in Stories that Move. To ensure its success, they chose to seek out additional partners that were not involved in the original conference and, in particular, wanted an educational partner that had extensive experience with online learning methods. Thus, they approached the International School of Amsterdam (ISA), asking them to join. ISA became a project partner in 2015, shortly before the Stories that Move project was officially launched. The first international project team meeting was held at the ISA campus in autumn of 2015, with multiple schools and organisations from throughout Europe attending and offering

diverse perspectives and insights. In addition to experience with online learning, ISA has been able to offer exposure to a diverse student population (60 nationalities) and innovative pedagogical practices (such as Harvard’s Project Zero Visible Thinking Routines) to round out the project’s goals.

‘The aim of the project is to create a framework and space for safe, open dialogue about identity and discrimination’

ISA and Stories that Move Grade 8 English teacher Shannon Hancock and ISA Director of Educational Technology, Michael McGlade, have been involved in the project. Over the past years, Hancock has piloted the materials online and offline with students, as well as provided input on teaching strategies (such as Visible Thinking and making connections with the MYP/ IB teaching methodologies), content, design of lesson tracks, and the refinement of the learning paths. Hancock has been a member of the project team over the course of the nine team meetings in the seven partner countries: the Netherlands, Slovakia, Austria, Germany, Ukraine, Hungary, and Poland. The grade 8 teaching team also collaborates closely, by using the materials in their homerooms and providing feedback to the Stories that Move partners on both the look and feel of the online learning tool.

Ambassadors for Change A group of four students, Istvan (Zozi) Lencz (Hungary), Rania Khan (Bangladesh), Trinabh Banerjee (Netherlands),

and Leilani Hancock (United States), who had been working closely with the programme, were asked by the Stories that Move project team to present and lead a social media campaign at its international launch in Berlin in July of 2018, where the project won the prestigious 2018 Comenius EduMedia Medal for excellent teaching materials. These four students had previously participated in workshops at the Anne Frank House, the ELMLE conference, and provided feedback and ideas over a three-year timespan.

Creativity, Activity and Service After the student’s success at the international project launch in Berlin, the Stories that Move partners asked the four students to continue as ambassadors for the tool. Subsequently, the students created a Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS) club in ISA’s high school. They meet each week with the goal of creating a larger team of middle and high school students to: • create a series of parent workshops covering the five learning paths • reach out to other schools in the Netherlands to support and promote the online learning tool • continue to act as speakers for the project at conferences and workshops • prepare as teacher/student trainers for the tool. “Through these experiences, I have learned that we all deal with discrimination and intolerance each and every day – granted to varying extents. No one is immune. No one of us lives without bias and a certain degree of oppressive stereotypes about one another. We are human, and we are products of our individual cultures and experiences. This shapes us, and not always to make us love each other.” Leilani Hancock “In a world where discrimination is pervasive, inescapable, and rooted in the entire history of humanity’s existence, the next generation must be equipped to take on injustices wherever they may be found.” Raina Khan the xpat journal | 2020 | 31

’s-Graveland

THE FORMER PLAYGROUND OF 17TH-CENTURY AMSTERDAMMERS Every now and then, you have a day that is so perfect, you just don’t want it to end. The things you see, the people you meet, the information you absorb, the nature you experience, the history you witness – they all come together to create a magical day. By Stephanie Dijkstra Photography Frans Lemmens

32 | the xpat journal | 2020

LEISURE

‘Wide meadows, purple heathland, ample waterways and expansive woodlands offer sanctuary to a wide variety of animals’

the xpat journal | 2020 | 33

LEISURE

he day I visited ‘s-Graveland was one such day. It helped, of course, that I was taken on a tour of the village by a couple that has a true love for the area and knows every inch of it. A couple of years ago, after having lived in ‘s-Graveland for a decade while traveling around the world, Frans Lemmens – photographer for National Geographic – and his wife Marjolijn van Steeden decided that it was time to live somewhere else. Wherever their work or leisure sent them, they looked around – weighing the pros and cons; the culture, their knowledge of the language, the people, the history, the beauty of the environment... All continents were considered and potential homes were visited, when all of a sudden they realized; ‘s-Graveland – where they had been living all this time – was exactly where they wanted to be. And that is completely understandable.

Creature Comforts At less than 30 kilometers from the center of Amsterdam, it feels two centuries removed from the city. Not because of lack of civilization or creature comforts – but precisely because of creature comforts, literally; wide meadows, purple heathland, ample waterways and expansive woodlands offer sanctuary to a wide variety of animals, ranging from roe deer, to kingfishers, to bats, to bees, to storks, swans, owls – to name a few. Though it is located between Amsterdam and the country’s TV and radio capital of Hilversum, you can set off in any direction and encounter nothing but local flora and fauna in all its glory.

Wealthy Amsterdammers Since time immemorial, this area had been inhabited by farmers, who put their cattle out to pasture near Ankeveen in the summers, and then led them to the 34 | the xpat journal | 2020

‘A couple of wealthy Amsterdammers decided they wanted a place of their own, and a strip of 1,500 acres was divided up’

heathland near Hilversum during the winters. Eventually larger farms were built, where the Amsterdammers – fleeing the stench of the inner city, liked to rent the top floor in the summers, out in the relative wilderness but nonetheless more than luxurious enough. They came there down canals that had been dug between Amsterdam and this area for the purpose of transporting sand to Amsterdam (and faraway Indonesia), to stabilize the ground under the houses, and garbage and dirty laundry to ‘s-Graveland. The laundry was washed in the clean waters of the village – an industry that thrived until well into the 20th century – and the garbage was dumped out in the countryside. At the start of the 17th century, a couple of wealthy Amsterdammers decided they wanted a place of their own along the canal, and on March 17, 1625, the decision was made to divide up an almost perfectly rectangular strip of land of approximately 600 hectares (or 1,500 acres) into plots for the purpose of allowing an influx of Amsterdammers make the area more ‘cultured’.

Protest Of course, the local farmers were less charmed by this idea, presumably feeling they were ‘cultured’ enough, and decided to defend their area; they shot at the first laborers and set about destroying their work. In response, a small army of horsemen and infantrymen were sent to the area to keep the peace, until an agreement was reached with the locals; they would keep three throughways between Ankeveen and Hilversum for their cattle, and the path, leading from Ankeveen to the Catholic church in Hilversum would be maintained. Once this was settled, the construction of luxury homes, or manor houses, could begin. This path between Ankeveen and Hilversum, called Ankeveensepad, remains there

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GETTING THERE

To reach ‘s-Graveland by public transportation, take the train to Bussum-Zuid and cut across the heath to Boekesteyn manor.

EATING THERE

Local places to eat, recommended by our guides: • Restaurant Vlaar: www.restaurantvlaar.nl • De Colonie: www.sgraveland.colonie.nl • Brambergen: www.brambergen.nl • ‘t Swaentje: www.hetswaentje.nl • Bistro de Garde: www.bistrodegarde.nl • Restaurant Loodijk: www.restaurantloodijk.nl • Restaurant de Molen: www.restaurant-de-molen.nl to this day and represents another twist in history; despite popular belief that Local places to sleep, everyone ‘above the rivrecommended by our guides: ers’ (Rhine/Lek, Maas and • Art+Bed and Breakfast Waal) has always been prot• Rural Family Home estant, this area was popu• De Zanderij: lated by Catholics. With the www.beeldentuin-dezanderij.nl influx of Amsterdammers in • Sperwershof: the 17th century, ‘s-Gravewww.sperwershoferfgoedlogies.nl land became a Protestant pocket in a predominantly Catholic area that interrupted the trek of Ankeveen’s religious folk to their church in Hilversum.

SLEEPING THERE

Poldermodel ‘s-Graveland was also home to that quintessentially Dutch phenomenon: a polderbestuur, or polder government. Though created on the initiative of the local nobility, the hoogheemraadschap, as it was also known as in other parts of the country, became an institution that gave voice to a variety of interested parties, who – in consultation – strived for consensus on matters that were of interest to everyone. This is seen as an early form of democracy and has given rise to what is now known to typify the Dutch; the poldermodel.

Manors Currently, ten of the 17th-century manor houses remain, such as Boekesteyn, Trompenburgh and Schaep en Burgh. Some of them have become offices, some are privately owned and some are open to the public. Schaep en Burgh houses the head office of Natuur monumenten, or Nature Monuments, which has bought and protects approximately 250,000 acres of natural area in the Netherlands, as well as managing 255 sites and owning 1,700 buildings. It is also housed in Huys 36 | the xpat journal | 2020

Brambergen, where Natuurmomumenten has an exhibition and (partially interactive) information center, as well as café-restaurant Brambergen. Here they purportedly sell the best apple pie in the country, which you can enjoy while taking in the wide views of the pastures and woodlands behind. And if you want your children to (re)discover what it is like to play outside, there is an OERRR play garden here as well, where they can climb in the tree hut, mess around with water, build things with sticks and branches – all the things children did before the advent of the TV and game consoles – while you enjoy a steaming cup of coffee on the terrace. Through OERRR, Natuurmonumenten arranges a variety of activities for children who want to explore more of nature; visit www.natuurmonumenten.nl/kinderen for more information and an agenda of their activities, for which you can sign up your children. Trompenburgh manor house is hard to miss; built for Admiral Cornelis Tromp, it rises like a ship out of the canal with a terrace right on the water’s edge and a roof balcony that – before there were woods – offered a view from the Dom Tower of Utrecht to the former Zuyderzee (IJsselmeer). Nowadays, you can book a tour-guide-led visit to the manor house, first come, first serve, via the Natuurmonumenten website. Boekesteyn houses the Gooi and Vecht Area Visitor’s Center, where you can find information on the ten adjacent manor houses and from where you set off on a hike through the area. You can download a 17-kilometer long hiking route on www. natuurmonumenten.nl/bezoekerscentrum-gooi-envechtstreek/route/wandelroute-s-gravelandse-buitenplaatsen.

Sculpture Garden An absolute high point of the day was a visit to Sculpture Garden (Beeldentuin) Zanderij. As the owner is a friend of my guides, he gave us a personal tour. Given

LEISURE

its name, it should come as no surprise that the garden is filled with sculptures – of all types, ranging from realistic, to African, Asian, modern and just about any style – that have been placed throughout the garden in a pleasingly seemingly random sort of way. When remarking that some of the sculptures appeared to have been knocked over, our host explained that, in anticipation of that weekend’s storm, they had been laid down in order to keep them from falling over. However visible the art may be, it is only modest part of all you can experience there; in the middle is a rather curiouslooking structure that looks rather haphazardly put together, but that nonetheless apparently suits the taste of a variety of birds who have created their nests in its countless niches – including owls, whose pictures are also on display, photographed by none other than my host of the day. Off beyond that is the Toad Pool, home to toads, frogs, salamanders and grass snakes, while in the center of the garden is a bee pavilion, slightly sunken into the ground, that you can enter and circle, enjoying more art and the livelihood of the local bee population. Across from it is a cellar, which the owner opened with a key that looked at least as old as ‘sGraveland itself, to reveal the ideal hibernation place for a variety of bats. We spotted a few tiny fellas, hanging upside down, wings tucked in, eyes closed as they waited for the warmer days of summer. Once again outside, we were led to the edge of the canal, with its Kingfisher Wall, which is enthusiastically made use of by its intended inhabitants. Having made many photographs myself of empty branches where, seconds before, a beautiful bird had been perched, Frans shared with me just how much preparation goes into his seemingly off-the-cuff, spontaneous nature photography. First, he had to figure out which opening had a nest behind it. Then he had to set up a spot where the kingfisher was sure to stop when returning to the nest

‘An absolute high point of the day was a visit to Sculpture Garden (Beeldentuin) Zanderij’

with food, to check out whether the coast was clear. Next, Frans had to set up the camera in such a way that the photographs were sure to be in focus. After that, he set up a tent on the other side of the canal, where he and his wife settled – chilly, yet cozy – for the day, remote control in hand, to operate the camera. That is when you realize that nature photography is not merely a matter of trekking through nature with a heavilytelelensed camera around your neck, but also a matter of planning, preparation and patience. The Zanderij adventure does not end there. When you have seen all there is to see in the garden, be sure to visit the tea room and terrace. Here, you can sit in the sun, with an unhindered view of the sculptures, birds and trees and enjoy high tea, mini tea or lunch (minimum number of guests required for all three). And if you still haven’t had enough, be sure to book a room upstairs, in their bed&breakfast. The entire complex is powered with solar panels.

Perfect Ending Just when I thought I had seen it all and we were driving back home through a descending curtain of dusk, we spotted a small group of roe deer in the meadows, untroubled by the close proximity of civilization, calmly making their way through a buffet of grass, leaves and twigs. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day.

ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER

Frans Lemmens has published several photography books, including Still Holland and Holland – Winter Wonderland. His book The Netherlands at Its Best, with 100 new pictures in a new and updated version, is due to appear in the month of April. It can be ordered at www.hollandbooks.nl the xpat journal | 2020 | 37

EVENTS DIARY

SPRING 2020

This is but a small selection of the many events and festivals that are taking place in the Netherlands this spring. Nonetheless, certainly for the newcomers among our readers, we hope to have compiled a few fun tips on things that are just too good to miss. For a more extensive program of events in the Netherlands, we refer you to www.holland.com

Rotterdam Marathon, Erasmus bridge

38 | the xpat journal | 2020

EVENTS DIARY

40th Rotterdam Marathon One of the largest sporting events in the Netherlands, the ABN AMRO Rotterdam Marathon, will welcome thousands of runners to the annual race, with over 925,000 spectators cheering them on. This exciting sporting event is a fun mix of athletic competition and festival-related events, as well as a Pasta Party on Saturday, April 4! Other races include the ¼ marathon, the AD Mini marathon and two kids’ runs.

April 4 - 5 Various locations, Rotterdam www.marathonrotterdam.org

20th Motel Mozaïque Festival (MOMO) Each year, Motel Mozaïque organizes several special cultural events such as the (inter)nationally-respected Motel Mozaïque festival which offers a mix of pop music, dance, theater and visual arts. At various venues in the amazing center of Rotterdam. The 20th edition of the festival will bring you exciting (new) artists in performance and art, but most of all lots of music! Motel Mozaïque’s line-up is bursting with both new talent, and some more renowned names.

April 16 - 18 different venues Rotterdam Center www.motelmozaique.nl/en

20th Motel Mozaïque Festival (MOMO) Photo Camiel Scholten

World Press Photo Story of the Year Nominee Online Nicolas Asfouri

World Press Photo

Life I Live Festival

The World Press Photo 2020 exhibition will be at De Nieuwe Kerk Amsterdam, starting Saturday, April 18. The 63rd edition of the competition features impressive photographs in eight categories: Daily Life, General News, Contemporary Issues, LongTerm Projects, Nature, People, Spot News and Sport. First, second and third prizes are awarded in each category.

For the tenth time in a row, on the night preceding King’s Day and on King’s Day itself, The Hague will be the stage for the Life I Live Festival, with indoor and outdoor venues hosting approximately 50 different performances on 10 stages, with soul, funk, hip hop, blues, indiepop, garage, punkrock, psychedelica, jazz and dance tunes – all for free.

April 18 – July 26 De Nieuwe Kerk, Dam, Amsterdam www.nieuwekerk.nl www.worldpressphoto.org

April 26 - 27 The Hague www.thelifeilive.nl

Life I Live Festival Photo: Wouter Vellekoop

the xpat journal | 2020 | 39

Tong Tong Fair in the center of The Hague

40 | the xpat journal | 2020

EVENTS DIARY

62nd Tong Tong Fair The roots of the former Dutch colony of Indonesia are firmly grounded in the city of The Hague – as is attested by the many tokos (Indonesian stores), traditional eateries and exotic street names. Also the Tong Tong Fair, the largest Eurasian festival in the world, has been on the Hague festival agenda for 62 years. East and west meet on the Hague Malieveld, in an expedition that will take you through Indonesian, Vietnamese and Malaysian culture, bringing you theater, dance, delicious food and much, much more.

May 28 - June 7 Malieveld, The Hague www.tongtongfair.nl

King’s Day This nation has been celebrating its monarch’s birthday since 1898. It’s gone from Princess’, to Queen’s, to King’s Day, now celebrated on April 27. Dutch cities around the country will be filled with enthusiastic supporters covered head to toe in orange, taking part in this traditional celebration. Fun entertainment includes street parties, live music and theater performances, along with the well-known vrijmarkten (flea markets), in just about every city and town. In Amsterdam, you will find the main areas of activity in Damrak, Leidsestraat, Rokin and Spui. The Royal Family will be visiting Maastricht this year, where they will be entertained in keeping with tradition.

April 27 Amsterdam and the rest of the Netherlands

King’s Day

SPRING Performing Arts Festival

Remembrance Day and Liberation Day

SPRING Performing Arts Festival

The Netherlands has a unique way of commemorating the Second World War, paying tribute with two national holidays: Remembrance Day (May 4) and Liberation Day (May 5). Related events, including exhibitions, lectures and debates, are scheduled to keep history a part of contemporary discussions. The commemoration begins with solemn ceremonies on May 4 as a symbol of respect for all the Dutch who have died in conflicts worldwide, and continues the next day with big events including 14 openair pop festivals throughout the country, of which Bevrijdingspop, in Haarlem, was the first in 1980.

This festival focuses on a crossover between theater and dance. It is a merger of two festivals that have been leading international platforms for the performing arts and returns again this year with performances, installations and debates. The 10-day festival is the only event that focuses on the latest developments in international contemporary dance. Both established and emerging artists and dancers will perform works created by local and international choreographers. Ticket sales will start and the line-up will be announced at the start of April.

May 4 - 5 Amsterdam and the rest of the Netherlands www.4en5mei.nl/english

May 14 - 23 Utrecht www.springutrecht.nl

Liberation Day

the xpat journal | 2020 | 41

EVENTS DIARY

Best Kept Secret

North Sea Regatta Photo Sander van der Borch

Holland Festival, Beethoven Florian Joahn

Holland Festival The Holland Festival is the Netherlands’ oldest and largest performing arts festival. It was founded in 1947 to foster a positive interaction between the Netherlands and its surrounding countries, and features some of the world’s top artists and performers. Last year, the festival offered more than 50 international productions and almost 160 performances. Its program includes theater, music, opera and modern dance performances, as well as arts, film and literature – offering the public a ‘kaleidoscopic view of the world’. The aim is to bring you a mix of great names and daring experiments, all coming together to offer the public quality performances that are unique to the country.

June 4 - 28 Various locations, Amsterdam. www.hollandfestival.nl

Best Kept Secret Just a few hundred meters from the giraffes, elephants, and tigers, you will find the home 42 | the xpat journal | 2020

of the Best Kept Secret. This three-day festival is known for its impressive indie program, such as – in the past – Arcade Fire and Arctic Monkeys, on the main stage. It also focuses on hip hop, folk and electronic music. If you are in the mood for a party, you are in luck: Best Kept Secret now also has a night program.

June 12 - 14 Safaripark Beekse Bergen, Hilvarenbeek www.bestkeptsecret.nl/en

North Sea Regatta

Festival Classique, Maya Fridman

Festival Classique

This annual sailing event attracts thousands of sailing and water sports aficionados as well as spectators – who all come to enjoy a weekend full of sailing spectacle and fun. Every Whitsun weekend, the harbor of Scheveningen becomes the beating heart of the Dutch world of sail racing. In total, approximately 2,500 sailors come to The Hague to enjoy this annual international nautical event.

Enjoy classical music in a beautiful environment. The center of The Hague is transformed into a huge open-air concert hall for this Festival Classique. The heart of the festival is the impressive floating podium on the Hofvijver. This podium, which offers seating to the spectators, floats on a pontoon next to the offices of parliament. It is a unique chance to enjoy classical performances on the water, while enjoying the historic buildings in the background.

May 22 - June 1 The Hague, Scheveningen Harbor and Coast www.nsr.nl

June 17 - 21 The Hague www.festivalclassique.nl

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ART DIARY SPRING 2020

Mauritshuis, George Stubbs - The man, The Horse, The Obsession

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ART DIARY

George Stubbs The Man, the Horse, the Obsession The exhibition focuses on a significant period in Stubbs’ career: the 1750s and 1760s. During this period, Stubbs quickly developed to become the leading horse painter in his country. The horse was a status symbol and wealthy owners wanted portraits of their swiftest and finest animals on their walls. Although Stubbs also painted people and numerous other animal species, it was with his portraits of horses that he established his distinctive position as an artist. What made Stubbs’s portraits of horses unique was his ability to express the character of the animal as well as portray its physical presence. The portrait of the thoroughbred Blank is an exceptionally lively example. George Stubbs knew like no other how to capture both the physical attributes of a horse and its character. An in-depth study of the horse’s anatomy, for which the artist dissected the animals himself, laid the foundations for his success.

till June 1 Mauritshuis, The Hague, www.mauritshuis.nl

Caravaggio-Bernini. Baroque in Rome

Caravaggio-Bernini. Baroque in Rome In the first decades of the 17th century, a new generation of ambitious artists led by the brilliant painter Caravaggio and sculptor Bernini shook the eternal city of Rome from its slumber. They introduced a new language to art that dispensed with elegance and incited the emotions. This was Baroque,

a spectacular artistic style charged with drama, dynamism and bravura, which sparked intimate collaborations between painting, sculpture and architecture. This was a revolution in Western art, one that started in Rome and resonated throughout Europe. Caravaggio-Bernini. Baroque in Rome is an exhibition of more than 70 masterpieces by Caravaggio, Bernini and their contemporaries. The paintings and sculptures are on loan to the Rijksmuseum from museums and private collections around the world.

till June 7 Rijksmuseum, Philips Wing, Amsterdam www.rijksmuseum.nl

In the Picture People throughout the world recognize Vincent van Gogh – the man with the red beard and intense expression. Our image of the artist has been primarily shaped by his selfportraits. In the 19th century, painters made self-portraits to practice, experiment, or to set out their identity. They also made portraits of one other, often as a token of friendship. The spring exhibition In the Picture tells stories about identity and image, in 75 portraits.

Vincent van Gogh, Selfportrait,1889

Helene Schjerfbeck, Selfportrait, 1915

till May 24 Van Gogh Museum www.vangoghmuseum.nl the xpat journal | 2020 | 45

This Is Surrealism!

In 1916, a group of poets and artists in Zurich turned against academism and all common beliefs about culture. Their views formed the breeding ground from which surrealism originated in 1924. in response to the atrocities caused by World War I, the surrealists rejected ratio and everything that is common. Instead, they wanted to make art that was contrary, irrational and shocking. To achieve this, they came up with all sorts of games and techniques that

Extra Large – Tapestries From Picasso And Le Corbusier To Louise Bourgeois

46 | the xpat journal | 2020

stimulated chance and breathed new life into existing methods such as collage. The exhibition offers a comprehensive overview of top surrealist artists, with 193 pieces by 33 artists, within nine principal themes – with key works by Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, André Breton, Marcel Duchamp, Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Max Ernst, Miró and many other artists.

May 1 - August 30 Cobra Museum, Amstelveen www.cobra-museum.nl

ART DIARY

What Will the Neighbors Say? The Groninger Museum harbors an extensive, unique collection of contemporary photography. The exhibition What Will the Neighbors Say? showcases a wide selection of work by leading photographers from the Netherlands and elsewhere from the last 50 years. The work on view ranges from Diane Arbus’s and Larry Clark’s 1970s documentary photography, through Anton Corbijn’s and Catherine Opie’s portraits and Inez van Lamsweerde’s fashion work of the 1980s and 1990s, to Ruud van Empel’s and David LaChapelle’s staged scenes from the past decade. The photographs address themes such as diversity, artificiality and identity and pose an overarching question: why do we increasingly look at ourselves through the imaginary lens of another?

till August 30 Groninger Museum, Groningen www.groningermuseum.nl

Nam June Paik The Future Is Now In collaboration with Tate Modern and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Stedelijk Museum presents a major retrospective of Nam June Paik, one of the most visionary and influential pioneers of early video art. Paik’s multidisciplinary, radical, experimental and playful work continues to inspire a new generation of artists. Born in South Korea, Nam June Paik (1932,

Nam June Paik, Uncle – The Future Is Now

Inez van Lamsweerde, Frederique and Sasha

Korea-USA, 2006) grew up in Japan, studied music in Germany and collaborated in Fluxus, an international network of avantgarde artists. Paik predicted the power of mass media to shape our lives and introduced the term ‘electronic superhighway’ to foretell the future of communication in an internet age. Paik erased the boundaries between art and technology, between East and West, and investigated technology’s impact on globalization and everyday life.

March 14 - August 23 Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam www.stedelijk.nl

On Earth – Imaging, Technology and the Natural World Photography enables us to observe the world and the effects of our existence in it. It can be used to document, eternalize

and motivate events. Photography has also testified to the paradoxical relationship between man, nature and technology. As we use contemporary technologies to document and question our relationship with the natural world, we increasingly experience this world through the very same technologies used. This exhibition unites the work of 27 contemporary artists who use innovative visual techniques to reflect on the evolving relationship between humans and nature. Besides photography, the artists make use of installation, sculpture, in-game photography and video. Their various visual approaches diverge and converge throughout the exhibition. These artists show they both seek to explore and reunite our technological, socio-economical, spiritual and political connection with the world.

March 20 - June 10 Foam Photography Museum, Amsterdam www.foam.org

On Earth – Kenzie inside a Melting Glacier

the xpat journal | 2020 | 47

ART DIARY

Bust of King William III, 1695-1700

Royal Blue A unique find and a moving love story. This describes the purchase of two Royal Delft (or Delftware) flower vases in the shape of the royal couple William III and Mary II. In 2015, these two lovers – after having been separated from one another in private collections for 40 years – were reunited at the Kunstmuseum Den Haag. William and Mary were known for their splendid collection of Delftware with which they decorated their palaces in the Netherlands and England. From pyramid-shaped tulip vases many meters tall to flowerpots and serving dishes for preserves: in the late 17th century the most beautiful and technically refined earthenware was created for them by the potteries in Delft. The exhibition Royal Blue is organized in conjunction with Het Loo Palace and will bring together the very best showpieces from the Rijksmuseum,

Pablo Picasso, Women at their toilette,1971

48 | the xpat journal | 2020

Chantal Akerman, Dest au bord de la fiction,1995

Museum Prinsenhof Delft and numerous European collections.

March 21 - August 16 Kunstmuseum, The Hague www.kunstmuseum.nl

Chantal Akerman Passages This spring, Eye Filmmuseum is presenting a major solo exhibition of work by Chantal Akerman. Akerman was one of the first film directors who made the switch to visual art. She rose to fame in the 1970s as a feminist avant-garde filmmaker, and midway through the 1990s she discovered the possibilities of the art gallery. Much of Chantal Akerman’s pioneering work testifies to her avant-garde approach to the medium she employs. Features of her distinctive personal style are long shots, frontal camera positioning and wide frames, enabling her to put forward a new

interpretation of time and space. Akerman’s works embody history, memories, lives that seem normal but are not. They display an “almost tactile sense of what it is like to observe from a respectful distance, the people and places they record”. The exhibition features eight of Akerman’s film installations. In addition to D’Est, they include a.o. Woman Sitting after a Killing (2001), Tombée de nuit sur Shanghai (20072008) and her final work NOW (2015).

March 21 - May 31 Eye Film Museum, Amsterdam www.eyefilm.nl

Extra Large – Tapestries From Picasso And Le Corbusier To Louise Bourgeois For the first time in the Netherlands, Kunst hal Rotterdam is presenting a large-scale retrospective of imposing tapestries based on designs by renowned artists like Pablo Picasso, Le Corbusier, Miró, Vasarely and Louise Bourgeois. The exhibition focuses on a period of 100 years, with tapestries made directly after the First World War up until now, and reveals a virtually unknown aspect in the bodies of work of many modern and contemporary artists. They have been using the age-old weaving technique as the point of departure for their textile art while constantly reinterpreting it. With their combination of artistic finesse and extraordinary craftsmanship, these meters-high, handwoven tapestries are of an unrivalled quality and a joy to behold, and show how surprisingly modern the traditional craft of weaving still is.

March 28 - June 1 Kunsthal, Haarlem www.kunsthal.nl

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15-01-20 10:33

The Future Looks Bright FOR INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DELFT

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EDUCATION

Since the successful launch of the Primary school in 2014 on the TU campus, International School Delft (ISD) has entered a new phase in its development with the opening of a Secondary school campus in 2019.

By Jaap Mos

‘The teachers and students in this school are understanding and caring, they don’t judge people and they help brighten up your day’

Looking forward, how do you see the future for International School Delft?

ith this addition, ISD is under way We are excited about the future to becoming of the school. The interest in our one of the few school is now rapidly growing, schools in the Netherlands to ofand this is reflected in the student fer the full range of International enrolment for next academic year. Baccalaureate (IB) programmes. With more international organiIn early 2019, ISD was granted sations settling in the Delft / The approval by the Ministry of EduHague region, we anticipate a furcation to expand with a Secondther increase in the demand for Jane van der Merwe, MYP2 ary school to serve the growing international education. demand for high-quality interTogether with our Primary school, national secondary education in it is our ambition to jointly dethe Delft / The Hague region. Mr. Jaap Mos, the direc- velop the International School Delft into one single attor of ISD Secondary, who has a long history of setting tractive and high-performing international school for up international schools, tells us more. students aged 4 to 18 years. We are fortunate to be closely connected with Delft University of Technology. This partnership is reflected in Looking back, how has the first year of ISD a variety of joint projects with the University, often foSecondary been? Challenging and rewarding. After the green light from cused on innovation, design and technology. This will the Ministry, we had five months to prepare the kick- be the cornerstone for the future development of ISD. off and get ready to welcome our first students. We It’s our mission to provide for “inspiring learning for a were fortunate to have been offered an existing school sustainable future”. Subjects such as technology, innobuilding by the municipality of Delft. Within a matter of vation, sustainability, history, and art are deeply emmonths, our team of specialists managed to convert the bedded in our curriculum. The IB programme aims to building into an attractive learning environment with all develop well-rounded, inquiring, caring and future-orithe facilities required for engaging inquiry-based learn- ented young people with a global mindset. In addition, ing in the spirit of the International Baccalaureate. The it is important to us that our students actively particibuilding is designed to allow for growth over the next pate in the Delft community, so that they are part of, and three years and is very accessible by bike, public trans- benefit from, its rich traditions whilst also contributing port and car. Meanwhile, we are in the process of devel- to its international character. opment for our new state-of-the-art school building, to be located on the TU Delft University campus, and in International School Delft is a member of the association of Dutch International Schools, a network for professionclose proximity to our Primary school. We started the academic year in August with an enthu- al and quality development of state-subsidised internasiastic and diverse group of students in the years MYP 1 tional schools in the Netherlands. In the academic year and 2. It is very rewarding to see how our first group of 2020-2021, ISD Secondary will offer MYP 1, 2 & 3. students fosters a strong sense of community and truly considers themselves ‘pioneers’ and ‘ambassadors’ of the Secondary school. This positive spirit amongst our students, parents, and teachers has absolutely been a For information, and registration, please visit the school critical factor to the success of this year. website at www.internationalschooldelft.com the xpat journal | 2020 | 51

How Can ‘Significant Others’ Land Successfully?

About ACCESS Training Network For more than 30 years, ACCESS has been serving the international community in many ways. One of them: sharing a network of professionals offering a variety of skills and talents in areas we feel are relevant to the international community. To find out more about these professionals, do take a moment to explore access-nl.org/what-we-do/meet-the-trainers. The Trainers involved in this programme at the TU Delft are: Caitríona Rush, Teresa Moynihan, Marie Dewulf and Ute Limacher-Riebold. Their profiles can be seen online.

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EDUCATION

Indeed. A crucial question for anyone who accompanies, or joins, someone on a relocation anywhere. We, at ACCESS in the Netherlands, want to draw attention to the efforts of our Patron, TU Delft’s Dual Career Services. We have known for quite some time that they were on the right path – and the feedback from those who have been on that ‘path’ is confirmation of this belief.

By Deborah Valentine “It has been four months since I came here. At the workshops, I realised I didn’t know anything about Netherlands. The trainer was nice. I think I learned a lot of things about Dutch people. Also it was good to see (other) participants. I am looking forward to the next workshops.” course participant

‘Having a series of comprehensive workshops gives the participants the best possible start in the Netherlands’

Ask – And Ye Shall Receive When ACCESS was approached for suggestions – recommendations for what TU Delft could do to develop and take their intentions further – we had a lot to share. We knew that, within our Trainers Network, we had an abundance of skills and talents that could help. So we shared. The TU were clear on what they needed for their employees’ partners, spouses and significant others; they wanted to build upon previous work that had already been done in this area. They knew that, if they did not offer something concrete, relevant and real, it would not ‘land’ with the candidates they were attracting. They also knew that, in order to reach the candidates, something concrete had to be on the table for their significant other. Following critical interviews, a plan was made, resulting in a comprehensive programme that started three years ago, and that to this day continues to attract and retain the engagement of those who participate: “These kinds of workshops are very useful (in my opinion) because, here there are people (from all) around the world, where things like curriculums, interviewing styles, etc... are very different.” course participant

Combine – And Ye Shall Gain Four core elements that are the focus of this

knowledge-sharing initiative have contributed to its success. These are: cultural and linguistic awareness when preparing and strengthening your CV; the job application process; knowing what to do and say in network situations and when faced with introductions; and sharing tips and experiences with others in the same situation. In the hands of professionals, this programme enables participants to feel confident when dealing with their new life and career goals in the Netherlands. Having a series of comprehensive workshops – with sufficient time in between to network and practice their new skills – gives the participants the best possible start in the Netherlands. Peer exercises, role plays and testing their knowledge within the group constitute important elements of the programme. Not only that, many friendships are formed within these groups. This ensures that as an employer, TU Delft is taking excellent steps towards becoming even more attractive to the talent it needs in order to continue to excel in its field of expertise.

Listen – And Ye Shall Learn The fact that many of the members of the ACCESS Training Network have had expatriate experience – here or elsewhere – gives added value to their professional skills. After all, these professionals can share what

they have experienced in the Dutch business culture and how they successfully navigated their own career paths in a new country. This adds even more value to the programme. Participants rated our trainers with overwhelming figures of recommendation – and it gives us tremendous pleasure to take a moment to thank our friends and colleagues at the TU Delft’s Coming to Delft Service & Partner Career Advice services. You are truly offering your staff members, as well as their partners, a huge advantage. “It was a very pleasant intro to the Netherlands. While not a lot that I heard came as a surprise, it’s very good to have received some material with links to useful information all in the same document. I shall certainly go back to that when in doubt.”course participant

Closing Notes We have learnt that this programme’s workshops are now also available to the ‘significant others’ of employees of Erasmus (in Rotterdam) as well as Leiden University. Further enhancing the networking element is an excellent way forward.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Deborah Valentine is the Executive Director of ACCESS, a not-for-profit volunteer-based organisation which has been helping internationals arrive and settle in the Netherlands since 1986. To find out more about how ACCESS can help you, visit www.access-nl.org

the xpat journal | 2020 | 53

Why Do the Dutch Speak English So Well? The Dutch are internationally known for the fact that their English is of a very high standard. Why is that? Well, there are a couple of reasons.

, i n i t r a M ‘Ein t h c i n , t l e geschütt rt’ gerüh

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CULTURE

“Is this fish or flesh?” “We would like to rent a topless car.” “At what time can we go on table?” “Where can we put our mail on the bus?” “Can you give me a tip?” “The wine is up.”

By Chris Smit Technical – Proximity On a technical level, the Dutch language has its roots in the Indo-European languages (like German and English itself ). For that reason, grammar structures (and often words) are very comparable in the two languages (e.g. “geef mij dat” becomes “give me that”). Compare this to Latin languages (Spanish, Italian, and French), that have a totally different structure (and grammar structures like the ’subjunctive’ that don’t exist in Dutch and English) – and you can appreciate the difference. Another reason for the high level of English spoken by the Dutch is that we’ve always been a sea-going nation; trade has been at the center of Dutch society for hundreds of years. This entrepreneurial and global mindset has led to a lot of international business where you need a good level of English to be able to do your trade. In addition to this, many international companies have set up (European) headquarters in the Netherlands. Think of Ikea, Unilever, Starbucks, and more recently after Brexit, the European Medical Agency.

Subtitles & James Bond According to the English Proficiency Index, the Dutch rank number 1, while the Germans rank number 10. Why is it then, if German and Dutch stem from the same mother-language and are quite comparable to each other, that the German level of English is so much worse (or lower) than that of the Dutch? Typically, in the countries surrounding the Netherlands (with the exception of Flanders, Belgium), English/American TV shows and movies are audio-dubbed, and

Not that this generates any embarrassment for the Dutch, though – as the other side will probably not know how to begin to correct them.

Pronunciation

‘Countries that score high on Predictability prefer that James Bond speak the local language’

not subtitled as they are in the Netherlands. Hence, the degree of exposure to the English language is simply a lot lower.

Cultural – Predictability The cultural component playing a role here is that the countries surrounding the Netherlands all score significantly higher on a cultural dimension called Predictability. This means that these countries are less entrepreneurial – they prefer to stick to the language they already know/speak –and are therefore more likely to audio-dub (so that James Bond speaks the local language).

And finally, there is the almost famous way the Dutch pronounce English. (Though, to be fair, every non-native English-speaker has their distinct way of pronouncing things. Think about the Germans and the French…) Among the Dutch there is a wide spectrum of pronunciation, ranging from – on the one side – the Vice-President of the European Council, Frans Timmermans (close to perfect English with a close to perfect accent) and – on the other side – famous football trainer, Louis van Gaal. Louis van Gaal has mastered the skill of speaking so-called “charcoal-English” (steenkolen-Engels), whereby no effort is made to pronounce the words in a way that comes even remotely close to how the British or the Americans pronounce them.

To Summarize For many of the Dutch people – close to 93% of the population – English is not seen as a foreign language anymore. It is seen more as a second language in this country. Therefore, don’t be surprised if, when you order your Big Mac at McDonalds or check in at a hotel, you will have to do this in English – simply because the other person doesn’t even speak Dutch.

I Always Get My Sin

HERE’S THE COMPLETE TOP 10: 1. Netherlands 2. Sweden 3. Norway 4. Denmark 5. Singapore

6. South Africa 7. Finland 8. Austria 9. Luxembourg 10. Germany

Belgium ranks 13 (this could be due to the fact that in the south of Belgium people speak French), France, 31. Source: www.ef.se/__/~/media/centralefcom/ epi/downloads/full-reports/v9/ef-epi-2019-english.pdf

The title of the book I Always Get My Sin, by Maarten H. Rijkens, illustrates clearly that the level of English isn’t the same for everyone. There are plenty of Dutch people who simply take Dutch words and Engli-fy them, leading to very weird sentences and expressions. Below is a short list of how this will or can look. “My compliments to your cock for the lovely diner.” “Where can I buy an uploader for my telephone?” “We would like to go on step.” “Where can I strike my shirts?”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Want to better understand the Dutch and learn how to work with them? Get in touch with Chris Smit at culturematters.com or write an email at chris.smit@culturematters.com. the xpat journal | 2020 | 55

DUTCH EDUCATION:

Even When Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re Sick,

Just Act Normal

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COLUMN

By Greg Shapiro and Inez de Goede GREG: Hi! It’s me, Greg Shapiro: The American Netherlander. And this time it’s also my wife Inez de Goede; author and mother of our two kids. INEZ: The mother-who-always-gets-the-blame -when-things-go-wrong-with-her-child. GREG: Right. Inez has quite some experience with our 15-year-old son and his medical condition. Meanwhile, did you hear? Dutch teachers recently went on strike to protest unfair working conditions. I feel like some of those ‘conditions’ were kids with medical conditions. And hey, I’d go on strike too, if I could. Inez: Our son has Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis. His diagnosis has been very complicated for the Dutch system. I mean, it’s a difficult situation for all of us. But instead of getting support, we were left to our own devices. Nobody, and I mean nobody, communicates with each other. So there you are, a parent with a sick child – with no background in medicine, psychology or education – and you’re supposed to coordinate doctors, school, psychologists, therapists and everybody else who is making money with their so-called expertise, while you don’t, but you do get to organize the whole thing. GREG: Some context: the education system underwent a big change about ten years ago, right? I remember I was hired to perform at an event for school administrators, where the theme was “We’re removing the stigma of the term ‘Special Needs Child.’ From now on, we’ll treat all the kids the same!” Someone in the audience asked, “What about the kids who really do have special needs?” And the organizers had no good answer. INEZ: The Dutch system has no room for anything but the average child. Everything outside the box is labeled as problematic, and there is no solution for it but endless waiting lists and stigmas. It took me many phone calls and a lot of research to find out about our options. All the experts pointed us in different directions. GREG: No one treated you as an expert.   INEZ: Since when are parents ever considered experts when it comes to their own child? In the end everyone seemed to say: just send him back to school and conform to the system. GREG: The motto of our son’s elementary school was ‘Become Who You Are’. But in practice it was Just Act Normal’.

‘No child should ever have to be condemned to home because the regular school system is only capable of accommodating the average child’ INEZ: By now, our son is going to school full-time, he is able to do homework again, and participate in tests. All this has been achieved by lots and lots of counseling.   GREG: Arranged by you. INEZ: And appointments at Reade Rehabilitation Center and Amsterdam UMC. It’s been a part-time job for me to accompany my son everywhere, negotiate for him and tutor him when he’s not able to go to school or meet his deadlines. His illness is not in remission yet (we are hopeful). He is still taking medication, and every adjustment takes a toll. So I am in constant contact with school to manage their expectations and to meet their regulations. GREG: Our son is studying at a high school specializing in the arts. So of course they have him studying economics & chemistry & physics. And okay I get it, those are part of the national curriculum. But when the academic coordinator says “Your son can miss some of those classes,” then why do they call up the next day threatening him for missing classes? INEZ: Last week I asked for some flexibility regarding deadlines and testing. “Not possible,” said the vice-principal, “we are taxed to the max, and my teachers cannot

deal with any more exceptions. They need to keep an overview of what still needs to be done per child. And they get stressed out because they can’t check their boxes.” GREG: This is what happens when there are no more kids with ‘special needs’. Now everyone has special needs. INEZ: That’s what the vice-principal said: “We have a lot of children in our school with special needs. It’s very complicated for the teachers, and we cannot accommodate children with an illness. We are just a regular school.” I asked: “Are you saying my son has to leave your school in case he has a relapse?” There was no clear reply. He says he adores our son and wants to keep him on board, but he also has to consider the teachers and their well-being. GREG: Children are the future... but teachers have a permanent contract. INEZ: Maybe I am too pessimistic. Maybe I shouldn’t worry about a relapse. But the fact that it could happen – and there is doubt about getting support and understanding from the school – is both stressful and infuriating. No child should ever have to be condemned to home for months or sometimes even years, because the regular school system is only capable of accommodating the average child.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Inez de Goede (b. 1970) was born in Amsterdam and raised in France. She studied Cultural Anthropology and went to Film and Art school - for a while. She worked behind the scenes in theatre, met her famous husband at Boom Chicago, managed his career for 20 years, and is now preparing the release of her first novel in early 2021 with Orlando Publishers. Gregory Shapiro (b.1968) is the author of How to be Dutch: The Quiz and the voice of Trump in the viral video ‘Netherlands Second.’ In 2020 he celebrates 25 years as corporate speaker, event host and speaking coach. His show Trump Up the Volume can be seen at Boom Chicago. www.gregshapiro.nl the xpat journal | 2020 | 57

EDUCATION

AUAS Summer School

SIGN UP FOR THE SUMMER OF A LIFETIME Sign up for an experience to last your entire career! Meet new friends from around the globe, and experience the fascinating city of Amsterdam. Challenge yourself academically, and have a great time doing so.

msterdam, a cosmopolitan and vibrant city with a smallscale feel, welcomes you. You will be using Amsterdam as your laboratory, visiting both established (inter)national companies and start-ups, working together with social organizations and entrepreneurs, and interacting with the Amsterdammers.

Applied Sciences The AUAS stands out with its applied sciences by offering you an educational model that allows you to put theory into practice. You will receive top-of-the-bill education, learn new skills, and meet students from around the world.

Current Urban Topics The 15 two-week courses offered by the AUAS Summer School stress contemporary urban issues. Whether they are economic, environmental, social or logistic. You will take home theory and skills you have learned during the summer school, and you will be able to apply them in your studies and career.

Our Summer Courses There are various amounts of European credits (ECTS) you can receive for our courses: regular versions for 3 or 4 ECTS and extended versions of 6 ECTS, which include an additional online assignment. The following courses are on offer: • Business of Sport Events and Music Festivals (4 & 6ECTS) • Capital Games Concepts (3ECTS) • Digital Brand Engagement (4 & 6ECTS) • Digital Design & Robotic Construction (4ECTS) • Educating Amsterdam: Diversity and the City (4ECTS) • European Business Skills (4 & 6ECTS) • Experimenting in Virtual Reality (4ECTS) • Practicing Human Rights in Urban Areas 58 | the xpat journal | 2020

(3 & 6ECTS) • Professional English & Personal Branding (4ECTS) • Reversed City Marketing (4 & 6ECTS) • Software for Science (3ECTS) • Supply Chain Management (4 & 6ECTS) • Virtual Fashion Design: the new real (3ECTS) • Urban Entrepreneurship Bootcamp (4 & 6ECTS) • Urban Interaction Design: creating games for cities (4ECTS).

Housing Live like the local students in Amsterdam: arrange student housing in Amsterdam. Have your own private room, or share a flat with others. The student housing emphasizes independent living; expect to cook yourself or together with other students. Amsterdam is easy to traverse on bicycle; you’ll know your way around in no time. If you want the full experience for your summer, choose a student housing arrangement. This includes three options: • a private room arranged by the AUAS • a dorm-style room arranged by the AUAS • an arrangement of your own. More information on the accommodation types can be found on the website. When using the AUAS Summer School housing arrangement, the arrival date is

Saturday July 4, 2020. If you do not wish to make use of the housing arranged by the AUAS Summer School, you are welcome to arrange your own accommodation. There are many ways to do so. Either through airBnB, through friends, in youth hostels or hotels, or through international student boards. Please be aware that the summer is a busy time in Amsterdam, so make sure you book well in advance.

Partner Universities Students from AUAS’ partner universities are entitled to a discount on their tuition fee. This discount is additional to the possible early bird discount on applications before April 1, 2020. AUAS has hundreds of partner universities in over 50 countries.

More information More information can be found on the AUAS website, such as regarding the application procedure, general conditions, financial matters including cost of living, and visa arrangements.

JOIN US IN AMSTERDAM! For more information about the AUAS Summer School and its courses, please visit amsterdamuas.com/summerschool email: summerschool@amsterdamuas.com

To Educate for International Understanding For over 50 years, the International School of Amsterdam (ISA) has been a global leader in the international education community fostering curiosity, creativity and a passion for learning. Serving 1350 students from over 60 countries, ISA combines a rich cultural heritage with world-class faculty and staff, inspiring students to look beyond simple answers and facts and to pursue a genuine understanding of the world. We have built a tradition of excellence by pursuing innovative, research-based approaches to teaching and learning and develop our students' thinking skills and ability to help them learn how to learn.

Unraveling the Mysteries of Culture Professor Geert Hofstede, one of the Netherlands’ most widely cited and translated scholars, passed away in February 2020, at the age of 91. Hofstede is known for his pioneering research on cross-cultural groups and organizations and has been a great source of inspiration to those who have tried to unravel the mysteries of culture. By Jan Vincent Meertens

t the heart of Professor Hofstede’s work is the question: what are the mutual role expectations between the archetypical role pair of teacher and students in different cultures? The way these roles are played is guided by deeply-rooted values which lead to feelings about good and evil, right and wrong, rational and irrational, proper and improper. These feelings burden cross-cultural learning with premature judgments that can come from teachers, students and parents.

Social Dilemmas Through his research, Geert Hofstede extracted four fundamental social dilemmas: the relationship to power (hierarchical or 60 | the xpat journal | 2020

‘More egalitarian and individualistic cultures have developed a more conceptual learning style, requiring students to apply their knowledge in different situations’ egalitarian), the relationship to the group (collectivistic or individualistic), the relationship to motivation and, finally, the relationship to uncertainty, culminating in his four cultural dimensions: the Hofstede Model. These dimensions have helped

many people better understand the perplexities of cross-cultural education, most of which I have experienced and witnessed myself as an expat child, expat parent and intercultural trainer.

Educational Track Consider the power dilemma and the different social positions teachers have in different cultures. In cultures that are more sensitive to hierarchy, as I witnessed as a child in Colombia, students from privileged families will often have access to a privileged educational track – private schools, private tutors and a wealth of learning resources – but not so in more egalitarian cultures. In the Netherlands, a teacher is nothing more or less than anybody else. The same applies to the students – one is not better than the other. The Dutch school system is anti-elitist

CULTURE

and there are relatively few private schools in the country. Kids attending a private school are often seen as rich kids who do not have the intellectual capacity to successfully complete ‘normal’ schools. This egalitarian approach often baffles parents from cultures in which different school systems cater to the different needs of the various social groups in society.

Teaching Style Adding the dimension of individualism to the equation, the differences become even greater. Contemplate the way knowledge is managed. In the Chinese Confucian tradition, the ‘teacher’ is the most respected profession. The Chinese and many other hierarchical and collectivistic cultures have developed a reverence for the tutor, the guru. These societies are more likely to have established a rote learning pattern, which, simply put, is the storage of the data in the brain, without necessarily understanding the concept. The teaching style is one-directional, and students become good at copy-pasting. It often involves a focus on the creation of tacit knowledge, knowing what to do or say rather than why. Other, more egalitarian and individualistic cultures have developed a more conceptual learning style, requiring students to apply their knowledge in different situations. There is more focus on explicit knowledge – knowing how. Having switched from these different styles myself, from rote learning in Latin America to conceptual learning after returning to the Netherlands, I remember having been frustrated with the apparent disorder in my new Dutch classroom. I saw little respect for the teachers and could hardly develop respect myself for these teachers, who let us, children, find our own ways – creating what seemed to me a mess.

Curriculum Hofstede has also described how societies have different inclinations to avoid uncertainty – this is demonstrated in how one society will focus on the relevance of the curriculum, while another will find a more flexible learning path acceptable. In the former, especially if these are more hierarchical and centralized, it is normal for the curriculum to be dictated ‘from above’. Methodology and content are closely

‘A six, on a scale of ten, is a good enough score to pass their courses and gives the children spare time to enjoy other aspects of life’ monitored by the government. A teacher is expected to be the expert and have all the answers; deference and obedience are virtues. In other – individualistic and decentralized – cultures, such as the Netherlands, schools and their faculty have more freedom to develop their own curriculum and learning method. The learning outcomes are measured against a standard set by the Ministry of Education. Also, teachers in these cultures welcome and stimulate intellectual challenge by students. Critical thinking is seen as a skill that is important to develop and a great asset later in life, in the workplace.

with a group of 18 Dutch students. Rather than trying to be the best in the class, we helped each other achieve our goal to earn our master’s degree, all the while allowing us to enjoy the pleasures of local Arizona life which included rafting, hiking, skiing and hot tubbing – pleasures we did not have back home. Later in life and back in the United States, my wife and I were put off by the high level of competition our son was subjected to in elementary school. We cannot expect local schools to adapt their style and methods to the needs of all their expat students. We can expect tutors, adolescent students and parents, however, to develop an awareness of the different roles and learning expectations that exist in cross-cultural education. “Thank you for helping me take off my cultural glasses,” said one expat parent after one of my workshops. “I am more confident now that my 11-year-old daughter will get the education we want her to have. And, I guess, she’d better become a more outspoken and a critical thinker in order to defend herself here in the Netherlands.” I was not sure whether her wink was one of relief or mockery. Geert Hofstede has provided us with a unique and valuable systematic framework for assessing and differentiating national cultures and organizational cultures, even in education. We will honor Hofstede’s legacy by accepting his guidance and helping each other to recognize, understand, accept and reconciliate cultural differences. It will help us remove our prejudices and see that we have more in common than not.

Sixes We have discussed how the differences in hierarchy, individualism and uncertainty affect cross-cultural education. The final difference in the Hofstede framework is in what motivates students. The Netherlands, often to the astonishment of expat parents, has what we call the zesjes culture: the culture of the sixes. A six, on a scale of ten, is a good enough score to pass their courses and gives the children spare time to enjoy other aspects of life. I attended university in the United States

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jan Vincent Meertens is author, consultant and coach specializing in cross-cultural interaction. He is chairman of the Connect2Us Foundation and Associate Partner of Hofstede-Insights.

the xpat journal | 2020 | 61

Zoekjaar

FOR HIGHLY-EDUCATED GRADUATES Literally translated, zoekjaar translates into ‘search year’; a program created by the Dutch government for highly-educated graduates with bachelor’s and/or master’s degrees who would like to work in the Netherlands after graduation.

hink of a zoekjaar as an orientation year, or a year in which graduates – who want to work in the Netherlands after they get their degrees – have time to look for a job. The government recognizes their skills and the great value of their knowledge and expertise to the Netherlands, so it provides a special oneyear status to find work here.

Am I Eligible? Here’s how it works. If you are a graduate of an accredited bachelor’s or master’s program in the Netherlands, or you have an MA/MS or doctorate from a Dutch university or a high-ranking foreign university, you can apply! You have three years from the date you receive your degree to apply for this special status. (See more below). Lists of accredited academic institutions can be found on several websites: - Times Higher Education World University Rankings - QS World University Rankings - Academic Ranking of World universities. 62 | the xpat journal | 2020

Applying Before you apply, you must have in your hand a diploma or a declaration from your university that you have fulfilled all the requirements for your degree. The Dutch immigration service (IND) requires you to have them before you apply for the orientation year status. The application is called ‘orientation year highly educated persons’ and you can fill it out yourself. The application fees are on the IND website (IND.nl available in English).

Not Physically Present Are you not physically in the Netherlands when you apply for the search year? You will need to start the Entry and Residence Procedure (TEV procedure) at a Dutch embassy or consulate in your country. That is where you get an MVV (in Dutch, stands for machtiging tot voorlopig verblijf), and your residence permit.

‘education’, it is valid for three months after your program ends or until the start date of your search year if you are doing that right after school.

Background Three-Year Window The rules allow three years in which to apply because people may want to go home to visit family and friends and to spend some time there after a long time away at school, before settling down to a career. It is a thoughtful gesture from the Dutch, who value a good work-life balance.

What Can You Do During the Orientation Year? During your orientation year, you are free to work in the Netherlands. There is one condition: you must meet the salary requirements. Check the IND website (search for Income Requirements) or Payingit International’s website for the current required salary level.

Sponsorship Physically Present If you are in the Netherlands when you apply: if the status on your residence card is

To apply, you need to be employed by a company that is a recognized sponsor with the IND. You can discuss this with your hir-

EDUCATION

er or ask Payingit International to sponsor you – they are a sponsor and can act as your ‘employer’ for the occasion, by putting you on their payroll. More information is available on the website in an article called I am a Knowledge Migrant. How should I act? What Happens at the End of the Zoekjaar? Should you end up loving it here and wanting to work and live in the Netherlands after your orientation year is up, you can extend your stay as what is called a Knowledge Migrant. Note: This is extremely good news for you because it’s a special status that comes with some tax incentives. For details, see the Payingit International website.

‘Payingit International is a recognized sponsor and can put you on their payroll on behalf of your hirer with their Payroll Umbrella Services’

ond, you and the hirer are doing a great job by making the most of the search year program – you have proved your skills and found a place you like, and the Netherlands has gained a highly-skilled person.

Important: You need to submit an application for knowledge migrant status before the end of your orientation year.

About that contract – a company has to be what is called a recognized sponsor (a referent in Dutch) in order to hire you, and some companies don’t have that status. Don’t worry though; Payingit International has a solution to get it organized. They can put you on their payroll on behalf of your hirer with their Payroll Umbrella Services.

You Found Your Dream Job – Now What?

Family and Children During a Zoekjaar?

Did you find your dream job during the zoekjaar and does the company want to sign you up as an employee? First of all, congratulations and welcome! And sec-

If your family is already here and has a residence permit, nothing needs to be done. If your family members do not have a residence permit, you need to prove to the IND

that you meet the terms and conditions – or have the means to support yourselves for one year – to be eligible for a family reunion; check the mandatory financial requirements on the IND website IND.nl, search for Income Requirements Family. During the zoekjaar, members of your family are also allowed to work here, free of restrictions. This is a great advantage if your wife/husband/partner has a career. They don’t have to lose valuable years of experience or miss out on interesting jobs. Not to be underestimated! If you would like more information or would like to discuss your particular situation, Payingit International has helped hundreds of people in just this situation, and they would be glad to help you with this important first year of your career in the Netherlands.

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The XPat Journal March 2020 Issue

Articles inside

EXPAT EVENT

Zoekjaar for Highly-Educated Graduates

COLUMN

Unraveling the Mysteries of Culture

The Netherlands at Its Best

How Can ‘Significant Others’ Land Successfully?

ART

Event Diary

To Be or Not to Be a Father

Useful References

IN THIS ISSUE

s-Graveland

Going to University

When Does My Child Start School in the Netherlands?

Patchwork Family

INTERVIEW