Seminar on fundraising, Edition two

I truly admire the work of the non-governmental organizations. They are a perfect addition to the society, they can express and influence the public opinion, they call attention to burning issues or even do something for those who really need it. That is why we organized a seminar on fundraising last year which was led by Dutch fundraiser Henk Dokter. It was very successful, so we decided to make another one this year. Another reason for doing this is that the NGOs have been in Slovakia since 1989 and they have been doing a good job. To function properly, however, they also need finance and support. And this is a thing which is not always easy to secure.

Henk Dokter is from Amsterdam and has a years-long experience in this field and he runs an organization which is successfully fundraising for various NGOs in the Netherlands. Bratislava and Slovakia are no strange territories for him as he has been here before, not only on the fundraising seminar but also through his own fundraising activities such as Row4Rights. Last Friday, he again gave an impressive presentation on fundraising for the NGOs representatives and he shared his experiences. The feedback was very good again, people liked his unconventional way of presenting and his openness. Henk’s enthusiasm and ideas to do fundraising which he passed over to his Slovak colleagues, were a good combination to learn something new and inspirational. I am very glad we invited him as the issue of fundraising is vital to the existence of NGOs all over the world, not only in Slovakia. Especially now, in the times of crisis. I am sure that the NGOs would agree with me on this.

Kind regards,

Daphne Bergsma

International Women’s Day – still modern to celebrate it in 21st century

It is March 8^th in the calendar and as every year we celebrate the International Women’s Day. I am sure that the Slovaks know it very well as this day was also celebrated under the previous regime. But I think it is still important to keep this tradition. Women are still not equal in every way of life, there are still differences in salaries or job opportunities in many countries, including my own, and I think this is the way how we should look at this day in 21^st century. But what’s wrong with presenting flowers to women around you, be it at home, in the office or at university J

I also want to write about something actual at his occasion. Yesterday evening, I took part in awarding the brave women who fight against the violence against women. The award ceremony was organized by a Kosice-based NGO called Fenestra whose representatives I have known for a while. The ceremony was held in Bratislava and its aim was to award and celebrate individual and collective initiatives aimed at ending violence against women in Slovakia. Such initiatives were divided to eight different categories: activism, art, best practice, media, philanthropy, volunteering etc. The main idea and message of this ceremony and the whole Fenestra campaign during recent years was to raise awareness of the public about their involvement in combating violence against women and about the achievements of human rights activists and organizations who contribute to raising awareness about violence against women. And I certainly agree with their aims and I fully support them in their activities. They have my respect and that is why I gladly accepted their invitation to award the women fighting against violence.

Violence against women must not be tolerated. Women deserve respect, gratitude and equal opportunities all around the world. That is why I like men who honor their wives, fiancés, girlfriends but also sisters, mothers, grandmothers or aunties. And that is why I toast on this day to honor all the women in the world.

 

Kind regards,

Daphne Bergsma

 

Being green pays of – Slovakia Green Building Council celebrates 2 years

I am sure you have noticed all the turmoil around energy in some European countries. Particularly, in Bulgaria, where the government stepped down this week after massive protests of its citizens against the high prices of energy. In these days, when the electricity costs are consuming a big chunk of the households’ budgets – and Slovakia, according to Eurostat, stands on the top place of this unpopular chart – it makes sense to talk about saving money through energy efficiency. In the Netherlands we apply energy efficiency a lot, and we are also glad to see that Slovakia is starting to follow this path. Our embassy was thus glad to participate in the celebration of two years of existence of the Slovak Green Building Council which is an equivalent to the Dutch Green Building Council, founded in 2008.

Slovak GBC was founded in January 2011. The aim of founding such an institution in Slovakia was the same as in the Netherlands three years earlier. The original intention was to make sustainability in the building industry measurable by developing a sustainability label allowing for the uniform rating of buildings throughout the Netherlands, respectively Slovakia. This aim was successfully accomplished and the second anniversary of the Slovak Green Building Council were celebrated in Bratislava Business Center, which is itself the second certified green building in Slovakia.

As the Netherlands embassy cooperates on certain projects with Slovak Green Building Council, our representatives were at its birthday and my deputy Mrs. Eveline Molier (on the picture) was invited to cut the cake (it had the form of a green building which I found appropriate to the occasion, of course). As the “green building” concept is more developed in the Netherlands than in Slovakia, during this meeting the embassy also investigated further options to cooperate and how to transfer Dutch know-how to Slovakia. The key to successful development is international cooperation with the leaders in green building area and the Netherlands is one of them.

But there is still a long way to go. There are only two green buildings in Slovakia so far, compared to hundreds in the Netherlands. The Slovak Green Building Council has about 50 members, while in the Netherlands it is ten times more. This means that Slovakia has to do a lot of catching up to get to the same position as the Netherlands and hopefully the embassy and Slovak Green Building Council will continue in the started cooperation and it will bring fruitful results. I am an optimist and I believe it will.

Kind regards,
Daphne Bergsma

Highs and lows of the Roma community in the East or How a few can inspire the many

I went to Eastern Slovakia last week. Those who follow my blog know that I keep returning there. It is not only because of the natural beauties of that region and the delightful people living there, but also because of a topic that my government has been following for years – the Roma community living there. Together with my political officer we set out for the road on snowy Wednesday only to find out that the East was without snowstorms and that sun was occasionally shining. And also to find some bright examples of Roma and majority co-existence… but also some gloomy ones.

Let me start with the very first meeting we had on our way in the municipality of Spišský Hrhov. There I met the local mayor, Mr. Vladimír Ledecký, who is currently serving his fourth term and who has successfully managed to integrate the local Roma community and significantly increase the population of the village. Nowadays, 1500 people live there, one fifth is of Roma origin. And there is harmony. The secret is hidden in the good management and good ideas of the mayor and his colleagues. The best example to mention is the local council’s (business) company which is employing mostly local Roma and the village has thus a low unemployment rate. People live in peace, Slovaks and Roma, without racial or other tensions. The number of inhabitants is increasing and new houses are built every year. The village was also mentioned as an example of a successful integration of Roma and a good co-existence of them with the majority in the World Bank report of 2012. Spišský Hrhov can definitely serve as a positive example for the whole country.

The next day I experienced a gloomy example – the Roma settlement in Moldava nad Bodvou. No asphalt road leading to the settlement and mud everywhere. The snow was melting and there were huge pools of dirty water and mud all around. Really poor conditions, also when you looked at the shacks and the devastated block of flats. But what struck me was the cleanness in the houses we randomly visited. I know that someone might object they cleaned them up prior to our arrival, but it was not like that – the people from ETP Slovensko who run a project there and who accopmpanied us, told us they always come there without telling. So the cleanness and the clean clothes of the kids are a regular thing. However, it did not change the fact that people live in small houses in big numbers. The good thing is that kids go to school and that there is the community center run by ETP. The center is good for the children for the after school activities, so they are busy and not wandering outside bored and looking for trouble. But the lack of a simple paved road kept on bothering me.

On the same day I talked to the reporters of Roma newspaper Romano lil in Prešov. They introduced me their newspaper and also talked about school debates and short movie projects they do around Northern and Eastern Slovakia with an aim to introduce the Roma minority (its struggles and successes) to students from the majority population but also from the Roma community itself. The short movies are a good thing, they show regular Roma (no celebrities) who lead a decent life. That is a very important message to pass on and to show these stories to Roma and non-Roma.

The last place I visited was another bright example which is worth to mention. I went to the village of Nitra nad Ipľom in Southern Slovakia and met with the local mayor, Mr. Tivadár Berky, who is of Roma origin himself. Mayor Berky told me the story of Nitra with 350 people (300 are Roma). Six years ago this remote village (only one road leads there) was in a bad shape with a high rate of criminality and drug dealing. However, the mayor in co-operation with his co-workers and police managed to push the dealers out and consolidate the life in village to that extent that people nowadays work, children go to school and both Roma and non-Roma live in harmony. And the mayor is a very caring person, he invests all his energy to the benefit of his people – for example, he prepares breakfasts for the kids in the school himself! It is thus no surprise that many Roma from nearby villages expressed their will to move to Nitra, however, there are not enough houses for sale. The story of this village is another positive example of a peaceful co-existence and the capability of Roma to function as a prosperous community. I was leaving Nitra nad Ipľom with a feeling that everything is possible. There “only” has to be a will to change and improve things. (And a paved road!?)

I know the media mostly serve the bad examples and the negative stories. However, there are many bright ones as well. I wanted to share them with you to show that Roma can be as good and successful in life as the majority population. Hopefully they will be more heard and known one day.

 

Kind regards,

Daphne Bergsma 

Water mission II – Dutch experts came to Slovakia again

Twelve days ago I wrote about the 60th anniversary of the huge North Sea flood of 1953 and I mentioned the incoming second Dutch “water mission” to Slovakia. It was coming to meet the Slovakian authorities and talk about water management. The thing is that managing the water is a very Dutch activity – it is no secret that the Netherlands has fought and “managed” water for centuries. As a country with two thirds of its land below sea level, we gained a lot of experiences in dealing with water challenges, especially after the 1953 disaster. Slovakia is also a country with its own water challenges, such as flooding. That was one of the reasons why we organized this “mission” in Bratislava and invited two Dutch water management organizations to meet their Slovak counterparts (Slovak water companies, Ministry of Environment etc.) and exchange experiences and investigate the potential for cooperation in this area. I was also very honored that State Secretary Mr. Vojtech Ferencz joined us for a working lunch during the visit.

The mission was second of its kind as we had one last year as well. I am glad that we could follow up on it and hopefully the cooperation will bear fruit in the future. Both sides identified the common interests and there was a friendly agreement for an integrated and joined approach. The Dutch side will prepare a study from the trip in which it will develop the detailed cooperation of both parties.

I personally find it very useful to organize events and missions like this because I sincerely believe that we Dutch can offer a lot to Slovaks just like the Slovaks have to offer us a lot. Both nations have their experiences with water and also disasters caused by water. We can cooperate in preventing them and saving lives. Only a successful cooperation will bring an effective and useful water management in the future, not only in the case of preventing disasters but also because of the fact that water is a key commodity. And that is an important thing to remember.

Kind regards,

Daphne Bergsma

60 years from the flood disaster – and the new age of water management

Sixty years ago, the Netherlands woke up into a horrible morning. It was Sunday, February 1^st 1953, and the provinces of Zeeland, South Holland and Noord-Brabant were under water. Almost two thousand Dutchmen lost their lives. It was the day of the Watersnoodramp, the big flood disaster which came during the previous night. Today we commemorate the 60^th anniversary of this catastrophe, but at the same time we also mark the beginning of a modern era in the water management in the Netherlands. And it is an interesting coincidence that a so called “water mission” from the Netherlands is coming to Slovakia in the days to come.

But let me first tell you about the disaster and its consequences. The big North Sea flood of 1953 – as it has been named in the history books – was a combination of high tide and a powerful storm which caused a huge rise of the sea level and the 5 to 6 meters high waves overwhelmed the sea defenses and caused extensive flooding as the dykes burst. This happened not only in the Netherlands, but also in Belgium and in United Kingdom – 2551 people were killed in these three countries (1836 in the Netherlands), around 30.000 animals drowned, almost 50.000 houses were damaged or totally destroyed. The winter disaster of 1953 consequently prompted a big discussion about new defenses and the ways of protecting people from the sea. This discussion led in the Netherlands to a project called Delta Works. The Deltawerken has been a new system of flood defense designed to protect the estuaries of the rivers Rhine, Meuse and Scheldt. It was completed in 1998 and the coast of the Netherlands is now protected much better.

The flood of 1953 and the constant living under the sea level taught us how to deal with water and the floods. We Dutch have enormous experiences in this area. As I mentioned in the beginning of this blog, a Dutch mission is coming to Slovakia next week. A “water mission” as we call it. Representatives of Dutch companies and government are offering assistance and help to Slovakia to manage the water issues. I am sure we can offer a lot of experiences and useful ideas to Slovaks and both sides can share knowledge as Slovaks also have an experience with massive flooding of Danube in June 1965. This Dutch mission is already the second one of its kind (first came last year) and this fact proves that a good ground for co-operation has been set. I hope the Dutch and Slovaks will find a common way to develop an adequate water management system in Slovakia together. It will be useful for everyone. And let’s hope that no such disaster as we experienced in 1953 will occur anymore, anywhere.

Kind regards,

Daphne Bergsma

„Trixit“ of the Queen – the Kingdom of the Netherlands will have a king

The Netherlands is going to have a new person on the throne. Her Majesty Queen Beatrix announced her abdication yesterday as of April 30. It is our national day on which we celebrate the Queen’s birthday. From then on we will have a king – Crown Prince Willem-Alexander will replace his mother who was on the throne for 33 years.

Queen Beatrix did the same as her mother Juliana in 1980 – she retired from the throne. She announced her „trixit“ just a few days before her 75th birthday (January 31) in an evening speech to the nation. The Queen decided to leave space for the young generation even though she is still very vital – it is expected that she will not withdraw from the public life completely. After April 30 she will become Princess Beatrix, while her 45 years old son Willem-Alexander will be the King of the Netherlands and his wife Máxima will become the queen.

The Netherlands is thus going to have a king on the throne after more than a century, as last four rulers were women – Beatrix, Juliana, Emma and Wilhelmina. King Willem III, who died in 1890, was the last man on the throne of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Queen Beatrix is leaving after more than three decades. I was personally very happy to meet her during my service at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and being Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Slovak Republic, especially three times last year – during the state visits of the Turkish President and the Slovak President to the Netherlands and also during her visit to Turkey where my husband is the ambassador. This honourable woman hosted the most influential people of the world during her long reign and what is interesting for Slovaks is the fact that the last state visit she hosted was the Slovak President and his delegation in November last year.

Having a king in the years to come also means that from 2014 we will celebrate the King´s Day instead of the Queen’s Day and it will be celebrated on April 27th which is the birthday of the designated king. After his coronation the Crown Princess will become his daughter Catharina-Amalia (born in 2003) who will thus be the future successor to the throne.

The times of the queen are over. At least for the period when Willem-Alexander is on the throne and during which he will represent the Netherlands and its people. And all we can wish him is a long and successful reign, at least as good and honourable as his royal mother´s has been.

Kind regards,

Daphne Bergsma

Year 2012: successful and the world is still here :-)

Another year is passing. One cannot believe that we it has been one year since we were wishing each other a happy 2012. Well, 2013 is behind the corner. And that is good news because it means that the end of the world did not come as it was said (so far actually :-)). More positive news is that it was a good and very interesting year – at least for our embassy.

The highlight of the year was the state visit in November. Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič went to the Netherlands to meet our Queen Beatrix and the government officials and I was present during this visit as well. It was a successful one and I am glad for that as it took lots of effort to organize and prepare it, in which the whole staff was involved. Thankfully, the resulting impression was very positive.

Of course, there we more events which I will keep in my memories. The memorable visit of three Dutch gentlemen to Slovakia in September, for instance. They were members of a foundation called Open Doors and they managed to smuggle a whole printing machine (and also “illegal” literature) for Slovak dissidents in communist 1980s. The reunion of these gentlemen and their Slovak counterparts after so many years was very emotional and unforgettable. Not only for them, for me as well.

We also successfully continued in our traditional happenings like the Cleveringa Lecture (annual lecture by Dutch professor on functioning judiciary), Corporate social responsibility seminar, we participated in the Night of Literature 2012, in Gay Pride, we organized a Jan Amos Comenius exhibition (my last blog) which drew a lot of attention, a fundraising seminar for Slovak NGOs with a similar result… In many ways this year was successful and the embassy was very active. Not only in Bratislava, we supported events around the whole country and I myself went on to travel around Slovakia many times with my cultural, political or economic officer (you see the broad range of issues here!).

At the end of this year I would like to wish you wonderful and peaceful Christmas. And also a happy new year 2013. And as a little gift from my side, I would like to point your attention to three lovely Dutch books which were published very recently (they can also be nice Christmas presents!) – Syr by Willem Elsschot (a timeless funny story of man called Laarmans and everyone can see himself/herself in him), Awater by Martinus Nijhoff (a long poem from 1934 worth to read) and Verejné práce by our famous writer Thomas Rosenboom. All these books were translated into Slovak by professor of Dutch literature Adam Bžoch and that is already a sign of a quality. I am sure you will enjoy reading these books!

All of us of the Dutch embassy wish you all the best and we will get back together in the next year! 

 

Kind regards,

Daphne Bergsma

Human rights Day – a day to debate

Human rights are one of the main pillars of the Dutch foreign policy. The Netherlands’ missions in foreign countries are focusing on this topic (among other issues like economy) and the embassy is Slovakia is not an exception.

I am sure you know that December 10 is the day when the international community celebrates Human Rights Day. It is for a simple reason – the Declaration of Human Rights was approved by the UN on that day in 1948. Since then, the human rights are based on this international treaty and all signatory states are expected to respect them.

One of the forms of how to commemorate this important day and this important topic, is to approach young people and organize something interesting for them. Our embassy has a practice in organizing school debates and this Monday we financially supported five debates on four different highschools around Slovakia. We did it in co-operation with the Slovak Debate Association, to which I am thankful because they have valuable experiences in this field. This year we organized school debates on a topic related to human rights of young people in connection to marihuana decriminalization – to be precise, the exact thesis for the debates was “The young people shall not be persecuted for marihuana consumption”. The practice in these debates is that that are two teams – one arguing in favor of the thesis and the other team against it. The audience listens and in the end it votes for the more persuasive team. Naturally, the audience can intervene in the end and debate with the teams. You would not believe, how young people, aged 17 or 18, can debate and use arguments. It is good to give them such an opportunity to talk, expressing their ideas and this way they also learn how to debate on a good level and equally important – how to listen to others. It is always a nice view when you see them argue. In a good way, of course.

This year we funded debates in Bratislava, Martin, Kosice and Humenne. And I am sure we will do it again next year. The Human Rights Day is important to remember. We might live in a free society but not all are that fortunate. There are places in the world where human rights are not respected. To draw attention to this day and this topic is therefore very important and – I would say – also mandatory.

Best regards,

Daphne Bergsma

Comenius – a link between The Netherlands and (Czecho)Slovakia

We organized an exhibition yesterday. It was about Jan Amos Comenius, or Komenský, as you would call him in Slovak. He was born in this region and died in The Netherlands where he is buried (in Naarden). When I first heard about this famous person who is interlinking our countries, I was immediately tempted to do something which would highlight this link. And this week our embassy finally did it. In the University Library in the Old Town of Bratislava we organized an exhibition of Comenius’ life works. It was opened by the director of the Comenius museum in Naarden himself – Mr. Hans van der Linde – who came to give a speech about this amazing man who contributed so much to the teaching that he became a patron of the teachers all around Europe.

Comenius was born in Moravia and lived in Bohemia, however, after the defeat of the Protestant Estates in 1620 he had to flee to The Netherlands where he later wrote his books. And part of yesterday’s exhibition were the bookplates which come from the collection of the Dutch bookbinder and collector Joop Peijnenburg († 2006). A partial collection of bookplates with regard to the life of Comenius was created on the occasion of the Comenius remembrance year of 1992 (as he was born in 1592). They were created not only in the Netherlands and Slovakia, but also in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Hungary. This collection is now a property of the Comenius Museum in the Netherlands but it borrowed part of it for our exhibition.

The whole event had a good attendance, the visitors were teachers (naturally), historians and students from the Comenius University in Bratislava, including the students from the Dutch department (Katedra nederlandistiky FF UK). I am very glad that the exhibition was successful and it drew attention. It is very important to stress the common links which our countries have – now it is actually three countries (The Netherlands, Slovakia and Czech Republic) which have this extraordinary man in common, but Comenius belongs also to the rest of Europe as he influenced the teachers and the teaching methods for centuries. And his heritage will last for even more centuries, I am sure about it.

Do not forget about him on March 28^th – that is the day when this man, born in Moravia 420 years ago, is commemorated.

 

Best regards,

Daphne Bergsma