In Amsterdam, King Abdullah II calls for integration
October 31, 2006 Leave a Comment
In a speech delivered in Amsterdam’s city hall, Jordan’s King Abdullah II has called for the integration of cultures and religious communities.
King Abdullah II, who is on a three-day state visit to the Netherlands, is widely seen as representing a new generation of leaders.
Amsterdam has more than 200,000 non-western immigrants, including 70,000 Muslims. [...]
Maastricht Convention Bureau launches new brochure for MICE organisers
October 31, 2006 Leave a Comment
With pride, the Maastricht Convention Bureau (MCB) presents their new brochure: Meet Maastricht and Surroundings. The brochure is meant to convince organisers of business meetings to have their meetings in Maastricht and surroundings. Specifically their conventions, meetings and incentives.
“On national and international trade fairs, during company and association visits and on any other occasions we [...]
1200 voting machines in the Netherlands withdrawn from use
October 30, 2006 Leave a Comment
In the run-up to next month’s general election in the Netherlands, the government has withdrawn the licences for 1200 electronic voting machines, about 10% of the total in the country, after it was discovered that the radio signals produced by one particular type of machine can be received several tens of metres away, meaning that [...]
Netherlands leads the world in part-time jobs
October 30, 2006 Leave a Comment
Compared with other European countries, the Netherlands has an exceptionally high number of people with a part-time job. Women, particularly, often work part-time.
Last year, nearly half of those working in the Netherlands had a job of less than 35 hours a week. Second came Norway, where the proportion is less than 30 percent. The European [...]
Oldest archaeological find in Belgian Limburg
October 30, 2006 Leave a Comment
An amateur archaeologist has uncovered the oldest archaeological site in Flanders in a loam pit in Riemst (Limburg).
The find includes several tools made of flint. The artefacts are believed to be between three hundred and four hundred thousand years old.
Read full article: VRT News, 30 October 2006
New fund for EU students in the Netherlands
October 29, 2006 Leave a Comment
State Secretary for Education Bruno Bruins wants to set up a fund enabling institutes to give their students from other EU countries an allowance. The arrangement is intended as compensation for the so-called ‘Raulin allowance’ that he wants to abolish.
If the Lower House agrees, the fund will be introduced in 2007. The Ministry will make [...]
Work permit for interns lapsed
October 29, 2006 Leave a Comment
Before long, non-EU students following a study program at a Dutch ‘hogeschool’ or university will no longer need a special work permit anymore if they want to do internships here also.
Read article: Cursor, Technical University Eindhoven, 26 October 2006
Surplus of highly trained Dutch
October 29, 2006 Leave a Comment
The Netherlands has a surplus of highly qualified people. As a result, many have a position below their education level, and low starter salaries. This was a finding of research done by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
Contrary to what is frequently claimed, the Dutch labour force is well and highly trained. The Netherlands has [...]
15 November: International Flea Market
October 29, 2006 Leave a Comment
On Wednesday 15 November, from approximately 8 pm on, the International Women’s Club of South Limburg shall hold their bi-annual International Flea Market (snuffelmarkt).
During this market many new, second-hand, and hand-made items are sold at interesting prices! There’ll be a bake sale, a ‘White Elephant stall’, special December decoration items etc.
If you appreciate [...]
University College Maastricht measures up well to American Colleges
October 28, 2006 Leave a Comment
It does not happen too often that an auditing committee labels the academic level of graduates from a study as ‘excellent’. But this is what happened to the University College Maastricht. The committee was impressed with the quality of the final papers, with the Masters programmes to which students are admitted and their enthusiasm for [...]
The Netherlands will reach Kyoto goals
October 28, 2006 Leave a Comment
According to the European Commission’s latest estimates, the Netherlands will succeed in meeting its Kyoto Protocol commitments. The EC says Dutch greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by almost nine percent by 2010. However, the reduction is mainly due to Dutch projects in other countries, including projects in China and India, which were paid for [...]
Limburg winemaker at work: the bison droppings give the wine a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’
October 28, 2006 Leave a Comment
A couple of weeks ago, I took a city bus from Maastricht to Wahwiller with my boyfriend Emiel and friend Malan. We travelled southeast and got off after about a half an hour. With only rolling green hills in sight, we walked ten minutes up to a beautiful little vineyard. We were about to gather with Emiel’s family, the Huijben clan, to pick the annual crop of green grapes. [continued...]
Review: “La Convivencia” aan de Maas
October 27, 2006 Leave a Comment
When listening to Vicente Amigo, the famous flamenco guitarist who played at the Theater aan het Vrijthof on 18 October, it is easy to hear La Convivencia channelled via the ancient tradition of flamenco music.
Home-made bomb craze in Netherlands
October 27, 2006 Leave a Comment
A number of people have recently been injured in the Netherlands because of a new rage among youths who make bombs from drain cleaners containing caustic soda.
On Wednesday, an 11-year-old boy in Gorinchem suffered serious eye injury when his home-made bomb exploded in his face. Two days earlier, a dog in the same town [...]
Dutch public broadcasters announce host of new themed digital TV channels
October 26, 2006 Leave a Comment
The Dutch public broadcasters on Wednesday officially unveiled a host of new digital TV channels that will be launched next month. The channels will be available to those viewers with digital TV subscriptions via cable, which currently means nearly 2 million households. 17 additional channels will be offered, covering a range of themes such as [...]
‘New Dutch tax laws will benefit Japanese firms’
October 26, 2006 Leave a Comment
The new Dutch corporate tax rate that comes into effect in 2007 will help reduce the tax burden on Japanese enterprises conducting business in the Netherlands, Dutch Economic Affairs Minister Joop Wijn said.
His remarks indicated the low tax rate will be one of the driving forces behind his country’s ability to compete in the [...]
Dutch in foreign countries live longer
October 25, 2006 Leave a Comment
Immigrants abroad with full pension benefits add years to life.
Pensioned Dutch who spend their golden years abroad live on average a year and a half longer than the elderly who remain in the Netherlands. That was made known Monday by the Social Insurance Bank (SVB).
Also the amount of the AOW state social security benefits has [...]
The Hague wants a new logo to advertise the city
October 25, 2006 Leave a Comment
Read in Radio Netherlands Press review, 23 October 2006:
Logos, brand names, and labels are so important nowadays that The Hague has had renowned pop photographer Anton Corbijn, no less, design a new logo for the city, “in order to give the city a better image and thereby attract more investment”, says De Telegraaf.
The socialist [...]
16-17 November: UM conference: Quality of education: in the eye of the beholder?
October 25, 2006 Leave a Comment
Quality of education: in the eye of the beholder? This will be the main question of a work conference organized by Maastricht University (UM) in cooperation with the Academic Cooperation Association (ACA). The conference will be held in Maastricht on November 16 & 17 and is organized as part of the activities celebrating the 30th [...]
Maastricht School of Management receives major subsidy for Round Table Africa project
October 25, 2006 1 Comment
The Dutch MFS Advisory Committee on Joint Financing (Medefinancieringsstelsel, MFS) has advised the Dutch Minister for Overseas Development on the distribution of € 2.1 billion in subsidies.
The advice shows that Maastricht School of Management (MSM) is the only major educational institute in the Netherlands to receive an MFS subsidy. It involves the sum [...]
23 November: Master Class Successful Entrepreneurship at MSM
October 25, 2006 Leave a Comment
Maastricht School of Management annoucement:
How does your organization perform? What is the next step in your career? Because of the success and of the previous master classes and the high appreciation of the attendants, MSM and NASH Consulting BV again organize the Master Class Successful Entrepreneurship. You won’t find answers for your problems here, but [...]
30 November: Knowledge at Work at Hogeschool Zuyd
October 25, 2006 Leave a Comment
The fifth Knowledge at Work event will take place on Thursday 30 November 2006. Knowledge at Work is a marketplace where knowledge circulates between educational institutions on the one hand and businesses and other organisations on the other. It’s a place where you can attend more than 125 presentations by students, staff and external experts [...]
Three Antillean islands to receive status
October 25, 2006 Leave a Comment
Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius are to have a direct relationship with the Netherlands. In the future the islands will enjoy a similar status to Dutch municipalities. For example, the population will be able to vote in elections.
Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius are to have a direct relationship with the Netherlands. In the future [...]
Aachen University in Peking
October 25, 2006 Leave a Comment
Aachen’s RWTH University has strengthened its ties with China by opening an office in Peking. The Peking Office will focus on the exchange of staff and Students. University President Burkhard Rauhut opened the new office.
Source: Meuse-Rhine Journal, 15 October 2006
Linear pottery farm discovered in Elsloo
October 25, 2006 Leave a Comment
In the Riviusstraat in Elsoo, excavations have revealed well-preserved remains of prehistoric farms. The farms are a part of a linear pottery culture settlement of four hectares, which is the largest found so far and they are approximately 7,000 years old. The settlement was occupied for two centuries and these people were the first farmers [...]
Confucius Institute in Liège
October 25, 2006 Leave a Comment
The Confucius Institute of Belgium’s French-speaking Community was inaugurated on Tuesday, October 17 at rue de Pitteurs 20 in Liège.
The Confucius Institute is at a location in the international city of Liège, in the old Anatomy Institute of the university in Outremeuse. The courses, which started in February 2006, include the language, culture and [...]
Greater Amsterdam economically powerful region
October 25, 2006 Leave a Comment
In 2005, 30 cents out of every euro of value added in the Netherlands was generated in the regions surrounding the four largest cities; the Amsterdam region accounted for 12 cents. The capital’s strong position is partly due to the presence of Schiphol Amsterdam Airport. The sector commercial services plays a prominent part in the [...]
Australian university inks research collaboration with Netherlands
October 25, 2006 Leave a Comment
The Australian National University (ANU) and the Netherlands University of Leiden have signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a research collaboration on South-East Asia.
The signing coincides with the Dutch Royal visit to Canberra.
The two universities will offer PhDs and organise workshops and conferences on issues in the region.
Read article: ABC News online, 25 [...]
Culture, Leisure: Jazz Maastricht brings yet another bridge to Maastricht
October 24, 2006 Leave a Comment
On a recent afternoon while waiting at a bank in Maastricht, I noticed a couple seated next to me. The man was looking through a Dutch newspaper and suddenly turned to his partner: “It looks like there is some kind of jazz event going on”. I realised that he could not read the paper except for the word “jazz”. [continued...]
Dutch and British PMs make climate change appeal
October 20, 2006 Leave a Comment
Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and his British counterpart Tony Blair have called on Europe to take the lead in efforts to prevent a catastrophic climate change.
The two made the appeal in a letter to EU leaders on the eve of Friday’s informal summit in Finland where energy will be one of the main [...]
