More foreign students choose NL

6,315 students from other countries enrolled in Dutch universities and colleges this summer, about 1,000 more than last year, the Volkskrant reports. The number of foreign students registering in the Netherlands was about 4,000 annually in the preceding years.
The Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) says the increase is the result of changes to policy. Several [...]

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Dutch royals edited Wikipedia entry on themselves

Controversial Dutch Princess Mabel and her husband Prince Johan Friso edited a Wikipedia entry about her, to take out a reference that she had given false information to the government, the royal information service RVD confirmed Wednesday.
Several media outlets here reported that a computer with an Internet Protocol (IP) address registered to the palace [...]

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IND awards amnesty to 12,600 illegals to date

The Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) has to date informed 12,600 illegal immigrants that they are allowed to stay in the Netherlands. Some 650 others have been told they are not eligible for the amnesty, Justice State Secretary Nebahat Albayrak stated in a letter to parliament yesterday.
The pardon scheme, which came into effect on 15 [...]

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Netherlands tourism pioneers Second Life

The Netherlands Board Of Tourism & Conventions is launching http://us.holland.com a fully Web2.0 based site, as well as the official launch of the world’s first National Tourism Board in Second Life, www.hollandsecondlife.com.
The new Holland.com is a fully web2.0 based website which offers not just a quick and easy way to find information about travel [...]

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8-9 Sept: Scottish weekend at Landcommandery Alden Biesen, Belgian Limburg

From the Scottish Weekend website:
On FRIDAY EVENING, we start with an unique concert in the CELTIC CLUB (Rijschool - Castle Alden Biesen). DOUGIE MACLEAN (sco) and SALTFISHFORTY (sco) will be our guests.
Adhering to tradition, the Pipe Band Championship, the Highland Dance Competition and our CELTIC NIGHT will take place Saturday 8th September. On Sunday 9th [...]

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Momentous Dutch encounters in Hungary

It’s been two months now since my partner and I moved to Maastricht, but it is in our native country Hungary that I had my first contact with Dutch people. I was working last year for an international Human Ressources company in Budapest and the place was exceptionally multicultural: our trainers came from the USA and Europe, my colleagues were English, Irish, Israeli, Polish, Swedish, French… and one of my bosses was Dutch. [continued]

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Coalition wants to end Moroccan names policy

The governing Christian democrats (CDA), Labour (PvdA) and small Christian party ChristenUnie want Dutch municipalities to stop presenting lists of Arabic names on behalf of the Moroccan government to young Moroccan parents.
Moroccan parents having a child in the Netherlands should be able to choose a name themselves, say CDA and PvdA. This is not possible [...]

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New political status for Netherlands Antilles

Dutch Deputy Interior Minister Ank Bijleveld has signed an agreement with the Netherlands Antilles, which form part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The accord paves the way for a new political status for the five Caribbean islands. A 2005 agreement dissolved the Netherlands Antilles in their current form, but the island of Curaçao initially [...]

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KRO campaigns to keep BBC crime shows

TV station KRO has launched a petition on its website to keep the BBC series Dalziel & Pascoe and The Inspector Lynley Mysteries which it has been broadcasting for several years. The BBC wants to stop making the programmes.
Fans can register their signature at www.detectives.kro.nl
Source: DutchNews.nl, 28 August 2007

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The chronicles of Friesland: a photo reportage

No matter where you looked there was water in many forms: gigantic lakes that felt like the sea, canals, polders, rivers, ponds… and hundreds of minute, white boats dotting the horizon, writes Crossroads writer Hector Pascual Alvarez as he remembers his recent trip to the northern province of Friesland. [View his photo-reportage]

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Azerbaijani Embassy inaugurated in the Netherlands

Azerbaijani Embassy was inaugurated yesterday in the Netherlands, APA’s Europe bureau reports. Azerbaijan’s flag was hoisted on the building rented for the Embassy.
Spokesman for Foreign Ministry Khazar Ibrahim told APA that consulate will offer services to Azerbaijanis living in the Netherlands as from today.
Azerbaijani Embassy in the Netherlands was established at the end of [...]

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Four-year plan to combat radicalisation

The Dutch government on Monday announced a four-year plan to combat radicalisation especially among Muslim youths, amid concern over domestic Islamic extremism.
Most of the plan’s budget of EUR 28 million will go to local governments to support projects designed to keep youths from turning against Dutch society and its values, officials said.
“It is [...]

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2nd annual naturalisation day

Prospective Dutch citizens are required to take part in National Naturalisation Day on Friday. Last year 24 August was designated as National Naturalisation Day and celebrated for the first time. It was on this date in 1815 that the Dutch constitution came into effect.
All municipalities will be welcoming the newly naturalised Dutch citizens. Integration Minister [...]

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Interview with Wilfried Ruetten, director of the European Journalism Centre in Maastricht

It is my pleasure to introduce our readers and contributors to Wilfried Ruetten, director of the European Journalism Centre (EJC) in Maastricht.

Interview by Sueli Brodin, Crossroads editor on 23 August 2007

Video production: Bernd Kapeller, EJC

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Lumière cinema: the artistic answer to end-of-summer blues

What fills these days, when summer has become somewhat stagnant and, at the same time, fall approaches all too quickly? A trip to Lumière Cinema, with its unique film selection and welcoming café bar, might be just the thing for you. [continued...]

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Child Abduction Central Authority Figures for 2006

Dutch Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin has provided the Lower House of Parliament with information on the number of cases processed by the Central Authority for Child Abduction (CA) in 2006. The CA is responsible for implementing the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and for ensuring the return of children [...]

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Justice Minister wants Internet Public Consultation Trial

Dutch Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin is in favour of trying out a nationwide consultation project in which citizens, companies and interest groups alike can debate new regulations via the Internet, according to the letter that the Minister submitted to the Lower House of Parliament today, along with the report on a more responsive government [...]

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Decline in costs for nature and landscape conservation

In 2005, the costs of nature and landscape conservation in the Netherlands amounted to approximately 880 million euro. Relative to 2003 and 2001, costs decreased by 36 and 70 million euro respectively.
The costs covered by the Dutch public sector were stable in this period at just over 500 million euro. The decrease is almost entirely [...]

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Network for university students from immigrant backgrounds

From today’s Radio Netherlands Press Review:
The AD runs a front-page piece on university students from immigrant backgrounds. It appears they are forming their own independent student clubs and falling outside the broader network. “There’s nothing wrong with that,” says a spokesman for the Council for Work and Income, “but wider, mixed networking increases the chances [...]

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Multicultural Amsterdam

From today’s edition of Radio Netherlands Press Review:
NRC.next celebrates the multicultural superiority of Amsterdam: it seems the Dutch capital is home to 177 different nationalities - more than any other city in the world. Antwerp comes in second with 164 different ethnic groups and New York third with 150. Of Amsterdam’s roughly 750,000 residents, only [...]

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Study shows Netherlands needs to deal with increased rainwater

A study published Wednesday showed that Dutch towns and cities have to make structural changes to deal with an increase in rainwater. The study, performed by Stichting Rioned, a public-private organization that deals with sewage and water problems in the Netherlands, surveyed 203 municipalities and found that a total of 90 per cent suffer from [...]

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Other people’s kids are ‘rude’, says survey

While most parents are satisfied with the way they are bringing up their children, 75% are irritated by other people’s kids who are ‘rude, anti-social, secretive and disobedient’, according to a survey by J/M magazine.
Two-thirds of the parents questioned said a stricter approach is needed in bringing up children. When it came to primary [...]

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‘Decline in racism across the board’

The number of cases of racist violence in the Netherlands declined across the board in 2006 from 2005. The number of victims dropped among Muslims, Jews and white people, according to the Racism and Extremism Monitor published yesterday by the Anne Frank Foundation.
In 2006, 265 violent “incidents of a racist or extreme-right character” were registered, [...]

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Dutch government plans new approach to integration

The new Dutch Minister for Integration wants to make language lessons for newcomers free-of-charge. Minister Ella Vogelaar has promised that the integration process will be more positive. That’s a major change compared to her predecessor, Rita Verdonk, who favoured promoting a more hardline approach.
In her “Naturalization Deltaplan”, Minister Vogelaar spells out that she wants [...]

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Dutch enthusiastic about merger between Flanders and the Netherlands

An opinion poll commissioned by the Dutch broadcaster RTL shows that 77% of the people of the Netherlands would back a merger between their own country and Flanders.
Read the rest of the article: Flanders news, 22 August 2007

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Let’s stick together now

When I told my husband that I wanted to write down my thoughts about the Dutch word ‘mee’, he looked baffled. “What is there to write about?” he wondered out loud.

My sister in Paris was just as puzzled: “How am I supposed to pronounce this ‘mee’ anyway? To be honest, it sort of reminds me of a flock of sheep!”

Well funnily enough, after living sixteen years in the Netherlands, I have come to view this small and perhaps inconspicuous ‘mee’ as one of the most important words in the Dutch language. I even think that learning to use it has helped me understand some typical aspects of the Dutch way of life! [continued...]

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15 September 2007–13 January 2008: Exhibition: Introducing New Zealand artists

Exhibition: Introducing New Zealand artists
Alan Wehipeihana
and
Pamella Annsouth, Brian Carmody, Austin Davies, John Drawbridge, Jane Kellahan, Sue Lloyd, Catherine Macdonald, Andrea Miller, Anne Munz, Jo Ogier, Judith Anne Royal, Kahu Scott, Cynthia Taylor, Gary Tricker, Emma Velde
The exhibition will be opened by Her Excellency the New Zealand Ambassador to the Netherlands, Rachel Fry on Saturday [...]

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Former Bible Museum opens House of Koran

The former Open Air Bible Museum near Nijmegen has received 500,000 euro in subsidy from oil state Oman. With this, the museum will expand to include a House of Koran.
The Open Air Bible Museum recently changed its name to Museumpark Orientalis. Along with its name, the museum’s objective has changed. Formerly a traditional Catholic pilgrim’s [...]

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Report damns Dutch flood defences

Civil servants believe too little is being done to combat the increasing danger of flooding in the Netherlands. In a report acquired by the Dutch public television station NOS, civil servants say there is an “unacceptable risk in the long term”.
The report states that there is no overall plan, that the country’s dikes are not [...]

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22 Sept 2007 - 6 Jan 2008: Netherlands Architecture Institute presents ‘Architecture With Mission’

The first major survey of the work of the architect Pierre Cuypers will be on show at NAI Rotterdam and Maastricht from September 22 2007 to January 6 2008.
The architect Pierre Cuypers (1827 - 1921): famed and maligned. He enriched the Dutch landscape with dozens of churches, designed ‘Centraal Station’ and the ‘Rijksmuseum’ in Amsterdam, [...]

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