Amsterdam Airlines to fly five times weekly from Maastricht Aachen Airport (MAA)

From June, Amsterdam Airlines is to fly five times weekly from Maastricht Aachen Airport (MAA). The new Dutch airline is working in partnership with tour operator Turjet, a Turkey specialist.
Passengers leaving from Dutch soil will from 1 July pay a new air tax. Due to this measure, a number of airline companies are moving to [...]

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Urban journal: Postcard from Maastricht

Beyond Milan and Eindhoven, the author discovers an emerging design center in Europe.
Maastricht, Netherlands, a city of 120,000 people nestled between Belgium and Germany, refutes the norms of Dutch identity. The oldest city in the Netherlands, its postcard scenery is more Middle Ages than Vermeer. And while Holland is flat, waterlogged, and canal-lined, Maastricht boasts [...]

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115 million to boost Dutch literacy and numeracy

The Dutch cabinet plans to set aside 115 million euros in the coming three years to raise the level of literacy and numeracy among children. It also plans to set national minimum requirements for primary and secondary school students, but will permit schools to decide how they help their students reach the required levels. People [...]

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Dutch royals here to stay?

Three quarters of Dutch people living abroad oppose abolishing the Dutch royal house. But the role the House of Orange should have meets with less unanimity. On the eve of Queen’s Day, celebrated every year on 30 April, Radio Netherlands Worldwide polled more than 1,000 expats and emigrants.
Read the article: Radio Netherlands, 28 April [...]

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Minister’s brother earns more than the PM

Economic affairs minister Maria van der Hoeven has been forced to increase the salary of top civil servant Jérôme Verhagen to above that of the prime minister, reports Saturday’s Financieele Dagblad.
Under government guidelines, public sector workers should not earn more than the prime minister’s €171,000 salary.
Jérôme Verhagen heads the Limburg regional development company Liof (part [...]

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Maastricht wants to make expatriates feel at home

There are about 7.000 expatriates working in South Limburg. Together with their spouses and possible families, they form a group of 16.000 foreigners trying to live in a country different from their own. Struggling with administrative hurdles, but also with the simple practical details of everyday life. Trying for instance to find out how, when and where garbage is collected. Maastricht has initiated an expat forum to examine the needs and wishes of the international community and learn how the expatriate experience in and around the city can be improved. [continued...]

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EuroMUN 2008: global debate, global party

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon would have been proud to witness the impact of his institution on young people at the recent EuroMun conference in Maastricht. Organised by the small team of the Maastricht United Nations Student Association (UNSA), the event attracted 450 students from all over the globe to the South Limburg capital. All had come with the same goal: take part in a European Model United Nations, simulating real life UN proceedings. A review for Crossroads by Tobias Gerhard.

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An academic nomad at International School Maastricht: a testimonial

Bulgaria, Bangladesh, Hungary, Finland, Jamaica are only some of the places where Crossroads’ writer Eliot Rolen spent his youth. “Yet,” he remembers, “alongside the immensely varied and inspiring sights and sounds of these countries, lay a place where to a certain extent geographical considerations were largely irrelevant, namely the international school”. Eliot’s path finally brought him to the Netherlands, where a new and different experience was awaiting him at the International School Maastricht. [continued...]

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Dutch plan to shift coffeeshops worries neighbors

Sitting among the mellow smokers in a coffeeshop in Maastricht it is easy to forget that a plan to relocate half of the cannabis-selling outlets to the city limits has aroused fury.
The southern Dutch city has been trying for five years to push seven shops to three new “coffee corners” at its northern, western and [...]

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Sunday 20 April: Amstel Gold race in Maastricht

The annual Ardennes Trilogy opens this coming Sunday in Maastricht, Netherlands, with the Amstel Gold Race. A total of three classic races in the Dutch-Belgian hills will be held within one week. The ProTour race in South Limburg will be followed on Wednesday by the Fleche Wallonne (April 23) with its feared final climb on [...]

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The Netherlands and Brazil sign agreement for education cooperation

On the afternoon of Friday 11 April, the Netherlands and Brazil signed a memorandum of understanding, in which they agree to actively promote cooperation in the areas of education and research.
There are many commonalities between Dutch and Brazilian higher education, but because of mutual unfamiliarity too little contact is made. The memorandum expresses the desire [...]

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Randstad economy fourth largest in Europe

The Randstad region is the largest economic urban region in the European Union (EU) after Paris, London and Milan, but the per capita production in the Randstad is lower than in many other urban regions. This may be partly caused by the relatively small proportion of providers of financial and business services in the Randstad.
High [...]

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Leisure activities income-related

Children from low-income families less often participated in club activities than children from high-income families in 2006. They also went on holiday less often. The gap between high and low-income families with respect to recreational activities has narrowed in 2006 relative to 2004.
Number of children in low-income families stable
In 2005, 429 thousand children lived in [...]

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Almost as many higher as lower educated Dutch

Between 2001 and 2007, the proportion of higher educated people in the Netherlands has grown across all age categories. Last year, there were about as many higher as lower educated individuals in the Netherlands for the first time. In the population with a foreign background, the most substantial increase in higher educated was recorded among [...]

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Live in Amsterdam, dine in Maastricht

Amsterdam is the most attractive Dutch city to live in, according to a new comparison of the 50 biggest local authorities in the Netherlands.
The capital is followed by Utrecht and Haarlem, while Heerlen is bottom of the list.
The ranking, published as an ‘atlas’, also shows Maastricht is by far the best when it comes to [...]

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Internship Opportunity at ASEF

Internship Opportunity at ASEF
Department: Public Affairs
Type of Position: Internship (6 months)
Date of Commencement 1 July 2008
Deadline of Application: 30 April 2008
Brief
The Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) seeks to promote better mutual understanding and closer co-operation between the people of Asia and Europe through greater intellectual, cultural, and people-to-people exchanges. These exchanges include conferences, lecture tours, workshops, seminars [...]

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Radio Oranje back on the air for one day only

To mark Liberation Day in the Netherlands (Monday 5 May), Dutch public broadcaster Radio 5 will broadcast as Radio Oranje between 0500 and 1700 UTC on 747 kHz. Radio Oranje was the Dutch station that broadcast from London during the Nazi occupation of the country.
Radio 5, which is aimed at the 50-plussers, is asking its [...]

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Pay deal tackles lack of Dutch teachers

Dutch Education Minister Ronald Plasterk has reached a deal with teaching unions and school boards on how to tackle the threat of a shortage of teachers. The situation is considered most acute in secondary schools.
It has been agreed that teachers’ salaries will be sharply increased in the long term. It is hoped this will attract [...]

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15 April-1 June: Alessandra Siviero exhibition in Atelier La Douze

Alessandra Siviero about her art:
“I was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and graduated in journalism and marketing. But my passion for art was stronger and led me to travel to many countries, including the USA where I lived for a few years. I am happy to see that my work has been well received [...]

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Film about Dutch research universities on YouTube

Film about Dutch research universities on YouTube

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Dutch EU officials go back to their high schools

Some 350 Dutch civil servants who work for the European institutions and MEPs are returning to their former secondary schools for a day to talk with school pupils about their work and the European Union.
The operation, ‘EU: Back to School’, will see Dutch EU employees deliver guest lessons to around 11,000 schoolchildren today (14 April) [...]

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New website: Castles of the Meuse valley

The provinces of Liège, Namur, Belgian Limburg and Dutch Limburg have decided to cooperate in a joint effort to better promote the castles located in the valley of the river Meuse.
The site appeals to history- and heritage enthusiasts, and to all who are visiting the « Euregio » for one or several days. More than [...]

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Maastricht sends the jobless to reincarnation therapy

The municipality of Maastricht has pressurised unemployed people to follow reincarnation therapy. Uncooperative welfare recipients were told that their attitude could have consequences for their allowance, local newspaper De Limburger reported Friday.
The Social Services, which grants allowances and attempts to get recipients back to work, urged at least one unemployed resident of Maastricht to accept [...]

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3 May: Internet and press freedom: Absolute freedom or digital dictatorship?

Internet and press freedom: Absolute freedom or digital dictatorship?
Prominent Internet scholar Jonathan Zittrain will discuss ongoing threats to press freedom on 3 May at the European Journalism Centre in Maastricht, the Netherlands.
His speech is part of a Dutch press freedom day, which will be marked from 13.30 until 16.00 at the Centre Céramique.
Zittman, [...]

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22 April: Public debate: Food or Fuel

On April 22 at 7.30 pm, a public debate will take place on the issue of agricultural production for fuel or for food under the title ‘Food or fuel: a global European dilemma’. With Maria Rodrigues, Brazilian Ambassador to the European Communities, Rudy Rabbinge, Professor Sustainable Development & Food security, Wageningen University, and Robert Vierhout, [...]

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21-25 April: Video for newspaper journalists 2.0 in Maastricht

A training course by the European Journalism Centre
Maastricht, 21-25 April 2008
The diet of news consumers has changed. Readers have cast their eyes from broadsheets, turning instead online. Content providers are therefore integrating video coverage into their daily offerings.
Too many times, though, a newsroom’s multimedia strategy consists of tossing hand-held cameras or mobile phones to reporters [...]

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DSM, university open forensic centre

Chemicals firm DSM and Maastricht University have joined forces to set up the Netherlands’ second specialist forensic institute, news agency ANP reports on Friday. The institute opens its doors on May 1 and will have a workforce of between 50 and 60.
DSM and the university say the country needs a second forensic science centre because [...]

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Maastricht turns to Student Think Tank for advice

“I’ve been here two years already but never got to know as much about the city as during those four weeks,” says University College Maastricht student Ingrid Kylstad after concluding the Think Tank assignment commissioned by the city of Maastricht. Ingrid was one of the several UCM students who were recently asked to prepare a policy recommendation report about one of the city’s greatest challenges for the future: how to stop the demographic decline. Crossroads writer Hania Piotrowska takes a closer look at the students’ findings and suggestions. [continued...]

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14-22 April: International Story Telling Festival in Alden-Biesen, Belgian Limburg

For storytelling it is hard to imagine a more beautiful environment than a castle where you, inside and outside, during the day and at dusk, can enjoy a romantic story, a creepy story, a thrilling story, a funny story ….
Since twelve years now the Landcommanderij Alden Biesen is the scenery for an international storytelling [...]

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The Netherlands must do more to keep multinationals

The Netherlands is a world player when it comes to the head offices of multinational companies. But the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) warns that the Netherlands could lose its position, not just as a result of mergers and takeovers, but also because businesses actively seek out the best location to base their headquarters. And that [...]

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