Posted by Theo Muller on 9 January 2013 | 1427 Comments
Tags: community, dutch, New Zealand, create
I have been involved in the NetherlaNZ Foundation for a couple of years and the Trustees made me Chairman about a year ago. It’s been a full-on year and I have met more Dutch immigrants or second or third generation descendants of Dutch immigrants in that year than in all those years since I came to New Zealand in the 70’s. There are Dutchies everywhere and there isn’t one living soul in New Zealand who doesn’t know somebody of Dutch origin – surely no more than two degrees of separation! But what has taken me by surprise is the number of clubs, committees, incorporated societies, formal and informal groups of Dutch immigrants and their descendants and most of these groups have similar goals and objectives; bringing the Dutch community together socially or culturally by organising events, activities and projects, some of them with a local accent and others of a regional or even national nature. It is absolutely fantastic that there are so many motivated people wanting to be involved in these projects and make themselves available, roll up their sleeves and get stuck in. I take my hat off to those involved in the very successful Molen Project in Foxton. What an asset, not only for Foxton, but for the whole of New Zealand. The Dutch Connexion, another group of enthusiastic Dutch immigrants with a dream of ambitious proportions, wants to build a Dutch museum, “Ons Museum and Cultureel Centrum”. The drivers behind that project devote all their spare time to realising their dream. I salute you.
Over the last 20 years, the NetherlaNZ Foundation has also realised several major projects; I mention the recent travelling Anne Frank Exhibition and the annual World Press Photo Exhibition as examples of cultural events with links back to The Netherlands.
While I don’t wish to trivialise the enormous successes achieved by individual groups and organisations as clearly demonstrated above, I keep thinking about what we as Dutch immigrants and their descendants could achieve if we were somehow to work together, share resources, share talent, think as one.
I would be really interested in hearing what your thoughts are and invite you to post your response to the above. I personally think this would be a very useful debate.
Let Baydonhill FX help with your Money or Overseas Money Transfers.
Posted by foreign exchange currency rates, 04/04/2013 6:36pm (11 years ago)
Yeah..This the matter which I am finding & now I caught! This is really exciting.
Posted by Download Games, 09/03/2013 10:57pm (11 years ago)
2012 was the UN Year of the Cooperative. As a business model, the cooperative is a tried and proven structure that goes back over 100 years. The Cooperative featured strongly in the economic fabric of The Netherlands and also of New Zealand and while many have disappeared in the last few decades, they are now making a strong comeback.
Why? At all levels people are strting to realize that working together makes a lot of sense; the pool of talent is bigger, resources go further, Together Everybody Achieves More.
Posted by Theo Muller, 20/02/2013 12:58pm (11 years ago)
Nice to read your experience about the NetherlaNZ Foundation .Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wanted to mention that I've truly enjoyed browsing your blog posts. <a href="http://www.ffxibank.com/" rel="dofollow">ffxi gil</a>
Posted by jasion, 16/02/2013 8:46pm (11 years ago)
I totally agree. New Zealand is too small to have groups with similar goals and interests not working in co-operastion with each other. This doesn't have to be one major organisation with a 'fits all' aim but good links and communication so that a wider audience is reached and we are more effective.
Posted by Arthur Klap, 06/02/2013 6:51pm (11 years ago)
Great to read your comments, Sandra. Thanks for registering as a supporter. We want to mobilise the Dutch community in New Zealand and shake off the cloak of invisibility - the Dutch have made and are still making a huge contribution to the economic and social fabric of this country and together we will keep the Dutch culture alive.
No doubt you still have a lot of Dutch friends here in NZ, and it would be great to get them on board as supporters as well.
Posted by Theo Muller, 05/02/2013 11:13am (11 years ago)
I am a first generation Kiwi - descended from the great Post WWII migration - I am very interested in re-connecting with Dutch culture, especially more contemporary aspects. I can still make my cousins in Nederland laugh with my 1953 Dutch! I have 'connected' as a supporter, looking forward to keeping the information flow going. regards, SandraB
Posted by Sandra Donsen-Blake, 22/01/2013 4:38pm (11 years ago)
What a nice positive comment! I like the suggestion of creating "Orange Pages", something the Foundation is already doing - although not under that name.
Posted by Theo Muller, 15/01/2013 9:40am (11 years ago)
being a Dutch GP here in NZ I could offer help in the sence of advice. Something like the Orange pages (Dutch yellow pages) might work, we could help each other if we know where we are. Would be nice to set up bigger meetings, a concert with some Dutch artists in New Plymouth for instance, Blof, Ilse de Lange, Anouk. Promote the Netherlands a little bit. After all they only know Heiniken and Shell. Unfortunately thanks to the American music industry you hardly hear about foreign musicians. An exchange programm would be great. New Zealand could learn a lot from Holland, the medical system is not exactly great here. It's appaling to see that not every kiwi can swim. Just a few examples. Happy to contribute.
Posted by Hans Itjeshorst, 14/01/2013 5:47pm (11 years ago)
... agree, what I am concerned about is that projects like that require huge resources, often well beyond the means of the initiators. Pulling resources together would make things a lot easier, particularly in an economic climate where sponsorships are hard to get.
For more information on the Foxton project, visit www.dutchconnection.org.nz
Posted by Theo Muller, 14/01/2013 9:39am (11 years ago)
« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 next »
RSS feed for comments on this page | RSS feed for all comments
abel tasman andre rieu choreographer community create dance de molen discovery of new zealand dutch dutch community dutch connection dutch dayz dutch history dutchkiwis dutch schools elsemiek groen food foxton foxton museum funding cuts holland internship james cook maori waka in netherlands. market netherlands new zealand new zealand dutch history petition scholarship school tans te hono ki aotearoa - documentary tirza university waka at leiden website launch windmill windmill in foxton
Located in Katikati in the beautiful Bay of Plenty, surrounded by gardens and orchards, we are taking in guests for respite care and full time residents.
We speak dutch and offer “Brabantse gezelligheid”.
For more information please contact Barbara on PH: 021-2649245email: bgeraerts@windowslive.comCopyright © 2024 New Zealand Netherlands Foundation