Sept 2005 - Association of Dutch Businessmen

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DUTCH NEWS 2005, Dutch Media/Newspapers Education level of Dutch population increases The average education level of the Dutch population increased in the period 1996-2003, the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) said. The difference in the education level between men and women decreased, but the difference between the various age groups remained intact, although the education level of older people improved slightly. Turks and Moroccans are still the lowest-educated group in the Netherlands, although the sharpest improvement in education level was recorded in these two ethnic groups. In 2003, 25 pct of the Dutch population between 25 and 64 years had completed education at vocational college or university level at least, compared to a bit over 20 pct in 1996. The share of low-educated persons decreased in this period to 30 pct from 40 pct. In 2003, three out of 10 men had at least a vocational college or university degree against some 25 pct among women. The share of low-educated women declined and, at the same time, the share of female secondary school graduates increased. The share of low-educated is highest in the 55-64 age group. There are substantially fewer low-educated people in the 25-34 age group and more people with secondary and higher education. The education level of the native Dutch population is evidently higher than that of the non-native population. Over 25 pct of the native Dutch graduated from vocational colleges or universities in 2003, against 18 pct of the non-natives. Edwin van Oudshoorn wins Dutch Frans Molenaar Award 2005 Dutch fashion designer Edwin van Oudshoorn, 25, has received the Dutch Frans Molenaar Award 2005 for young fashion designers. Van Oudshoorn received the prize from Frans Molenaar during the opening of the third edition of the Amsterdam Fashion Week on July 28, 2005. The money prize of the award is 10,000 euro ($12,100). Van Oudshoorn was awarded the prize for his collection inspired by the Russian folklore and the impressions he got during a visit at the Hermitage art museum in Saint Petersburg, northwestern Russia. Van Oudshoorn graduated from the Art Academy in Arnhem, eastern Netherlands, in 2004. The opening evening of the Amsterdam Fashion Week was closed with the fashion show Mansharey of Dutch designer Effi Mansharey. Frans Molenaar, born on May 11, 1940 in Amsterdam, is a fashion designer and designer of furniture and glass. He was educated at the Trade School for Tailors in Amsterdam from 1955 until 1958. Molenaar worked as a tailor with Guy Laroche in Paris and as a fashion designer with Nina Ricci, also in Paris. As of 1995, the Frans Molenaar Award is given every year to encourage young fashion designers. 21 Vol.15 • No. 7 • September 2005
POP & DROP A QUESTION Banda Aceh, working for Doctors without Borders Question to Sanne Gooskens working at Philips, all round consultant quality group Why was it important for you to go to Aceh? And what were your experiences over there? Answer Christmas 2004, on holiday in the beautiful and quiet outback of Western Australia. Apart from a lot of sun and sea, there is nothing. No noise, no news. Only days after Christmas the news of a massive wave hit us. Having experience as a logistician for Doctors without Borders, I felt I had to offer my assistance. Back in Singapore, I wrote an e-mail. My preference was to work from Singapore, but if needed I would be willing to travel to Aceh. Luckily Philips immediately allowed me to take one month unpaid leave. I could not stay longer, because of work but moreover because I could not miss the first birthday of my daughter. If required I could always come back. Doctors without Borders called me as soon as they read my mail and asked me to take the first plane possible to Aceh. With my logistical experience in war countries, I was given the job of Security Coordinator. The toughest job of all logistics. Managing planes, trucks, warehouses, cars, generators, batteries, radio’s, computers, wells, hoses, pipes, pumps and even latrines is better than taking care of the security of 70 expats, 200 national staff and a great deal of supplies in Aceh. Okay, I would not be jealous of one person: the base logistician, who has to take care of expat housing and food. After a difficult farewell at home, a briefing in Jakarta and a stopover in Medan, I landed in Banda Aceh. It was full of journalists and aid workers. Why would Doctors without Borders still be there? I was used to operate in areas where nobody dared to venture out to, and now I landed in the big circus of humanitarian aid. Around 200 small, big, Christian, military, new and established organizations were running around. All having enough money and people, but often lacking experience and most of all coordination. It was mid January, and after the exploration of the situation in the province in the first two weeks, the conclusion was that there was no medical emergency. Because of the presence of all humanitarian aid in Banda Aceh, Doctors without Borders quickly ventured out to towns and villages along the coast. As in Banda Aceh, the situation was devastating; the once beautiful and rich towns were split in two, with one half totally washed away. Surprisingly, about half of the health structures and medical people survived. But many medics were traumatized, busy looking for their relatives or trying to clean up some of the chaos, so our doctors and nurses helped to run the health centers. Luckily there were no epidemics, so more work was to be done on prevention: shelter, water and sanitation. But most attention was needed for mental health care. People were already traumatized by the ongoing civil war and on top of this the Tsunami hit. Now they are sitting around, no place to go and nothing to do. So we started workshops on building houses, making boats, cooking, music and playing together with a lot of talking. As for the people, my worries as a security coordinator were the earthquakes and the war. Earthquakes are hard to forecast, it is easier to follow movement of rebels than movements of earth and sea. And not easy to protect people except for some basics like making sure people carry a radio (the only communication device working in times of chaos) and move out of the house at the first trembling. The civil war in Aceh has been going on for a long time, with the government of Indonesia trying to get control over the people and the rich resources in Aceh, and the Acehnese fighting for their freedom. But all was in a state of shock after the Tsunami and therefore unpredictable. Aceh had been closed for all foreigners for years and now suddenly had to open up. Both parties could gain supplies and attention. The military tried to control all incoming goods by checking freights, demanding storage in military warehouses and military convoys for transport. Of course this had to be paid for as well. To maintain neutrality Doctors without Borders can not work with the military, and to do no harm you would never pay a party at war. After long negotiations we could travel without escorts, but we still needed many checks 22 Vol.15 • No. 7 • September 2005
Page 1 and 2: September 2005 MITA 373/03/2001
Page 3 and 4: A monthly publication of the Associ
Page 5 and 6: BUSINESS A global financial informa
Page 7 and 8: BUSINESS An inspiring speech and an
Page 9 and 10: BUSINESS the doctors started crying
Page 11 and 12: ASIA It is expected that the Games
Page 13 and 14: SINGAPORE The transformation of Sin
Page 15 and 16: BIZZ AGENDA World Food Fair 2005 Ta
Page 17: DUTCH NEWS 2005, Dutch Media/Newspa
Page 21: ASSOCIATION INFO New Members Pieter

Sept 2005 - Association of Dutch Businessmen

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