NederlandsBread on the table, a clear conscience (whether or not this could be called the crazy product of being brought up in a Calvinist society), contacts, a regular life, the desire to put into practice what you learned through your education, the feeling that your presence in the world is significant – just a few reasons for fulfilling functions in life.
My social functions, all of them carried out in the Netherlands, are as follows:
- Committee member (since approx. 1993) of the SHI Foundation (Samenwerkingsverband Hoogland Indianen – Collaboration with Highland Indians). The SHI provides information about the native population of the Andes region in South America and solicits funds for small-scale development projects. This is a non-salaried function.
- Committee member (since mid-2004) of Wageningen Monumentaal (website in Dutch only). This association deals with urban Wageningen and the immediate region: the historic, planning and welfare aspects of buildings and urban organisation in our town. Wageningen Monumentaal passes on comments, whether requested or not, to the Town Council, architects, historians and the wider public.
This is a non-salaried function. - Musician and Committee member of Vereniging Folkcorn (the Folkcorn Association, officially established in 1992).I am Association secretary. Within the Association I am also a member (have been since 1979) of the band that carries the same name: Folkcorn. The Association’s aim is to “promote folk music in general and Dutch folk music in particular”. During our performances we explain the music we play; we also carry out literature studies and make available to interested parties documentation from our large number of books. Every year, during the summer, we go off on a goodwill trip to foreign parts. Via the Internet we answer questions put by interested parties all over the world.
- Free-lance organizer of lectures on UNESCO-themes for the Netherlands National Commission for UNESCO (The Hague). I am a former Public Information Officer with the UNESCO Centrum Nederland Foundation (Amsterdam). UNESCO is the United Nations body involved in Education, Science and Culture. UNESCO stands for: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
All about UNESCO at www.unesco.org - Free-lance editor and writer of reports, leaflets and poetry on demand (in Dutch).
- Committee member of the Platform of Professional Artists Wageningen (Platform Beroepskunstenaars Wageningen). The Platform wishes to support and promote the local professional artists and to enhance the art climate in and around Wageningen. The Platform also wishes to play an active role in the local society and to act as an art related liaison between the municipality, organizations, companies and the public at large. This is a non-salaried function.