Luxury lifestyle and VIP service Concierge Amsterdam launched a new label this week: Dutch Uncle. This service to unburden, is specialized in Lifestyle Services for diplomats and Home Management Services and focuses on wealthy households and foreigners in the Netherlands.
In global cities such as New York, London, Paris, The Hague busy business people and internationals make eager use of home managers and personal concierges when moving or while traveling. This fact is fairly new in the Netherlands, even though there is a market for it.
Dutch Uncle provides a soft landing in the Netherlands “We are responding to this,” says Stephanie Broeke, co-founder of Dutch Uncle. “Many diplomats who settle here can feel lost. The first step, such as first accommodation or a hotel reservation is often arranged by the embassy. But then it really starts. What are the best places to decorate your home? What insurance is needed, what is the best school for your children and how do you arrange other practical matters such as the dentist? Where can you find a nanny, a personal trainer or a private driver? but often they have no idea where to start and start a search on the internet, whereby trial and errors.
This detour is no longer necessary with Dutch Uncle. Thanks to our powerful network and years of experience in providing services for VIPS, we have the direct entrances and with our Expat Lifestyle Services we ensure a soft landing so that this target group feels at home faster and saves a lot of time.”
Home Management Services takes care of practical matters in and around the house. In addition, Dutch Uncle also provides clients with personal services in a higher segment. “Think of industrialists, dignitaries and people working in the high-end entertainment industry,” Broeke continues. “There is often no shortage of budget, but there is a shortage of time – that has become a luxury good. With our Home Management Services we ensure that practical matters are taken care of. This can range from furnishing a pied-à-terre to arranging the post mail and cleaning when someone is traveling.”
Bojana Duovski, co-owner of Dutch Uncle and founder of Concierge Amsterdam adds: “Although Concierge Amsterdam mainly focuses on diplomats and international VIPS who stay here for a short time, we increasingly received requests for structural support in the field of home management and concierge services.”
It’s been more than a year now since our lives changed, the whole world, as we knew it, turned into something different… a pandemic, like nothing any of us had lived before, changed the way we interact to each other, slowed down the pace of our hectic lives and proved to us that we are so small, powerless and fragile as human beings.
One year ago I was frenetically preparing to launch my first book, ‘Just a diplomatic spouse’, I was making travel plans (like I always did, several months in advance) and I was fully enjoying the benefits of an active social diplomatic life in Berlin.
Little did I know of what was about to come and how our entire universe was going to be challenged, our inner strength tested and our nerves stretched to the max.
Day by day, the disease came closer and closer, we had to give up our travel plans, the list of guests got erased and the first lockdown in our lives came upon us and our families. Luckily, Berlin and Germany imposed quite mild restrictions at first. We were still able to go out freely and take long walks in the many parks and forests around the city, and, although social contacts were severely narrowed, we had the great comfort of our family of four.
I guess we are lucky because we greatly enjoy each other’s company. That was sadly not the case for many others. I heard many stories of breakups and divorces post- COVID lockdown. Spending all day long with the same few people can be tricky sometimes. But, as I often advised others too, I tried to establish some kind of lockdown routines in our daily schedule, in order to find balance and lower the pressure of the whole situation. As we all know by now, when you constantly read and hear news about raising infection numbers, crowded IC units, exhausted medical staff and dear people around you getting sick, it’s only inevitable that your stress level will go high.
I will never forget the staggering images of empty streets, ghost cities, famous landmarks all over the world completely alone, people singing together, each from their own balconies, rounds of evening applause supporting the effort of tireless doctors and nurses fighting to keep sick people alive.
The world stood still and what we had left was hope…that maybe it was just a bad dream, that maybe this whole disaster would pass soon…
One of the most impressive images that come now to my mind is one from Easter 2020, when I watched online Andrea Bocelli, the famous Italian tenor, singing in front of the Milan Dome, in an empty square… just him, the majestic building and his marvelous voice echoing into the air. Beautiful image, but equally terribly emotional!
Online meetings, online concerts, online schooling… as if we tried to move our entire lives into the online… but we are social creatures, human beings will always crave for social contact. We miss terribly meeting our friends for lunch and dinner, going out to the cinema, having a night out clubbing, celebrating big days with our extended families, New Year’s Eve big parties and fireworks, travelling worry-free…
Oh, yes… travelling… a painful subject… empty airports are another weird image of these days. We managed to travel a bit, but I confess that the feeling was different. From the luggage, half full of disinfectants and face protection masks, to all the additional precautions, tests, delayed or cancelled flights, quarantine conditions and changed holiday destinations…2020 had it all… and sadly, 2021 doesn’t seem much different.
A year has gone already and the news of several effective vaccines, available at global scale, offers now a glimpse of hope for a better near future. But I know the way back to normality is going to be long and hard and the scars will be with us for years to come.
Some countries went through this pandemic maybe a bit softer and wiser; others paid a much bigger price. Economic recession showed its teeth to all and the cruel statistics, which worsen daily, are really frightening: worldwide close to a hundred million people infected, more than two million deaths, millions of lost jobs, countless bankrupt businesses, billions of lives affected.
Have we learnt anything out of the present experience? I certainly hope so… This pandemic offered us the chance to maybe reinvent ourselves, to discover new hobbies and forgotten talents, new personal ways of expression. And, above all, I hope we learnt to appreciate more our closest ones, to value our time more and to guard our health.
I would like to believe that we will no longer take for granted our liberties, our freedom, nature, friends and family. Please, take time to call people you love, express your feelings, promise yourself that you will spend more time doing the things you really enjoy, that you will visit the countries you long planned to visit, that you will be grateful for each healthy day you are given and will show gratitude for all the good in your life.
No matter how difficult the situation is, how long the pandemic lasts, kindness and solidarity must prevail.
On frappe à la porte. Tiens, je connais ce visage. L’attaché culturel me dit que je suis encore une fois mobilisé. L’interprète officiel de l’ambassade s’est délecté d’une bière bien froide, il est aphone. Mais ce soir il faut un interprète, car le fameux scénariste Evgueny Gabrilovitch rencontre le public à la « Cinémathèque », un club où l’on montre les films étrangers.
Gabrilovitch présente son film « Monologue », qui vient de sortir en salle, et avant la projection, il veut s’entretenir avec le public. J’essaie de protester – écoutez, ce n’est pas mon niveau, je n’ai pas d’expérience, ce sera une honte…On me dit de la fermer pour le moment – tu l’ouvriras au moment opportun – d’enfiler quelque chose de plus décent que mes jeans, et de faire plus vite que ça.
On sort – une course folle à travers la ville – on est à la « Cinémathèque ». Je monte sur scène en même temps que le fameux scénariste. La salle est pleine, je crois voir une bonne centaine de visages. J’ai l’impression qu’on ne regarde pas le cinéaste, que tous les yeux sont braqués sur moi. Le conseiller culturel est assis au premier rang. Lui aussi, il paraît me dévisager. D’un moment à l’autre, le scénariste va parler. Quel est le sujet ? Je ne m’intéresse pas trop au cinéma. J’ai une peur bleue.
Gabrilovitch a déjà plus de soixante-dix ans, mais bouge et parle avec aisance. Il commence son discours, des minutes passent – il parle toujours. Je dois le supplier de s’arrêter : « Mais laissez-moi traduire, je ne peux pas retenir autant, je vais en oublier la moitié ! » Il s’arrête, je me concentre autant que je peux pour me souvenir de ce qu’il disait, et je démarre. Au départ, je bégaye un peu, mais assez vite je reçois un coup d’inspiration et mon interprétation coule sans entraves. Le cinéaste parle dans un style luxuriant, un langage fleuri – il crée des images, en s’aidant par les gestes. Il me semble quand même que je réussis à rendre son message.
J’observe la salle, l’audience semble réagir comme il faut – ils rient où il faut rire, ils applaudissent où il faut applaudir. J’ai de plus en plus confiance en moi. Par ailleurs, j’ai découvert un modus operandi avec le cinéaste. Quand il se laisse entraîner par la passion et oublie de me passer la parole, je lui donne un petit coup de coude dans les côtes. Ça marche parfaitement.
Ça doit avoir duré une quarantaine de minutes. Finalement, Gabrilovitch remercie le public et on peut s’en aller. Le problème, c’est que je ne peux pas marcher. Mes pieds me trahissent, ils tremblent, je n’arrive pas à bouger. Deux employés de la « Cinémathèque » me prennent sous les aisselles et me reconduisent dans la salle. On a réservé une place pour moi au premier rang. Le film est projeté sur l’écran, mais je ne le suis pas. Cet exercice m’a épuisé.
Mais ce n’est pas tout ! Le jour suivant on me convoque à l’ambassade pour servir d’interprète devant le corps diplomatique. Le conseiller culturel aime ma manière d’interpréter. Je suis effrayé de nouveau, bien que je sache cette fois de quoi il s’agit. Le corps diplomatique, tous ces gens importants, ambassadeurs, ministres, conseillers – j’ai un nœud à l’estomac.
Voilà, l’exercice se répète, le cinéaste parle, je fais de mon mieux pour restituer le message. Il parle avec inspiration, les sentiments l’emportent, il oublie encore de me passer la parole. Tout à coup, il cite « un des grands cinéastes » (a-t-il oublié son nom ?). Selon Gabrilovitch, celui-ci a dit un jour : « L’art peut être chaud, il peut être froid, mais il n’y a pas d’art tiède. C’est une ordure »[1]. Arrivé au mot « ordure », je perds mon latin. Je ne me souviens pas de la traduction. Le temps passe, je me tais. Ce mot est pourtant écrit sur tous les murs ! Mais il ne me revient pas. C’est mon tour de recevoir un coup de coude. Je me ressaisis et dis : « Ce n’est rien. » Très faible comme traduction.
Quelle honte… Je le pressentais, vous disais-je ! Pourtant, tout se termine bien. Gabrilovitch me remercie, dit au conseiller culturel que « l’interprète est très qualifié, mais parfois un peu trop formel » – où est-il allé chercher ça ? Bien, ensuite on me laisse tranquille jusqu’à la fin de mon séjour à Alger.
[1] « Le grand cinéaste » a-t-il paraphrasé le Livre de la Révélation (ou Apocalypse de Jean), 3 :16 – « Ainsi, parce que tu es tiède, et que tu n’es ni froid ni bouillant, je te vomirai de ma bouche. » Ou bien, le cinéaste soviétique n’osait-t-il pas citer la Bible ?
In the picture, the Mayor of Almere, Franc Weerwind and the Indonesian Ambassador to the Netherlands, H.E. Mayerfas.
On March 4th, 2021, Indonesian Ambassador to the Netherlands, H.E. Mayerfas alongside Mayor of Almere, Franc Weerwind cast the Indonesian signage at Floriade Expo 2022 lot. These symbolizes Indonesia’s participation on this international holticultural expo that will be held for 6 months from April 14th to October 9th 2022 at Almere, Netherland.
At the same time, in the presence of Ambassador Mayerfasand Mayor Weerwind, a contract signing was held between Annemarie Jorritsma, Commissioner-General Floriade Expo 2022 and Commissioner General of Section Indonesia, Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa. Due to the travel restriction, the contract were circularly signed, where the contract already signed by Indonesian representatives on January 19th 2021.
Ambassador Mayerfas.
Taking ‘Green Growing Cities’ as a theme, Floriade 2022 is an international horticultural expo that combines cultural promotion, creative economy and the concept of green sustainable cities. Indonesia with ‘Wonderful Green Archipelago’ as its main concept, will showcase it’s bio-diversity, cultures and maritime wealth as the biggest archipelagic country in the world.
Annemarrie Jorritsma convey her appreciation for Indonesia’s participation and looking forward to see Indonesia’s diversities at the Floriade Expo 2022. She believes that Indonesia would attract many visitors.
Ambassador Mayerfas emphasized that Indonesia’s participation would showcase the importance of local wisdom as part of well-balanced lifestyle with nature. It is the main part of green city concept.
Indonesia’s pavilion will involve many ministries and local governments. Ambassador Mayerfas express his optimism that Floriade Expo 2022 would be a strategic momentum to promote trade, tourism and investments, especially to support national recovery post-pandemic.
In the picture Consul General Dirk Janssen. Photographer Joukje Baur for Consulate General of the Netherlands in San Francisco.
No more meetings, trade delegations, or cultural events. The emergence of Covid-19 a year ago halted business as usual for many in the diplomatic world.
The restrictions also had a major impact on the Consulate General of the Netherlands in San Francisco. But a year later, the consulate has embraced digital diplomacy by organizing digital trade missions from its own webinar studio. Consul General Dirk Janssen explains how his team launched the so-called e-Consulate.
Based in the heart of Silicon Valley, the consulate used to welcome monthly trade delegations and several government officials per year. All that action came to a sudden stop in March 2020: “With the economic uncertainty that was ahead, we were determined to continue providing our economic services to Dutch and American companies,” said Consul General Janssen. “Meeting and connecting people is our core job, so our challenge was to adapt to a new world without travel and handshakes for the time being.”
The consulate’s team followed the example of innovative tech companies in Silicon Valley and pivoted, or made a quick turn of its business. “We launched the eConsulate, in which we offer the same services for businesses, but online. Companies could book online meetings, we opened a WhatsApp number for questions, and started hosting online events on a variety of topics,” said Consul General Janssen. “We also launched an online platform through which Dutch startups were mentored by Dutch tech entrepreneurs. Surprisingly, we started to expand our audience, from the US East Coast, to Iran and even Australia. Online we could connect even more people to Dutch innovation.”
The Netherlands e-consulate in San Francisco, California, USA
Forced into a strict lockdown in San Francisco, team members organized all this from their own homes. “It was quite an adaptation for all of us: from hosting events at the consulate to being a webinar moderator from your kitchen table. Suddenly, our economic staff had to be communications experts and our events manager had to do technical assistance,” said Consul General Janssen. “All our jobs changed, just to keep the consulate open and be of service of the Dutch and American business community. Our motto was: just do it and learn on the way. I think this pivot really represents the Netherlands, showcasing the smart Dutch flexible approach to problem solving.”
In June, the consulate hosted the first Dutch virtual trade mission, on smart and e-mobility. The consulate was transformed into a TV studio, and offered the 100 participating companies five days of webinars, and online match making and networking. Minister Kaag (Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation) and California Lieutantant Governor Eleni Kounalakis opened the mission.
“From a content perspective, I think the virtual format is a great substitute, as it was easier to find a wide variety of speakers,” said Consul General Janssen. “Discussions went well, and there was a lot of knowledge exchange and contact sharing. It turned out that for many Dutch entrepreneurs, it was less of a hurdle to participate, as they didn’t have to travel across the globe.”
They did, however, miss the social part. “Networking online is different than in a room where you can shake each other’s hands,” he said. “We also noticed some cultural differences in meeting people online for the first time. Even now, we continue working on the perfect format for online interaction.”
Almost a year after the start of the corona crisis, the eConsulate has developed from a temporary solution to a more structural approach. It has hosted multiple trade missions, a network reception with live music, a naturalization ceremony, a film screening, a Nobel Prize lecture, a startup incubator program with Prince Constantijn, and alumni events all online from its own webinar studio built in one of the consulate’s meeting rooms. “The skyline of the city is our background, giving people in the Netherlands the feeling that they’re really visiting San Francisco,” said Consul General Janssen.
Consul General Janssen foresees continuing online meetings and events even once the pandemic recedes: “I really miss offline human contact; it’s an essential part of diplomacy. However, the world has changed. People don’t want to fly that often anymore and many companies here allowed work from home indefinitely. As a consulate we have to facilitate these wishes from the business community. So I expect trade missions to become more hybrid: first an online preparation program, then getting on a plane to actually meet possible partners. Offline and online will go hand in hand.”
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Photography by the Consulate General of the Netherlands.
In the picture Bentley’s Director of Design, Andreas Mindt.
Monday, 1 March 2021, Crewe, United Kingdom:Bentley Motors announced beginning of work duties for Andreas Mindt as Director of Design. He succeeded Stefan Sielaff. With more than 25 years of automotive design experience, all within the Volkswagen Group, Mindt was most recently Head of Exterior Design for Audi. In this six-year period, he oversaw the exterior design evolution of the breadth of the Audi model range, and the launch of the premium SUV coupé, the Audi Q8, and the e-tron, Audi’s very first full-electric production model.
Working at Bentley’s headquarters in Crewe, UK, Mindt will lead a team of approximately 50 design experts with responsibility for the exterior, interior and colour and trim design for the full current and future Bentley product portfolio, concept and showcars. Commenting on his new role, Andreas Mindt, said as per full statement below: “Bentley is a jewel within the Volkswagen Group. Designing a car, and a future, is always a process based on the performance of many, not one, and so I look forward to working with my colleagues to help define the next phase for Bentley, into an electrified future.”
Bentley Motors is the most sought after luxury car brand in the world. The company’s headquarters in Crewe is home to all of its operations including design, R&D, engineering and production of the company’s three model lines.
Picture by Landesvertretung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Michael Setzpfandt.
Tuesday, 2 March 2021, Berlin, Representation of North Rhine-Westphalia to the German Federation:NRW State Secretary for European and International Affairs, Dr. Mark Speich received the Australian Ambassador, HE Philip Green, for an inaugural visit at the ’embassy’ of Germany’s most populous federal state located in Berlin-Tiergarten.
In addition to becoming acquainted to each other personally, the talks served to deepen political and economic relations, in particularly with the focus on Australian technological know-how, hydrogen derivates, the relations of NRW to the Indo-Pacific regions, and the situation of free trade during the ongoing pandemic.
Ambassador Green is the Australian head of diplomatic mission in the Federal Republic of Germany since Wednesday, 11 November 2020. He is likewise accredited to the Swiss Confederation since 24 November 2020, and presented credentials in the Principality of Liechtenstein virtually on 29 October 2020.
Philip Victor Green has previously served as Australian Head of Mission (i.e. High Commissioner) in Singapore, South Africa and Kenya. He holds a Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Sydney.
Image by Landesvertretung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Michael Setzpfandt
By Henri Estramant.
Tuesday, 2 March 2021, Berlin, Representation of North Rhine-Westphalia to the German Federation:NRW State Secretary for European and International Affairs, Dr. Mark Speich received for a bilateral meeting, the Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia, HE Dr Snežana Janković.
The topics of the working meeting were the relations between Serbia and North Rhine-Westphalia, in particularly the bilateral trade, the status of Serbian citizens living in NRW, and chiefly the accession process of Serbia into the European Union, which NRW normally supports.
Ambassador Dr Snežana Janković (b. 21.12.1970) has been Serbia’s top diplomat in Germany since 24 October 2019. In addition to her native Serbian, she is fluent in English, German and Japanese languages. She holds a doctorate degree in Philological Sciences from Senshū University, Japan.
Dr Snežana Janković began her diplomatic career in 1997. Her previous ambassadorship was based in Bern before the Swiss Confederation (2014-2019), and non-resident head of mission to the Principality of Liechtenstein.
A long-standing beacon of the brand’s own self-expression, the Swarovski Swan is reimagined through the filter of the Wonderlab, Creative DirectorGiovanna Engelbert’s imaginary crystal world. In her own words, “The Wonderlab is where science and magic meet, where extra and elegance collide, it is a feeling of wonder that everyone should experience as we invite them into our new world at Swarovski.”
As part of this world, the Swarovski Swan turns to face the brand’s new direction head on, poised to take flight. Evolving from its most recent iteration, it takes on a streamlined form – with an elongated neck and positioning crafted to reinforce the brand’s ever-forward momentum.
Symbolically, the Swan represents the beauty of nature and eternal love, a sentiment mirrored by Swarovski’s love of crystal. In adapting while staying true to its iconic emblem, Swarovski reinforces its pride for heritage as well as its vision for the future.
The finishing touch of Swarovski’s new brand icon comes in the form of a candylike octagon wrapping. Representing rebirth, the octagon is an immediate nod to a faceted crystal, evoking the unrivalled craftsmanship of Swarovski’s master cutters.
INSTANT WONDER – A FEAST FOR THE SENSES
The Swarovski Wonderlab comes alive with the unveiling of 28 Instant Wonder stores in key global markets. Beginning with Milan’s Galleria VittorioEmanueleII held on 23 February 2021, a further 27 store openings will follow across North America, Europe and APAC— including new locations in Paris and New York.
Yesterday, HCSS and the Clingendael Institute presented their Strategic Monitor, “Geopolitical Genesis: Dutch Foreign and Security Policy in a Post-COVID World”, providing insight into trends and developments in world politics.
The two Dutch think tanks stress that the time is now for Europe to adopt a more assertive geopolitical stance as a nascent world power, this being the only way to safeguard the Dutch and European interests and values.
The report describes six major challenges that the Netherlands and the EU will face in the post-corona world over the next ten years, and provides recommendations for Dutch foreign and security policy to meet these varied challenges.
These recommendations provide a global blueprint for future Dutch foreign and security policy, both to help strengthen the EU’s status as a burgeoning global power and to effectively tackle the complex challenges of today and the next decade.
“This Strategic Monitor underlines our own analysis and makes the need for Dutch investments in security and therefore also in defense crystal clear,” Minister Bijleveld commented. “This cabinet has taken a good first step, but more is needed. We must not look away from the growing threats and changing relationships in the world. We must face it and act accordingly.”Researchers Danny Pronk and Jack Thompson from the Clingendael Institute and HCSS presented the Strategic Monitor “Geopolitical Genesis: Dutch Foreign and Security Policy in a Post-COVID World” to the Minister of Defense, Ank Bijleveld, who also received it on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
