The vintage aesthetics of a historic Montblanc Egyptian writing instrument combined with modern accents.
Egyptomania is inspired in the period when archaeological excavations reached their peak in the 1920s with the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun, they sparked a veritable Egyptomania in Europe. Even Montblanc could not escape the fascination and designed a fountain pen with an octagonal shape and engravings in Egyptian style.
Inspired by this writing instrument, Montblanc presents the new Heritage Egyptomania collection with two different editions. They feature authentic hieroglyphics, gold-plated fittings in a vintage look and a 14 K gold nib with embossed scarab motif.Ā The characters roughly mean “mountain of white stone” and thus represent a paraphrase of “Montblanc”.
Montblanc Heritage Egyptomania Special Edition Ink
Like the rest of the world, the Dutch travel industry was hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. With almost no tourists around, businesses in Amsterdamās popular red-light district have reported a 90% loss in revenue, and the situation is similar across the country. In the hopes of saving these businesses, the Dutch tourism board NBTC is encouraging locals to travel domestically rather than abroad, along with the Netherlandsā 75,000 expats.
This aligns with NBTCās Perspective 2030 tourism plan, which aims at making āall of the Netherlands attractiveā. Locals are more likely to look beyond the countryās tourist hubs, which may help with Perspective 2030ās goal of putting āmore cities and regions on the map as attractive destinations.ā Would-be Dutch travellers are now looking towards individual and socially distanced activities across the Netherlands to occupy their holiday time and innovative tour guides like Mr Local himself,Ā āWillem Versteeghā, might just have the answer: audio tours.
Audio tours offer a self-guided and zero interaction method of travel. Tour-goers use their own smartphones and headphones, and the tour does the rest as the narration guides them through the most iconic and overlooked places in the city or town theyāre exploring. And with audio tour companies like āVoiceMapā, travellers would be supporting the local tour operators who created the tours and the small businesses that they visit en route.
While VoiceMap has four neighbourhood specific tours in āAmsterdam as well as an introduction to the city, it also has a number of tours in neighbouring towns like historical walks around āThe Hague and āUtrechtā. They also have a stroll through the Commonwealth War Graves Commissionās Canadian War Cemetery in āHolten and a tour in āHattemā. āHattem is a picture-perfect, pocket-sized slice of the Netherlands, and easy to get to,ā says ātwo-time VoiceMap tour creator Annette Welkampā.
While the future of travel remains uncertain, what is clear is that there is an opportunity for sustainable tourism to grow and flourish with the help of technology. A āNew York Times article on the future of travel āpredicts that tourism will restart locally, with locals wanting to explore their own backyards before returning to overseas travel. Large group experiences have already started transforming into smaller, private offerings in order to accommodate cautious travellers, and this might be a lasting change that, in the Netherlands, could be a change for the better.
VoiceMapās Dutch tours at a glance
Vondelpark & Old West Neighbourhood
Tour summary āExplore Amsterdam’s Vondelpark and the diverse Old West Neighbourhood Main attractions āthe Vondelpark, Vondel Church, Kate Ten Market and De Hallen Amsterdam Type of tourā walking
Language āEnglish and Dutch Length ā60 minutes Where āAmsterdam
Castles, canals and good folk in Utrecht
Tour summary āWalk alongside canals and castles in one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands Main attractions āthe Huis Oudaen, Utrecht University and some of the 330 lantern sculptures around the town Type of tourā walking
Language āEnglish Length ā60 minutes Where āUtrecht
An Amsterdam introduction: from fishing hamlet to trading centre
Tour summary āExplore the origins of Amsterdam, from fishing village to trading powerhouse Main attractions āthe Amsterdam Central Station, Our Lord in the Attic Museum, and the Old Church Type of tourā walking Language āEnglish Length ā60 minutes Where āAmsterdam
Windmills, bakeries and possibly ghosts in Hattem
Tour summary āBe charmed by Hattem’s history, good food and quaint Dutch atmosphere Main attractions āthe Molen De Fortuin, the Anton Pieck Museum and the Nederlands Bakkerij Museum Type of tourā walking Language āEnglish Length ā45 minutes Where āHattem
Red Light District
Tour summary āTake a peek behind the curtain of Amsterdam’s Red Light District Main attractions āthe Dam Square, Oude Church and New Market Type of tourā walking Language āEnglish
Length ā35 minutes Where āAmsterdam
The Commonwealth War Graves Canadian War Cemetery
Tour summary āDiscover the stories of WWII Canadian soldiers on this short cemetery walk Main attractions āthe Holten Canadian Cemetery Information Center, Stone of Remembrance, and the Cross of Sacrifice Type of tourā walking Language āEnglish Length ā30 minutes Where āHolten
Exploring the Historical Centre of The Hague
Tour summary āHit the bricks on this journey through the historical heart of The Hague Main attractions āthe Binnenhof, Mauritshuis and Escher in The Palace museums Type of tourā walking Language āEnglish
Length ā30 minutes Where āThe Hague
A Tasty Stroll Around The Cool Spots of the Pijp
Tour summary āMeander through Amsterdam’s quaint and cool Pijp area to find local hangouts Main attractions āthe Albert Cuyp Market and the Monument Samuel Sarphati Type of tourā walking Language āEnglish
Length ā30 minutes Where āAmsterdam
Amsterdam West Specialty Coffee Spots
Tour summary āCycle through Amsterdam and get your java fix from some notable coffee spots Main attractions āthe Ten Kate Market Type of tourā cycling Language āEnglish
Length ā20 minutes Where āAmsterdam
About VoiceMap
VoiceMap is a location-aware audio tour app for Android and iOS that gives you the freedom to explore at your own pace. The app uses your location to play audio automatically, at exactly the right time and place. You can start the tours whenever youāre ready and pause whenever you like. When you start moving again, playback will too. It also gives you turn-by-turn directions, making it much easier to put your phone away and immerse yourself in your surroundings, not the screen. Weāve helped passionate locals, journalists, novelists and podcasters create more than 600 tours in over 200 cities across the world.
For more information on VoiceMap please call +44 20 8638 8644 or email āhello@voicemap.me
Published by AD Haagsche Courant / ADĀ Ā 18-09-2020Ā Ā Leo van der VeldeĀ / Translated by Afaf Zoughbi, Embassy of Lebanon.
World Record:Ā In one day along all Ambassadors in The Hague.
āI thought: I can do that too,ā.
Arman Angishan (25) Member of Diplomat Magazine, set a new Guinness World Record yesterday. On his bike, he visited 36 Embassies in The Hague in one day and had his picture taken with the Ambassador or his Deputy. At the Embassy of Albania, with Ambassador Adia Sakiqi, he broke the old record of 33 Embassies.
Angishan: āIāve always wanted to set a recordā. āThen I noticed this in the Guinness Book and I thought: I can do that too ā. Together with Kejda Revaj, photographer of Diplomat Magazine, the glossy, written by and for Ambassadors and other Diplomats in The Hague. The first Embassy visited by the junior Legal officer was the Embassy of Vatican at Carnegielaan. There he was received by Archbishop Aldo Cavalli, the Apostolic Nuncio (Ambassador).
The same happened, across the street, on Tobias Asserlaan, with the Ambassador of Japan Mr. Hidehisa Horinouchi. On his bike tour Arman was accompanied by Mr. August Zeidman, tour leader, and 4 witnesses, volunteers who note down the times. During a tryout on Sunday, it became apparent that the distances between addresses were close enough to make the record feasible. Though many visits could be registered in the International area and villas on the Johan de Wittlaan behind the Peace Palace, Dr Mayelinne De Lara, publisher of the Magazine and Website with the same name, was very concerned before the event.Ā
āWe had to wait a long time for the registrations but suddenly all the confirmations came in. Glad that it worked, knowing that strict Corona safety measures had to be followedā.
Until yesterday, the record of the most visited Embassies in 24 hours was held by Omar Ouaili (Morocco) who could visit 33 Embassies in London, on 26 March 2019.
Women Ambassadors Group at Clingendael. Photography by Jay Pangilinan.
On 15 and 16 September, a training on āInternational Negotiations: How can they be most effective?ā took place at the esteemed Clingeldael Institute in the Hague for several ambassadors from the Women Ambassadors Group in The Netherlands.
The coordination between the three parties: Director of Clingendael Academy, Mr. Ron Ton, the Head of the Women Ambassadors Group in the Netherlands, Yemeni Ambassador H.E. Ms. Sahar Ghanem and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, produced a training designed for a joint group of women Ambassadors and women directors of the Dutch MFA, and funded by the Dutch MFA.
The training targeted those who operate in an international context and may encounter situations that require negotiations in order to solve complex issues. It also provided participants with important insights and skills to be more successful as an international woman negotiator with emphasis on the political context of negotiations and the extra challenges women face.
The training was performed by the Director of the Academy, Ron Ton and the Coach at the Academy, Ms. Mara van der Meer. By the end participants received a certificate of participation.
Michaelle Jean and AntĆ³nio Guterres, UN-Secretary-General – Picture courtesy of The Rt Hon MichaĆ«lle Jean.
Thursday, 17 September 2020: A novel High-Level Commission begins today with an inaugural digital meeting that is to provide guidance and advocate for meaningful follow-up to the commitments outlined in the Nairobi Statement on ICPD25 held back in November 2019. The commitments highlight the UNFPAās āthree zeros ā; zero unmet need for family planning, zero preventable maternal mortality and zero sexual and gender based violence.
The Nairobi Summit marked the 25th anniversary of the ICPD Programme of Action from Cairo in 1994. The ICPD Programme of Action was adopted by 179 governments and laid out a far-sighted plan for advancing human well-being that places human rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights – which means the right to decide with whom and when to have children and how many – at the centre of the global development agenda. Denmark co-hosted the Nairobi Summit in 2019 along with the government of Kenya and UNFPA. The Danish crown princess, Mary, joined the commission.
The new High-Level Commission brings together high-level representatives from academia, research, civil societies, human rights activists, private sector, parliamentarians and youth leaders from around the world. The co-chairs are the former President of Tanzania, Jakaya Kikwete and former Francophonie secretary general and governor general of Canada, Michaƫlle Jean.
Ambassador Dr. Jong Bum-goo and Premier Reiner Haseloff – Picture by Staatskanzlei Sachsen-Anhalt, Burkhard Rulf.
Wednesday, 16 September 2020, Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany: PremierĀ Dr. Reiner HaseloffĀ received the Ambassador of the Republic of South Korea in Germany, H.E.Ā Dr. Jong Bum-goo, for his inaugural visit to theĀ BundeslandĀ of Saxony-Anhalt.Ā
During the meeting in the State Chancellery, the state chief of government and his diplomatic guest discussed the economic ties between the two countries and possibilities for developing bilateral relations.
Premier Haseloff recalled his visit to Korea in 2014 and likewise discussed current developments in both countries, including how to deal with the pandemic situation. Ambassador Jong was also interested in the experiences of Saxony-Anhalt in the course of German reunification.
In 2019 Saxony-Anhalt imported goods worth around 252 million euros from South Korea. Exports to South Korea reached around 153 million euro last year. This makes the Asian state an important trading partner for Saxony-Anhalt.
Some South Korean investors are also active in Saxony-Anhalt: Only recently, theĀ Hanwha GroupĀ (headquarters in Seoul) announced that it would invest 125 million euros in the next three years to expand the research capacities of Hanwha Q-CELLS GmbH in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld. At the Thalheim site, the company conducts research and manufactures solar modules, among other things. Part of the investment is intended to advance the development of the next generation of photovoltaic systems and to support the desired energy turnaround.
The two universities in Saxony-Anhalt and theĀ Burg Giebichenstein University of ArtĀ in Halle maintain professional contacts with university institutions in South Korea.
TheĀ Bauhaus Dessau FoundationĀ has been working with theĀ Paju Typography InstituteĀ (PaTI) Seoul since 2012 to jointly reflect on and update the historical Bauhaus stage as an educational model for movement-oriented teaching formats. This work also became part of the 2014/2015 exhibition “Mensch.Raum.Maschine – BĆ¼hnenexperimente am Bauhaus” (Man.Space.Machine – Stage Experiments at the Bauhaus) curated byĀ Torsten BlumeĀ andĀ Christian HillerĀ for the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation, which was shown at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) Seoul and attracted 120,000 visitors. As a result of the cooperation, a German-Korean shared residency programme was developed with the MMCA. In addition to the cooperation with the PaTI, the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation also advises and supports the publishing house Ahn Graphics in the conception of publications on the historical Bauhaus and its reception in South Korea. Ā
The German Partition Marienborn Memorial has welcomed two delegations from South Korea in recent years: On 25 May 2017, a delegation from the DMZ Museum visited the memorial and the border memorial Hƶtensleben. The organisation was done by Hanns-Seidel-Foundation Korea Office Seoul. In May 2018 a delegation of the South Korean Ministry of Justice visited the memorial, organised by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Berlin.
H.E. Ms. Frances Lanitou has served as Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to the Kingdom of the Netherlands with parallel accreditations to the Kingdom of Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg from 2020 until present day. Ambassador Lanitou presented her credentials to the King of the Netherlands on September 16, 2020 and to OPCW on November 4, 2020.
Before this, she served as Ambassador of the MFA Economic Diplomacy Project for Strategy Development and Capability Building from 2016 until 2020.
Ambassador Lanitou has also served as the Ambassador of Development Cooperation including during Cyprus Presidency of EU Council (second half of 2012) from 2010 to 2013, as well as Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to Hungary with parallel accreditations to Bosnia Herzegovina and Moldova from 2006 until 2010.
Furthermore, Ambassador Lanitou has worked as the Deputy Head of Mission of the Permanent Mission of Cyprus to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva, the Counsellor of the Permanent Mission of Cyprus to the United Nations HQ in New York, as well as the Representative of Cyprus to the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) of the UNGA from 1993 to 2004.
Ambassador Lanitou has also served as a member of the Cyprus Delegation to the CSCE Helsinki Follow-Up Meeting and Summit in 1992.
Regarding education, Ambassador Lanitou has received a BA in Philology from the University of Athens in Athens, Greece, a MA in English from Columbia University in New York, United States of America, a LLM in International Humanitarian Law from the University of Geneva in Geneva, Switzerland, a MSt in International Relations from Cambridge University in Cambridge, United Kingdom, as well as an MBA in Innovation and Entrepreneurship from HEC Paris in Paris, France.
Ambassador Lanitou is fluent in Greek (her mother tongue), English (bilingual), French (university level), and German (basic).
Ambassador Lanitou has also worked in banking and teaching before joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus in 1991.
This visit by the US American diplomats was meant to discuss the departure of US troops from Bavaria but likewise the upcoming presidential election in the USA scheduled for Tuesday, 3 November as well as the divergences in opinion on topics of international relevance between the two transatlantic partners.Ā
“We are in constant and trusting communication with the US Embassy (in Berlin), as well as the US Consulate General and the US forces. This is particularly important in difficult times like the current ones”, said the Premier Dreyer.
“The State Government remains committed to the presence of US forces in Rhineland-Palatinate. It has been a very important part of international security policy for decades. And during this time, countless friendships have developed.” Premier Dreyer also emphasised the latter to top US envoy Robin S. Quinville during their tĆŖte-Ć -tĆŖte.
Last July, the US government announced that it intends to withdraw 11,900 soldiers and military personnel from Germany. In Rhineland-Palatinate the withdrawal concerns Spangdahlem Air Base. However, a high-ranking representative of the US forces has now assured the premier that the air base shall not be shut down.
There are currently about 18,500 American soldiers stationed in Rhineland-Palatinate. There are also about 12,000 US civilian employees and about 25,000 family members live in the state. In addition, the US forces stationed in Rhineland-Palatinate employ some 7,200 local civilian personnel. This makes them one of the largest employers in the state and they are not only of particular economic importance in the communities in which they are based.
A further topic of discussion was the NATO‘s network as means to preserve transatlantic peace.
Consul General Nobutaka Maekawa and State Minister Herrmann – Picture by bayern.de, bayerische Staatskanzlei.
Thursday, 10 September 2020, Munich, Free State of Bavaria, Germany:Ā Head of the Bavarian Chancellery,Ā Dr. Florian Herrmann, Minister of State for Federal and European Affairs and Media, received at the State Chancellery theĀ exequaturĀ of the novel Nipponese Consul General in MunichĀ Maekawa Nobutaka. The latter is responsible for theĀ BundeslƤnderĀ Bavaria as well as Baden-WĆ¼rttemberg.Ā
Envoy Maekawa served previously for three years as Minister-Counsellor and Deputy Head of the Mission of Japan toĀ NATOĀ based in Brussels. This is the general consul’s third posting in Germany after having served in Bonn and Berlin.Ā
Both Bavaria and Baden-WĆ¼rttemberg are prominent commercial partners for Japan. Owing to the relevance of the two BundeslƤnderĀ JETROĀ (Japan External Trade Organisation) opened in July a novel office in Munich in the presence of Bavaria’s Ministry of Economy, Hubert Aiwanger. With over seven billion euros worth in trade, Japan is Bavaria’s second largest commercial partner in Asia.Ā
