By Michael Bonté. The third edition of Vietnam little Corner  cultural and culinary event took place on 5 November at the MeetingDistrict in Nieuwegein. The Vietnamese community and their Dutch family and friends came from all over the Netherlands to this spirited function. As a special guest the Vietnamese Ambassy in the Netherlands came with a small delegation headed by H.E Ms Ngô Thi Hòa, Ambassador of Vietnam. With more than five hundred people attending the organisers Lan Anh Hoàng  and Theo Vrijenhoek certainly were happy with their most succesful event yet. As Theo said:” The event is very popular. We had to book a bigger capacity room this year. For us this is the maximum of participants we want to have at this stage”. With the venue buzzing and the participants joining each other at nicely decorated  round tables. The program started with a traditional Vietnamese dance meanwhile the appealing appetisers of a selection of spring rolls and fishcake with young rice were served by volunteers who did an excellent job.   From here on the guests were on their own as the main dishes and desserts were presented buffet style. Several noodle soups and salads as starters. From there on a large selection of main courses which included BBQ pork and beef with rice vermicelli. At one of the stands steamed rice rolls were freshly prepared which were very popular with the crowd. The entertainment was now provided by an array of vocalists whom sang in Vietnamese and English. The kids certainly loved it as they were dancing along in front of the podium.

As the conversation flowed and all the main course dishes were cleared. The dessert station was looking very inviting. Amongst them were  a  rice and mung beans cake wrapped in pandan leaves. This sweet was traditionally given by a suitor. The delicious coffee coconut jelly was  disappearing quickly as it was much appreciated. As all good things come in three. Volunteers who had attended all events were honoured with a memento. The husband and wife organisers were honoured and applauded by all.

They explained that the net profits of all the events will go to a charity ‘Stichting Hart voor Vietnam”. A foundation which finances an education for children from less fortunate families in Vietnam. All in all a very succesful celebration of Vietnamese cuisine which will go from strength to strength.

Recently the Embassy of the Republic of Malta in The Hague, the Netherlands celebrated Malta’s National Day of Independence with a social event that was attended by members of the Diplomatic Corps based in The Hague, Dutch government officials, business contacts as well as the Maltese community living in The Netherlands. At the opening of the reception, a video message from the newly appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Promotion of Malta, Hon. Carmelo Abela was presented to the guests, which message highlighted the work of Malta’s Diplomatic network especially on the EU Presidency just concluded and Climate Change policy. The Minister also expanded on the goals that will be embarked upon during his term and the focus on Trade Promotion. At the opening, H.E. Ambassador Joseph Cole also took the occasion to express his sympathy with the Dutch Government for the difficult times encountered by the fellow citizens of the Caribbean islands Sint Maarten, Saba and St Eustatius.

During the reception, guests were also offered tasting of wines, olive oil and tomato paste produced in Gozo – Malta’s sister Island which offers diverse and rich culinary products and is known as ” the island of wines”. This was offered courtesy of Casa delle Fonti – Gozo Wine, a Dutch company which imports Gozitan Wine produced by the ‘ta Mena Agri-Business’, which are becoming ever more popular with the Dutch as seen by the increase of visitors to the Maltese Islands from the Netherlands during the last few years.

An increase of 17 per cent in 2016 and a 30 per cent increase already registered for the first half of this year. We look forward to host more Dutch nationals in 2018, the year of Valletta European Capital of Culture which will be the key attraction for the many tourists visiting the Maltese Islands next year.

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Information about Malta: www.visitmalta.com www.gozowine.eu    

On the picture H.E. Ambassador Heidemaria Gurer and spouse Mr Nadir Gurer.   By Roy Lie A Tjam. On a bright autumn morning,  the Embassy of Austria in The Hague organised the reception at the residence of the Austrian Ambassador, celebrating the National Day on October 26. The day brought together a number of Ambassadors representing countries from round the globe, among the endless list of ambassadors present for the occasion, China, Denmark, Israel, India, Japan, Kosovo, Albania, Georgia, Croatia, Armenia, Serbia, Germany, Bosnia-Herzegovina and many other Diplomats. Furthermore senior representatives of the Dutch government, the municipality of The Hague, local and foreign companies, and guests from the cultural (Wiener Ball) and economic life of the Netherlands.

  For additional Roy Strik’s pictures, please open the following link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121611753@N07/albums/72157689603094925 The reception has been a showcase of Austrian hospitality, cuisine and culture. It has been very gratifying to see H.E. Ambassador Heidemaria Gurer along with members of her staff all dressed in authentic Austrian outfit. As for cuisine, the Ambassador delighted her guests by offering a constant flow of savoury Vienna’s sausages and Austrian dishes from the traditional gastronomy.

  Noteworthy were the excellent wine served, produced from grapes coming from the Ambassador’s private vineyard. All enjoyed the Austrian style lunch-time reception.  

             

On the picture the  President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) Judge Carmel Aigus. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY or Tribunal) was presented with the first Justice Administration Excellence Award by the International Institute for Justice Excellence (IIJE), launched at the Peace Palace on 14 November 2017.

  During a ceremony marking the IIJE’s official launch in The Hague, which took place in the Great Hall of Justice of the Peace Palace and was attended by eminent jurists and members of the diplomatic community, the Tribunal was honoured for its significant contributions to the field of Justice Administration. Specifically, the Tribunal was recognized for its contributions to the advancement of information management technology, electronic records management, the broadcasting approach of trials on the internet, victim-witness protection methods, court governance, transcript production, and evidence preservation systems, among others.

President Carmel Agius accepted the Award on behalf of the ICTY and was introduced by Registrar John Hocking who recalled how the President has embodied both justice and excellence throughout his career and inspired others to live up to these commitments.

  In his Keynote address, President Agius thanked the IIJE, noting that: “It is an award that speaks to the ICTY’s lifetime achievements over 24 years of operation. This award is also an acknowledgement of its Judges, Principals, and staff members, past and present, who have excelled in the performance of their duties, as well as promoted accountability and inspired excellence in others.” Established in October 2017, the IIJE’s mission is to improve access to justice globally through its role as a non-political, non-profit, international institution dedicated to developing a collaborative approach to the administration of justice. In particular the IIJE will undertake and promote research and education on justice access and administration issues, as well as the dissemination of international best practices and procedure related to the fields of court management and justice administration more broadly.