By Martin Wyss. The number of migrants opting for voluntary departure from the Netherlands to their countries of origin with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is growing.  Under the IOM Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) programme from the Netherlands, 538 migrants were assisted in the month of June, compared to 429 migrants assisted in May. In the first half of the year, over 2,500 migrants departed under the same programme, or a 100 percent increase compared to the first six months of 2015, when 1,288 departed voluntarily from the Netherlands with IOM assistance. The main countries of origin for the period January-June 2016 were Afghanistan, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kosovo, Mongolia, Serbia and Ukraine.  Voluntary return is a core activity of IOM in the Netherlands. Through the Assisted voluntary Return Programme (AVRR), IOM offers vital assistance to migrants who decide to leave voluntarily from the Netherlands to return to their country of origin. To be able to provide the needed assistance to migrants before, during and after their journey, IOM Netherlands works closely with partners in the Netherlands and with the worldwide network of IOM offices in over 100 countries.  Globally, in 2015 IOM assisted close to 70,000 migrants worldwide under the IOM Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) programmes. This was the largest number of voluntary returns registered in the past decades. The current migration trends seem to indicate that returns could increase in the years to come – not only in the number of migrants in need of assistance, but also in the complexity of the process. IOM emphasizes the importance of voluntary return policies that must guarantee the dignity and well-being of migrants, as well as offer practical reintegration support to returning migrants.  About IOM The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is the global lead agency on migration and works closely with governments, NGOs and intergovernmental partners. With 165 member states and more than 9,000 staff members IOM is dedicated to promoting human and orderly migration for the benefit of all.  IOM NL AVRR statistics and information http://www.iom-nederland.nl/nl/vrijwillig-vertrek/cijfers-vrijwillige-terugkeer. IOM Global AVRR statistics and information http://www.iom.int/sites/default/files/our_work/DMM/AVRR/AVRR_2015_Key_Highlights.pdf About the author: Martin Wyss is IOM International Organization  for Migration’s Chief of Mission in the Netherlands. For more information: contact Martin Wyss at mwyss@iom.int  

Top British talent Nicholas Collon becomes principal conductor of The Hague Philharmonic (Residentie) Orchestra   Nicholas Collon will make his official debut as principal conductor of The Hague Philharmonic (Residentie) orchestra in October. At just 33, this British innovator will be the youngest principal conductor in The Netherlands. Nicholas Collon has created an international frenzy with the Aurora Orchestra, which he founded in 2005 and of which he is the principal conductor. Creativity, the highest of quality, a wide-ranging artistic scope and an innovative approach to his audiences are among his key characteristics. The Hague Philharmonic Orchestra is therefore proud to have been able to secure the services of this young and energetic innovator, winner of the Critics’ Circle Award for Exceptional Talent in 2012, as its principal conductor. Collon succeeds in meshing modern repertoire with masterpieces from the classical and romantic traditions in a way that few others can. As well as conducting standard concerts,  he will also be getting involved in some special projects run by The Hague Philharmonic Orchestra, such as Symphonic Junction in Paard van Troje.

Sven Arne Tepl, artistic director of The Hague Philharmonic Orchestra, says “Nicholas is one of the highest profile young conductors of the day. Of course, this has a lot to do with his enormous versatility and depth as far as repertoire and style are concerned, but it’s mostly also about his immediate way of making music. The intense connection he forges with the musicians at his concerts can be sensed in the farthest corners of the auditorium, so our audiences will also feel intimately involved.” Collon makes his official debut as principal conductor in October – on Tuesday 25 October in the Concertgebouw and on Friday 28 October in the Zuiderstrandtheater. He has picked his own programmes for these concerts. In Amsterdam, he will conduct The Hague Philharmonic Orchestra in Tchaikovsky’s Overture Romeo and Juliet, Ravel’s G major Piano Concerto (with soloist Hannes Minnaar) and a selection from Prokofiev’s Suite Romeo and Juliet. In The Hague, he will conduct Walton’s Cello Concerto (with top cellist Alisa Weilerstein), Brahms’s Symphony no. 3 and Berlioz’s Scène d’amour from Roméo et Juliette. For information: Residentie Orkest, Nicholas Collon

By Namira Salim, Founder and Chairperson, Space Trust. As Mr. Donald Trump stands as the Republican nominee, long time democrat and women’s rights champion, Mrs. Hillary Clinton will face a challenge unlike she, nor any politician, has faced before.‎ However, facing and overcoming adversity is inherent in Mrs. Clinton’s DNA.  She, like so many women before her and undoubtedly those to come, is hard-wired to buck what has been deemed ‘tradition’ and to break trends and barriers; be these related to ethnicity, creed or gender. In this new age of space exploration, which we call the advent of the ‘Commercialization of Space’ Mrs. Clinton’s efforts are timely; they ensure that the next generation of world ‎leaders and especially, women leaders, are given equal and ample opportunity to succeed. However, since I was born in Pakistan, I have no partisan bias in the U.S. voting process. Yet, despite my nation being a developing one, with its own burden of geopolitical crises in recent history, it remains the first Muslim nation in the world to have democratically elected the First Female Prime Minister, Ms. Benazir Bhutto in 1988. And so today we see a paradigm shift – a U.N. Secretary General campaign is currently spearheaded by talented women candidates such as Ms. ‎Natalia Gherman‎,  former ‎Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Moldova, and Ms. Irina Bokova, Director General UNESCO originally from Bulgaria; we have long looked to the stewardship of Ms. Angela Merkel, German Chancellor and Ms. Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund. Inspired by such women leaders, I have ventured to break down ‘man-made barriers’, having become the First Pakistani to have undertaken pioneering Peace expeditions to the North Pole in 2007 and South Pole in 2008, ‎as well as the first Asian to Skydive (tandem) over Mount Everest in 2008 and next, to become the first Pakistani to go to Space as Founder Astronaut of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, the first private Space-line in the world. My dream of ‘breaking orbits’ is one shared by many. And it is worth remembering that politics was not always Mrs. Clinton’s choice of career. As a young girl, she too dreamt of becoming an astronaut and in fact, even wrote to NASA regarding her ambition.  In her 2003 Memoir ‘Living History’, Mrs. Clinton quoted NASA’s response as the following – ‘We are not accepting girls as astronauts.’  While today, ‘Gender Equality and Women Empowerment’ is regarded as a fundamental human right under the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals and remains a necessity for a peaceful and prosperous world, this was not always the status quo. To date, 59 women have flown in space, out of a total of 536 space travelers. Russia’s Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman in Space in 1963, less than two years after‎ fellow Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space.  While Mrs. Clinton’s dreams of space flight were stifled then by the societal restrictions of the period, there were many who championed women’s rights before her to help secure all of our future ambitions, in arenas Mrs. Clinton would come to be known for championing.‎ Victoria Woodhull, for example, was also an activist, politician and author, much like Mrs. Clinton and was arguably, the first woman to run for the Presidency of the United States. A free thinker, Ms. Victoria Woodhull created ‘Claflin’s Weekly,’ a radical publication, in 1870 alongside her sister. The journal gave them a soapbox to stand on, a platform to express their ideas on social reform, including women’s suffrage. The journal was also and controversially, the first to publish an English translation of Karl Marx’s ‘Communist Manifesto.’‎ No doubt a strong supporter of women’s rights, Ms. Woodhull, who had already broken the ‘rules’ by becoming the first woman stockbroker, later established the Equal Rights Party, and shortly thereafter, became the first female candidate in history to seek the United States Presidency on the political group’s ticket. No matter the result, Ms. Woodhull stands as a pioneer; a ‘Founder’ of an ideology that has driven American society to astronomical heights.  She would eventually live long enough to see women be given the right to vote in 1920. And today, her efforts have had a trickle down effect the world over, where we see a diverse array of women vying for prestigious roles in unprecedented competitions.‎ ‎ As a Founder Astronaut of Virgin Galactic, which will also make me the first (future) South Asian Space Tourist, I have pursued dreams that would have been unthinkable for women less than a generation ago; I trust my story has inspired women internationally and I hope to continue to encourage the Space generation of women leaders to reach for the stars.

I am particularly sensitive to those regions where women and girls continue to be victims of discrimination and violence; where hope is an invaluable commodity and too often, in short supply. Perhaps, female leadership with an ample dose of sensitivity is the answer?  Can the first female President of the United States and the first female Secretary General of the United Nations work hand in hand to accomplish such humanity, for example?