By Jhr. mr. Alexander W. Beelaerts van Blokland, Justice (Judge) in the Court of Appeal and Special Advisor International Affairs of the Municipality of The Hague.
Before the summer holidays 2014 will start in July, The Hague offers all of us a lot of nice events in June. Too many to mention them all, but I will chose some you will prabably like. Those who know about Dutch history will know that Indonesia was a Dutch colony until after World War II, since when a lot of inhabitants of that hugue Asian country emigrated to The Netherlands, especially to The Hague. The expression ‘The Hague is the widow of the former Dutch East Indies’ was born then. At the moment the annual Tong Tong Festival is running at the Malieveld. Nice for those who want to ‘taste’ the previous three centuries of Dutch Asia that will never come back again. The world looks forward to the World Cup football (soccer) that will start in June in Brasil, but The Hague has at the moment its own World Cups: in field hockey, men and ladies. Participants are Argentina, Australia, Belgium, China, England, Germany, India, Korea, Malaysia, The Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain and the United States of America. Around Kyocera Stadium every night the culture, food, drinks etc. of one of the the participating countries –daily changing -will have special attention. On Thursday June 12th the ‘new Dutch herring’ (a sea fish) will ‘arrive’ in Scheveningen, which will be celebrated then and the days after (Saturday June 14th: ‘Vlaggetjesdag’) everywhere in and around Scheveningen. The Dutch eat it raw and please try to do as the Dutch do: if not immediately, you probably will find it delicious as well after some time ! The King will come to The Hague in June twice: for the opening of the yearly Sculptures Exposition, this year called ‘Grandeur’ (French sculptors), in the Kloosterkerk church on Tuesday June 17th and for the Grand Opening of the renewed and enlarged Mauritshuis Museum –small but world famous – on Friday June 27th. And please don’t forget Festival Classique: many beautiful concerts in the open air in the centre, around –and even on ! – the Hofvijver, which is the pond next to the Binnenhof (parliament). Enjoy Jolly June in The Hague ! a.beelaerts@planet.nlCommercial diplomats: work adaption and work satisfaction
By Dr. Huub Ruël.
Windesheim University of Applied Sciences (Zwolle).
Commercial diplomacy has become a priority in the foreign policies of many countries around the world. Embassies and consulates play an important role in effective commercial diplomacy. For this they need qualified staff. But how are commercial diplomats selected and trained for their work?
For many young professionals, working as a diplomat can be very rewarding, and many diplomats love their work as they experience it as being relevant. Being a commercial diplomat usually means living in a foreign country, with family or partner, for a number of years. In addition to commercial and business skills, it requires skills and competences to adapt to new environments, legislation, cultures, lifestyles, and build networks. How do they perceive the nature of their work and living abroad?
We[i] conducted a study on commercial diplomats’ work satisfaction and level of adaption by interviewing a group of commercial diplomats, and inviting them to fill out a questionnaire.
The results showed that most commercial diplomats in our study were hired by the diplomatic service immediately after they finished their initial university degree program. They were then trained to become a generalist, rather than a specialist in commercial diplomacy. Hardly any of the commercial diplomats in our study had private sector experience. For most of them, the nature of the work, lifestyle and career development opportunities were the motivating factors to apply for a position in the diplomatic service.
Commercial diplomats in our study mentioned that they do not receive significant training during their stay at a foreign post. Specific training programs on marketing, commerce and finance were not provided in most cases.
Regarding work satisfaction, female commercial diplomats appeared to be more satisfied with their work than their male colleagues, and commercial diplomats working in developed countries were more satisfied than ones working in emerging economies.
Commercial diplomats seemed to be well adapted to living and working in their host countries. Our study showed that receiving cross-cultural training is positively related to both general adaption and work adaption. The duration of experience in current postings does contribute to general adaption, but not to work adaption.
Our study suggests that general adaption and work adaption seem to have a positive influence on work satisfaction. The more commercial diplomats feel adapted to living abroad and to their work, the greater their work satisfaction.
In conclusion, our study indicates that countries need to improve the preparation and training of their current and future commercial diplomats. Training in business and commerce as well as cross-cultural training can improve the commercial diplomats’ adaption to living abroad and to their work. This in turn contributes to their overall work satisfaction.
Since commercial diplomacy has become important for many countries, it is key to recruit, select and train professionals specifically to develop their commercial diplomacy competences. Training programs for young diplomats should contain modules on international business and trade and investment promotion, and additional programs should be offered during postings. The modern international business environment is complex and requires highly qualified diplomats.
It is all about space
By Peter Knoope, Directeur ICCT.
In recent weeks I traveled to two countries in sub-Sahara Africa. Both affected by terrorism. Both challenged with the question of how to strategically answer to the threat of violent extremism. One of them is Nigeria. I know the press recently has given lots of information on developments in that country. So let me focus on the other one: Kenya.
The workshop we organised there focused on SC Resolution 1624. Now you may not know how SCR 1624 reads. I do. The resolution addresses how to deal with and respond to, hatred, hate-speech, incitement, and incitement to violence. It basically deals with the question of how to respond to calling upon people to kill others. I don’t think anybody doubts whether the issue bears any relevance in Kenya. We all know that there is an array of reasons to discuss this issue under the present circumstances in that country.
But there was much more than SC Resolution 1624 to discuss. Since the resolution tries to address part of a strategic approach to counter-terrorism (CT) worldwide. Since 2006 the UN has adopted a strategic approach to CT. It is laid down in a CT Strategy adopted in September 2006 and revised on a regular basis by member states. This is one of the most relevant documents in my field of work and I highly recommend it to anybody working in our field.
In this document you will also find reference to factors conducive to violence and factors leading to radicalisation. And most importantly, you will find reference to the work and contribution of the Civil Society Organisations. In fact, the document links the two. Civil Society Organisations on the one hand and counter-radicalisation on the other. Allow me to go a little deeper into the issues at hand that all relate to this part of the UN Strategy. One can have different perspectives when it comes to terrorism and terrorist attacks. One way of looking at it is the terrorist attack as a message. If we do look at the messaging part of the terrorist attack then the question is relevant: what is the messenger trying to convey?
What is the message? Isn’t terrorism a message of despair and anger? Isn’t it a message of frustration and conviction? Is the terrorist telling us he has lost all perspective? The loss of belief in human values? Isn’t terrorism a message of dehumanisation and cynicism? We should of course do everything possible to prevent such things from happening. My perspective then is that we, as a society, should prevent the anger, frustration, loss of perspective and hate at any price. Let’s make sure people do not lose sight of human values and start dehumanising others. Let us prevent people reaching that stage of dehumanisation and cynicism.
I shared with the people in Kenya the recipe that we have developed at the ICCT, also based on the UN CT Strategy of 2006. This recipe is counter-intuitive. It is against our reflexes and initial natural responses set by nature. The secret lies in the way we look at the message. Because if we can suppress our reflex and if we can listen to the message, we could, on the basis of that, be able to engage and dialogue. We could maybe be empathetic. Engagement and empathy that could potentially even lead to trust-building. I immediately agree that it is counter-intuitive. That may even be too soft a term. Call me a dreamer, call me utopic.
So be it.
But what is the alternative? Isn’t the alternative more clashes, confrontations, body bags, victims, anger, frustrations, hence the spiral upwards? If the response to terrorism is hitting back, more violence, then the next stage is not less anger and frustration, but more. The spiral of violence will go up. It will not come down. And once the violent spiral is up, coming down is not easy. If we increase, they will increase, our answer is more violence, more revenge will be the result. We know for a fact that once the spiral has gone up, and both parties are high up, then coming down will take long and will require a long process of reconciliation and reconstruction -including trust-building.
So our recipe is engagement and dialogue that may lead to understanding and less anger and frustration. To be able to do this, a “space” is needed in which this can take place. Our meeting in Kenya was the starting point of a dialogue. ICCT was offering a space in Nairobi. A space to be filled with dialogue and trust-building. The space was there, and the participants made good use of it. They had the key in their hands to reduce hate, anger and hate speech.
Some of them vocalised the perspective of the government and the state. They looked at the issues from a state security perspective. That is important, but not the only perspective of relevance. Because some others looked at the issues from a peoples’ perspective. They vocalised the human security side. They were sometimes surprised to learn the differences and that both perspectives have value. Both are necessary. The point is that the two perspectives are different. They took the time and used the space to listen and gain understanding of the other perspective. That is not immediately going to solve all the problems in Kenya, but it allows for a next phase in a process of engagement between different positions. After not more than just a couple of days, participants walked away with concrete commitments to ensure future activities; based on their earlier activities and priorities but with more depth and commitment through the exchange of positions. This space served as a starting point. It required wisdom and resilience to critical voices. It required openness and constructive engagement. But it worked and led to concrete outcomes and plans for future work in the field of education, de-radicalisation and reintegration of formers back into society.
Nobody wants the spiral to go up. That is what united the participants gathered. Although positions and perspectives may be different, they all wanted the same thing. Nobody wants hate-speech to be a dominant feature of our societies. Nobody wants to increase frustrations and anger. But to reduce all that, we need to be ready to listen. And we should be ready to look beyond the violent message. The message of the terrorist.
From 25 – 29 August this year the ICCT organises a summer programme on related issues. If you or any of your government or civil society representatives want to be part of the space that we offer there to discuss CT issues, you are more than welcome. It is called “Countering Terrorism in the Post-9/11 World: Legal Challenges and Dilemmas” and is jointly organized with the T.M.C. Asser Institute.
Topics in the program begin with basic dilemmas that CT practitioners face: What is the accepted international definition of terrorism, or how do various national definitions differ? Such questions then lead on to more practical matters: Should practitioners follow a war paradigm, or should existing (inter)national law enforcement structures be used? How should evidence be gathered to prosecute terrorists, particularly, if on a battlefield? Or can intelligence information and other sources be used and protected while still respecting the rights of the accused? Further issues like the use of drones or the use and effectiveness of mass surveillance will be addressed. If you are interested know that we welcome you and that more information is on our ICCT’s website.
http://icct.nl/activities/upcoming-events/countering-terrorism-in-the-post-9/11-world-legal-challenges-dilemmas
Cooking with Mr. Raju Bhatang, owner of India Palace Scheveningen
By John Dunkelgrün.
From the very first time I tasted Indian food, I fell in love with it. This was in Brighton in the 1950’s when you could get a decent biryani for 10/6 or just over half a pound. This may have had something to do with the food quality of my boarding school there. I have enjoyed and even cooked curries with gusto ever since. It was a special surprise therefore that I heard of Mr. Bhatangs cooking lessons. They are given at the Ghandi Centre, which occupies a former church in the older part of Scheveningen. When I got there, a group of about 30 people were having a Yoga lesson, loudly humming in unity. The cooking demonstration was in the centre’s canteen, which is not an ideal location. 
There were only 18 people and you had to strain to see Mr. Bhatang’s preparations. He began with a stern lecture on how to keep your kitchen hygienic (Don’t cut meat on scratched boards or touch food or even the lids of your pots with the same cloth you use to wipe the worktop!), while he started the enormous rice pot. This he cooked this with several spices in the cooking water. He then stressed the use of fresh herbs whenever possible and, in any case, freshly ground herbs, especially the garam marsala, which he called the very basis of all good curries. He promised that anyone visiting his restaurant could obtain several of his recipes.
The 18 “students”, all but two women and – surprisingly – with only two caucasians of which your correspondent was one, were happy with the tasty chicken curry and with his waterfall of useful cooking tips. Definitely worth going to if he gives another course.
There were only 18 people and you had to strain to see Mr. Bhatang’s preparations. He began with a stern lecture on how to keep your kitchen hygienic (Don’t cut meat on scratched boards or touch food or even the lids of your pots with the same cloth you use to wipe the worktop!), while he started the enormous rice pot. This he cooked this with several spices in the cooking water. He then stressed the use of fresh herbs whenever possible and, in any case, freshly ground herbs, especially the garam marsala, which he called the very basis of all good curries. He promised that anyone visiting his restaurant could obtain several of his recipes.
The 18 “students”, all but two women and – surprisingly – with only two caucasians of which your correspondent was one, were happy with the tasty chicken curry and with his waterfall of useful cooking tips. Definitely worth going to if he gives another course. Accidental Diplomacy
By Benjamin Miller, Ottawa, Canada. miller.benjamin@ymail.com
Official diplomacy is carefully planned and executed. In this way, meticulous good will is built between nations. For most people though, diplomacy happens quite accidentally. We bump into people from all walks of life, hailing from everywhere. Our chance meetings and fleeting conversations build perceptions in us of what those other people and places are like. We go on with these perceptions, accurate or not. For those of us who may never learn anything more about those other countries or cultures, there is a real possibility that these coincidental encounters will play an important role in shaping how we see the rest of the world.
Nowhere is this truer than on university campuses, where young people are trying to form a picture of the world and where they fit in it. Luckily, universities have well-honed tools to facilitate these encounters in a positive way. These tools are called university clubs. What little research that has been done has been clear on this point. Clubs of all kinds increase students’ exposure to other cultures and make us more open (Davis; Luo; Pascarella). I’m not just talking about the clubs whose specific goal it is to build bridges. United by a common love of football, video games, or even breakfast, clubs are hotbeds for accidental diplomacy. Friendships and perceptions are formed that students will carry through the rest of their lives as citizens and workers.
There is much potential for diplomats to help build this accidental diplomacy. Reaching out to clubs to offer space in embassies for events makes that space approachable in a way that students may have never previously considered. Letting students know that diplomats are happy to speak at the events of student leadership groups is an excellent way to share diplomatic lessons, casually present the Foreign Service as a career option, and tap into all those informal connections being built by the leaders of tomorrow. The possibilities are endless.
It may at first seem strange to reach out to the recreational football clubs of some university. But the key advantage of such clubs is that they’re generally relaxed, informal and made up of people who have no obligation to each other except a common passion or interest. Diplomacy is far away from everyone’s mind. Can you think of any better atmosphere for diplomacy to take place
For all these reasons, I encourage all diplomats to think hard about the idea of accidental diplomacy and what more you could be doing to build it on campuses across the world.
Sources
Davis, Noah. “The Other Club Scene”. Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, 2007, Vol.24(4), p.22-25
Jiali Luo, and David Jamieson-Drake. “A Retrospective Assessment of the Educational Benefits of Interaction Across Racial Boundaries.” Journal of College Student Development 50.1 (2009): 67-86.
Pascarella, Ernest T., Marcia Edison, Amaury Nora, Linda Serra Hagedorn, and Patrick T. Terenzini. “Influences on Students’ Openness to Diversity and Challenge in the First Year of College.” The Journal of Higher Education 67.2 (1996): 174.
PM of Albania in The Hague
Distinguished Speaker Series, The Hague Institute for Global Justice
By Roy Lie A Tjam.
On Wednesday May 26 2014, The Hague Institute for Global Justice hosted, H.E. Mr. Edi Rama, Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania, as part of its ongoing Distinguished Speaker Series. Mr. Rama’s theme was “Western Balkans and the EU: The case of Albania’s Long Road to its European Destiny”
Moderator was Dr. Abiodun Williams, President, The Hague Institute for Global Justice. Dr Williams also delivered the welcome remarks.
The discussion was lead by Ambassador Nikola Dimitrov. 
The event comes at a critical juncture for Albania’s European aspirations. This perfectly-timed lecture by Prime Minister Edi Rama, in the context of the forthcoming report of the European Commission and at a time when the candidate status for Albania is within reach, marked the launch of the Institute’s work on the Balkans region.
A reception concluded the afternoon, Albanian Byrek were served.
Royal Couple in Oldenburg
The King and Queen were welcomed by Prime Minister of Lower Saxony Weil . The royal couple attended a seminar on the storage of renewable energy .
Topics discussed were the new techniques and developments for the storage of renewable energy , the practical application and the long-term development . The King addressed a speech.
Dutch and German experts from the top of the science and business participated in the seminar . The aim is to further strengthen the Dutch – German cooperation in this field .
Then visit the royal couple the EWE Research Institute for Sustainable Energy “Next Energy ” . The institute is a number of research projects or innovations presented in the field of renewable energy .
The King and Queen have included an explanation of the ‘ Batteriewechselstation für Elektrofahrzeuge . This is the first and only experimental battery exchange station in Germany where cars when they are not driving , are used as energy storage object . Oldenburg examines how the charging time can be reduced as much as possible.
Past and present of the Czech – Dutch relations
By Jaroslav Horák, Ambassador Czech Republic.
If we want to talk about the Czech – Dutch relations, we should not forget a long historical period of relations between the Netherlands and the predecessor of the Czech Republic – Czechoslovakia.
History
Diplomatic relations between the Netherlands and Czechoslovakia were established on 13 November 1919 soon after the birth of independent Czechoslovakia. But mutual contacts go back to the early Middle Ages, although they were very sporadic. At that time, there was no Czechoslovakia, the less the Czech Republic. In this context, it is used to talk about the Kingdom of Bohemia or later the Czech lands or Czech country, as they were 300 years part of the Austrian monarchy. A certain revival, particularly in the areas of culture, occurred just under the Habsburg Emperor Rudolf II. In the 17th century, when the Netherlands was experiencing its Golden Age, Emperor Rudolf transferred the cultural center of the monarchy from Vienna to Prague and there were mainly Dutch artists in Prague who contributed to the great development of artistic style – mannerism which was then widely cultivated in the imperial court.
But the critical links were formed during the 30 Years War when the Netherlands wanted to ensure its security interest in the strong Czech anti-Habsburg revolt. Mutual sympathy at the time were based on protestant religion to which even the Czech countries have reported up to 85 percent of the population. The symbol of Czech – Dutch reciprocity then became a person of Johann Amos Comenius – see below .
Before the World War II, relations between the two European democracies – Czechoslovakia and the Netherlands – were correct, although quite different in terms of foreign policy objectives. Diplomatic relations were interrupted during the WW II but soon after their restoration in 1948, both countries went completely different directions. While the Netherlands became a founding member of NATO and the European Communities Czechoslovakia, after the communist putsch in 1948, received strong dependence on the USSR and fell into ever greater isolation.
The Second World War, however, left one more legacy for Czech / Slovak – Dutch relations. Many Czechs and Slovaks who fled their occupied homeland to Britain were fighting against Nazism as crew members of the British RAF. Many were shot down just above Dutch territory and 45 of them are buried on war cemeteries in the Netherlands.
During the long 41 years, until the democratic revolution in 1989, mutual relation did not flourish. It was an impact of the Cold War and the Iron Curtain separating the world of prosperity and democracy from the world of economic backwardness and political totalitarianism.
The Netherlands “rediscovered” Czechoslovakia in 1990 after so called Velvet Revolution. A large part in this shift was played by the first post-communist president of Czechoslovakia Vaclav Havel who made a tremendous job in bringing Czechoslovakia, and then later the Czech republic, back to Europe and to the world. A new chapter in history of mutual relations then was written by a peaceful breakup of the Czechs and Slovaks, the division of Czechoslovakia into two independent states and establishment of diplomatic relations with the Netherlands at the ambassadorial level.
Present
Today, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic are members of NATO and the EU which means they are allies and partners. Both countries share the same values and are dedicated defenders of democracy and human rights. An important component of bilateral relations is undoubtedly economy and trade. The Netherlands ranks the fourth place in the volume of foreign investments in the Czech Republic. The main Czech exports are machinery and cars. Philips was perhaps symbolically, among the first foreign capital corporations that came after 1989 to Czechia.
Cultural ties and tourism are the spice of the relationship. About 185,000 Dutch tourists visit Czechia annually. In addition to the magic of capital Prague, they are attracted by Czech mountains but also by South Bohemia where even Dutch villages are located. Promotion of tourism in the direction from the Netherlands to the Czech Republic is the main task of Czech Tourism in Amsterdam and the slogan under which it presents the Czech Republic as an highly attractive tourist destination is “Czech Republic – Land of Stories”. There are also comfortable air links between the two countries. From Amsterdam or Rotterdam to Prague and/or from Eindhoven to Brno it takes only 75 minutes by aircraft!
Presentation of the Czech culture is dealt by the Czech Center based in Rotterdam which organizes exhibitions, concerts , literary and film evenings. This year is the Year of Czech Music with a number of anniversaries of the famous Czech composers – Antonin Dvorak, Leos Janacek, Bedrich Smetana, Bohuslav Martinu and Josef Suk. Czech Center is going to organize the exhibition on Antonin Dvorak in Beverwijk (June 2014) and then to co-organize the Festival of ancient music from the time of the Habsburg monarchy in Utrecht (August 2014).
Comenius
Talking about the Czech – Dutch reciprocity, I can not forget one of the most important personalities of Czech and European history, a personality which has linked the two nations for centuries – Johann Amos Comenius, truly the first Czech emigre who, in the beginning of the 30 years war (after 1620), had to leave his homeland for religious (and political) reasons and never returned to it. Comenius ended up his long pilgrimage throughout Europe in protestant Amsterdam where he died in 1670. Comenius was a bishop, scholar, philosopher and educator who gave the world, inter alia, new teaching methods that are used even today. It may be a speculation but his method of illustrative teaching through images (processed in the work of Orbis pictus) could have become a prototype of the Windows operating program.
Comenius was buried after his death in Naarden close to Amsterdam, where his grave is located next to the Comenius Museum with the permanent exhibition. I can highly recommend everyone to visit it and get acquainted with the legacy of this great thinker and the founder of modern pedagogy. In the Netherlands, many schools and businesses are named after Comenius.
Finally, I add some useful links:
http://www.mzv.cz/hague/en/index.html
www.czechtourism.com
http:/hague.czechcentres.cz
http://www.comeniusmuseum.nl
Croatia – the Youngest EU Member and Traditional Business Partner for Dutch Businesses
By Ambassador Vesela Mrđen Korać.
On 1 July Croatia will celebrate its first anniversary of EU membership and on this occasion I would like thank to the Kingdom of the Netherlands for its support and cooperation. After extraordinary political, judicial, democratic and social reforms, economy, employment and growth is in our focus today.
Following a long period of steady rise until 2009, our GDP has been in decline and for the year of 2014 we expect positive results again. Croatia as many EU countries is facing a serious unemployment challenge, especially among the youngsters, which is of our prime concern. Fortunately the valuable tourism sector has been growing permanently and our industry is starting to show first signs of recovery restoring confidence and optimism in our business sector.
The Croatian Government is undertaking very ambitious measures to enhance investment, trade and growth with very strong will of improving the quality of its industry. The Croatian system of incentives for investment is one of the most profitable in Europe, offering the most employment incentives per employee (up to € 9,000), reduced income tax rates (0, 10, 20), and the incentives for innovation and development. In that respect, current strategic goal of the Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs is to promote economic potential and profile of Croatia as an attractive and solid international business partner.
Being an integral part of EU market largely facilitates trade and overall business relations, already highly developed between Croatia and the Netherlands with amount of 650 million EUR and almost 400 thousand Dutch tourist visiting Croatia last year. The Netherlands has been second largest investment country in Croatia for years, but there is certainly huge potential still to be used form the both sides. Trade exchange is growing with dominant Croatian export products being: boats, ships, pharmaceutical products, mineral fuels and oils, footwear, electrical machinery and equipment. At the same time Croatia imports from the Netherlands: tobacco, meat, live animals, fertilisers, as well as plants, bulbs, flowers.
Croatia and the Netherlands have a lot in common, being maritime European nation creates specific lifestyle and strong dedications in overcoming the challenges. Main business sectors in Croatia such as food industry; ICT; pharmaceutics; chemistry, shipbuilding, automotive industry, tourism; and strong orientation towards innovations and research do nicely complement the Dutch top sectors. While in some areas as in ICT we can learn from each other through creating successful joint ventures locally or in the third markets. In some areas such as agricultural water management we invite Dutch know how and investors to join us in our endeavour of brining Croatian sectors to the most competitive European level.
In general, Croatia offers secure business environment, stimulating investment climate, highly educated and relatively low cost labour, modern transportation infrastructure, an easy access to the neighbouring markets of South Eastern Europe, Mediterranean and other regional markets with a high quality of life. In addition, new explorations of gas and oil potentials in the Adriatic and continental Croatia are enhancing strategic position of our country as very attractive energy hub of our region and Europe as well.
At the end, I would like to invite Dutch businesses interested to learn more about Croatia and its business opportunities to contact the Croatian Embassy in The Hague as we would be happy to provide initial business information and facilitate B2B contact. I can personally promise that each business proposal would be carefully handled and assisted by trade diplomacy experts at the Embassy in The Hague and in our Ministry of Foreign and European Affaires in Zagreb.
Looking back at the NSS, 2014
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visiting The Netherlands during the Nuclear Security Summit and meeting King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima.
By Petra J.M. Smulders, MA – Delegation Liaison Officer NSS-2014, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. 
Diplomat Magazine asked me recently to drop a few lines about the Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) 2014. I was one of the group of 58 Dutch diplomats and other government officials who were selected by the NSS Secretariat to act as Delegation Liaison Officer (DLO) between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the embassies in the Hague. Two months have passed since the event took place on the 24th and 25th of March in The Hague. For some of us the summit might have been over, but the core group of the Dutch NSS project-team (responsible for the organisation of the summit), has been working since then to round off all the duties and activities which had to be dealt with after the summit.
When it was announced that the Netherlands would be hosting the 2014 Summit, our American friends wished us ‘good luck’…. They knew it entails to organize such a huge event. We did not know, but now we do ….
The Hague, also known as the legal capital of the world, hosted the Hague Peace Conferences of 1899 and 1907. We have organised many conferences since then. We thought that it would be just like any previous conference we organised. But soon we found out that it was going to be an immense undertaking, it simply was the biggest summit ever organised in the Netherlands and Europe! 
The NSS core team from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs started two years ago with the preparations and worked tirelessly and continuously together with other stakeholders at every level. From an organisational point of view, it was quite a challenge to meet our own goals, and at the same time, to try to satisfy all the 58 delegations. The embassies and representatives played a major role in helping their leaders to prepare for the summit. However, in this regard also the DLO’s played a very important rather pivotal role. They were the first point of contact for delegations on all matters. Together with the embassies we joined forces seven months prior to the summit to prepare hand in hand for the visits of their respective delegations. Detailed programmes and scenarios were drafted and rehearsed taking into account minutest details. Each and everyone of us had to go through trainings and repeated rehearsals. On March 21th, our general rehearsal at the World Forum, we even had our former Dutch Ambassadors act as Head of Delegations e.g. for the Family Photo of the NSS2014.
Personally, I had the honour to work as a DLO for Pakistan. I worked closely with Ambassador Khan and his team which was a wonderful experience. I not only enjoyed immensely but also learnt a lot. A little prior and during the NSS the DLOs left their homes and stayed a few days in the same hotel with their delegations in order to be available 24/7. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his spouse arrived on March 23th, the National Day of Pakistan, at Schiphol. I was impressed with the accessibility and relaxed manners of this worldleader and the whole of the Pakistan delegation. This made my work easy and, when I look back now, unforgettable. So much for my personal experience.
The NSS-2014 aimed at being an interactive and paperless Summit. In addition to the official part of the conference there was a leaders-only informal discussion about the future of the NSS-process. A special APP was produced in order to encourage online communication and save tons of paper.
At the end of the Summit, The Hague Nuclear Security Summit Communiqué was adopted and 35 countries pledged to observe the terms of a joint agreement, known as Strengthening Nuclear Security Implementation. In this last document signatories committed themselves to incorporate the Principles and Guidelines of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to periodically evaluate their security procedures.
Apart from these results, and the overriding security reasons as to why it was important for the Netherlands to host this major event, the NSS was most important for us in terms of bilateral relations. More than 100 bilateral meetings were held in the World Forum between all the delegations. As regards the Netherlands, we also had a state visit (China), several official visits (United States, Vietnam, Kazachstan) and several working visits (South-Korea, Indonesia, Canada). His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen received in audience several worldleaders. Our Prime-Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and other Ministers from the Cabinet met with many Head of Delegations. 35 bilateral agreements were signed.
The Dutch public was well informed and largely positive about the goals of the summit.
By hosting the NSS we did our part to make the world and the Netherlands a safer place.
Diplomat Magazine asked me recently to drop a few lines about the Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) 2014. I was one of the group of 58 Dutch diplomats and other government officials who were selected by the NSS Secretariat to act as Delegation Liaison Officer (DLO) between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the embassies in the Hague. Two months have passed since the event took place on the 24th and 25th of March in The Hague. For some of us the summit might have been over, but the core group of the Dutch NSS project-team (responsible for the organisation of the summit), has been working since then to round off all the duties and activities which had to be dealt with after the summit.
When it was announced that the Netherlands would be hosting the 2014 Summit, our American friends wished us ‘good luck’…. They knew it entails to organize such a huge event. We did not know, but now we do ….
The Hague, also known as the legal capital of the world, hosted the Hague Peace Conferences of 1899 and 1907. We have organised many conferences since then. We thought that it would be just like any previous conference we organised. But soon we found out that it was going to be an immense undertaking, it simply was the biggest summit ever organised in the Netherlands and Europe! 
The NSS core team from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs started two years ago with the preparations and worked tirelessly and continuously together with other stakeholders at every level. From an organisational point of view, it was quite a challenge to meet our own goals, and at the same time, to try to satisfy all the 58 delegations. The embassies and representatives played a major role in helping their leaders to prepare for the summit. However, in this regard also the DLO’s played a very important rather pivotal role. They were the first point of contact for delegations on all matters. Together with the embassies we joined forces seven months prior to the summit to prepare hand in hand for the visits of their respective delegations. Detailed programmes and scenarios were drafted and rehearsed taking into account minutest details. Each and everyone of us had to go through trainings and repeated rehearsals. On March 21th, our general rehearsal at the World Forum, we even had our former Dutch Ambassadors act as Head of Delegations e.g. for the Family Photo of the NSS2014.
Personally, I had the honour to work as a DLO for Pakistan. I worked closely with Ambassador Khan and his team which was a wonderful experience. I not only enjoyed immensely but also learnt a lot. A little prior and during the NSS the DLOs left their homes and stayed a few days in the same hotel with their delegations in order to be available 24/7. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his spouse arrived on March 23th, the National Day of Pakistan, at Schiphol. I was impressed with the accessibility and relaxed manners of this worldleader and the whole of the Pakistan delegation. This made my work easy and, when I look back now, unforgettable. So much for my personal experience.
The NSS-2014 aimed at being an interactive and paperless Summit. In addition to the official part of the conference there was a leaders-only informal discussion about the future of the NSS-process. A special APP was produced in order to encourage online communication and save tons of paper.
At the end of the Summit, The Hague Nuclear Security Summit Communiqué was adopted and 35 countries pledged to observe the terms of a joint agreement, known as Strengthening Nuclear Security Implementation. In this last document signatories committed themselves to incorporate the Principles and Guidelines of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to periodically evaluate their security procedures.
Apart from these results, and the overriding security reasons as to why it was important for the Netherlands to host this major event, the NSS was most important for us in terms of bilateral relations. More than 100 bilateral meetings were held in the World Forum between all the delegations. As regards the Netherlands, we also had a state visit (China), several official visits (United States, Vietnam, Kazachstan) and several working visits (South-Korea, Indonesia, Canada). His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen received in audience several worldleaders. Our Prime-Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and other Ministers from the Cabinet met with many Head of Delegations. 35 bilateral agreements were signed.
The Dutch public was well informed and largely positive about the goals of the summit.
By hosting the NSS we did our part to make the world and the Netherlands a safer place.