    | The NetherlandsThe NAF Connection--The Netherlands NAF Connection--The Netherlands Committee Members On the 21st of March, 2009, 17 American NAF-Fulbright Fellows, NAF Alumni and friends gathered at the Amsterdam home of NAF alumnus Judith Krens for an informal cocktail hour and a live video connection with their Dutch colleagues, simultaneously gathered in the New York home of NAF alumnus and Board Member Jan Joosten. Dutch and American Fellows could see each other via webcams and interacted briefly. The online session was the first-ever live transatlantic connection between these two groups, making the exchange a real ‘NAF Connection’! Later the group made its way to the restaurant Bickers aan de Werf at Prinsen-eiland for the second annual NAF Connection-Amsterdam dinner, at which there was much interaction and fun. The Netherlands-based NAF Alumni Committee has experienced an active year, hosting events and taking advantage of the wide variety of programs planned around the Henry Hudson 400 celebrations. In May 2009, in cooperation with the Amcham Young Professionals, the Committee organized a discussion with Russell Shorto (author of The Island at the Center of the World) at the U.S. Consulate in Amsterdam concerning U.S. and Dutch identity. In September, an informal party to welcome the new NAF-Fulbright Fellows was held at the beach in Scheveningen. Recently, the group was also invited to participate in a Henry Hudson 400 event organized by Amcham Young Professionals featuring (again) Russell Shorto and NAF Board Member Frans van der Minne, of Heineken fame. The Netherlands Alumni Committee is entering into its second year with the goal of supporting the NAF mission by building a strong network of former fellows, raising membership and integrating its work with the U.S. Alumni Committee, primarily by developing a mentor program to serve fellows on both sides of the Atlantic and conducting parallel events such as the annual NAF Connection. Margje Lafourcade-Haverkamp November 28, 2007 The NAF-Connection has landed in Amsterdam! On the 30th of November 2007, some 30 members – alumni and current fellows – of the Netherlands America Foundation congregated in the restaurant ‘Het Muziekgebouw aan het IJ’ in Amsterdam (with a stunning view on the river IJ) for the first dinner of the NAF-Connection Amsterdam. The NAF-Connection Amsterdam is the Dutch counterpart to the New York-based alumni group ‘NAF-Connection New York’. The network was started last autumn by four former fellows, Margje Lafourcade-Haverkamp (2003-2005), Roos Stallinga (2002-2005), Rishi Nandoe Tewarie (2000-2001) and Eva Koffeman (2004-2005). So far, about seventy NAF-alumni have been traced, thanks to information from the New York NAF office and the Amsterdam-based Fulbright Centre. Most are former Dutch scholars who received NAF funding to study in the US from 1993 onwards. Included are Americans who, after completing their studies, decided to stay in the Netherlands. More than half of the alumni lives in the Netherlands, while others residing abroad (i.e., Germany, India, Spain, Great Britain) will, we trust, enroll in our alumni organization when they return to the Netherlands. The network includes many people from the corporate sector, as well as physicians, diplomats, architects, journalists and professionals from the art world. All have voiced their enthusiasm for a renewed contact with the NAF though our NAF-Connection! The Foundation provided us all with the unique opportunity to broaden our social and professional horizons in the US, as we worked and studied in universities and research programs. These experiences still strongly affect many of us today. Former members of the NAF Board of Directors residing in the Netherlands (among others Marc van Gelder (OPG), Frans van der Minne (Heineken) and Hans van den Houten (former NAF president and Vice Chairman) whole-heartedly support the NAF-Connection Amsterdam. The dinner was a big success. Many current American NAF/Fulbright fellows were present, as well as Mr. M. Barkin, the US Consul in Amsterdam, Mr. and Mrs. van den Houten, and Marcel Oomen (Executive Director, Fulbright Centre Amsterdam). The participants interacted in a warm and informal atmosphere and ate and drank until late in the evening. This first event of the NAF-Connection Amsterdam was worthwhile beyond the social aspect of that night. The American Consulate and organizations such as the American Chamber of Commerce and the ‘Young-Fulbright Association’ have expressed appreciation for our initiative (that is, organizing a network of successful young NAF/Fulbright alumni in different professional fields) and they will be involving us in their activities. Some of our long-time objectives are the implementation of a mentor program, as is already in place in New York, as well as the creation of ‘think-tank’ sessions (seminars, invited talks) on important issues affecting the US and the Netherlands. This would help us achieve the mandate given to us by the NAF/Fulbright organization, to further strengthen the bond, born of shared values and common cultural heritage, between our two countries. Margje Lafourcade-Haverkamp All NAF/Fulbright-related individuals coming to the Netherlands/Europe from the US are invited to join us and play a role in the forging of better Dutch-US relations. Please send your contact details to Margje Lafourcade-Haverkamp (m_h_haverkamp@yahoo.com) and please, do inform other NAF members you may know.
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