On October 2, 2014, Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands arrived at the Spaansche Hof in Den Haag to attend the 2014 Max van der Stoel Award Ceremony.

According to the offiicial website for the awards the:

“…presented every two years to a person, group or institution for extraordinary and outstanding achievements in improving the position of national minorities in the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) participating States.

Established in 2001 by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, the Award honours Max van der Stoel, a prominent Dutch statesman who was the first OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities. The Award highlights issues related to national minorities and supports the High Commissioner´s conflict-prevention work.

The winner of the 2014 Max van der Stoel Award went to Spravedlivost, a non-governmental organization based in Jalal-Abad in southern Kyrgyzstan, has been named as the 2014 winner of the Max van der Stoel Award, for its outstanding work in improving the position of national minorities in the OSCE area.”

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Photo courtesy of RVD/HKH

On October 2, 2014, His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands attended the 2014 Heinekenprijzen (Heineken Prizes for Arts and Sciences) held at the Beurs van Berlage building in Amsterdam.

According to the official website for the Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen the Heinekenprijzen:

“…are international prizes awarded every other year to five internationally renowned scientists and one highly talented Dutch visual artist for their great merits to science, Dutch art and society.

The scientific Heineken Prizes recognize and reward unique achievement in the fields of biochemistry and biophysics, medicine, environmental sciences, history and cognitive science. The sixth Heineken Prize, the Heineken Prize for Art, is awarded every two years to an artist living and working in the Netherlands.”

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Photo courtesy of RVD/HKH