Tag Archives: Her Majesty Queen Maxima of the Netherlands

Headlines

Her Majesty Queen Maxima of the Netherlands Visits the TextielMuseum in Tilburg

On Thursday, June 30, 2022, Her Majesty Queen Maxima of the Netherlands visited the TextielMuseum in Tilburg.

According to RVD, the craftsmen and craftswomen are currently making the new curtains for the Chinese Hall at the Paleis Huis ten Bosch, Their Majesties residence in Den Haag.

The day began with a visit to the TextielLab, which specializes in textile research and production, Her Majesty was informed about the machine embroidery process by specialist, Mr. Frank de Wind. Her Majesty also spoke with a trainee who informed Her Majesty about the various techniques in “…applied embroidery stitches and the careful search for the right color use of yarns.”

Her Majesty Queen Maxima also learned about hand embroidery from the project leader, Bea, as well as members of the Queer Needle Circle an embroidery group from Arnhem, and master from embroiderer, Ms. Anna Bolk, who supervised the embroidery groups process.

Towards the end of her visit, Her Majesty Queen Maxima participated in an embroidery session.

Photos courtesy of TextielMuseum/RVD

Headlines

TMs King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands Visit Austria: Day Two.

On Tuesday, June 28, 2022, Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands continued their three-day state visit to Austria.

This morning, Their Majesties accompanied by the Federal President of Austria, His Excellency Alexander Van de Bellen, and the First Lady of Austria, Her Excellency Doris Schmidauer, visited the Community Cooking integration project at the Ankerbrotfabrik in Favoriten located in Wien’s (Vienna) 10th district.

The Community Cooking project promotes the intercultural exchange between the residents of the 10th district; moreover, since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, many refugees have visited the Community Cooking project center for a hot meal and a comforting atmosphere.

During their visit, Their Majesties, President Van der Bellen, the First Lady, and Community Cooking volunteers put on their aprons and cooked a delicious meal for the refugees. So what did they make you may ask? Well, the foursome whipped up a delicious egg dish with onions, tomatoes, and peppers. Falafel filled with tomatoes and onion mixture, Tahini sauce with various herbs and vegetables, and flatbread with oat bran. Curd yogurt cream with various berries spices and honey was served as dessert. Gosh, I’m hungry now.

Anyway, after they cooked the meal for the refugees, Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima, President Van der Bellen, and the First Lady sat down with the refugees whereupon the foursome heard about the ongoing situation in Ukraine and how they fled.

Thereafter, Their Majesties visited the  Sonnwendviertel residential complex behind the Central Station in Vienna. The complex comprises of 5,500 apartments for 13,000 residents, 20,000 jobs, a school campus, office buildings, and numerous stores as well as a park. After meeting with the locals, Their Majesties hopped onto a tram to their next appointment: The Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek.

Upon their arrival, at the stunningly beautiful baroque Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek (Austrian National Library) in Vienna’s first district, Their Majesties were warmly welcomed by the Director-General of the Austrian National Library, Ms. Johanna Rachinger.

Soon, Ms. Rachinger ushered her royal guests into the baroque state hall which contains hundreds of valuable artifacts, with historical references to the Netherlands, including writings by the first court librarian, Hugo Blotius, and Gerard van Swieten, both of whom were Dutch. Their Majesties also viewed the Austrian National Library’s most valuable cartographic object, the fifty-volume Blaeu-Van der Hem Atlas from Amsterdam dating from 1662-1678.

Thereafter, Their Majesties visited the famous Demel coffeehouse in Vienna’s first district. Whilst there they met with staff and watched a gentleman make their famous Sachertorte.

In the afternoon, Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima visited the Federal Chancellery of Austria in Vienna’s first district. The royal couple were welcomed, upon their arrival, by Chancellor Karl Nehammer and other government officials. After a brief photo-op, Their Majesties and Chancellor Nehammer held a private meeting.

This evening, Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands will attend a concert at the Konzerthaus with a performance by the Dutch Chamber Choir. The choir will sing songs by various turn-of-the-century composers with digitally edited and animated paintings behind them by Vincent Van Gogh and Gustav Klimt.

On Wednesday, Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands will travel by train to Graz for a one-day visit.

Headlines

TMs King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands Attend a Glittering Gala State Dinner in Wien (Vienna).

On the evening of Monday, June 27, 2022, Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands attended a gala state dinner at Schloss Belvedere in Wien (Vienna), Austria. The glittering gala state dinner was hosted by the Federal President of Austria, His Excellency Alexander Van der Bellen, and First Lady Doris Schmidauer.

Tonight’s setting at Schloss Belvedere has a current cultural connection to the Netherlands. Last February, the Schloss Belvedere Museum opened the exhibition entitled, Klimt: Inspired by Rodin, Van Gogh, Matisse, in collaboration with the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. The exhibition explores the connection between the paintings of Gustav Klimt and the works of other artists of his time, such as Vincent Van Gogh.

Tomorrow, Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima will visit the integration project in the Wien’s Favoriten district. Thereafter, they will visit a community cooking kitchen, meet with Ukrainian refugees, and tour the new Sonnwendviertel housing project near Vienna’s central train station. 

Their Majesties are also scheduled to visit the National Library and hold a meeting with the Austrian Chancellor, His Excellency Karl Nehammer. Tuesday evening, Their Majesties are scheduled to attend a gala concert at the Konzerthaus with a performance by the Dutch Chamber Choir.

Headlines

(VIDEO) TMs King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands Begin Their Three-Day State Visit to Austria.

On the morning of Monday, June 27, 2022, Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands arrived in Austria for a three-day state visit.

Upon their arrival at the Vienna-Schwechat International Airport, Their Majesties were warmly welcomed by the Foreign Minister of Austria, His Excellency Alexander Schallenberg.

Soon, Their Majesties arrived at the Hofburg Palace in Wien (Vienna) where the Federal President of Austria, His Excellency Alexander Van der Bellen, and First Lady Doris Schmidauer welcomed them.  

After the traditional inspection of the Guards of Honor and the Dutch as well as Austrian national anthems played, President Van der Bellen and the First Lady escorted Their Majesties into the Hofburg Palace for a reception.

In the afternoon, Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands accompanied by President Van der Bellen and the Federal Minister for the European Union, Her Excellency Karoline Edtstadler, visited the Shoah Wall of Names in Vienna.

The Shoah Wall of Names displays the names of 64,400 Austrian men, women, and children, on 160 granite stones, who were murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust.

Later in the afternoon, Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima met the Mayor of Vienna, Mr. Michael Ludwig, and members of the City Senate at the Wiener Rathaus. Whilst there, Their Majesties signed the city’s Golden Book.

This evening, Their Majesties will attend a gala state banquet at Schloss Belvedere hosted by President Van de Bellen and the First Lady.

Headlines

Her Majesty Queen Maxima of the Netherlands Attends the VNO-NCW Conference, Financial Health of Employees.

On Thursday, June 23, 2022, Her Majesty Queen Maxima of the Netherlands attended the VNO-NCW conference held at the Deloitte in Rotterdam.

During today’s conference, held under the theme, Financial Health of Employees, Her Majesty Queen Maxima gave a speech whereupon she spoke about the financial stress amongst employees in the Netherlands and internationally:

“Eight percent of all households in the Netherlands have problematic debts.  Almost half of them have a working breadwinner. And that is very often employees! Four out of five employers have to deal with financial problems among their staff and this is even common in a quarter of the employers!

And this is happening in all sectors. We see the problem in all types of businesses.

The urgency is great. Think of the price increases for energy and food that households are confronted with. They make it even more difficult for many to make ends meet.

Also think of the digitization of the economy and the payment system. Buying is getting easier. The temptations get bigger, the overview gets smaller.

When there are financial problems, households wait an average of five years before they dare to knock on the door for help. Then there are on average 14 different creditors and the debt has risen to an average of 43,000 euros. Of this, 67 percent consists of additional costs and interest!

Early detection is therefore crucial. And you can play an important role in this. In the interest of your employees. And for your own sake!

After all, we know what financial stress does to people’s productivity. It drops by 20 percent. We know the consequences for absenteeism due to illness: seven extra days of absenteeism per year. We also know the mental consequences. Lack of concentration, gloominess, isolation and increased risk of dropout and burnout.

At a time when many companies are struggling with staff shortages, the financial health of employees deserves full attention. You want to keep your people healthy and motivated.

You can do a lot because you are close to your employees. Who does not have a colleague who no longer goes on holiday, or who withdraws from social contacts. Someone to whom you can see that there are concerns. We know the signs: loss of job satisfaction, irritability, less productivity, more frequent calls in sick, up to a wage garnishment.

During this meeting I would like to achieve the following together with you.

First: Awareness. This problem concerns all of you. And you can really do something!

Second, to form a platform that helps each other pick up signals early. That develops data, so that we know whether we are going in the right direction. And above all: in which we learn from each other which interventions work. Think of coaching, or savings options or a quick referral to external care providers.

I know we have to respect the privacy rules. But let’s see what is possible with respect for privacy to support employees more.

I am very pleased that a large number of companies are joining forces and forming a platform to get started with this. Really amazing.

It will be a platform for companies by companies.

My wish is that in a few years’ time I will be able to proudly tell abroad how Dutch companies have made a difference in their own country. How they formulated goals for themselves. And how they arrived at national objectives together.

But above all, I wish you healthy, motivated and productive employees, without financial stress. People who feel committed to your company and who want to continue to work for it.

Thank you.“

Click here to view a photo gallery.

Photo courtesy of RVD

Headlines

Her Majesty Queen Maxima of the Netherlands Visits the Nova College in Beverwijk.

On June 22, 2022, Her Majesty Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, as Honorary President of MIND Us, visited the Nova College in Beverwijk. Today’s working visit was held in the context of student welfare in secondary education and student welfare in secondary vocational education.

According to RVD, during today’s visit, Her Majesty met with:

“…various stakeholders, including Healthy School coordinators from Nova College and Kennemer College, about how they are committed to the mental health of their students.

Healthy School is a program that helps education professionals to make a healthy lifestyle, both physical and mental, a matter of course at school. Pupils from Kennemer College and students from Nova College also joined this conversation. Her Majesty also participated in a major co-creation session organized by the Healthy Generation.

The Healthy Generation, an initiative of collaborating health funds, which aims to make Dutch youth the healthiest in the world by 2040. Work is currently underway on a joint manifesto in which young people express what they need in education to grow up mentally healthy. Nearly thirty young people particpated in the session, representing UNICEF, the Dutch Youth Council and Laks, among others.

Today’s visit ended with a discussion about how national efforts are created to devote more structural attention to the mental health of young people in secondary and senior secondary vocational education.”

Click here to view photos.

Headlines

Her Majesty Queen Maxima of the Netherlands Visit Dakar, Senegal.

On Wednesday, June 15, 2022, Her Majesty Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, in her capacity as the United Nations Secretary-General for Inclusive Finance for Development, visited Dakar, Senegal.

This morning, Her Majesty Queen Maxima visited a market in Pikine, a suburb of Dakar, Senegal.  Whilst there, Her Majesty spoke with various small entrepreneurs who are currently being assisted with finances of their company by the organization, SudPay, a digital platform for municipalities to collect taxes and enable people and business to start digital financial services. Her Majesty also visited a clothing store where she received an item of clothing as a gift from stores owner, Ms. Maryama Samassa Koma 

In the afternoon, Her Majesty met with “…local farmers who explained how the training and digital savings system from My Agro Farms helps them to buy better seeds for more yield and financial security…” according RVD.

Photos courtesy of RVD