Crossroads update

The following update was sent to Crossroads’ mailing list subscribers on Monday 26 March 2007:

Dear Crossroads reader,

Welcome to a new update about recent developments on Crossroads, the web magazine for expatriates in Maastricht published by the European Journalism Centre. 

The new year has started very well for Crossroads, since our number of visitors has now increased to over 3,000 per month. The number of page views more than doubles that amount to around 6,500 per month.

Our article about D’Artagnan’s death at the 1673 siege of Maastricht is proving a big success and is attracting visitors from all over the world. Our two feature articles about "A Dog of Flanders" also continue to receive much attention and have been re-published in Expatica Belgium, a website for expats in Belgium, as well as in the Gazette of Detroit, "the only Belgian newspaper in the United States of America". Last month around carnival, our History of carnival and our Carnival lexicon were by far our most read stories.

Crossroads recently launched a new category entitled "Expats Corner", where local expatriates can share their first hand impressions about life in Maastricht and South Limburg with other readers. Contributions are welcome!

We also have plans to add an audio/video feature in the near future so please keep checking!

Here’s an overview of all the articles we’ve published since our last update on December 19, 2006:

Feature articles:

• Through the lens: View from the upper floors at Selexyz Dominicanen
• Through the lens: Mild winter in the Netherlands
• Professor Ineke Boerefijn, an activist academic at the Centre for Gender and Diversity
• The history of carnival in Maastricht
• The Treaty of Maastricht on display in Maastricht: a photo-reportage for Crossroads
• Netherlands-England Society (GNE) celebrates 60th anniversary in Maastricht
• Maastricht celebrates Carnival: a photo-reportage
• The visit of the ladies of Charity
• Charles V and Guus van Eck in Maastricht
• Interview with Huub Mudde, Project Coordinator of Maastricht Debates
• Rebels from Liège besiege Maastricht in the late Middle Ages

Reviews:

• Kusum Gboo’s Sankofa!: Wings of the past, flight to the future
• Maastricht Debates: "World Bank Development Report 2007: Development and the Next Generation"
• Círculo Cervantes: "Se habla español" in Maastricht
• The last days of Europe, a lecture in Maastricht by German journalist and writer Henryk Broder

Expats’ corner:

• Red lights and the city
• My hour of glory with Radio France Internationale
• Carnival parade in my village
• A day trip to Venice
• Ladies’ night out at the Africa Centre in Cadier en Keer
• Aren’t computers and internet wonderful? Most certainly!  

If you have any comment or suggestions, or if you are interested in writing for Crossroads, please contact me at crossroads.news@gmail.com. I’ll be happy to hear from you.

Best wishes and good reading!