The Dutch government gave subsidies of over 11.8 million euros to public and commercial broadcasters in 2006 and 2007. Newspaper De Volkskrant discovered that subsidies were among other things given for programmes showing black and white people getting along well.
The justice ministry gave subsidies totalling 610,500 to commercial broadcaster SBS6 for programmes in which immigrants […]

The Dutch branches of the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF and Defence for Children International say much still needs to be done to improve children’s rights in the Netherlands. The organisations are releasing the first annual State of the World’s Children report.
The report’s findings criticise the manner in which illegal children are treated in the […]

The Netherlands is the Western country scoring highest on the Muslim-West Dialogue Index. Overall, the Dutch came third after Bangladesh and Saudi-Arabia.
The survey, published yesterday, was carried out by Gallup among respondents in 21 Western and Muslim countries for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The Gallup Muslim-West Dialogue Index ranked countries in terms […]

In his weekly press conference following the cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Balkenende announced that the government has been preparing for the possible repercussions in the Netherlands and abroad from the film that MP Geert Wilders plans to broadcast.
Prime Minister Balkenende: ‘Today the cabinet addressed the debate surrounding MP Geert Wilders’ plan to produce a film […]

The Terlouw Committee has advised the executive boards of Maastricht and Utrecht universities (UM and UU respectively) to continue using Peter Debye’s name for the UM academic prize and UU’s Institute for Physics and Chemistry of Nanomaterials and Interfaces. Utrecht University will accept this recommendation; Maastricht University will not.
The committee, established by the universities in […]

Three times as many Dutch people were living in Belgium in 2006 as Belgians living in the Netherlands. Dutch people move to Belgium for affordable homes and the attractive countryside, while Belgians move to the Netherlands for reasons of work, study or relationship.
Belgium offers cheaper homes and countryside
More than 111 thousand Dutch people lived in […]

The number of families with a stepparent has increased by nearly 35 thousand since 1998, to 149 thousand in 2007. The number of one-parent families rose to 459 thousand in the same period, while number of ‘traditional’ two-parent families fell to 1.9 million. In 7 percent of all Dutch couples with children in 2007, one […]

International students from outside the European Union will now have a year to look for work in the Netherlands after finishing their studies.
They will, however, have to pay their own way while in the Netherlands (either from their own funds or paid employment) and they may not claim any state benefits. The minimum starting salary […]

Amsterdam is to get a University College, an English language programme for students from all over the world.
The University of Amsterdam (UvA) and the VU University intend to launch Amsterdam University College in September, as an UvA spokesperson yesterday stated. Students are to graduate as bachelor of liberal arts and science and will be accommodated […]

The Supreme Court yesterday quashed the ruling on Judge F. Fernhout. The appeal court in Arnhem in April 2006 found him guilty of possession of child pornography.
In April 2006, the Arnhem appeal court sentenced Fernhout to a suspended prison sentence of one month for possession of child pornography. Eleven videotapes with titles such as ‘Boys […]

For all those of us who want to keep up with the news in Europe, here’s a new tool offered by the European Journalism Centre:
The EJC is pleased to offer a hearty portion of European news with the beta version of eufeeds.eu, a continuously updated news site that serves up 300 direct news feeds, taken […]

Richard Tulloch and his wife conquer a Dutch trail and manage to remain married.
How exactly is this fun, my wife wants to know, screaming to make herself heard over the thunder and pelting rain. She fumbles to tighten the hood of her jacket and the gale nearly rips the plastic coverings from her bike’s panniers. […]

Brussels, the capital city of Europe, boasts a vibrant international community. So far, they’ve lived next to, not with, Belgians. A new integration project is trying to change that.
One would think that Brussels was a melting pot of social integration and interaction, given its mix of Flemish and Francophone locals and the large number of […]

The Selexyz Dominicanen in Maastricht is the most beautiful bookshop in the world, according to journalist Sean Dodson on the website of the British newspaper The Guardian.

The monumental Dominican church was converted by the Dutch architects Merkx+Girod who designed an enormous platformed scaffolding from black steel to fill the centre of the church and […]

For the third time in a relatively short period of time a senior Dutch diplomat at the United Nations is the subject of controversy. Former government minister Eveline Herfkens, now a senior official with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), faces allegations about her having abused her position for personal gain. Meanwhile, support for this […]

Ana Moura (1979) is the youngest fadista ever nominated for an Edison Award. Her performances are fado in the purest form, no funny streaks or theatrical distractions. She touches her audience with her unaffected but sincere interpretation of the Portuguese …. Ana Moura will be accompanied with three topmusicians from Portugal. A concert you don’t […]

STUDIUM GENERALE MAASTRICHT: Inspiration through exploration
Lectures / Debates / Theatre / Cabaret / Music
Studium Generale offers a program with academic and cultural activities for students and members of university staff. The program consists of lectures, debates, concerts and theatrical performances. Although the majority of the scheduled events are Dutch-spoken, we include a number of English […]

Dutch parents continue to hold a strong preference for short first names. Among the 40 most popular boys’ and girls’ names of 2007, only two names contained more than two syllables.
As in 2006, Sem and Tim were the names most frequently given to boys last year. The next most popular choices were Daan, Ruben and […]

Date: Thursday 17 January, at 20.11
Location: Foyer Kumulustheater, Herbenusstraat 89
Admission free
Drum rhythms are rolling up the ancient city walls, announcing the upcoming carnival. Carnival fever has hit our town. Three days and nights of celebrating in crowded streets and bars promise to turn Maastricht upside down. The entire city filled with fancy dresses, masks […]

For many Maastrichters, the Tempeleers go hand in hand with the Maastricht carnival. But how many of us know who are the Tempeleers exactly, and what does it mean to be a Tempeleer in Maastricht? Marleen Vara takes a closer look into the inner workings of the city’s most important carnival association. [continued…]

The universities of Enschede and Eindhoven are no longer admitting any students from Iran. They say they are forced to do so by the government, according to newspaper Trouw.
The technical universities must state in a declaration that new Iranian students will not in any way whatsoever have access to knowledge on nuclear technology. The universities […]