News
Letter
The Hague, June 2016
Opening of the exhibition Botero: Celebrate Life! in the Netherlands
On 1 July 2016, the opening of the exhibition Botero: Celebrate Life! was held at the Kunsthal Rotterdam gallery in the Netherlands. Master Fernando Botero, his family, friends, and almost 400 guests were present at this private event, in which the Ambassador of Colombia to the Netherlands, Juan JosĂŠ Quintana, stands out, as well as the Deputy Mayor of Rotterdam, Mr. Adriaan Visser, and the Ambassadors of Uruguay, Costa Rica, Panama and Peru, and members of the Diplomatic Corps who were invited by the Embassy of Colombia.
A welcoming and appreciation speech by the Director of the Kunsthal gallery, Ms. Emily Ansenk, opened the exhibition and was followed by a recognition speech by the Deputy Major of Rotterdam, Mr. Adriaan Visser, about the artistic legacy of Fernando Botero. Both of them emphasized the importance and honor of counting with the presence of the Colombian artist in the Netherlands with a largescale retrospective of his oeuvre.
After the recognition speeches towards Master Botero, the Colombian-Dutch trumpeter Maite Hontelé, after also expressing her admiration to Fernando Botero, performed two songs: ‘Dos Gardenias’ and ‘Tolú’ in honor of Master Botero. Maite selected those songs as an honour to the life and experiences of Master Botero in Tolú, Colombia.
After the musical presentation, guests were able to enter the exhibition Botero: Celebrate Life, the biggest collection of his oeuvre held in the Netherlands and were able to take a look at oils, pastels, drawings and a few sculptures. This was followed by a reception with more live music performed by Maite Hontelé.
At the end of the exhibition, the Kunsthal gallery offered a private dinner with Master Fernando Botero, his family, personal guests, the Ambassador of Colombia, Juan JosÊ Quintana, and his wife, Maria del Rosario Navia, among other guests. During the dinner, Ambassador Quintana gave an opening speech expressing his enthusiasm of having Master Botero present in Rotterdam, and highlighting Botero as the biggest artist in Colombia’s history, and stressing the importance of his work for Colombia and the world. It is always an honor to exhibit his oeuvres not only in Medellin, Bogota, New York, Madrid, Barcelona or Paris, but now also in Rotterdam.
Photos: courtesy of Kunsthal, Rotterdam
To read the press release click the link below: http://paisesbajos.embajada.gov.co/newsroom/news/2016-07-04/9116
Launch in Dutch of “La Oculta” book by Héctor Abad Faciolince
On 16 June, thanks to the organization of the literary theatre Border Kitchen and the support of the Embassy of Colombia in the Netherlands, the Dutch edition of “La Oculta” book (De geheime droom van het land) by Hector Abad Faciolince was launched in The Hague. During the presentation, a conversation between the Colombian writer and the Dutch journalist Chris Keulemans was held, in which they discussed the book’s story about the life of Pilar, Eva and Antonio, siblings and main characters who, despite the difficulties, are willing to reveal the different turbulent stories hidden in “La Oculta”, a farm inherited by their father.
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The Ambassador of Colombia in the Netherlands, Juan José Quintana, was present among the participants, as well as officers of the Colombian Embassy, the Dutch translator of the book, Jos den Bekker, and followers of Héctor Abad’s work. After a session of questions, the public had the opportunity to get the new book with the author’s signature and congratulate him on his new accomplishment.
The documentary ‘Carta a una sombra’ was presented at the Cervantes Institute in Utrecht
Thanks to the organization of the Cervantes Institute in Utrecht and the collaboration of the Embassy of Colombia to the Netherlands, the documentary film “Carta a una Sombra” (Letter to a shadow) by Daniela Abad and Miguel Salazar was broadcasted on 9 June 2016. This documentary is based on the book “El olvido que seremos” (Oblivion: A memoir) of the Colombian writer Héctor Abad Faciolince, which recreates the history of his father, Héctor Abad Gomez.
The Ambassador of Colombia to the Netherlands, Juan José Quintana, was present at this event as well as officers of the Colombian Embassy, academics, and followers of the Colombian writer. After the presentation of the documentary, a dialogue between Héctor Abad Faciolince and his Dutch translator, Jos den Bekker, took place, who discussed the writer’s work and his trajectory as novelist and journalist in Colombia. This was followed by a session of questions and answers and a reception.
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Giant steps in European ports From 6 to 9 June, within the framework of the project "Support to the Environmental and Security Protection Agency of the Metropolitan Area of Barranquilla", a commercial mission composed of a Colombian delegation from the public and private sector in the ports area was held in the Netherlands. Currently, the sector of ports and maritime mobility is an important hub of cooperation between the Dutch and Colombian governments. Therefore, the visit of the Colombian delegation to the different ports in the Netherlands represented a valuable experience. The mission had the opportunity to meet the expansion work of the Rotterdam Port "Maasvlakte 2", the BTT tank terminal, and the firemen facilities in charge of the port’s security. The main objective was the exchange of experiences in order to improve the performance of the Barranquilla Port on ecological, economic and social issues. 77
The Barranquilla Port is of high importance for the economy and the Caribbean region in Colombia and to learn more effective ways of care and security in specific situations becomes essential to improve performance and effectiveness of the port. Finally, the mission had the opportunity to take part in the event organized by the Embassy of Colombia to the Netherlands on 8 June, which was a useful space to exchange and establish new cooperation networks among the members of the mission and the Dutch representatives in this field.
Biomasa, una oportunidad que no hay que dejar perder
Between 6 and 9 June, the 24th edition of the European Conference and Exhibition of Biomass was held in Amsterdam. This conference is one of the most important events worldwide on biomass management. The participants of this event were public and private sector institutions from Colombia such as the ‘Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’, the ‘National University of Colombia’, ‘Aceites S.A. Fedepalma, Cenipalma’ and ‘Palmaceites S.A’. These organizations made a presentation during the workshop of the conference about the different possibilities of biomass in the Colombian market by taking advantage of the Dutch-Colombian cooperation context. The public who attended the Colombian workshop was composed of researchers,
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entrepreneurs, agribusiness persons, European and LatinAmerican investors, nongovernmental Organizations, as well as different development organizations such as the IFC, World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank. Colombia has a high potential in the biomass field that has not been exploited yet. It is also de second largest palm oil producer after Brazil in Latin America. Therefore and in combination with the possible increased agricultural productions, Colombia can become a key player in bio-based economy.
Second phase of the exchange program ‘’B2B Colombia – the Netherlands’’
Between 6 and 9 June, a group of Colombian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from different economic sectors visited the Netherlands on the occasion of the second phase of the ‘B2B ColombiaNetherlands Exchange Program’, supported by the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC), member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, through the Agency for Dutch Companies (RVO). For the opening of the mission, the Executive Director for Colombia, Ecuador and Peru of the InterAmerican Development Bank, Mr. Sergio Diaz-Granados, was present as well as the B2B Project Manager and Investment Director of the IIC. 99
The objective of this second phase was to further strengthen trade relations between Colombian SMEs and Dutch companies that participated in the first phase of the program in 2015 at Cali, Colombia. Therefore, workshops and one-to-one business tables were held through out this mission. It is important to highlight the wide participation of the dairy sector in this mission. On one hand, this sector is an important driving force for the Colombian economy. On the other hand, the Netherlands is known worldwide for its high production capacity and its qualified experience on technology and innovation in the dairy production.
Participation of the Embassy of Colombia during the Spanish Language Day at the Cervantes Institute in Utrecht
On 18 June, the Spanish Language Day was celebrated at the Cervantes Institute in Utrecht. This event is a commemoration about the importance of the Spanish language worldwide. The Spanishspeaking Embassies in The Hague participated and collaborated in this celebration.
During the event, different activities, conferences, and art exhibitions were held as well as a concert for children. On this occasion, the Embassy of Colombia in the Netherlands participated at the Spanish Language Day by offering samples of a traditional beverage from our country with the purpose of promoting a taste of a typical Colombian flavor among the guests.
EVENTS
Fernando Botero for the first time in Rotterdam, the Netherlands From the 2nd July until 11 September 2016, Rotterdam will held the exposition from the respected colombian artist Fernando Botero. Botero: Celebrate Life! is presented at Kunsthal art gallery (Westzeedijk 341, 3015 AA Rotterdam). Likewise, the programe Latin Life Sundays start the 3rd July at 14:00 hrs with the presentation of the Colombian-Dutch trumpeteer Maite HontelĂŠ. This iniciative from the Kunsthal gallery wants to give every Sunday of the summer, until 28 August 2016, music, dance, poetry and presentations along with the art of Fernando Botero. For more information about the Latin Life Sundays, clik the link below: www.kunsthal/LatinLife For more information about Botero: Celebrate Life!, click the link below: http://www.kunsthal.nl/en/exhibitions/botero
EMBASSY OF COLOMBIA TO THE NETHERLANDS
TEL (+31) 703 614545 – FAX (+31) 703 614636 Groot Hertoginnelaan 14, 2517 EG. The Hague, Netherlands www.paisesbajos,embajada.gov.co