3QC News Magazine, September 14th
Culture
Faces of Quality Documentary Boijmans van Beuningen Behind the scenes of 3QC ���������������������������������������������
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ISSUE 1
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Boijmans van Beuningen Franz Koenigs collection of internationally renowned drawings is not only beautiful to look at, but also has an extensive travel experience. From Rotterdam via Dresden and Moscow to Kiev and finally back again to Rotterdam. Read about the Koenig Collection, the Surrealist Room and The Museum Boijmans van Beuningen on page 3 and 4.
Colophon Q-NOTE is the conference magazine for 3QC and will be published daily.
The editorial staff
welcomes your suggestions and ideas. Q-NOTE is written, edited, designed and photographed by communication students from INHOLLAND University in Rotterdam unless stated otherwise. The Q-note editorial staff are: Silvina van Dam, Josephine Verhoef Nicoline den Boogert, Patricia Blomjous Avihay Haim, Turkka Syrjalainen Alise Tumane, Matilde Mauricio Monteiro, Monique Oeman, Naomie Matil, Souad Zgaoui The editorial staff is being coached by: Willem Lutje Hulsik (INHOLLAND University). Frank Faber and Bartel Stompedissel (Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations) Guest contributions to Q-NOTE were made by: Dick Pruis (lay-out grid), Çakti Aswan (design consultancy), Auke Herrema (cartoon), Willem Lutje Hulsik (text) Q-NOTE is printed by Scheffer drukkerij, Dordrecht The editorial staff of Q-NOTE is located on the conferece grounds in The Doelen and can be contacted daily from 09.00 to 22.00 h. via Qnoters@hotmail.com) Q-NOTE is published under supervision and responsibility of the 3QC Project Team of The Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations. Q-NOTE PAGE 2
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Let’s talk about it over coffee... One of the ingredients of the permanent programme at 3QC is the Interaction Café, set at the Doelen for participants to discuss various ideas, just like in a talk show. Huib Vissers and Michel Walvisch, creators of the ‘Faces of Quality’ documentary will host these sessions, which will take place on Wednesday and Thursday and will last approximately 20 minutes.
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INDEX
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6
Editorial
Behind the scenes of 3QC
Everybody is an artist
Preparations for a European conference like 3QC take a huge amount of effort and time. From selecting interesting topics to arranging the social dinner, from inviting the keynote speakers to organising the workshops, a dedicated team of professionals from the Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations worked day and night to make the whole thing work. Meet the people behind the scenes.
If there is something like a global language then it must be the language of art. Whether it’s spoken by paintings, drawings or sculptures, everybody understands it. The reason for this may be that art doesn’t usually tell us stories about filling out tax forms or splitting the atom but about beauty, passion and inspiration. Stuff that really makes the world tick and reminds us of the necessity to be involved, heart, body and soul, in what we do. No matter where, no matter what.
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Documentary: Faces of Quality
For that matter it can’t be coincidental that 3QC’s kickoff is in one of Holland’s most famous ‘temples of art’: The museum Boijmans van Beuningen. Here you are surrounded by a collection that crosses cultural, geographical, emotional and historical borders. It shows you that you can and should be ambitious in setting your goals and that only the sky is the limit. If you allow yourself to be driven by passion and inspiration that is... Which is what this conference is all about.
Alain works as a street sweeper in Paris, France. Henryka is head of the Tax Office in Sierpc, Poland and John works as a headmaster in Swansea, United Kingdom. Listen to their stories and discover the importance of commitment and personal drive to improve the quality of public services.
Service page Want to take your new network out to dinner but don’t know where? Feel like watching a movie but sick and tired of your hotel’s pay channel? In for a city walk but haven’t got a clue where to begin let alone where you’re going to end up? Have a look at the service page and take your pick of all the tantalizing possibilities Rotterdam has to offer during and after working hours. Page 8.
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If art is a language that everybody understands, then everybody should be an artist. So go ahead and give it a try. Preferably for the rest of your life but at least for the next three days. Paint us a picture with your ideas. Use sessions, workshops and speeches as your brushes. Consider Europe to be your canvas. Create until you’re blue in the face. Be passionate and inspire us. ISSUE 1
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Boijmans van Beuningen: museum of great diversity Boijmans van Beuningen museum
has
a
lot
to
offer. From the historical exhibition
of
‘Koenigs
in Kyiv’ to the enigmatic collection of the Surrealistroom, the museum has something for all tastes. “It is quite surreal!” is a common phrase, often used in a misplaced context. So, what is Surrealism? Is there something special we can learn from looking at a surreal work of art? The 19th century French writer and poet Comte de Lautremont, whose sometimes absurd and surrealistic poetry was inspirational for painters like Dali, once said: “It’s as beautiful as the chance meeting on a dissecting table of an umbrella and a sewing machine.” It sounds meaningless at first, perhaps even a little mad. But if you stop for a moment to think about it, there might be reason in it after all. Surrealism is looking under the surface, ‘above the real’, this way attaining a state of natural reality, ‘surreality’. In other words, you can find a dimension, which transcends bourgeois ‘common sense’; a link between rationale and the subconscious.
weird and crazy
People often tend to mix surrealism with anything that is weird or crazy but nothing could be further from the truth. At the heart of the surrealist movement was the pursuit and exploration of desire, and desire is what makes us move and improve ourselves. Surrealists believed that our desires are suppressed by bourgeois values causing us to loose contact with our soul, the inner passion in our core. These are Q-NOTE PAGE 4
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times when we fail to inspire ourselves and when we start spreading our anaemia to those around us.
World renowned masters, such as Dali and Magritte, will not leave you unaffected.
fantasize and imagine
The ‘It is quite surreal’ phrase is also often used for Claes Oldenburg’s modern Screw Arch, which you can view from the park behind the museum. It is an enormous screw, bent like it is made of rubber. There are also other worthwhile sculptures surrounding the museum. There is a four-meter high Picasso on the city side, which might go unnoticed if you arrive to the museum from the park side. It is called La Sylvette and created by Picasso in his later days.
By using our imagination we can liberate ourselves from those values and continue once again towards the pursuit of our desires. Many of us can still remember how easy imagining was when we were children, and we are reminded by our children and our grandchildren. But imagination is not their exclusive property, it is their gain. All of us can fantasize and imagine; it is just that the older we get, the more efforts it requires from our creative muscles. If you are open to new experiences, allowing you to retrieve the childlike imagination, the Surrealist-room will be the perfect start.
enormous screw
koenigs collection
For people who don’t particularly enjoy sculptures and won’t get inspired by
“Shirley Temple, the Youngest, Most Sacred Monster of the Cinema in Her Time”. Salvador Dali, 1939
QUITE SURREAL
by the Red Army, and then to Kiev where they remained in storage for over half a century.
bound man
Part of the lost treasure has now returned to Rotterdam, thanks to the state of Ukraine. When you visit the exhibition and look at the drawings, try to remember how much they have endured along the course of time. There is a 16th century drawing amongst the collection called, ‘A bound man lying on the ground’, pay special attention to this particular piece. What makes it special, is that even though the name of the creator has been lost, what it stands for has strengthened in the midst of time. We are reminded by its symbolism that a work of art can also be a victim of war.
old masters
To finish the tour of Boijmans van Beuningen you have an excellent chance of mixing old and new in the Digital Depot. Unfortunately the features are currently only offered in Dutch language, but you shouldn’t let it stop you from trying out the touch screens. You can also project a picture on the wall of any of the 120,000 objects in the museum’s collection. If you have any time left, we recommend you go and visit the museum in your own time to see the splendour of the Old Masters and the many other sides the museum has yet to reveal. To finish with the words of Comte de Lautremont, that so well describe not only the surrealist art but also how the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen can affect its visitor, “it’s as beautiful as the chance meeting on a dissecting table of an umbrella and a sewing machine. At its best, it quite takes the breath away.”
Museum Boijmans opened a new wing in 2003
surrealism, what else is there to experience in the museum? History. After all, what better place is there to look back at history and learn from past than a museum? The Koenigs in Kyiv is an exhibition of historical master drawings with a turbulent history. It was originally part of probably the most important pre-war collection of drawings: the Franz Koenigs collection. The drawings were sold to a Rotterdam port tycoon van Beuningen, to finance the escape of the Koenigs family in case the Nazis invaded the Netherlands. Mr. van Beuningen in turn donated the collection to, the then, Museum Boijmans. However, after the invasion, Hitler’s personal art adviser, Dr. Hans Posse removed 528 sheets of the collection from the museum. A few years later they were taken to Moscow ISSUE 1
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BEHIND THE SCENES OF 3QC
A congress like 3QC can only be as inspirational, passionate and successful as its participants and, off course, its organizers. Meet the people of the 3QC Project Team.
Left to right: Sytske Schoenmakers, Marloes Potten, Bianca Smeets, Carlien Osinga, Bartel Stompedissel, Frank Faber
Passion is one of the congresses main themes. Frank Faber, project manager of 3QC: “Passion should be interpreted as the involvement and enthusiasm a civil servant needs to have, to be able to provide the necessary service to all citizens who depend on him.” “It is the same as with music, which is my true passion”, adds project team member Marloes Potten, ‘After all, you can’t create a good sound all by yourself. Especially as a civil servant you need to work together with your colleagues. And working together, like playing music together, means to carefully listing to each other and following the hints of the conductor.” Apart from Faber and Potten the 3QC project team includes Sytske Schoenmakers, Bianca Smeets, Carlien Osinga and Bartel Stompedissel. “This conference has been made possible thanks to the commitment and support of the Directors General of Public Adminstration in all EU Member States”, says Bartel Stompedissel, “The exchange of concrete experiences from all levels and areas in the public sector is what makes this conference so special.” Bianca Smeets adds: “At 3QC there is room for candid discussion, not only about the successes, but also about the difficulties other had to overcome. Knowledge of the latter is essential for improving your own organisation as efficiently and effectively as possible. That’s why so many people come to this conference!”
“It has been a great experience working on this team”, says Sytske Schoenmakers, “Off course, organising a congress like this is a big challenge. But it’s not hard to dedicate yourself to a project as real and tangible as 3QC. You can actually see and feel the result of your work.” Right from the start, one thing was abundantly clear for the project team members: 3QC would not be like any other congress. “If you want to a conference to be interesting and entertaining for more than thousand people from all over Europe you have to look for unconventional ways and methods”, says Carlien Osinga who is in charge of the cable-TV which will provide the guests with news, quotes and voting results. “We tried all kinds of new angles and ways to keep the participants on their toes and the tip of their seats”, Frank Faber remarks. “Like working with a group of international students to publish the information magazine of the congress, introducing music and show elements to get our point across, using interactive electronic communication techniques and bringing the conference to Rotterdam instead of making the obvious choice for Amsterdam.” It will be another three days before the 3QC team can take a well deserved rest. In the meantime they will continue to give it their best to make sure that you have the congress you deserve and will return to your home countries inspired.
Discussions and drinks in Interaction Café
Coffee conversations
One of the spicy ingredients of the permanent programme at 3QC is the Interaction Café, set at the Doelen for participants to discuss various ideas, just like a talk show. Huib Vissers and Michel Walvisch, creators of the ‘Faces of Quality’ documentary will host sessions on Wednesday and Thursday that will last approximately 20 minutes. Order a cup of coffee at the nearby counter and take a seat in this small but open-minded café, where a big table has been set, ready to welcome new, fresh ideas. During one of these sessions the two hosts, Huib Vissers and Michel Walvisch will interview the stars of the 3QC Documentary ‘Faces of Quality’. Meet Alain who works as a street sweeper in Paris, France, Henryka the head of the Tax Office in Sierpc, Poland and John who works as a headmaster in Swansea, England. Listen to their stories and discover the importance of commitment and personal drive to improve the quality of public services. The Interaction Café is intended for participants searching for human-interest Q-NOTE PAGE 6
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behind the rather technical issue of quality management. You can exchange experiences with your colleagues or answer some questions about your own drive to improve your organisation. Or simply sit down, relax and listen to the inspiring stories which come up. “The success of the conference depends primarily on the degree in which people are stimulated.” says Vissers. “Making people enthusiastic, that’s what these men are trying to do at the Interaction Café. We will try to seduce participants into giving their opinion on a debate, without anyone judging what they have to say, just expressing themselves.” “Our job is only to inspire and give direction” says Vissers, who has used this
Michel Walvisch
Huib Vissers
format before quite successfully. As he found out at previous occasions, people really like this sort of activity, because they get to share their own experiences and learn from others. The added value of this venue is that stories originate from different countries, which allows perspectives to be more broad and diverse.
A documentary about passion and work
Wake up, Act and Inspire!
Alain Vadot, a street sweeper in Paris
Henryka Piekarska, Head of the Tax
John O’Brien, head teacher of a school
Office in Sierpc
in Swansea
Wake up, Act and Inspire are three of the main subjects this documentary focuses on. Three civil servants from France, Poland and England are shown as they wake up, head for work and inspire people around them by means of their passion and commitment to their communities. Alain Vadot, a street sweeper in Paris; Henryka Piekarska, Head of the Tax Office in Sierpc and John O’Brien, head teacher of a school in Swansea are the main characters of this short movie. Q-NOTE visited Huib Vissers who, together with Michel Walvisch, made the documentary, and talked about ‘Faces of Quality’.
How did you come up with the idea for this documentary and where did find your ‘actors’? “We wanted to show something different, basically.” says Huib Vissers. “We started off with the idea to follow people from 25 different countries, but that was simply not possible. We wanted to bring normal professions into the picture, professions which are not always noticed or appreciated. The ‘actors’ are three public servants we found after visiting a number of countries in search for people who would fit our profile. Contacts in each country speeded up the process.”
Wake up, Act and Inspire are the three main subjects this documentary focuses on. Three civil servants from France, Poland and England are shown as they wake up, head for work and inspire people around them by means of their passion and commitment to their communities. Alain Vadot, a street sweeper in Paris; Henryka Piekarska, Head of the Tax Office in Sierpc and John O’Brien, head teacher of a school in Swansea are the main characters of this short movie. Q-NOTE visited Huib Vissers who, together with Michel Walvisch, made the documentary and talked about ‘Faces of Quality’.
Why did you choose this angle? “I have been working in management for a long time,” explains Vissers, “and to me passion and pleasure in professional life mean much more than most people imagine. These two elements are responsible for a large part of the success you achieve in what you do. What we want to show with this documentary is that you should be accountable for what you can bring to a job or a working place, especially when it
serves a purpose for your own community. We didn’t want to use much text in the documentary. We wanted to tell it like a tale by mainly using pictures, visuals. This way you can show how ordinary people make something special by the way they work. Pictures say much more than words, right?” What goals do you want reach with your documentary? Huib Vissers: “We want to get our message across, being: Create your own success, don’t let things that appear to be restrictions stop you, inspire others and let them inspire you, work side by side with your colleagues. The end of the documentary especially emphasises the message: ‘You can make the difference’, this is what we want our audience to understand. I hope that it will encourage people to reflect on their ideas of what being a civil servant is all about. I hope that that they will look at their work differently, with more initiative, passion and inspiration. A Feeling that what they do everyday really matters. Because believe me, it does.”
The documentary DVD will be provided to all participants who return the evaluation form at the exit desk. It will be shown in the vision theatre in the interaction square.
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REASONABLE
Where to eat
EXPENSIVE historically
a
Although working
Service page
Life is not all about work. So why not take your colleagues or yourself and explore Rotterdam. Today we give you some hints and clues on wining and dining. It’s only the tip of an enormous iceberg though. If you don’t find anything of your fancy in the suggestions we’re giving feel free to go on your own fact finding mission. Tomorrow we’ll give you some pointers on where to go to get a drink.
Rotterdam
class
Fortunately for the slightly
CHEAP
Some of the cheapest places that
lesser well heeled among us Rotterdam is
still offer great food are in the surrounding
really teeming with nice restaurants that offer
area of ‘De Doelen’. Traditionally cheap and
great food for reasonable prices. And so what
good in Holland is directly associated with
if the caviar isn’t flown in daily from the Black
Chinese, Indonesian and Italian fare. Although
Sea and the quail eggs aren’t being laid by the
there are exceptions this still goes. And, as
chef himself. There is a wide choice of French
you may find out if you are prepared to leave
and internationally orientated kitchens in the
the beaten path, the amount of money you
city. And the good news is that some of the
have to fork out is not always related to the
nicest eateries double as a ‘Grand Café’ so
quality of the menu and the atmosphere.
you could kill two birds with one stone. 7. Grand Palace 4. Grand Café Loos
This authentic Chinese dim
Situated at one of the old
sum restaurant is situated
harbours, Loos combines a
right next to the Doelen.
metropolitan
Café
Order from the extensive
atmosphere with nice food.
menu and be amazed and
Westplein 1,
surprised by the seemingly
T +31(0)10 4117723.
endless flow of snacks on your table.
Grand
has
atmosphere
Schouwburgplein 54, T +31(0)10 4145838. 5. Prachtig
it boasts a surprising amount of top class
The name of this place means
8. Warung Mini
restaurants. Last year Cees Helder of
the
‘beautifull’ in Dutch. And it
Warung is Indonesian for
‘Parkheuvel’ restaurant in the Euromastpark
is. Especially the view over
restaurant and mini is off
gained another ‘Michelin Star’ making it the
the river and the futuristic
course very small. Maybe
only three star restaurant in The Netherlands.
‘Erasmus Bridge’ is stunning.
the tiniest eating place in
Apparently his success inspired some of his
Willemsplein 73/79,
Rotterdam. If you forget about
colleagues who really go for it in the kitchen.
T +31(0)10 2142176.
the Dutch wheather you could
Places to go if you have money to burn and a desire for only the best are:
imagine yourselve in a Jakarta backstreet. Witte de 6. Sorgh en Hoop
Withstraat 47, T +31(0)10 4047456.
Even the air that you breathe 1. Parkheuvel Top
of
the
bill,
3
star
has
Italian food that surpasses the run-of-the-mill pizza stuff.
a
South
American
twinge. Try the Margarita’s.
Nice pasta’s, great salads, not expensive and only a
occasions. Advance booking
Schiedamse Vest 91-93,
few steps away from the conference ground.
absolutely required. Heuvel-
T +31(0)10 4143353.
Weena 505, T +31(0)10 2132334.
2. De Harmonie No stars but excellent and innvovative quisine. You have to give them a ring but it’s well worth the effort. Westersingel 95, T +31(0)10 4363610. 3. De Engel This
restaurant
lost
it’s
Michelin star last year and some say that this urged the chef to strive for unexpected culinary heights. As you might expect,
advance
booking
necessary. Eendrachtsweg 19, T +31(0)10 4138256.
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9. A Proposito
restaurant. For really special
laan 21, T +31(0)10 4360530.
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in this Surinam restaurant