3QC News Magazine, September 17th
Diversity
Point of departure Humbug or Hotdog Look at yourself!
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INDEX
Destination: A New World Humongous steamships belching out smoke. The cry of a seagull. Salty sea wind stroking your hair. And a tear in your eye blurs the image of a loved one leaving for distant shores. Imagine yourself on a turn of the century quay in Rotterdam.
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Yesterday evening many 3QC guests met at the social dinner in the Rotterdam Cruise Terminal. Three islands with themes like ‘sport’, ‘literature & theatre’ and ‘travel’ offered their culinary specialities to the travellers. A report…
Colophon Q-NOTE is the conference magazine for 3QC and will be published daily.
Culinary Island hopping
The editorial staff
welcomes your suggestions and ideas. Q-NOTE is written, edited, designed and photographed by communication students from INHOLLAND University in Rotterdam. Additional photography by: OMA, Rotterdams Gemeente Archief. The Q-NOTE editorial staff are: Silvina van Dam, Josephine Verhoef, Nicoline den Boogert, Patricia Blomjous,
Avihay
Haim,
Turkka
Syrjalainen,
Matilde Mauricio Monteiro, Monique Oemar, 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 and design), Çakti Aswan (design consultancy), Turkka Syrjalainen (cartoon), Willem Lutje Hulsik (text), Simon Palser (column) 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.
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Look at yourself! For three days you’ve been the centerpiece of this conference. Now your in the heart of this magazine. See if you can find yourself among your fellow visitors. And if not, take another shot in Tampere Finland when we’ll meet again for 4QC.
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Architectural Cosmopolitan
Follow the footsteps of Hollands greatest architect Rem Koolhaas and discover the contemporary beauty of Rotterdam’s buildings.
Editorial
One grand old lady
Agora
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As the sun rises on the agora, people from everywhere get together to sell their stuff and, more importantly, talk to each other about everything. Like the agorae of ancient Greece, 3QC’s ‘intellectual marketplace’ is the spot to visit if you want to exchange views and knowledge.
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Indiana Jones strikes gold
Intercultural communication may not be as easy as you would expect it to be. Or is it…Q-Note’s guest columnist is as British as they come, married a Slovenian sweetheart and their daughter was born in below sea level. Recipe for disaster or eternal bliss. You be the judge…
Moneyman Jim Rogers is nicknamed ‘Indiana Jones of Investing’. And for good reasons. His adventurous ideas on how the world turns brought him all over the globe. To make some money of course. Culture shock? He doesn’t have time for that kind of nonsense…
City of Water Forget about the canals of Venice or Amsterdam. They’re just too cute to be real. Rotterdam’s water is of industrial strength. For big men and strong women. Climb aboard and get your feet wet.
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How easy it would be if we were all more or less alike; if we all practiced the same religion, if we were all part of the same cultural background. How convenient it would be to have identical customs, norms and values. Think of all the complications we could avoid by speaking the same language and liking the same food. But wouldn’t life be a bore? No surprises, no room for innovations and learning. We wouldn’t be able to rest on the difference, to appreciate what we’ve inherited. There would be always the same thing served for dinner, no holidays to exotic destinations, no jokes that would make us laugh at each other. If you were to ask two violinists to perform the same piece one after the other, you could almost be tricked into believing you’re listening to two different pieces. Both musicians give their own interpretation in the process of analyzing and performing a composition. What influences their interpretation? Could it simply be a matter of taste? Could it be that there is in fact a variable cultural component? The European Union today embraces cultures and traditions from 25 very different member states. It’s like a multibillion surgical experiment in which a crazy doctor has tried to sew together one Grand Old Lady out of a multitude of different body parts. Is it surprising that the sweet dear is struggling with her identity? We should be happy and thankful that she can walk in the first place. Forget that some limbs are of different length and that she has a striking variety of body hair and eye colour. The trick is to acknowledge the fact that she’s alive and kicking and moving in one direction. At least most of the time. If you’re looking for the good news about diversity and identity you’re in for a surprise. As are those who find themselves attracted to the definite go ahead for collectivism and identity. The surprise being that there is no real right or wrong. We stand in a historical moment, in which we are able to combine all the great aspects of each culture into one recognisable European identity. Unity in variety, that’s what we’re after.
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Point of Departure: Rotterdam Destination: A New World It must have been an awe inspiring sight. A ship as big as a five storey building. Three massive funnels belching out thick clouds of smoke. Seen from the upper decks the people on the quay looked like ants. Barrows heaped with luggage, cars unloading passengers, tugboats moving frantically to and fro. Small, almost meaningless in the eyes of the ones who were about to leave. But from the quayside it was just the other way around. For the stay behinds the ocean steamer rose like a mountain from the water. As overwhelming as the adventure its passengers were about to embark. From all over Europe they came to Rotterdam. In search of freedom, happiness, a new future. And a way to cross the ocean to a place of unlimited possibilities.
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he situation thousands of Europeans faced at the turn of the 19th Century was bleak. Poverty, war and hunger were throwing a black shadow over the continent. One of the largest migrations in history was well under way. Outcasts and refugees as well as fortune hunters and adventurers gathered as much of their belongings as they could carry and started moving. Ultimate destination: a new world, point of departure: Rotterdam. A significant part of Europe’s migration history has passed through Europe’s biggest port. One of its most known shipping companies and some of the buildings of that time remind us of a past yet not forgotten. On the left bank of the city by the river the Maas, one of the silent witnesses of the European exodus, still stands as a landmark of history. The building that served as
offices of the Holland-Amerika Lijn some 90 years ago, was in 1993 converted into a 72 room Hotel and Restaurant; ‘Hotel New York’. The building itself carries a powerful history. In 1902 the Holland-Amerika Lijn bought it and converted it into a migrant hotel, to combat the high costs of hostels and the poor sanitary conditions elsewhere in the city. It later became the head office of the shipping company. For ten years –between 1983 and 1993- the edifice stood still, empty, waiting to serve travelers as it had done in the past. Today you can go there, sip your coffee and look over the water to the cranes and chimneys of the world’s largest harbour. The city’s involvement in immigration started as early as the 1620’s, when a group of English people left for America from Delftshaven –formally a part of Delft,
now the oldest part of Rotterdam- after having fled to The Netherlands as a result of their religious convictions. Rotterdam assumed a prominent role in migrant transport with the foundation of the Holland America Line. Within its first 25 years, the company owned a fleet of six cargo and passenger ships, and provided shipping and passenger services between Holland and the Dutch East Indies via the newly constructed Suez Canal. The line was a principal carrier of immigrants from Europe to the United States until well after the turn of the century, carrying 850,000 people -mostly Eastern Europeans- to new lives in the New World. They took their shabby bundles, packages and other possessions, but also their common dreams. These kept them going during the long and often arduous journey as “steerage” (between decks passenger) to the New York haven.
Social dinner at Cruise Terminal
Culinary island hopping
Religious persecution is since long a thing of the past. However, the Holland America Line still breaths, full of life. The year 2003 marked its 130th anniversary, having transported over 10 million passengers to more than 280 ports in all 5 continents. However, in 1971 the company put an end to its historical roll of the Atlantic voyages. The grand ss Nieuw Amsterdam of 1938, the “Darling of the Dutch,” closed out the company’s 98 years of transatlantic service. If you walk the Rotterdam waterfront it’s almost impossible to feel the anxiety, desperation, hope and anticipation that once permeated the harbour atmosphere. Rotterdam’s piers nowadays combine residential, business, shopping and entertainment purposes. They provide a perfect setting for the rush of the city life. But most importantly, they remind us of a history of travelers, looking for a better fate across the sea. They are our link to the past. And if you allow yourself to take a break and sit on one of the many benches along the river you can close your eyes and drift away to the deep blue sea. An endless ocean of possibilities. Like it has always been and will remain for ever.
What do travelling, sports and theatre have in common? Well, for starters people can be really passionate about them. Besides that, those were the themes at the social dinner yesterday night, at the Cruise Terminal. Three beautifully decorated rooms were the scenery for more than a thousand guests. The sports island, decorated with baseball bats, tennis rackets and hockey sticks had a stage in the middle where a performer played with any kind of ball the history of sports has known till today. Most guests in this room were men, who enjoyed of the company of the few women who curiously enough chose sports as their main interest. “I think the idea is simply great. Having the possibility to talk to colleagues from all over Europe about common interests makes the atmosphere much more relaxed” says John Keegan, a police officer from Dublin. The theatre island, decorated by mannequins dressed in long blue velvet dresses and medieval looking chandeliers, was filled by round tables which overlooked at the water. Waiters were dressed in full black, carrying trays back and forth. The music was a mix of classical and melodic and the smell of
the food was just driving every guest into delirium. A man playing the accordion went around every table, offering a warm background sound to the guests. Finally, the travel island was represented by the flags of every member state while old suitcases and wild plants hanged from every corner. The ambiance was the most festive, with a band of Mariachis singing ‘serenatas’ to every table. “I think the idea is marvelous. I came here knowing only one person and can spend a beautiful evening with a group of people from Sweden, Finland and France” says Siim Sarapuu, a project manager from Estonia. The menu was the same for all guests, regardless of the room. Appetizers were served in what the French call ‘etagiere’ in order to encourage interaction among visitors. The main dishes were served in a buffet form and included a gratin of potatoes, season vegetables, white fish, mussels and braised beef in red wine sauce. After wining and dinning, the theatre island was cleared to give room to the dance floor. Who said public administrators didn’t know how to have fun? ISSUE 4
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So there you are on the last day of this conference. A few more hours and 3QC will be a thing of the past. We tried to talk to as many of you as humanly possible to find out what you think of the Rotterdam conference, your passions and your dreams. See if you made it to the pages of this last Q-Note. And if not, don’t be disappointed, in two years time you’ll have another chance when we reunite in Finland.
On the move to 4QC Katju Holkeri is Counsellor of the Public Management Department of the Finnish Ministry of Finance. She’s looking forward to organizing the forth Quality Conference. In two years time the major theme will be ‘Building Sustainable Quality’. “Quality is not something you talk about for one year and then abandon the subject. It’s something that has to be on everyones agenda
continuously.
Offcourse
there
will be plenty of sub themes but we’re still working on them. Juhani Turunen, the Director General of the Finnish Ministry of Finance, who is taking over the ‘Flame of Quality’ from his Dutch colleague Rob Kuipers is going to present them in the beginning of next year.” One thing that’s certain is that organizing 4QC will be a cooperation between Finnish counterparts on all levels but also between all European member states. “So I invite you all to pencil the 27th, 28th and 29th of September 2006 in your diaries,”, says Katju Holkeri, ‘and meet again in Tampere, Finland!”
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Crossing Architectural Borders
In the new millennium, the information society is a fact. Distances have decreased; borders and boundaries slowly evaporate. Globalization not only has its impact on corporate business, but also on art and architecture. Rem Koolhaas, most famous Rotterdammer, renowned Dutch architect, author and professor at Harvard University, has never been too bothered by national borders. Travel Europe and cross the Atlantic and follow the trail of a true architectural cosmopolitan. Or, simply make use of your stay in Rotterdam and enjoy the top cuisine of architectural dishes.
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t seems to be common knowledge among students of architecture, that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to classify Koolhaas by connecting him to one particular architectural stream. He has been influenced and inspired by many, yet, these influences have resulted in a unique style, that is clearly his own. A ‘metropolitan style’ would be the most suitable categorization. Koolhaas is fascinated and attracted by large cities, anywhere on this
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globe. He invented a type of architecture that concentrates on the chaotic, hectic and unrestrained character of the Metropolis. Koolhaas intellectually translates the image of an American Metropolis into a meaningful European image. His analysis has gained him the appreciation of the European Union. On 13 September, just your arrival in Rotterdam, Koolhaas and his Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) will open the exhibition ‘The image of Europe’ in cooperation with the European Union. The exhibition will be on display in Brussels, the ‘hometown’ of the European Commission.
If Brussels is too far away and yet, you feel tempted to take a shot at analyzing Rem Koolhaas’ architectural style and work, you should seize the opportunity of your stay in Rotterdam and have a proper go at that! The city of Rotterdam is the proud possessor of the ‘Kunsthal’ (Hall of Arts), a museum that is located in Museumpark. One side
of the building faces Westzeedijk, which is a typical Rotterdam street with plenty of traffic, large offices and industrial buildings. The rear of the museum faces Museumpark. This strong contrast between nature and urbanization has been incorporated in the design of the building. Several organic structures and materials mark the rear, whereas the front blends seamlessly into the urban atmosphere. In fact, it was this building that put Koolhaas on the map of renowned international architects. The so-called ‘Magic Box’, as the director of the Kunsthal, Wim Pijbes likes to call his museum, brought Koolhaas the international fame he most definitely deserves. Yet, the Kunsthal is most certainly not the only architectural tour de force in Rotterdam. Rotterdam is a way one big architectural playground. Due to the bombardments in the Second World War, there is room in abundance for architectural explorations. Room, in sense of space, but also in sense of mentality. The fact that the whole city centre was demolished within a short period of time, has led to a new feeling of optimism: a willingness and eagerness to move forward. Innovations are embraced, rather than held back due to nostalgia or sentimentalism. The city never seems to be quite ‘finished’. Construction sites are part of the Rotterdam view. They are symbols of a city that develops continuously.
World trip: follow in Rem Koolhaas’ footsteps
Of course Koolhaas’ work is not the only architecture that made Rotterdam famous amongst the lovers of fine building design. Revolutionary styles like the ‘Cube Houses’ by Piet Blom or Renzo Piano’s leaning KPN building are competing for attention with other examples of modern architectural insight. Here’s an arbitrary choice of what Rotterdam has on offer:
Kubus woningen (Cube shaped houses) An example of postwar modern architecture, are the 39 eye-catching Cube shaped Houses, established in the heart of Rotterdam. Designed by a Dutch architect Piet Blom, these houses are built on concrete pillars. Blom’s idea was to create a village where several functions, such as small scale business, shops, pubs and living space, are integrated. Why not take an architectural worldtrip just by following the steps taken by Rem Koolhaas. Start in the year 2008 and fly to the Asian continent. Stay in the capital and while enjoying the Beijing Olympics, visit the Headquarters for the Central Chinese Television, designed by Koolhaas. After the games you continue your trip towards Japan, where you could visit a complex of 24 individual houses in Fukuoka. Knock on a door and have a look at the way Rotterdam’s most famous architect has designed their construction. After the visit you cross the Asian/American border by flying to Los Angeles, California. There you visit the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), already nicknamed as Koolhaas’ ‘Cool House’. The long flight may trigger your appetite for some serious reading. Take a plane to Seattle and have a read in the Public Library which coincidentally is also designed by Koolhaas. There you can borrow the frequently discussed publication of Koolhaas, ‘Delirious New York; a retroactive manifesto for Manhattan’ and get a clear picture of the architect’s vision. Afterwards return to Europe to arrive at Paris Airport and get a cabdriver to take you to the ‘Villa dall’Ava’, a floating glass box with a swimming pool on the roof. Go and grab your swimming gear and jump into another remarkable Koolhaas design. Being in the ‘neighbourhood’ why not go to Lille; European Capital of 2004, and make sure you visit the ‘Congrexpo’ a new city situated in the middle of the old town and, as you may have guessed by now, designed by Koolhaas. By now your energy level may have dropped to sub zero so it’s time return home. Filled with images and impressions of huge metropolitan constructions.
Rotterdam library Rotterdam library, situated next to the Cube Houses, stands out because of the pyramid-like shape: eight diminishing floors with yellow tubes around the building. This unique building built in 1983 has a great view across the city.
Blaak tower This tower, also designed by Piet Blom is a next example of post ware modern architecture. It is an apartment constructed in 1984 and has 15 floors. It attracts attentions by the pointed roof. That’s why in popular speech it’s generally referred to as ‘Het Potlood’ which means ‘The Pencil’. KPN building “Belvedère”, the first building on the Wilhelmina Pier is the district office of the Dutch telephone company KPN. Its high-tech style represents the industrial approach of architecture. Renzo Piano’s fine piece of work, whose entire sloped front façade, consists of a giant animated electronic signboard. Villa Sonneveld Situated next door to the Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAI) in Rotterdam is the Sonneveld House. Sonneveld House is one of the best surviving houses built in the Dutch Functionalist style. A.H. Sonneveld, one of the three directors of Van Nelle, commissioned the design of a detached house for his family in 1929.
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Nikiforos Diamandouros knows what democracy is. Not only because his ancestors were the first ones to put this concept into practice, but because it is his job to help citizens realise this matter today. During his first year in office he has visited twenty seven out of the thirty one countries represented during this conference, in the attempt to upgrade the relationship between citizens and public administrations.
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“As an ombudsman it is my job to make sure that administrations are there to serve their people and not the other way around” said Diamandouros before taking participants to a walk through the history of ‘the people’s defendant’. The word ombudsman originates in Sweden, the first country to have one in 1809. His job was to control the legality of the actions of State officials and it was soon applied in countries such as Finland and Denmark. Later on, States like Norway, France, New Zealand, UK, Spain, Portugal and Greece adapted the concept to tackle citizens’ problems with their administrations. Today the ombudsman’s job stands on three basic principles: controlling the legality of administration processes, monitoring good administrations and investigating and correcting ‘mal administrations’ while making sure human rights are respected at all times. The benefit of the ombudsman role is that it cannot make legally binding decisions, which places this civil servant outside the rigid regulations courts are limited by. In addition, this role costs less money and works faster than the legal system. ”The judicial structure provides a winner and a looser, while it is in the ombudsman’s interest to find the best solution for both the administration and the people” argues Diamandouros.
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No news in ‘Dog bites man’. A debate about negative media coverage.
Taking the people’s side
Man bites Dog: fact or fiction?
Public service is struggling with its image. According to some, this is due to a lot of negative media attention, which in turn influences the citizen’s perceptions. Yesterday’s Agora analyzed the different perspectives. Debaters were Prof. Daniele Comboni of Communication Sciences, Mr. Leszek Mellibruda, consultant of a Polish programme of building organisation image, and Mr. Aidan White, General Secretary of the European Federation of Journalists. The first proposition, made by Mr. Comboni was that public service PR is a process of permanent crisis management, and that to the media; bad news makes good news. The angle from the debaters in favour was that media today have a commercial interest; they want to sell their paper to a specific public. They do not merely serve to inform ‘the citizen’; instead they have a reader audience to please and a profit to make out of giving information. The media are no service, but an industry. Newsworthiness is what counts to journalists, which may well imply that when it comes to facts, the negative facts will be published sooner than the positive achievements made by civil service. According to Mr. Leszek Mellibruda, image is formed by direct contacts with citizens and (equally important) the information provided by media. He had some reservations about the
media attention for positive achievements of public service. Journalist Aidan White was vehement in his counter-argument that the view that news is based on the sole criteria ‘man bites dog’ is too simplistic. He stated that a PR approach based on permanent crisis management would imply a defensive and undesirable attitude. Instead, according to Mr. White, journalists should be regarded as neutral and impartial observers with a great responsibility. In fact, he claimed that journalism is a public service. “Do you really think that journalists sit in their office everyday, thinking; what can we do to make their lives miserable?” He explained that journalists depend a great deal on information originating from PR departments. The difficulty with that is that a journalist needs to sure if the source is reliable and accurate. Additionally, he said that the fact is that people are not really interested in statistics about all the good things done by civil service, as important as it may be. According to Aidan White, commercial interest and the mission to inform are always balanced. He admitted that European journalism faces some issues, and is currently under attack in several countries, yet, both public service and media need to be aware of a common cause.
Jim Rogers, moneyman, Europe lover and cosmopolitan talks about diversity and identity
The Indiana Jones of Investing Jim Rogers was nicknamed “the Indiana Jones of Investing” by Time Magazine and invited last May by Anthony Burgmans, President of the European Round Table and CEO of Unilever, to participate in a television debate. Together with Swiss historian/economist Marc Faber, they addressed several issues related to the extension of the European Union. Rogers is famous for his search for new markets and his nose for investment opportunities. Recently, Q Note’s editorial staff asked Jim some questions.
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COLUMN
I am going to put you on speaker if you don’t mind, I’m exercising!” says Jim Rogers when I phone him for an interview. We briefly talk about his recent world trip. He and his wife travelled 116 countries and gained a lot of impressions about the great variety of cultures and customs. The main thing Rogers concludes after his journey is that the world is a thriving and wonderful place. Luckily, he was unbothered by any serious culture shocks. “I adapt easily and the only thing it takes is respect for other people and the way they live. We’re all alike; we all want our children to be prosperous and happy. Of course, differences exist, I mean, in some countries women are completely covered; my wife adapted and covered herself as well. Yet, underneath we are all the same.” When asked about the current developments within the European Union
and the discussion whether we should strive for one European identity, he firmly states: “it is simply impossible to inflict one unity on something as big as Europe. The EU should focus on free trade and free migration, rather than impose rules and legislation aiming to streamline countries into one European entity”. He predicts that this is in his view not only unachievable but may well lead to resentment within the member states. “That would be a tragedy. These things have to go naturally.” says Rogers. He argues that making the role of the EU too political would be a mistake. When make a comparison to the United States, he responds: “It has taken the US hundreds of years to build its identity and it involved tragedies such as a civil war, and taking away land from the native people. All in all; it implicated a lot of bloodshed.” Rogers is a strong supporter of globalisation and averse of any protectionism. Worries
Intercultural communication
Humbug or hotdog?
Three hundred and fortyeight thousand entries on yahoo. Nine hundred and twenty-one books related to the subject available from Amazon. Intercultural Communication is clearly successful in gaining attention and asserting a literary profile. So do the proliferation in consultants, gurus and mere advisers willing to advise you or your company on how best you can ‘maximize the potential’ of your ‘diverse’ workforce have a worthwhile message to tell? Are you convinced of the benefits? Do you recognize
the value-added? Will you be happy to allocate resource? I thought not. What is it really all about? As an Englishman who has lived in the Netherlands for the past six years with a Slovenian wife and a four year old daughter born in Rotterdam my own personal intercultural communication experience has been what the management books would define as ‘handson’ practice. In reality, the hands have sometimes been up, frequently down and on occasions shaking all about. Of course anecdotes about
communication ‘challenges’ thrown up by such circumstances abound. Stereotypes can offer short cuts to illinformed ‘analysis’: “Brits are very reserved.” “Those Dutch are very blunt.” “Don’t believe anything a ... tells you.” Fill in the dots and see where your prejudices lie. My own favorite true story concerns the visit of the English in-laws to be of a prospective Dutch bride. The Dutch bride recognizing the importance of hospitality to her English visitors enquires on their arrival “would you would like a cup of tea?” to which the response
Jim Rogers has recently completed his Millennium Trip, travelling 250.000 kilometres, 116 countries, hereby gaining a Guinness World Record. His findings and experiences have been documented in his latest book ‘Adventure Capitalist’.
about loss of jobs due to cheap labour in other countries are from his point of view irrational. “Protectionism eventually leads to a greater loss of jobs. If there is free migration, people can simply move to where the jobs are. Once you start protecting your country’s citizens, in the end, you basically do not allow them to adapt to the changing circumstances. Ultimately, more people will loose their jobs, simply because it is a development that cannot be stopped. Throughout history, people have applied protectionism and it has never worked! The sooner they adapt, the fewer people will face the need to adapt”.
is “yes please, if you’re making one.” Three hours later the visit has gone extremely well even though the expected cup of tea has never materialized. As she leaves, the English motherin-law gently rebukes her new Dutch relation for this omission to be answered with the comment that the request was conditional on “if you’re making one, which to be perfectly honest I wasn’t.” I sometimes wonder whether I could have benefited from the type of advice available to the corporate world and transferred business communication theory to my own private existence. Would a course in Metaphor and Cognition (A cross cultural study of indigenous and universal constructs) have helped me to convince my daughter of the superior
qualities of the British chip over the Dutch patat? I doubt it. Would bedtime reading of Culture and Technology in the New Europe: Civic Discourse in Transformation in Post-socialist Nations help bridge the gap between my wife’s appreciation of Barbara Jaki (check her out) and my own? I wonder. The metaphorical fence I choose to sit on oscillates between its twin foundation posts which can perhaps best be described as vive la difference and Little Englander and yes it can be uncomfortable at times. Nevertheless, pain and pleasure are concepts that any product of the English public school system will have had to get used to early in his life!
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Enjoy the view of Rotterdam’s river Maas
Rotterdam by Water
As part of 3QC’s partner programme, guests were invited to explore the city of Rotterdam by water. Hardly a surprise, considering the fact that Rotterdam has the biggest port in the world, which makes it highly accessible by various waterways. Whether it is by water taxi, spido boat or even by pancake boat, you can always find an aquatic means of transportation to suit your needs. Yesterday, the members of the partner programme of the 3QC got the opportunity to try out two of the aforementioned peculiarities. But what they didn’t know is that the members of the Q-Note staff took a head start to trial out the route. The actual wet part of the journey began from Delfshaven at the Watertaxi stop called Schiemond. Watertaxi as it is called in Dutch, was navigated by Jan, a man of few words. “I normally work on an inland ship, but my work is only every other week so I do this as a kind of a hobby”, he says. We ask him if he feels privileged to be able to enjoy the beauty of Rotterdam’s water ways on a regular basis, but he turns us down explaining that it is the only way he knows Rotterdam and to him it is quite normal. The noise of the water taxi surprises us, as we’re sitting in the open air section right above the motor, but we quickly forget it and start enjoying the speed instead.
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Our next stop is the Spido boat harbour right by the famous Erasmus Bridge. Whereas the watertaxi is mainly intended for transportation purpose, the Spido satisfies another need; relaxation. Aboard, you can wine and dine at the restaurant, or take pleasure in sipping a refreshing drink on dock under the September sun. Spido is ideal for sightseeing and an advisable alternative for discovering Rotterdam by water. However, there is yet a sweeter way of cruising along the river Maas and this is to board the pancake boat, more commonly known as the Pannekoekenboot, in the lingua of the Low Countries. You can find the Pannekoekenboot adjacent to the Euromast, when it’s not busy touring the river Maas. But actually, to ensure that people can always get their sweets, these delicious liners work in pairs. While one is on the move the other resides flanking the Euromast, and whether it’s tied to the pier or out in the open, the supply of pancakes and drinks never ends. The Q-Note reporters enjoyed their afternoon on the water. But what did the participants of the partner programme think? Several guests said that they were impressed by the architecture visible from the river. Thankfully, the Dutch weather didn’t put a spoke in their wheels. An enthusiastic participant concludes: “It was fast, fun and exciting and the view was great!”
Tables and chairs. The tinkle of glasses. Several people taking a seat and having a chat. Others order a drink at the counter nearby. It sounds like a café. And it is, but not the average café you might be used to: the Interaction Café. The interior reminds one of a talk show. Huib Vissers and Michel Walvisch interview the stars of the 3QC Documentary ‘Faces of Quality’. “John, where are you?” Obviously, the session couldn’t begin without John, head teacher in Swansea, United Kingdom and part of the real life cast. Thankfully, he did show up. He had the first chance to tell something about his work. “The look on the children’s faces is what drives me“. While John tells his story, the audience is still trickling in. “I just finished the session with Yves Cannac”, was one of the apologies. ‘Café’ is a good word for this corner. The atmosphere is informal and quite relaxed. Participants and hosts get along nicely. Nice conversations and plenty room for jokes. John: “They picked me as a star because I look like Brad Pitt!” But also the audience is enjoying itself. Spectators are attentive and take occasional pictures. Alain is street sweeper in Paris, France. A long time ago, he made a conscious choice for his job and that still motivates him everyday. Host Michel Walvisch casually enquires after Alain’s little secret that almost passed unnoticed in the documentary; “My tattoos? I got them when I was in the army,” says Alain.
Interaction Café From Paris we’re moving to Poland. Henryka is head of the Tax Office in Sierpc. The hosts who also made the video explain: “We were deeply touched by the hospitality of Henryka and her specific way of managing people”. Henryka’s face shines: “Our office is open to the public and we’ve received an award for the friendliest administration of Poland.” While she’s talking about her work, her colleagues nod their approval and give her applause. Guests present thanked John, Alain and Henryka for allowing them to take a peek into their lives and their work. Q-Note decided to ask more people what they thought of the documentary. Imandra Galandere-Zile from Latvia said “I liked John! He was so natural.” Jens Madsen from Denmark: “I only saw the intro, but I think it’s nice! It’s good to see how they get their job done. All the participants were given a copy of the documentary, so the first thing I’ll do when I go home is see the whole film. Then I can see if it’s interesting for my colleagues as well. “ Frank Ruus from Norway: “The documentary is well connected to the conference. Yesterday with the opening, the it was definitely a good start. When I’m back in Norway, I want to introduce this movie at work. I don’t have a preference for someone; I like all the people in the documentary.”