ROTARY IN THE NETHERLANDS

In the seventeenth century, the Dutch laid the basis of their present-day wealth with the first multinational trading company. With their ships, they visited the Far East and the West, Scandinavia as well as Africa and South America. As worldwide traders, they developed a kind of tolerance for foreigners and their way of life. With the money earned through trade, they purchased paintings and music compositions and they built the large canal houses that still stand in Amsterdam and other cities. They began fighting the water that dominated the land, and many lakes were pumped dry so that fertile soil could be established for agriculture such as cattle farms. To maintain the water level in the polders, an extensive system of collaborative boards and working groups were put up. This system, based on mutual agreement about the water-household, lends its name to the way many things in the Netherlands are arranged via the "Poldermodel. Collaboration and respect for other ideas and culture used to be fundamental to life in the Netherlands. This fundamental approach still underlies society and its laws but is under pressure in recent years.

In the Netherlands people speak Dutch, but most people speak English when necessary. You will find yourself in another climate, and you will talk daily about the weather, just like all real Dutch people do! You will eat what the Dutch eat and you'll miss the food that you have enjoyed at home. However, you will come to enjoy Dutch delicacies such as "stroopwafels", “hagelslag” “pindakaas” and our "vla." Bicycling is second nature for the Dutch, as normal as walking or riding in a car, and you will join them on your bike. Most importantly, you will be introduced to a different lifestyle and you will participate in that way of life. You will notice that time is time and the agenda rules the days. Costs of living are high. Although salaries are relatively high, and the so called Big Mac Index is relatively low, very rich people are rare in these days.

Rotary started in the Netherlands in 1923 with the first club in Amsterdam. Gradually, but mostly after World war II, the number of clubs increased to about 475 clubs with more than 20.000 members nowadays. For obvious reasons the Rotary community is divided in seven districts, with each district divided in regions with about eight clubs.

Although each district is autonomous with its own Governor, District Board and District Committees, the seven district work together in many respects. Each of the seven Governors is the link to one of the Multidistrict committees or to one of the joint activities. These committees follow the line of the four avenues like Vocational service, International with inter-country committees and Youth Exchange, and so on. The seven districts have one central administration in Amsterdam where membership and financial aspects are taken care of and where Governors can get assistance for some administrative tasks.

Clubs have their specific projects for local or international community service. Some community projects are multi districts wise organized like the Rotary Doctors Bank, giving medical aid abroad where appropriate and “Job-Rotary”, founded to reintegrate middle aged people that lost their job involuntarily. Many water projects and projects related to improving health and education are collaborative efforts of clubs in region, district or multidistrict.

In general membership of Rotary clubs start at an age of well above 40, where the professional dare to share his/her time between obligations in the job and family with obligations in Rotary.

Jack Groot

For a clickable map of the District 1580 go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Holland