As an international living in The Hague for a total of 15 years now, I find it important to stay in touch with the international community, and attending this and other expat events helps to do that. It was well worth spending a few hours of my Saturday to catch up with some old connections and meet some new, all in the lovely location of the Grote Kerk.
Traditionally, the word “expats” meant those who came to The Netherlands for a work assignment for a few years, and can still refer to this group. However I also like that over the years, this has come to also mean those, such as myself, who are living here longer term.
It can be difficult to integrate fully into Dutch society if you didn’t grow up here. Having services that cater for the needs of expats, and being able to speak to representatives in English helps a lot to feel more at home here, no matter how long you’ve lived here.
A huge THANK YOU to the organisations who realise that.
Here’s a few of my favourite services for expats or internationals in The Hague who were present:
DutchNews.nl
Robin & Molly are familiar faces at most expat events, and all year round, the Dutch News team delivers high-quality news in English. They also have in depth coverage of the upcoming election.
Volunteer The Hague
Tetyana and her team work hard to provide a platform for English-language volunteering opportunities in The Hague. Coming up in 2 weeks is their own Mix and Match event, and I’m looking forward to giving a talk about LinkedIn there.
https://www.volunteerthehague.nl
ACCESS
Deborah and the wonderful team of volunteers at ACCESS have supported English-speakers in The Netherlands for more than 35 years.
Goodie Bag
I try to limit the amount of paper and go digital, but do still end up bringing some flyers home, along with a few other goodies like keyrings.
See you next year?
For full information take a look at the IAMEXPAT website.
Zestee 
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