AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS — For the tenth time now, Amsterdam is taking in a new batch of students from Curaçao, Aruba, Bonaire, Sint Maarten, Saba and Sint Eustatius. This year, the grand welcome will take place on Thursday, October 21. The 2020 event could not go ahead due to COVID-19 restrictions. That is why students who started university, HBO (University of Applied Sciences) or ROC (regional training centre) in 2020 are just as welcome.
The municipality of Amsterdam has been organising this official welcome since 2011. So, this year is the tenth anniversary, and it’ll be an extra festive edition. By organising this meeting, the municipality aims to give the students a good start. It takes quite some guts at such a young age to choose going abroad to study in the Netherlands, far away from home. It comes as no surprise that this is hard, but the students are very much looking forward to it and appear to be optimistically confident.
Diverse programme
Amsterdam is offering the young people a diverse welcome programme in the council chamber of Amsterdam City Hall. A delegation of the Amsterdam city government will be present, as will be Cabinet representatives of the Ministers Plenipotentiary of Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten. There will also be an info market for the students, where they can get help with all their queries on housing, studying and living in Amsterdam.
People shape the city
The Amsterdam City Council is hoping for the students to settle in and that they will contribute to the typical traits of Amsterdam. It’s wonderful to get something from the city, but it’s even more wonderful to give it something in return. It’s people who give the city its character: a place where everyone feels at home and likes to live.
Special connection
This year is the tenth time for the welcome to take place. It’s a lovely tradition the city is proud of. It underlines the special connection of the city with the Caribbean part of the kingdom.
Sign up for the welcome
Are you a student from the Caribbean who started studying in Amsterdam in 2020 or 2021? Sign up now via this link (students only!): https://welkomstudenten.evenementenorganisatie-amsterdam.nl/Q
| Meet Anton Erasmus!
Last August, in the run-up to the welcome, Tanja Fraai met up with a few Caribbean students. Exhausted from a long journey, but full of expectations of what is about to come. A new life, far away from home. It’s exciting, but also fun. One of those students is 19-year-old Aruban Anton Erasmus. He managed to find accommodation in a container house at the Zuiderzeeweg in the Amsterdam district Zeeburg. He has been busy painting and decorating during the first weeks. He’ll be studying International Business & Management at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. “I love Amsterdam, because of the hustle and bustle. Plus, I love the canals and the people that live here”, says Anton. “My goal is to pass my propaedeutic year. But I also want to make time to get to know new people – it’s not good to linger in the Caribbean circle only. Sports is a nice way of quickly meeting new people, so I want to pick up boxing at a club. And absolutely, I’d also like to see Ajax play. Christmas still seems far away, but time flies. I don’t think I’ll return to Aruba then, but stay in Amsterdam. Many students are saying it’s best to stay in the Netherlands for a year, to prevent you from getting homesick. I’ll also look for a job on the side. Maybe for a delivery service. I’ll buy a moped or a cheap bike for it, and I can use it for going to uni and exploring the city more.” |
Note to the editorial team (not to be released)
Information about the welcome on October 21 available via Tanja Fraai, email: info@tanjafraai.nl
Mobile: + 31 6 16 970 600 .
The meeting will take place provisionally. We observe all legal directives regarding COVID-19.
