December 2024
My warmest wishes to all the friends and partners of the British Council in the Netherlands.
The British Council is the United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We work in 200 countries, connecting with 600 million people every year through programmes and services in the arts, English language, education and culture.
Our connections with the people of The Netherlands are strong and deep. In 1948 the UK and Dutch governments signed a Cultural Convention, to strengthen opportunities for people to connect through the arts, education and the English language. 80 years later we are still going strong! Over the past year, 15,000 young people have gained a British Council certified English language qualification, 6,000 people took part in our Five Films for Freedom Festival and the first cohort of young people have taken part in our Study Abroad Mentoring Programme.
There can be no doubt that the global challenges we are facing including conflict, rising inequality and the climate crisis mean that the need for people, organisations and nations to make quality connections is more important than it perhaps has ever been. Through our history and experience the British Council is uniquely placed to hold this important cultural space and to do it at scale.
Looking ahead, we will continue to do this by staying true to our values: quality, customer care and professionalism, but also through an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion focus across all our work. I am certain that we will continue creating and strengthening our bonds with the Dutch people by innovating and diversifying the ways that we engage with you for the years to come.
You can find much more information about all our work in Arts, Education and Exams and engage with us on our social media channels (Facebook and X). Whether you are discovering us for the first time or are a long-term friend, we hope you stay with us for many years to come.
Jennifer