EUNIC Netherlands

DutchCulture actively collaborates with its European "cousins in cultural relations" in the EUNIC network. We team up with the EUNIC Netherlands cluster for specific events highlighting the value of European cultural exchange. This Dutch cluster of EUNIC groups together European national cultural institutes or other cultural representations collaborate around the globe. EUNIC Netherlands aims to complement the national role and the cultural programmes of its members with a European and collaborative component.

It mobilizes its network to stimulate meaningful cultural and artistic relations between the Dutch cultural field and European peers, and promotes long-lasting and sustainable creative exchange. In the period 2024-2027, the cluster aims to:

• commit to sustainable international cultural collaboration and stimulate creative climate action
• stand with the cultural sector for fairness, (gender) equality and inclusion in cultural collaborations
• strengthen the cluster’s internal dynamics, creating synergies and broadening its reach.

Since 2009, DutchCulture has been permanently represented on EUNIC's board by a Secretary, forming a solid link between our organisation and the many members of the cluster.

Current Board
President: Eve Reincke (Embassy of Estonia)
Vice-President: Viola Karsten (Goethe-Institut)
Secretary: Simon de Leeuw (DutchCulture)
Treasurer: Hana Schenková (Czech Centre)

Members of EUNIC Netherlands work wherever there is a common interest and an opportunity aligning with the four-year strategy. A permanent board consisting of a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, and Treasurer is tasked with the governance, leading and expanding the cluster and obtaining its objectives. They oversee the annual membership payments, as members contribute annually through a small fee. Among other things, the costs for an internship can be covered from this common budget which helps to achieve administrative tasks. Participation of members in working groups is encouraged and different coalitions of members work together simultaneously.

The following representations are a Full Member of EUNIC Netherlands:

Alliance Française Pays-Bas
Czech Centre Rotterdam
DutchCulture
Goethe-Institut Niederlande
Istituto Italiano di Cultura Amsterdam
Embassy of Austria
Embassy of Cyprus
Embassy of Estonia in the Hague
Embassy of Hungary
Embassy of the Republic Ireland
Embassy of the Republic of Malta
Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia
Embassy of Spain
The Finnish Cultural Institute for the Benelux
Institut Français des Pays-Bas
Instituto Cervantes Utrecht
Litouws Cultureel Centrum
Romanian Cultural Institute Brussels
Vlaams Cultuurhuis De Brakke Grond
 
The following organisations from non-EU countries are Associate Members of our cluster:

British Council
Embassy of Switzerland
Embassy of Ukraine
Yunus Emre Enstitüsü

Several times a year, the cluster joins forces for core EUNIC Netherlands projects. These longstanding events directly express our commitment to representing European cultural and linguistic diversity, and demonstrate the significance of European cultural exchange and collaboration. Currently these comprise the European Literature Night and the European Language Day, a Series of Lectures on Multilingualism and the FAIR P(L)AY Cycle.

European Literature Night
In many ways the highlight of the EUNIC Netherlands calendar, the European Literature Night brings together both celebrated authors and promising literary talents from all over Europe. The writers are invited to tackle a central theme in small panels, led by a moderator. There is room for debate, for the of reading excerpts, for monologues, and key-notes. The Night is a space for exploration, for understanding differences and recognizing similarities, in this way reimagining ‘Europeanness’ for both authors and audience. Thus, each year, the European Literature Night sketches an impressionist, fragmented and dynamic picture of the European literary landscape.

European Day of Languages
Each year on the 26th of September the European Day of Languages takes place, during which linguistic diversity is celebrated throughout Europe. As this event touches upon EUNIC Netherlands’ essential values, the cluster consistently organises activities for the EDL each year. This way EUNIC NL aims to both encourage awareness of European linguistic diversity, and stimulate language education.

FAIR P(L)AY
FAIR P(L)AY is a cycle of events initiated by the EUNIC-NL cluster focusing on fair practices in the cultural sector, aiming to discuss and implement new and existing ways of creating fair environments in terms of funding, remuneration, copyright, and mobility in Europe. It was supported by the EUNIC Global Cluster Fund round of 2022. Read some recommendations from our session at Dutch Design Week here.

A series of lectures on Multilingualism
EUNIC Netherlands in collaboration with the D-G for Translation of the European Commission has so far organised five lectures around multilingualism. During the lectures, always both experts and practitioners from the field and different European countries shared their thoughts and experiences. With these lectures, EUNIC NL aims to encourage people to think about bilingualism and multilingualism in different ways.