Apart AND together
“Stand apart, so we can stand together”, I read on the display in the elevator that took me up to the 18th floor of 666, 3rdAve in New York City. With the roll-out of the vaccine against Covid-19 and the prospect of society and life opening-up at some point later this year, it is a grim reminder that we still have a long way to go.
But the second part of this call also provides meaning and purpose. “Stand together”, in combatting the virus. And standing together to comfort each other and look after one another. To those who have fallen ill to the virus or have lost loved ones. But also much broader to everyone around us. For we’re all affected in our daily lives. Still working remote, cut-off from our friends and family across the Atlantic, especially now with the severe lockdown in the Netherlands and additional travel restrictions.
We’ve had our fair share of retrospectives of and lessons-learned from the historical year of 2020. Here in the US, the combined effect of the pandemic, the Black Lives Matters movement and the extraordinarily intense election campaign with its dramatic after-play provided for an unprecedented and protracted sense of tension and stress.
One obvious lesson is that our outlook on the year ahead at its start is not necessarily in sink with what subsequently actually happens. Niels Bohr’s famous quote about the difficulty of prediction, “especially if it concerns the future”, bore hardly ever more meaning than in January 2020. In its Outlook on 2020, The Economist pondered on green capitalism becoming a rage and foresaw successful Tokyo Olympic Games. Its prediction of President Trump’s defeat in November was more accurate. Of course it is highly unfair to blame this great newspaper for missing the outbreak of the gravest pandemic in a century. And obviously I on my part cannot help but also look ahead to this year.
At the Consulate General, we prepare ourselves to exercise patience for the months ahead. Patience because we don’t see the tristate area opening-up significantly in the next few months. But we are also determined to find new ways to engage with our partners through virtual means. We are reaching out to Dutch and American businesses to facilitate connections and create opportunities. For instance through a series of webinars and meetings on off-shore wind energy in support of a group of Dutch companies. Or by accompanying successful Dutch start- and scale-ups, ready to take the step across the Atlantic. We assist them to find markets, capitol, talent and mentoring advice. Just as the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency - even in these testing times – continues to convince and invite American parties to invest in the Netherlands.
The transition to a virtual world has also not prevented us from engaging with American partners in arts and culture to promote the work of Dutch musicians, filmmakers, architects and artists and to promote Dutch cultural heritage across the US. Indeed, in some instances the digital setting has actually extended our reach to connect with a wider audience. Meanwhile, apart from a short spell at the start of the pandemic, our consular section has continued to provide services for the Dutch community.
Nothing beats real personal connections. We are hopeful that the combined effect of the measures of the new administration and the roll-out of the vaccination will provide for that return to in-person contact in the second part of this year. And nothing is more energizing for my colleagues and me at the Consulate than receiving delegations from the Netherlands and introducing them to our American and Dutch partners. Visiting representatives from business, civil-society and arts&culture bring talent, energy and stories of accomplishment and excellence.
All these qualities are prerequisites for actually making it in this extraordinary country. Something that so many members of the Netherland Club have accomplished. A return to in-person contact will allow me to finally meet so many more of you than I have been able to until now. I am truly excited and very much looking forward to actually literally stand together with you and hearing your stories.
Until that moment, I wish everyone a happy and above all a healthy 2021. Do stay safe!
Herman Quarles van Ufford
Consul General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in New York
February 1st, 2021
For the NLCLUB.NYC