Volt Gelderland on the Road: Work Visits in October

War rights exhibition
Elmar and David attended the opening of the exhibition on the law of war at Loevestein Castle on 26 September.

The exhibition shows how international agreements and rules, laid down in treaties, books and testimonies, should offer protection to the most vulnerable. At the same time, the exhibition makes it clear how topical this subject still is.

The opening was attended by, among others, the director of Médecins Sans Frontières, Karel Hendriks, and the director of the Red Cross, Harm Goossens, who spoke about how the laws of war are still being violated today.

David: ‘As a province, we subsidise the organisers of the exhibition, and it is important to see what happens with that contribution. Both the shot-up Ukrainian ambulance and the film by Introdans left a deep impression.’

Looking back on the IPO Congress
Europe sometimes seems far away, but the choices made there affect Gelderland every day. That is why Dennis, Noël and David travelled to the heart of European democracy, Brussels, at the beginning of October.

The Interprovincial Consultation (IPO) represents the interests of the twelve provinces and strengthens cooperation with the European Union.

During the conference, David took part in a panel discussion. The panel discussion was about representing the interests of the provinces in the EU. He mainly explained his perspective as a member of the Provincial Council:

David: "It is important for the province to be represented in Brussels. The national government has its own interests to represent, which means it cannot represent everything on behalf of the provinces. It also sometimes has other interests. Input from the province is particularly valuable when EU policy is being made, rather than when everything is already finalised or has even been implemented. If we want something as provinces, we have to put it on the agenda with that perspective in mind and also keep a close eye on what is coming up. I do my best to do that, especially as Volter, but I also see that it is a challenge to be aware of everything. That is why I am glad that we also have broad outlines that the House of Dutch Provinces presents for us."

In addition to the panel, there were several interesting sessions to attend. Noël attended a session on how to exert influence as a Member of the States in Europe, and Dennis was given a tour of the European quarter by two experienced lobbyists. They explained how lobbying works and the influence of lobbying on decision-making.

Circulair Gelderland
Elmar visited the Circular Centre Netherlands and Lagemaat, a pioneer in circular construction, with a delegation from the Gelderland Provincial Council.

Lagemaat is one of the largest demolition companies in the Netherlands and is extremely innovative. They can currently dismantle a building and rebuild it elsewhere.

Lagemaat can also dismantle a building and reuse the materials. Lagemaat develops new applications for materials that cannot be used in regular construction. Extremely fascinating. Unfortunately, the major construction companies are not yet willing to take the plunge and only a few architects are willing to give it a try.

Elmar: ‘This is really a transition that is still in its infancy. That is why the Circular Centre Netherlands was established, to accelerate the transition to circular construction. And it will certainly succeed!’