Skansen Kronan was the perfect starting point for the walk & talk on King's Day on 27 April. Overlooking the city of Gothenburg we shared a toast to celebrate king Willem-Alexander.

Karin Forss, key account manager from KLM, gave us an insight on how the royal Dutch Airlines was founded little over 100 years ago. From the very start the company was privileged to call itself royal, which is unique. We learned about how the company operated during Covid-19, how business is back to the same levels as in 2019 and how they make travelling by air more sustainable.

The fact that Willem-Alexander is a pilot at KLM is no secret but still nice to know. We just wondered which name he uses when he announces updates from the cockpit. All participants were handed over a goody bag with many useful products for future (business)trips. 

Thank you Karin Forss for sharing your enthusiasm for KLM and joining us on the royal walk via Kungsparken, Viktoriabron, Kungstorget, Kungsgatan, Hotel Royal, Drottningtorget, Scandic Crown Hotel to café ’t Amsterdammertje where the celebrations for the king continued.

Join us for our next walk & talk on Wednesday the 8th of June - Explore Gothenburgs' (under)water world.  

/Team West

On April 12 our Dutch country leader for Signify Sweden Rob van Brunschot warmly welcomed us to show the ‘extraordinary potential of light’ on life. The impact of light is often unknown and underestimated. Not anymore for those who joined the impressive presentation and well-organized tour around the state-of-the-art lighting solutions in the new Signify office in Stockholm. 
 
From indoor navigation with your smartphone via the light inside buildings, to tailored 3D printed lamps, to fast, reliable internet via light (LiFi), experience natural but artificial daylight indoors, to syncing lights perfectly to TV, music and games.
 
Thank you, Rob van Brunschot & his enthusiastic team for this extraordinary experience!
 
 /Team Stockholm

The Dutch Chamber celebrates 20 years of networking this year and this inspired us to interview former board members who were active in the founding period of the Chamber. We start off with Jasper van Dorrestein, former trade officer at The Netherlands embassy.

​How did you get involved with the Dutch Chamber and what was your role? 
Working for the Netherlands Embassy trade department, we noticed a need for Dutch entrepreneurs to congregate and rely on a pivotal point to meet with fellow professional country(wo)men and Swedish business counterparts. As a trade officer, I happened to be in the fortunate position to welcome many Dutch corporate professionals as well as entrepreneurs in Sweden and built an extensive network. 
It eventually ensued in forming the Dutch Chamber, together with a team of great people (the first Executive Board, Advisory Board and the Regional Managers): the founders of the Chamber with a total of 22 volunteers in seven subsidiary offices in Sweden and the Netherlands. 
 
What were the challenges faced during the first starting period of the DC?
Any new entity needs to create its place in a trade promoting constellation that, at that point, logically considers itself to be sufficient to its potential audience. It’s been a challenge to earn our birthright, convincing all parties, target audience and authorities involved of the Chamber’s right of existence and reason to be, its purpose and give evidence that there’s sufficient critical mass to found it. Today’s position of the Chamber proves that we weren’t totally wrong at the time and ‘were out and cycling’. 
 
What were your best memories from that period?
Undoubtedly, the very moment that I witnessed the Swedish Ambassador in the Netherlands and the Netherlands Ambassador to Sweden literally tied the knot on stage, marking the starting moment and recognition of the Chamber, with all 22 volunteers on stage and the Embassy ballroom full of some 150 supporting attendees. I extremely much enjoyed the passionate atmosphere and driven energy with all founders involved at the time, the great inspiring fun meetings we’ve had and the many good moments we spent together working at something great. Sounds a bit American, but that’s how we all lived it, I think. I’m also very grateful to the people and good friends that over the years presided over the Chamber, making it prosper.
 
What do you do nowadays?
After my unforgettable eight years in Sweden, I moved to work for the embassy in Brussels and ten years ago was asked to found the Netherlands Business Support Office in Barcelona for our Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Having helped many companies over the years and building the professional network, becoming an international Business Development consultant was a given. I currently work as VP Global Sales for Rojo Consultancy, a Dutch IPaaS/software company with HQ in Breukelen, but based on the beach of Castelldefels, nearby our Barcelona branch office.  
​I’m a proud father of two 100% Dutch + 100% Swedish children of which one will assume her career with the Swedish Chamber in the Netherlands this Summer. In that respect, I can’t think of a more elegant and remarkable completion of the Swedish-Dutch trade promoting circle. 

​/M.N.