Please find below information about upcoming events in March 2022.
Latest Travel Advice for the Netherlands
After an almost 2 year lockdown travel is back on the agenda! At the time of publishing this newsletter, Australia is still listed as a very High Risk country by the European Union. This means that the European travel ban is still applicable for travelers from Australia: people from Australia can only travel to the Netherlands under certain conditions.
There are exemptions to the EU entry ban if you meet the conditions. For example being fully vaccinated and people who are a national of an EU or Schengen area country. Please Check the website for more exemptions.
If you meet the conditions to travel to the Netherlands you need the following documents:
- You have proof of vaccination showing that you have been fully vaccinated;
- You can show negative test result. This can be a PCR test taken within 48 hours of departure or a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) within 24 hours of departure;
- You have filled in a ‘Vaccine Declaration COVID-19’ form;
- Proof of return journey;
- A visa (if you require a visa to enter the Netherlands).
As we are still in a pandemic, entry requirements can change without much notice and it is important to follow the latest information to stay up to date. The website government.nl is the main source for travel information for traveling to the Netherlands.
From the 25th of February travelers from Very high risk areas, like Australia, don’t need to self-quarantine anymore. You can find the latest news about self-quarantine on the website here.
Women, Peace and Security: Reflections on Afghanistan
The Dutch Embassy, together with the Embassy of Croatia, serves as contact point embassy in Australia for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) during the years 2021 and 2022. Australia is an important NATO Partner Country, and the aim of the contact point embassies is to widen the knowledge about NATO across a wider audience in Australia. In this context, the embassy organizes a high-level panel discussion on Women, Peace and Security: Reflections on Afghanistan in collaboration with the embassy of Croatia, the embassy of Norway and the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI). Australia and NATO have invested significant efforts to protect and advance opportunities for women and girls in Afghanistan. Since the withdrawal mid-2021, the political and security landscape has changed significantly. We intend for this event to serve as a platform to reflect on the modalities available to like-minded partners to monitor and assist the most vulnerable in Afghanistan, especially women and girls. This discussion will take place on Wednesday, March 9, 2022 from 5:30 to 6.45 pm and will be streamed online through ASPI’s website with pre-registration required. The event will be of mixed format with online participation from representatives of NATO allies and experts with first-hand experience in Afghanistan. If you are interested to attend this event, please pre-register on the ASPI website in the period prior to the event.
Biennale of Sydney: 2 Dutch contributions
Get excited as from 12 March – 13 June 2022 the 23rd Biennale of Sydney will take place: rivers, wetlands and other salt freshwater ecosystems will feature in this Biennale, titled ‘Rivus’. The Bieannale is all about the varying political awareness of dynamic living systems: Can a river sue us over psychoactive sewage? What do the eels in that river think? This year you can enjoy 2 Dutch contributions.
Trio ‘Embassy of the North Sea’ (Harpo ‘t Hart, Anne van Leeuwen en Thijs Middeldorp) was founded on the principle that the North Sea owns itself. Here, the voices of plants, animals, microbes, and people in and around the North Sea are listened to and involved. The Embassy has plotted a route through to 2030, firstly learning to listen to the sea before learning to speak with it. Finally, the Embassy will negotiate on behalf of the North Sea and all the life that it encapsulates. For more information: Embassy of the North Sea – Biennale of Sydney
The second Dutch contribution comes from Diana Scherer. Diana explores the relationship between humans and the natural environment. Through her installations, photographs and botany, she examines the boundaries between plant culture and plant nature. What does “natural” mean in the Anthropocene? Are human beings part of nature or a parasitic species on the environment? For the past few years, her fascination has focused on the dynamics of the root system. Scherer applies the intelligence of plants in her work and makes their hidden world visible. For more information: Diana Scherer – Biennale of Sydney
Updates regarding events around these exhibitions will be posted on our Facebook site.
For more information on the Biennale of Sydney: Biennale of Sydney – 23rd Biennale of Sydney – rīvus
Commemoration Japanese Air Raid on Broom on 3 March 2022 – cancelled
On Thursday March 3, 2022 the Shire of Broome, Western Australia. had planned to commemorate the 1942 Japanese air raid resulting in the loss of 88 lives and the destruction of 22 Australian, Dutch and US aircrafts. On that fateful day, 58 Dutch persons died. The Air Raid on Broome is a unique piece of history stemming from World War II and is the second greatest wartime loss of life on Australian soil to date.
Due to the risks associated with ex-tropical cyclone Anika and COVID-19, the Shire of Broome has made the difficult decision to cancel all of the Air Raid Commemorative events, which were planned for this week. It is important for all of us to pay our respects to the fifty-eight Dutch civilians and member of the military who perished on that day on March 3. Our thoughts are with the descendants of those who perished.
Another event that had to be cancelled was the unveiling of a new Broome Air Raid artwork by Western Australian artist Paula Hart at Town Beach. The Culture and Defence teams at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands have contributed to the preservation of our Dutch history with information that will be preserved on special commemorative plaques as one part of the sculptures.
For more information from the Shire of Broome: Event to commemorate Broome Air Raid 80th anniversary Shire of Broome
For more back ground information about the Air Raid, see the DACC website.
Lecture ‘Maps Connecting People To Help Save Reefs’ by Chris Roelfsema
The Netherlands Consulate General in Sydney and Dutchlink invite you to attend the Maps Connecting People To Help Save Reefs lecture by Associate Professor Chris Roelfsema. This lecture will take place on Wednesday 16 March at the Australian National Maritime Museum (Sea Museum) in Sydney.
Reefs are essential for preserving maritime life. Proud Dutchie, Chris Roelfsema will discuss how in 1988, during a reef dive, he decided to devote his life to mapping and saving reefs around the world. Currently Chris is with his team establishing habitat maps for the whole of the Great Barrier Reef and reefs globally. He will discuss how this is done and how these activities are vital for studying the resilience of the reef and thereby preserving the environment, and to what extent it connect citizen scientist, scientist and governments to support saving reefs in Australia and overseas.
Date and Time: Wednesday 16 March at 5:30-8pm (lecture starts at 6pm)
Venue: Australian National Maritime Museum (Sea Museum), 2 Murray Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Catering: Drinks and canapés will be provided
Price: Free via Eventbrite:
We look forward to welcoming you at this event. The event will not be live streamed.
The Past Ended On Mango Street
The Embassy is delighted to announce that the documentary ‘The Past Ended on Mango Street’ funded by our Shared Cultural Heritage Programme, is now available to watch online.
The film-making team of Jean-Baptiste Brelière and Thomas Watson spent 6 years making the documentary. ‘The Past Ended on Mango Street’ is an investigation of the tragic legacy of Thomas’s late grandmother, Yvonne Holman, who survived a Japanese-run concentration camp in Indonesia during WWII. The documentary can be viewed in English at https://vimeo.com/ondemand/tpeoms or with Dutch subtitles at https://vimeo.com/ondemand/tpeomsdutch.
We warmly recommend to watch this documentary.
Consular Visits to State Capitals
The consular team has announced several visits to state capitals again as – as a result of the border restrictions during the Covid lockdowns – the demand for passport applications is high.
The team plans to visit the following state capitals:
– Brisbane 7, 8 , 9 March – FULLY BOOKED
– Melbourne 10, 11, 12 May
– Brisbane 7, 8, 9 June
– Canberra 9, 10 August
– Adelaide 11, 12, 13 October
The booking system will be open about 5 weeks beforehand.
For more information: Applying for a passport or ID card if you live in Australia | Australia | Netherlandsworldwide.nl
Vacancy Consular Officer
We are hiring! The Consulate General in sydney is looking for an enthusiastic colleague to strenthen the consular affairs team for 28 hours a week. The Consular Officer executes tasks within the broader spectrum of the consular field. For more information click on this link.
