Looking back 2021 will be remembered as a year full of challenges and marked by the pandemic. For many honorary consuls this meant more work than usual because all travel in and outside Europe remained problematic and people needed to be informed adequately and helped if necessary. Due to the restrictions and the lockdowns, we had no choice but to postpone some activities. Since working from home and online meetings became the “new normal” we moved to Zoom and Teams meetings.
In April we welcomed Mr. Klaus Meyer-Cabri, vice-president Eurojust* in an online meeting with a presentation on Cybercrime and current trends, an extremely serious and hot topic.
In June we started a series of presentations “Members in the spotlight” with the aim of getting to know the members of our association better. In the online meeting, Jan Valkier, Honorary Consul of Finland, CEO of Anthony Veder Group and Bernard Menken, Honorary Consul of Sri Lanka, owner Menken Maritiem were the first in line.
In the summer the lockdown measures were happily eased and allowed us to meet together in a well-attended and pleasant summer meeting at the Jachtclub Hillegersberg.
We closed the year with our Annual Dinner, in November, just before the introduction of new restrictions. A warm and cosy event with an interesting presentation by Paul v/d Laar, professor EUR, city historian of Rotterdam and with beautiful music by two outstanding young musicians, Anna Majchrzak, soprano and Vera Kool harp. At the end a Turkish delight as dessert on the top, offered by our colleague Aytac Yilmaz, consul of Turkey in Rotterdam.
The celebration of the 115th anniversary of the Union des Consuls à Rotterdam, founded in April 1906, is due to the pandemic postponed to 2022. Looking forward to a better 2022 and a successful year for our association.
On behalf of the Board Union des Consuls à Rotterdam et La Haye:
Andrea C. Teunissen – Oprea, General Secretary
December 2021.