Lt. Governors at VNG congress

June 07, 2010 9:29 AM

LEEUWARDEN--Lt. Governors of the Netherlands Antilles will participate in the annual congress of the Association of Dutch Municipalities VNG in city of Leeuwarden today, Monday, and tomorrow, Tuesday.

Lt. Governors Franklyn Richards of St. Maarten, Gerald Berkel of St. Eustatius, Jonathan Johnson of Saba, Lisa Dindial of Curaçao and Glenn Thodé of Bonaire will attend the congress, which will be officially opened by VNG Chairwoman and Almere city Mayor Annemarie Jorritsma today, Monday.

The Lt. Governors and the Island Secretaries of various island territories will participate in a meeting of VNG's Antillean Platform on Tuesday afternoon. This meeting's discussion will cover the latest developments on the islands in the constitutional reform process and in governance in general. VNG organised a similar meeting during its annual congress last year too.

The group will be in Amsterdam for the presentation of the Silver Carnation at Dam Palace on Wednesday. Silver Carnation awards are an initiative of Prince Bernhard Culture Fund and are bestowed annually by Queen Beatrix on a maximum of five persons who have done a lot for culture and nature in the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba.

Lt. Governors will be guests on Wednesday afternoon of the Municipality of Amsterdam, which has drafted a programme for the Dutch Parliamentary elections that take place that day.

The programme continues on Thursday under the auspices of VNG in The Hague, where Lt. Governors will meet with representatives of the Dutch Society of Mayors and VNG Director Ralph Pans. There will be a workshop on crisis communication and new media, hosted by the Dutch Society of Mayors, on Friday. The official programme ends Friday afternoon.

7 June 2010