New Year's Meeting 2025

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, 

Good evening and welcome to this New Year's Meeting 2025 of the Municipality of Voorne aan Zee in our iconic Catharijne Church. And let me immediately begin with a modest ode to our Briel Cathedral. Because the enormous significance of the Catharijnekerk for Voorne aan Zee and for our national history touches me every time I am here (and I can tell you: quite often). This church ís our DNA. I am very aware of the struggles that many churches in the Netherlands are going through right now, and the Brielse Cathedral is no exception. But believe me: we will never abandon the Catharijnekerk. I want to thank the church and especially the sextons Tom van der Lucht and Pieter Schwartz very much for their hospitality and warm welcome. It is wonderful to be here! And isn't it wonderful that here, in this place with so much history, we have just been able to enjoy these wonderful young talents from Voorne aan Zee? 

Ladies and gentlemen, not only have we just left 2024 behind us, the start of 2025 also marks the fact that we are already 25 years into the 21st century. We already have a quarter of this century behind us. So a great time to look back. How have we actually done in the last 25 years? Well, that is not so simple and not so clear-cut. Of course: we have definitely made progress: technologically speaking, the steps over the past 25 years have been phenomenal. To take just one example: our cell phones have, shocker, 100,000 times more computing power than the computer that accompanied the moon landing in 1969. In addition, we can cure serious diseases much better. AIDS, for example, has long since ceased to be a death sentence these days, and many forms of cancer are increasingly treatable. We are moving forward, it seems. 

But the first quarter of this century also has an undeniable downside. Just last month, the Dutch Banking Association warned that it is wise to keep cash on hand. Just in case the electronic payment system is disabled for an extended period of time due to war or terror. And both the commander of the armed forces and the secretary general of this NATO, our former prime minister Mark Rutte, warn that we should mentally prepare for war. And that is no coincidence. 

In many countries, democracy and the concept of the rule of law are no longer the preferred alternatives. Several stable democracies are sliding toward increasingly authoritarian regimes. Great powers such as Russia and China are taking an increasingly aggressive stance. The Middle East is engaged in a terrible war and is destabilizing rapidly. In Darfur, in Sudan, after 20 years, there is still another killing on an unprecedented scale. And the incoming president of the United States is openly speculating about an annexation of Greenland, nota bene territory of a NATO partner. It sometimes feels in a somewhat frightening way as if we have entered the 1930s. 

And now I hear you thinking: what is that man standing there telling a gloomy story? And yes, in part it is. We live in a troubled and uncertain world in early 2025. And that affects our lives. We run the risk of becoming gloomy and dare to look forward less and less. But we must not let that happen! We must not let the brilliance of life be taken away. The Austrian philosopher Karl Popper, who fled Germany in 1937 from rising Nazism, and author of the work "The Open Society and hits enemies" put it very aptly: "Optimismus wist Pflicht." Optimism is a moral duty. But for Popper, this was not an easy, one-dimensional statement. "When I say that optimism is a moral duty," Popper wrote next, "I mean not only that the future is open, but that we all help to shape that future by what we do. So we all have a duty, instead of predicting something bad, to support those things that can lead to a better future. 

And let Voorne aan Zee be the perfect place where we can shape that better future ourselves. Because the energy, warmth, initiative and creativity of our residents, our entrepreneurs and our associations are enormous. I like to illustrate this with a few examples. A family in Hellevoetsluis takes in foster children. Sometimes 4 or 5 children at a time and sometimes in the middle of the night. Completely selflessly, they care from tiny babies to adolescents and bring back some peace in sometimes seriously disturbed and hurt lives. 

There are six fire stations in our municipality. One of our firefighters has his own business which is across the street from the fire station in his village. If there is an incident, he closes his business for a few hours so that the fire department can always turn out. Talk about a big heart for our safety. 

But schools are also showing their commitment. In the Kooistee and the Struyten in Hellevoetsluis, elementary school have taken the initiative for the 'The Peaceful Neighborhood' project. Their enthusiasm has inspired many other parties to work together on neighborhoods where children feel at home and where everyone can participate. Less than two months ago here, in the Catharine Church, we presented the award for entrepreneur of the year. And we have great entrepreneurs here in Voorne aan Zee: from high-tech agricultural businesses to campsites and from beach tents to goldsmiths. And not only do they contribute to our employment opportunities, they also support society in other ways, for example by sponsoring sporting events. 

Speaking of which: yesterday I joined Beat the Beach, a great running race across the beach of Rockanje and back through Voornes Duin, that beautiful nature reserve where last month such a great trail run was organized. So even in the field of sports, our own residents and associations voluntarily organize the most wonderful events themselves, which also inspire a lot of people to get moving. A bit of exercise in Voornes Duin after all. Not in camouflage clothing, but in sports outfit... 

And in recent months I have toured our municipality, visiting all village and neighborhood councils together with Alderman Schop. And whether it's in Meeuwenoord, Plantage, Oostvoorne, Rockanje, Zwartewaal or in Oudenhoorn: everywhere I talk to a group of driven volunteers, who all have a very big heart for their village or neighborhood and dedicate themselves to it every day. To solve practical problems and to make their village or neighborhood even more beautiful. And also very actively seek cooperation with the municipality. 

And there we touch on an interesting point. Because all these wonderful initiatives and plans come from our residents themselves. We as a municipality have not had to do anything at all and have hardly had any role in them. The energy of society in our municipality is amazing. But at the same time, it is very important that we as a municipality give space to all these ideas. After all, being of service to our residents and institutions is our right to exist! And with service comes service, rooted in the genes of our municipality. A subject that we have talked a lot about in recent years and to which various residents and our City Council quite rightly call attention. And I can also assure you that we are really making strides in this area. For example, last year we issued more than 13,000 passports and identity cards. And even though the request came 2 days before the vacations: we didn't sell anyone no. We also answered nearly 80,000 phone calls this year, 94% of which were handled in one day. So we really do make meters. 

But if we want to be that congregation that thinks: how can we be? (and yes, we want to be that in most cases, I'll tell you that), then we have to go further. And so we are going to take new steps. No more consultation hours, but a municipality that can be reached all day. A municipality that takes the satisfaction of its residents as its guiding principle. And will measure and publish this satisfaction. Simply on the website and in the hall of the town hall. We can also renovate the hall itself at the same time: because a better, more welcoming public counter and a much nicer public gallery in the council chamber are badly needed. That is also service and gives you the opportunity to see our city council, the heart of our local democracy, in action much better. 

The examples of creativity, cooperation and selflessness in Voorne aan Zee make it clear to me that not only do we have a lot to be thankful for, but we also have a lot in our hands to help build that better future Popper talks about. Together, with all those residents, entrepreneurs and associations. If we in Voorne aan Zee allow each other the space to have a different opinion without immediately finding the other a bad person, and if we show how to be careful with that freedom, it will be a great year and we will shape the future ourselves. 

With that freedom, I want to dwell for a moment. After all, we are here among First Nations of freedom, aren't we? Because the state of the world makes it clear once again how fragile our freedom is. But even here there are starting points for optimism. I read this week the story of Shigemi Fukahori. Fukahori, who died last Sunday at the age of 93, was one of the last survivors of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. He dedicated his entire life from then on to advocating for peace. No resentment, no anger, no bitterness but being constantly engaged in, as he called it, passing on the stick of peace to new generations. This year we celebrate and commemorate 80 years of liberation. Handing over that stick is needed more than ever in these times. In the coming months we will give shape to this in Voorne aan Zee . With the stories of then, and the generations of now. 

The common thread of this story is that in a troubled world that is sometimes literally on fire, yet there is always reason for optimism and hope. But sometimes, sometimes optimism and hope need a little oxygen. And as far as I am concerned, there is hardly better oxygen imaginable than the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, the "Godfather" of classical music. German 19'th century composer Felix Mendelssohn found that "when life has stripped you of all faith and hope, the music of Bach will renew everything again," and Dutch writer Abdelkader Benali recently said of Bach that "something comes through the music that connects and comforts." Which music, in other words, is better suited to today's times? Bach himself was a deeply religious man, and his music served God's glory. But for Bach, music had another purpose: Gemühtsergötzung; soul delight. Hope and soul delight in our Catharine Church. What more could a person wish for? That is why we will listen to Bach later, as oxygen for our hope and optimism. 

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, on behalf of the Municipality of Voorne aan Zee, the Municipal Council and the College of Mayor and Aldermen, I would very much like to wish you all a healthy, happy and above all optimistic 2025 with much soul delight. Let's make Voorne aan Zee more beautiful together! Thank you.