After four years, we said goodbye to Consul General Gerbert Kunst. Together with his family, Gerbert has returned to the Netherlands, where he continues his work for the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy. With the letter below, he’d like to say goodbye to you, our valued network, and community.

The Consulate General looks back at four amazing years of strengthening the partnership between the Netherlands and the USA. Thank you to all who worked with Consul General Kunst, from Alaska to New Mexico. 

• Look back at the previous 4 years in this video. 

The consulate hosted in July a virtual fact-finding mission LA2028 on sports and infrastructure. Los Angeles is preparing for the Summer Olympics and Paralympics in 2028. The city is aiming to organizing the most sustainable games ever, offering many opportunities for Dutch businesses. This mission, with a select group of companies and organizations, was a first introduction to Olympics Los Angeles, which will lead to a follow-up long-term strategy.

LA Deputy Mayor Nina Hachigian joined the online opening session: “Thank you for bringing Los Angeles and the Netherlands virtually together. … We want to welcome the Netherlands to be on that global stage with us, and show what you have to offer in sustainability and circular economy.”

Among other participants were Casey Wasserman of the LA2028 organization, Maurits Hendriks of Dutch Olympic committee NOC-NSF, and Olympic surfer Dorian van Rijsselberghe. The mission was organized with FME, NBSO Los Angeles, HUP, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management and the Embassy in Washington DC.

• Watch the webinars and online sessions on our Youtube Playlist.
• Read more about the virtual fact finding mission.

Dutch startups and businesses that dream of expanding to the West Coast now have a useful tool to navigate business opportunities in Seattle. The Seattle Playbook is an online guide with advice and insights from successful Dutch businesses in this tech hub. Their experiences and expertise are valuable to entrepreneurs who want to move their business to this booming city, home to Microsoft, Amazon, and Starbucks.

In the last couple of years, Seattle has developed into a major startup and tech hub, with an economic growth of over 10 percent per year. No wonder it has become an attractive alternative for the expensive and over-competitive Silicon Valley. The Seattle Playbook is the third playbook of its kind, after the Silicon Valley Playbook and Los Angeles Playbook.

 Dutch online magazine Sprout published interviews with Seattle based Dutch entrepreneurs Martijn van Tilburg and Emile Kalis.

• Read the playbook here.
• Rewatch the launch virtual round table here.

• Reach out to Dorit directly.

• Dutch hotel brand CitizenM has opened its first West Coast hotel in Seattle. The hotel features 264 rooms and is designed by Dutch designers Concrete Amsterdam.
  Odette Bakker is the new honorary consul in Phoenix, Arizona. She succeeds Siebe van der Zee, who has been HC in Phoenix for 28 years.
  We celebrated Pride 2019 online with a webinar with the Irish consulate in San Francisco. Building the Transatlantic Rainbow, about LGBTQ+ advocacy in the US and the EU, featured CA State Senator Scott Wiener, Dutch Senator Boris Dittrich and member of European Parliament Maria Walsh.

• Fall 2020: multiple virtual events CGSF and NBSO Los Angeles
• October 7-8: Life Science and Health Virtual Mission San Diego
• November: Hydrogen Virtual Mission TBC
• November: Ben Feringa Lecture TBC

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