In 2016, I became deeply involved in the Dutch clerks’ organization, the Vereniging van Griffiers (VvG). I initially served as the sponsor liaison and helped organize conferences for our members, which were completely free of charge. In 2017, I became a board member and took responsibility for organizing conferences and leading efforts on digitization. Over the years, I have been involved in organizing ten annual VvG conferences, offering a range of training sessions, workshops, and field excursions. Each year, around 350 clerks and representatives from other organizations gather at a different location in the Netherlands. It’s also a great networking event. On my initiative, our conferences have been live-translated into English, enabling our international guests to fully participate in the experience.

As I mentioned earlier, my council has been a leader in innovation. My experience with digitization in Bodegraven-Reeuwijk proved invaluable during the COVID-19 crisis. Alongside a small group of various organizations, we were responsible for the temporary law on digital meetings for councils. My proudest moment was not only that my council was the first to organize a digital meeting but also that the VvG was named in the law as the body responsible for implementing the practicalities of council information systems and video conferencing.

Resilient governance is something close to my heart. Violence against elected representatives is becoming increasingly common. Moreover, the intimidation and threats directed at clerks are also becoming more frequent. The colleagues at SLCC, together with the UK councillors’ association NALC, have developed an excellent program called Civility and Respect to address this issue. Through our international collaboration, I was able to organize a visit for civil servants from the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK) to learn from this program in England. Conversely, the English colleagues conducted a session here in the Netherlands for members of the VvG on how to deal with aggression and violence. I am proud to have achieved this.