Looking back on our anniversary celebration at the Rijksmuseum

Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrix, accompanied by her lady-in-waiting and the King's aide-de-camp, was welcomed at the Rijksmuseum by Simavi director Veerle Ver Loren van Themaat. Unfortunately, co-director Dieneke van der Wijk was unable to attend due to personal circumstances.

Ankie van Wersch-Lenders, chair of Simavi's Supervisory Board, began with a striking introduction: 'If we follow the line of the past century, we see how much we as an organisation have grown along with the world around us. And that journey is beautifully reflected in this exhibition.' 

After Ankie's speech, Princess Beatrix, Simavi's patroness, cut a ribbon and officially opened the exhibition.

Photographer Sacha de Boer spoke about the way women have been portrayed throughout Simavi's history. She also discussed her own portraits of powerful women in Kenia and Indonesia. She perfectly summarised Simavi's current philosophy: 'Strong women have always existed. What has changed is how we view them. It is no longer a case of us imparting knowledge, but rather of us empowering you.'

With Sacha's inspiring message in mind, Princess Beatrix was given an exclusive tour by Sacha de Boer and Veerle Ver Loren van Themaat, taking in both the historic and new images. 

Our anniversary attracted a great deal of media attention. The press was present to capture the festive opening by Princess Beatrix.

After the exhibition opening, all guests were welcomed into the auditorium. Historian Laura Lubbers kicked off the programme. She recently delved deep into Simavi's archives and shared her fascinating insights into our rich history. Read more about her research here. 

Pragati Bajracharya, Simavi's Programme Officer in Nepal, took us through the transformation of Simavi's work over the past 100 years: from sending medicines to promoting local knowledge and women's independence. Pragati emphasised the positive impact of this shift in focus.

She illustrated this with the words of woman who was part of one of Simavi's projects: 'What changed was that we started to take matters into our own hands. We used to wait for others to come and help us, but now we believe in our own strength and possibilities.'

Veerle Ver Loren van Themaat led a panel discussion with Professor Joyeeta Gupta, climate activist Mert Kumru, water activist Sareen Malik and Eva Schreuder from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The discussion on the intersection of water issues, women's rights and climate was full of inspiring ideas that got us thinking, with one clear conclusion: “Water is central to the empowerment of women” - Sareen Malik.

Eva Schreuder, Head of Water at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, emphasised the importance of broad participation: 'When you involve women, young people, older people and communities at all levels in the process, programmes become more effective and sustainable.'

The programme culminated in a special announcement: Simavi is joining the WaterAid family!

Amaka Godfrey, executive director of international programmes, and Andrew McCracken, global director of WaterAid International, were present to celebrate this moment. Andrew emphasised the shared vision: 'Simavi and WaterAid agree that you cannot think about water without also thinking about gender.
He explained that Simavi, as WaterAid Netherlands, can contribute crucial ideas and experience, especially in the area of strengthening the role of women in solving the water crisis.

Cheers to a century of impact! After the inspiring programme, it was time to get to know each other and engage in lively conversations. We looked back on the stories from the past century and looked forward to our the future of WaterAid Netherlands. Here's to even more impact!