King Willem-Alexander visits Haus der Niederlande in Münster
King Willem-Alexander visited Münster to mark the 30th anniversary of the Haus der Niederlande, a cultural and academic centre dedicated to Dutch-German relations. The visit reinforced the importance of Dutch-German cross-border collaboration in the areas of education, language, and culture. Saxion was present as a partner in the project “Euregionale Doorlopende Leerlijn”, which played a significant role in the programme’s activities.
The King visited the Haus der Niederlande together with the Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wüst. The centre, affiliated with the University of Münster, serves as a valued space for education, culture and exchange.
During the visit, the King spoke with representatives of the project 'Euregionale Doorlopende Leerlijn' (EDL). Saxion works closely on this project with the Zentrum für Niederlande Studien (Centre for Dutch Studies) at the Haus der Niederlande, the Municipality of Enschede and other partners in the border region. The EDL project aims to support young people in the German Dutch border region by fostering the skills they need to learn, live, and work seamlessly across both sides of the border.
King Willem-Alexander was introduced to the project's framework, approach and key initiatives, including the EDL Expertise Centre, a hub which serves to connect, advise, and train education professionals. Another key example mentioned was the EDL-scholenmakelaar (literally: ‘school broker’), who helps schools in the border region connect and collaborate and provides individual support.
Talking to the King about the EDL project, © Ute Friederike Schernau
During his visit to the Haus der Niederlande, King Willem-Alexander viewed the anniversary exhibition ‘The Netherlands in 3D’, which explored a wide range of themes: from Europe and democracy to economics, language, and literature. Students, scientists and entrepreneurs talked about their work and discussed Dutch-German cooperation with the king.
The king visiting Haus der Niederlande, © Land NRW - Steffen Böttcher
More about the EDL-project
The EDL-project is subsidised by the European Regional Development Fund. The following Interreg partners have also contributed: Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and the Province of Overijssel on the Dutch side and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate and Energy NRW (Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Industrie, Klima und Energie NRW) on the German side.