100 years of radio in The Netherlands / RNW

In the Netherlands 100 years ago, the first radio broadcast was made and it immediately transmitted programs for international audiences. The programs could be easily heard in large parts of Belgium and England.

After WWII, Radio Netherlands became the international voice of the country of windmills. Unfortunately, in 2012 the organization underwent an harsh reduction of staff and around 300 people lost their job, including me.

Jonathan Marks, program director when I came to work at the Internet Department in 1997, gave a speech on woensdag 06-11-2019 about the importance of this organization, especially its foreign language departments, for the image of The Netherlands outside the Dutch speaking community in the world.

The station did not simply transmitted music and information; indeed for many people listening to it, it meant much more. It became a lifeline in areas where people did not have access to mainstream media.