NICC Recommendation Committee
The NICC Foundation is delighted to have the support of an ever-growing number of supporters. This has led to the establishment of a Recommendation Committee, whose members have expressed their warm support for the NICC Foundation and their willingness to assist the foundation when necessary. The members are:
Marc Dierkx
Senior Researcher at the KNAW – Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Responsible for the publication of an online source document on Dutch foreign policy with regard to European integration from 1950 to 1986.
Ton Dietz
Ton Dietz is professor emeritus at Leiden University and former director of the Leiden Centre for African Studies.
Marene Elgershuizen
Marene Elgershuizen is a historian. She studied History and International Relations at the University of Groningen. She is currently conducting research into women's parliamentary strategies and their influence on Dutch political culture.
Sjef Ernes
Sjef Ernes is a mechanical engineer and water expert with national (utility companies) and international (expat) experience. He was CEO of Aqua for all for 16 years (2003-2019) and is now the founder of WickedWater, a support platform for social entrepreneurs.
Loek Hermans
Loek Hermans was a member of the Senate for the VVD from 2007 to November 2015. From 2011, he was party leader and in 2011 and 2015 he was the party's lead candidate in the Senate elections.
Ron Keller
Ron Keller, economist, was ambassador for the Netherlands in Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and China. Prior to that, he was Director-General for International Cooperation (DGIS) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for five years.
Pauline Kiesow
Dr Pauline Kiesow, historian, is a fundraising and strategic partnerships officer in the Research and Presentation Department of the National Archives and secretary of the Society for the National Archives.
Siri Lijfering
Siri Lijfering is a cultural anthropologist and works as a Knowledge Broker at the intersection of science, practice and policy on inclusive, sustainable development and “shifting the power” in development cooperation.
Bram van Ojik
After studying development economics in Amsterdam, Bram van Ojik began his career as a policy officer at Oxfam/Novib, before becoming a Member of Parliament for GroenLinks (1993-1994).
Joris van Oppenraaij
Joris van Oppenraaij led projects and programmes in the field of water and sanitation in Africa and set up innovative development financing initiatives.
Henk Ovink
Henk Ovink is not only a Dutch special envoy to the United Nations, but also a flood expert. In 2015, he was appointed the first water ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Sybe Schaap
Sybe Schaap grew up on a farm in the Noordoostpolder and now lives in Emmeloord. He began his studies at the Higher Agricultural School, MO Economics, then graduated with a degree in Social Sciences and obtained his PhD in Philosophy, which also included habilitation in Prague.
Marja Spierenburg
Marja Spierenburg is a professor at Leiden University, teaching “the Anthropology of Sustainability and Livelihoods”.
Andy Wehkamp
Andy Wehkamp, cultural anthropologist, began her career in 1984 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1986 to 1996, she held various policy and management positions at Oxfam/Novib.