On behalf of the Board of Wikimedia Nederland, I would like to inform you
of some changes in the board.
As of April 16, Frans Grijzenhout, chairman, and Marike van Roon, board
member for cultural cooperation and partnerships, stepped down from the
board after years of dedicated service. The board elected Jan Bart de
Vreede as its new chair.
Frans was elected to the board of Wikimedia Nederland in 2012 and became
chair in 2014. The contribution he has made over the past eight years can
only be described as impressive. He played a crucial role in building the
office and developing a wide programme of activities in support of free
knowledge. Frans was also active internationally: he was a driving force
behind the development of governance training for new board members, and
the regular meetings of chapter chairs. Over the past years, many Wikimedians
have met him at Wikimania or the Wikimedia Summit. Wikimedia Nederland is
very grateful that Frans is willing to continue to share his experience and
expertise as an advisor to the board.
Marike van Roon joined the board in 2015. As an art historian and curator -
and an active Wikipedia editor - she made a major contribution to the
development of the GLAM program of Wikimedia Nederland. Like no other she
was able to make connections between the Wikimedia projects and the digital
heritage strategies of Dutch institutions, thanks to her experience and
networks in the museum and library sector.
The intention had been that members of Wikimedia Nederland and the wider
Dutch wiki-community would say goodbye to Frans and Marike in an
appropriate way, and thank them for their dedicated service, during the
General Assembly planned for April 18. Because of the measures to combat
the spread of COVID-19 this was not possible - but we hope to make up for
it at the General Assembly this autumn.
At its meeting on April 16, the board of Wikimedia Nederland elected Jan
Bart de Vreede as the new chair. New board members will be elected at the
General Assembly in September.
With warm regards,
Sandra Rientjes
Directeur/Executive Director Wikimedia Nederland
www.wikimedia.nl
Mariaplaats 3
3511 LH Utrecht