Share culture, make the world smaller Rotary International GSE-program Report of the GSE between District 1580 (The Netherlands) and District 3060 (Gujarat, India) 2007-2008 Content Introduction Profiles of the participants Itinerary for the GSE team Our Experiences About Nature, Archeology, History and Heritage Rotary and Rotary clubs Home Hospitality The Vocational Visits The Cultural Experience General Observations Personal Comments Titles of Presentations prepared by the team. Acknowledgement Introduction Group Study Exchange is an educational program of The Rotary Foundation wherein Rotary districts in different countries are paired to send and receive professional study groups of four to six non-Rotarian team members and one Rotarian team leader to travel for four to six weeks, staying in the homes of Rotarians when possible. Goals and Objectives The Group Study Exchange program is a unique cultural and vocational exchange opportunity for young business and professional men and women in their initial years of professional life. The program is designed to develop professional and leadership skills among young adults so that they can address the needs of their communities and an increasingly global workplace. GSE offers Rotarians the opportunity to participate in sending, receiving, and sharing educational experiences of study teams that will enhance Rotary’s worldwide mission. Districts 1580 and 3060 The District Governors of D1580 (Rtn Eduard Kruseman) and D3060 (Rtn Asjok Panjwani) decided to exchange a team in their year 2007-2008. The Dutch team would be in India from December 15th until January 16th. Selection The selection of team leader and team members in D1580 took place in July and August of 2007 according to the guidelines of Rotary International. As team leader was selected Dr Jack Groot (RC Heiloo) as team members Mrs. Drs Manon Blokzijl (psychologist) Mrs. Drs Wilma Hommersom ( Tax-consultant and Lecturer) Mrs. Drs Irene de Ruyter (Marketeer) Mr. Ing Vincent van Steijn (Mechanical Engineer) Preparations The team’s preparation was very much helped by the timely receipt of the itinerary. With the help of books and internet the team could study the characteristics of the 10 locations where it would be hosted during the 5 weeks journey. Starting from the first email send by the teamleader to the GSE- chair in D3060 (Rtn Devendra Shastri) a very efficient email-exchange took place. This helped the Dutch team tremendously in their preparations. The team met eight times for a mean period of three hours. Included in these meetings were discussions about Rotary and their programs, visits to Indian expats and restaurants, the selection and ordering of formal and informal suits, discussions about required medicines and vaccinations. The team visited two Rotary club meetings (RC Schagen and RC Bergen) and gave presentations about GSE and their expectations of the Exchange. During one of these meetings, the team could discuss with members of the 1999 exchange team to Puna. The team members prepared 10 different presentations. They were discussed and improved during the meetings. Similarly, a brochure was prepared. Each team member prepared little presents for their nine host families. Dolls in traditional costume were offered by RC Purmerend-Waterland and RC Heiloo to add to the collection of the Rotary Dolls Museum in Rajkot. Ordering the flight tickets for requested dates of departure appeared to be difficult for Rotary’s Travel Agent. This was because of limited access to online booking facilities for the preferred flights. It was finally done, after formal approval by RI, by the team leader himself. During the official procedure, the contact between the RI-office and the team leader and GSE-chair in D3060 was efficient. After thorough studies of the local possibilities by the team, a list of wishes was send to the regional coordinators and, as later turned out, was used by the local organizers to add to the already confirmed program elements. Profiles of GSE team members Manon Blokzijl Educational Advisor Government Derde Oosterparkstraat 202B 1092 EH, Amsterdam The Netherlands e-mail: [email protected] Phone: +31-204124514, +31-647408698 Sponsor Club: Rotary Club of Alkmaar de Waag, District 1580 My name is Manon Blokzijl (31) engaged as educational advisor to ROI opleiding, coaching en advies in The Hague since the beginning of this year. ROI is a Dutch foundation, which core business is to develop educational programs for the public authorities. My main responsibility is to advise the ministry of defence. Examples of programs I designed concern policy, public leadership end communication skills. Before ROI I worked for the ministry of defence for seven years. I assessed new recruits for the Dutch army. After that I specialized in career management for employees of the ministry of defence and I became responsible for the educational programs of the department of defence. I earned my Master’s degree in Psychology at the University of Amsterdam in 2000. My specialisation is Social psychology. During my studies I researched Tax Paying behaviour of middle class self employed in Exeter (UK), furthermore I studied, organisational culture changes, group dynamics and started training students in communication skills. Nowadays reorganisations, work- related skills, coaching individuals and training management teams have my interest and are my core business. My parents, my brother and sister are living in Bergen, a beautiful village at the west coast of Holland. I have been raised there and still enjoy visiting my family and the coast. After starting my studies, I moved to Amsterdam. I live there for twelve years now. I enjoy living in this metro pole, because it is a tolerant, multi cultural city, which offers many possibilities for self-development and cultural activities. I enjoy the interaction with people, trying to understand their motivation. During a stay in Peru, I coached teenagers, which had no expectations of their future and I worked in an orphanage. In my daily life I work with different kinds of people and try to make them aware of their own possibilities. Multicultural issues have my interest, that’s one of the reasons why I am looking forward visiting India. Furthermore, I enjoy playing handball and meet friends in my spare time. As a part of my vocational study, I would like to visit places of cultural and historical importance to get an impression of the rich history of the Indian culture. Furthermore, I would like visit the coast of India. Professionally I am interested in the way the Indian army is constructed. Especially the army academies have my interest. I am curious about the way the government in general takes care with HRM issues, like recruitment, personal care and education for their employees. Being a psychologist, I would like to learn about the methods used for therapy and social care for teenagers and adults. Wilma Hommersom Teuben Tax Advisors, Hogeschool Utrecht Borssenburgstraat 23 huis 1078 VB Amsterdam The Netherlands Phone: +31 6 15 02 79 97 Email: [email protected] Sponsor club: RC Santpoort District 1580 I am 30 years old, born in Tiel, in the middle of the Netherlands and raised in Hoorn, a former participating city in the East Indies Company. I studied Fiscal Economics at the University of Amsterdam, lived in that city and obtained my masters degree in 2001. After my masters degree I worked for the Dutch tax authorities for three years and lived in The Hague which is the Governmental City of the Netherlands. Now I am back in Amsterdam again. I moved to the other side of the tax system and worked with Deloitte in Amsterdam where I became a tax adviser on Dutch corporate income tax issues. Since September 2006 I work for a small firm called Teuben Tax advisers. I advise international companies on tax matters and their strategic planning and act as the intermediate between these companies and the Dutch tax authorities. Furthermore, since October 2006, I am a Lecturer at the College in Utrecht where I teach several tax disciplines. I also am a member of the committee of examination, coordinate two tax disciplines and supervise four classes. I enjoy the interaction with the students and my colleagues and love to learn more about the subjects I have to teach. Next to my work I am a member of the Junior Chamber “International Amsterdam”. The Junior Chamber is a Worldwide Federation of Young Leaders and Entrepreneurs. We organize meetings for fund raising, networking and fun. In my spare time I enjoy playing hockey and tennis. I like to travel and meet people of different nationalities. I visited European, African and North American countries. The most exciting experience so far was in Africa where I have climbed the Kilimanjaro (5.895m). I very much look forward to visit India and meet the people of Gujarat. I am very interested in learning about the now-a-days and former culture of India and about the motor behind the tremendous economic activity. I also would like to speak about the Netherlands and our way of life to learn about our differences and similarities. Concerning my vocational interest, I would like to get in touch with Tax Counselors and learn about the Tax system in India. I also would like to visit Colleges and Universities, learn about the educational methodology, and I hope to get the opportunity to give one or more lectures about international tax in courses about fiscal-economy or tax-law. Apart from my vocational interests, I would very much like to see the places of worship, the daily life in the bazaars, the remains of old Dutch factories. If possible, I like to visit wildlife resorts and bird sanctuaries. I read about the archaeological site in Lothal.