International Policy Review 2008-2016
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The scaling-up of Amsterdam Evaluation of International Policy 2008 - 2016 3 Table of contents 1. Introduction 5 2. Background 9 2.1 Historical advantage: in our forefathers’ footsteps 9 2.2 Globalisation, digitisation and urbanisation 10 2.3 Crisis or Third Golden Age? 12 3. Vision: the responsible capital 13 4. Ambition: gateway to Europe 14 5. The other side of success 15 6. Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom 17 7. The urban work floor 18 7.1 Led by Amsterdam 18 7.2 A typical Amsterdam mission 19 7.3 Who’s on the plane? 22 7.4 Case studies 23 China: from the Rijksmuseum to the Politburo 24 India: a strategic network 27 Japan: old friendship, new world 30 Argentina: shared ambitions 32 Vietnam: nearly harvest time? 34 Tel Aviv & Ramallah: working together on common ground 35 Europe 37 8. The organisation behind the international policy 39 8.1 The basics: getting the house in order 39 8.2 The matrix 40 8.3 Who does what? 42 8.4 Using content as a guide 45 8.5 Content in practice 47 Art & Culture 47 The Golden Triangle 48 Human Rights 51 Open Amsterdam! 52 StartupCity 53 9. The scaling-up of Amsterdam 55 10. Appendices 65 I Copy of the Van Lammeren Motion 65 II Copy of the Paternotte & Capel Motion 66 III Results of international acquisition 2008 - 2016. amsterdam inbusiness 67 IV Needs matrix & current state of affairs. amsterdam inbusiness 68 V Overview of International Relations. Bureau of International Relations 70 4 5 1. Introduction For centuries, Amsterdam has had a history of process during this period or underwent major being an international trading centre, and has expansion, which also created many new jobs. always been a place where people from all over According to statistics from February 2017, the world meet. This is what makes it a colourful there are currently 3,045 foreign companies and culturally diverse city, a city of citizens, with offices in the Amsterdam region, with a not of kings or bishops. The city’s open nature total of 227,464 employees. 1 32% of the working and active citizenship, commercial drive, and population employed in the private sector tolerance are all embedded in its DNA. Anyone works for an international company. 2 joining one of the City of Amsterdam’s missions is literally walking in the footsteps of our fore- Amsterdam enjoys broad recognition as an fathers. international city. Whenever prominent inter- national cities are compared, Amsterdam Amsterdam enjoys a positive image abroad. inevitably ends up at or near the top of the list, This good reputation encompasses a concept whether in terms of safety, sustainability, talent, that extends beyond the borders of the capital connectivity, quality of life, technology or digital and the surrounding municipalities. In this clout. In April 2016, the European Commission regard, Amsterdam represents typical Dutch declared Amsterdam the innovation capital of traits such as entrepreneurship and creativity. Europe. 3 Amsterdam is increasingly proving to be an ideal breeding ground for startups. Amsterdam, or more precisely, the Amsterdam Scale-ups are currently the city’s best drivers Metropolitan Area (AMA), has grown to become for jobs. The internationalisation of the cultural one of the most important urban regions in sector also serves to boost the city’s appeal. Europe. The economic and cultural dynamic here holds a substantial appeal internationally, In the current age of globalisation, a historic and this is reflected in the city’s demographic city that possesses these characteristics cannot diversity. People of every possible nationality help but succeed. Everyone in the Netherlands and creed settle here and make the city a lively should be able to profit from this economic global village. Amsterdam is also an appealing engine. This belief is embodied in the concept location for international companies looking of the responsible capital, which the College of to set up local offices to serve the European Mayor and Alderpersons (or ‘College’ for short) market. The city is directly connected to the has applied in recent years in its efforts to bring world by road, rail and air, as well as digitally. together all the activities occurring on an inter- Amsterdam is one of the most important hubs national level. It sometimes even does this in for international data traffic. a literal sense, by putting representatives of these activities on the same aeroplane for A few figures might help illustrate. In 2008, trips abroad. These connections are made there were almost 2,000 international internally, and thus within our own administra- companies with local offices in Amsterdam. tive organisation, but also regionally, nationally, During the period from 2008 to 2016, 1,127 new internationally and between different sectors. foreign companies opened offices in the city. This is an approach which will enable govern- Of these new offices, 272 are headquarters. ment agencies, cultural and social organisations, Collectively, these companies have created knowledge institutes and businesses to 19,562 new, direct jobs. The people hired to reinforce and support one another in achieving fill these positions have further enhanced the their international objectives. international character of the city, which in and of itself contributes to Amsterdam’s favourable An internationally oriented city like Amsterdam business development climate. Of the foreign operates in a world that is constantly changing. companies that already had a presence in The competition between the parties in this Amsterdam, many experienced a natural growth turbulent playing field is fierce. This compels 6 parties to maintain a keen focus on the business in Europe. Amsterdam’s international success development climate, but also to take a smart must be a shared success. If Amsterdam wants approach to navigating it without losing sight of to remain true to itself, it will have to strike the the big picture, and to ‘go with the flows’ that right balance between social and economic underpin the transformation of social, political, interests, including in its relationship with economic and cultural relationships. Amsterdam London. has developed the resistance and resilience it needs to do this. The title of ‘responsible capital’ is incidentally a two-sided coin; it is a matter of give and take. At the same time, more and more Amsterdam- Amsterdam is devoted to the Netherlands, as mers are demanding attention for the negative an economic engine, a brand name, a facilitator consequences of international success. The and a guide. The Netherlands, for its part, is high visitor numbers, crowds and nuisance on elevating the capital city’s ranking among the the streets can make them feel like strangers in world’s most influential urban areas. This inter- their own city. Another obstacle is the shortage action will only have an effect if Amsterdam is of affordable housing. The College shares this allowed to wear the ‘team leader’s jersey’. concern. If we want the residents of Amsterdam to remain the city’s top priority, and to prevent Amsterdam is a major player on the world stage, the deterioration of social cohesion, drastic a status that we owe in part to our neighbou- solutions are required. ring municipalities in the metropolitan region, but also to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, the Another recent development that deserves Government of the Netherlands, the Nether- special attention in this memorandum from lands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA), and the College is Brexit. The United Kingdom’s numerous other public and private partners. departure from the EU highlights profound changes in international relationships, and will In this memorandum, the College will account also soon have consequences for Amsterdam for the City of Amsterdam’s international policy. and the Netherlands. Amsterdam is referred The immediate reason for this is the motion to in the international media as an alternative proposed by PvdD (Party for the Animals) coun- for international companies now considering cillor Van Lammeren on 1 July 2015, in which leaving the City of London. 4 This may be seen the Council asked the College to produce an as confirmation of Amsterdam’s strong inter- evaluation and cost-benefit analysis for all the national position. But more about that later. city partnerships that Amsterdam maintains. First, the College would like to re-iterate the main idea behind the City of Amsterdam’s inter- The College is pleased with this motion since national policy, that of the responsible capital. it offers an opportunity to take an even closer look at the impact our international activities Just like all the city governments before it, this have on the city, the region and the Nether- College believes that Amsterdam’s prosperity lands as a whole. What have we already and well-being are closely connected to the accomplished, and how has it benefitted us? position it occupies in the world, and that Is there room for improvement? If so, where? this must shape the city’s international policy. This memorandum is also a response to the However, this must not come at the expense of motion put forward by Paternotte & Capel on everything else. Amsterdam must not distort 12 December 20116 in which the College was the greater balance. It is the capital’s responsi- asked to list the concrete factors for achieving a bility to play an active part in the international successful ‘Third Golden Age for Amsterdam’, a arena so that not only the citizens living in the central theme of the mayor’s Amsterdam lecture Amsterdam Metropolitan Area benefit, but also for the University of Amsterdam in the summer those in the rest of the Netherlands and even of 2011. 7 7 Amsterdam’s international policy has undergone 2. This evaluation is not intended to be an considerable development in the last decade.