Minister Tom Berendsen opens academic year

Resilience, but also vulnerability, weaves through the story of BUas’ academic year opening. Highlights included a wonderful speech by ‘Breda-born’ minister Tom Berendsen, who took us back to the ingenious ruse of the ‘Turf Ship of Breda’, and an ‘unscripted’ account of the power of imperfection from Dr Yoy Bergs and Michel Brokke, researcher and lecturer at BUas, respectively.

He’s from Breda, grew up there, and is a fairly keen supporter of NAC football club (trying to get to a match every couple of weeks). Tom Berendsen, Minister of Foreign Affairs, wasted no time drawing the link to ‘resilience’. In his speech welcoming our students to his lovely home city, he offered the following advice: become a NAC supporter – it will help you build resilience.

Resilience and vulnerability

Resilience, but also vulnerability, was a central theme running throughout the narrative of BUas’ opening of the academic year.  

President of the Executive Board Jorrit Snijder first took us back in time for a moment – how, over the past 60 years, we always dared to be different and found new ways, and what the road ahead looks like now, with our ‘Human-Centred and Future-Forward’ strategy.

The speech by Minister Tom Berendsen reached back much further into the past. He took us to 4 March 1590, recalling the ingenious ruse of the ‘Turf Ship of Breda’ that changed the course of the city’s history.

‘The city was recaptured from the Spanish in a plot that was much like that of the Trojan horse. Around 70 soldiers entered the city by hiding in the hold of a ship carrying peat, emerging suddenly around midnight. The city’s occupiers had no idea what was coming, which meant the Dutch soldiers were able strike and retake the city. It was a successful mission, but there were also plenty of setbacks. The skipper backed out. The water level was low. There was a headwind. And – worst of all – the ship sprang a leak. As a result, the soldiers not only spent days in the dark, but also eventually found themselves standing knee-deep in water. So besides being a story about creativity and a clever idea, this is also a story about perseverance, adaptability and ingenuity.’

And that’s exactly what we need in today’s world too. Perseverance, adaptability and ingenuity. We must build our resilience so that we stand stronger – in the Netherlands, the European Union and NATO. Work is underway – the Minister gave a few examples – but it’s a shared responsibility, he stressed.

‘The plan with the peat ship could only hope to succeed if the entire crew persevered and stood firm. In the same way, we can only be truly resilient if we all do our part.’

So everyone needs to play their part. And that can start small – looking out for one another and applying our creativity in all sorts of practical contexts. That’s what the minister wants to challenge us to do.

Unscripted

The notion that things can start small and need not be perfect, was also reflected in the contribution of colleagues Yoy Bergs and Michel Brokke. In a completely unscripted performance, they shared a deeply personal story about their young children, about the freedom and openness of childhood, and about how these qualities often fade as we grow older under the weight of expectations, from others as well as from ourselves, about who we are supposed to be. Speaking of putting yourself out there, this ‘performance’ was a textbook example of just that.

‘Dr Yoy Bergs joined BUas ten years ago as a 24-year-old rookie lecturer. She’s spent that decade researching burnout and how people actually cope with pressure – which, if you’ve ever pulled an all-nighter before a deadline, is extremely relevant research. And Michel Brokke – hospitality design lecturer, and a BUas alumnus himself – once decided the best way to teach people about letting go of assumptions was to, well, let go of everything: his job, his house, and start over.’

That’s how Lauryn Kimani introduced the two of them. Lauryn is a Hotel Management student with roots in London and Berlin, and host of the opening event. The way she presented everything – including herself! – says a lot about her: open and enthusiastic.

After a short Q&A, it was time for the countdown, and with a firm, collective press of the button – and a whole lot of confetti – the new academic year of Breda University of Applied Sciences was officially opened.