WILLEMSTAD, THE HAGUE – Kenville Kleinmoedig has been nominated by the candidate selection committee of Progressief Nederland (PRO) to serve as International Secretary on the party’s first full national board. If elected, he will become a member of the national leadership of the new Dutch political party. PRO is the merger party in which GroenLinks, and the Labor Party (PvdA) are continuing as one political organisation. With more than 100,000 members, it is one of the largest membership-based political parties in the Netherlands.
As International Secretary, Kleinmoedig would be responsible for PRO’s European and international cooperation and would represent the party in international political networks. Born and raised in Curaçao, Kleinmoedig says he wants to use the role to ensure that perspectives from across all six Dutch Caribbean islands are structurally included in European and international political conversations. “My background in Curaçao is an important part of who I am, but my commitment goes beyond one island. Curaçao, Aruba, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius each have their own realities and priorities. He explains. “My role is not to assume that I speak for all of them, but to make sure those different perspectives have a place in the conversations that affect them.”, Kleinmoedig adds.
From European campaigning to international political work
Kleinmoedig stood as a GroenLinks-PvdA candidate in the 2024 European Parliament elections. During that campaign, he placed particular emphasis on the six Caribbean islands of the Kingdom and translated European issues into the local realities of island communities. Since then, he has remained active at European and international level. Since 2024, he has represented GroenLinks as a delegation member within the European Green Party. He also advises Member of the European Parliament Marit Maij on her portfolio for the Overseas Countries and Territories and works closely with the S&D Group in the European Parliament. Through his advisory work, Kleinmoedig also works with international and civil society organizations on strengthening democracy, political dialogue, and inclusive participation. He has developed training programs and democracy initiatives and facilitated dialogue between governing and opposition parties, with particular attention to women, minorities and other groups that are not always naturally represented at the table.
Bringing Dutch Caribbean perspectives into international politics
As International Secretary, Kleinmoedig wants to ensure that PRO’s international outlook is not shaped only from Brussels and The Hague. “The Caribbean parts of the Kingdom should not only come into focus when there is a crisis or when an island-related issue happens to be on the agenda. Climate, security, energy, economic development, democracy, and human rights are international issues, but their consequences are felt locally,” Kleinmoedig explains. For Kleinmoedig, this means politics should not simply speak about the islands, but with them.“I want to listen to what is happening on the islands, bring those perspectives into European and international networks, and clearly communicate back what is being discussed and decided. International politics may begin far away, but it ultimately ends up at people’s front doors,’ he adds. He summarizes his political outlook as a dignified life, in a livable environment, with the freedom to be who you are.
“Social security, climate, and equal rights are not separate issues to me. They belong together. That is true in the European Netherlands, and just as much in the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom”, Kleinmoedig says. Kleinmoedig was born and raised in Curaçao and moved to the Netherlands in 2017. Prior to that, Kleinmoedig had already shown political interest and stood on the list of the MAN party in Curaçao. In the Netherlands, he continued his political ambitions and joined GroenLinks in 2018.
There, he served as campaign manager for GroenLinks Rotterdam and as a candidate for GroenLinksPvdA in the 2024 European elections.
The candidates nominated for the new party board will be presented to the members of PRO on September 25. Subsequently, the members will vote on the approval of the proposed board.