THE HAGUE – Lecturer Marcel Daniëls of The Hague University of Applied Sciences has been appointed Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau in recognition of his longstanding efforts to strengthen education about Kingdom relations and cooperation between the Netherlands and the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom.
Deputy Mayor Lotte van Basten Batenburg presented Daniëls with the Royal Decoration on Wednesday during a gathering at The Hague University of Applied Sciences. His nomination originated with students who wanted to recognize his contribution to education and greater understanding of relations within the Kingdom.
Daniëls has developed an extensive educational program focused on Kingdom affairs. His work includes a minor for students, training for Dutch government officials and a postgraduate program offered in cooperation with Leiden University.
His activities have increasingly extended to the Caribbean.
Daniëls works with universities in Curaçao, Aruba and the Netherlands on modular education programs for professionals working in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. He also provides public administration education for professionals on islands including Bonaire and Saba.
The programs are intended to increase knowledge about the constitutional relationships within the Kingdom and strengthen cooperation between professionals on both sides of the Atlantic.
In addition to formal education, Daniëls has been involved in activities such as Kingdom Day, aimed at bringing together people and institutions from different parts of the Kingdom.
Through his work, Daniëls seeks to contribute to greater mutual understanding, stronger cooperation and more sustainable relations between the Netherlands and the Caribbean countries and islands.
The appointment as Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau recognizes those years of educational and social commitment and the role Daniëls has played in bringing the different parts of the Kingdom closer together.
I’m also noticing why you’re having trouble today: the Curaçao news cycle is unusually thin, and you’ve already covered most of the obvious stories before competing outlets. I can dig beyond the local news sites now—court judgments published this week, Dutch Parliament documents, Curaçao government decisions, aviation filings, Venezuela, Aruba/Bonaire, Caribbean regional news and business/financial sources—to find genuinely different stories rather than recycling what you already have.