The opportunities of saying ‘farewell’

Saying ‘goodbye’ is a wrenching feeling for many in the expatriate, globally-mobile community. We know how to leave a place physically, with all the ‘clear’ admin steps involved. However, we also know that leaving a place, emotionally, needs planning and preparation. There are tips and tricks to prepare children, for instance at different ages, who are leaving familiar surroundings, feeling like they are abandoning friends, being confronted by the things that will no longer ‘be the same’. And what about the parents or those giving up jobs – there are many changes for them as well. We know that goodbyes and farewells are not easy.

What about the workplace?

Many companies, organisations and institutions also go through changes that require a few farewells… just as painful in some cases, necessary in others, but likewise not easy. For ACCESS this year, 12 months short of our 40th Anniversary, we are bidding farewell to the ACCESS Magazine. There will be tears but also laughter at the ‘oops’ and achievement moments of the past, fond memories of people who wrote for us or shared their stories. There will be tremendous appreciation for the more than 15 Editors and Assistant Editors over the years who produced our Magazine, on a voluntary basis more often than not. And for the designer who more than 15 years ago gave the magazine a fresh new, professional look for our purpose.

What started as an ‘internal’ newsletter for ACCESS – sharing tips, stories, events for the community that built ACCESS – quickly became a larger publication for the community of internationals living in the Netherlands. Towards the end of the 1980s when there was no internet (as we know it now), there was very little (if any) information from formal or informal sectors in English. There were many smaller, local community events, and word of mouth took some time to travel. In those days a printed product was worth its weight in gold (compared to today’s world) and people needed and looked for the information we provided, all helpful towards making the Netherlands their new, temporary home, and in finding the communities needed to thrive here.

What was helpful?

Over the years, the magazine covered a variety of themes – topics the Editors and the management of ACCESS felt were necessary to help people not only get to ‘know’ their new environment but also to learn things and take opportunities to meet others like them. We covered entrepreneurs and their businesses, explored world events taking place locally, and we discovered new places locally and throughout the country. We learnt from the traditions commemorated by our neighbours, and were introduced to the ‘tastes’ of the seasons in the Netherlands. Throughout the last 10 years, a great deal of information has become available in English with many blogs, platforms and publications carrying helpful and useful topics. In the early days, however, ACCESS was among the few publications sharing such information. In the honoured company of other publications such as the Xpat Journal, or the Roundabout

Magazine, ACCESS made the effort to ensure that people relocating to the Netherlands were offered opportunities to feel at home during the time they were living and working here.

Changing times

Over the course of time things changed: sponsorship and advertising became a way of raising profiles and funds; more and more activities slowly became bilingual or had information in English and were reaching a larger society; and the international audiences over the years grew exponentially. For the ACCESS magazine, volunteers joined us who had editing skills or wished to improve them, and writers enjoyed opportunities to create content to add to their portfolios. Grand times indeed.

Woven through the content we provided was the underlying intention to ensure that internationals knew more about their new ‘home’ country; to share recommendations by others on how to settle; share inspiring stories of internationals who had started businesses or initiatives in the Netherlands; and to share things that would help internationals feel at home. We were, after all, an organisation dedicated to helping new arrivals overcome obstacles and build a home. We have been answering questions from day one – connecting people to mental health support when needed – and providing countless volunteers, themselves relocated internationals, with a place and an opportunity to help others and also themselves. Slowly, the changes around us have meant that we no longer are unique in the content we provide. There is an ever-increasing amount of content ‘out there’ and an increasing number of platforms on which to share or find it.

What’s next?

Since 1986, ACCESS has been consistent in its mission to assist internationals arriving in the Netherlands, to help them navigate the many questions that arise, to help them know where to go and who to speak to for answers. We have been consistent in providing professional volunteering opportunities to many ‘accompanying’ partners/family members as they build their network to settle here as well. Today, while we say goodbye to our treasured magazine, we are also quietly building a new tool to continue to help internationals make the Netherlands a home away from home and settle effectively despite the personal challenges many may feel.

Stay tuned for more coming soon. If you’re curious, sign up now for what we have in store.

Deborah Valentine is the Executive Director of ACCESS Netherlands.

For the current issue of ACCESS Magazine click here.

On our ISSUU page you can enjoy a selection of the ACCESS Magazine archives going back to 2012.