General Board.
dr. Robert van Zanten, Chairman
Robert van Zanten is Chairman of the General Board of Globewise. After his studies in Business Administration at the Erasmus University Rotterdam, Robert started NCOI Training in 1996. The NCOI Group has now grown into the largest educational institution in the Netherlands, of which NCOI, Scheidegger, Schoevers, NTI and Luzac are the best-known organisations. Robert's mission is to provide the best education and training for both adults and young people within The Netherlands. His moto in life is ‘Lifelong Learning’. Robert has a passion for good education and, as a result of this passion he, and his wife Marinel, decided to set up Globewise. He believes that a good education should be available to everyone in the world.
Marco van de Vegte, RA, Treasurer
Marco van de Vegte is the Treasurer of the General Board of Globewise. Marco is a partner at Deloitte and, in addition to being an accountant for large companies, Marco has held various leadership positions. He was part of the Board of Directors and later the Executive Committee of Deloitte from November 2012 until mid-2017 and was responsible for the entire Audit function. Since 2018 Marco has been Chairman of the Royal Dutch Professional Organization of Accountants. Given the importance of education for all children and their personal and social development, Marco is happy to help further professionalise Globewise and help it realise its goals.
drs. Bas Schoute, Secretary
Bas Schoute is Secretary of the General Board of Globewise. After his studies in Groningen, Bas worked for various internationally-operating companies in The Netherlands and abroad. Since 2012 he has been a board member of the NCOI Group. Bas has a passion for strategic and social issues. He also strongly believes in teamwork and entrepreneurship, especially when it comes to making a difference through education.
Project Board.
drs. Lideweij Bakker, Chairman
Lideweij Bakker is Chairman of the Projects Board and, together with her team, is involved in the search and review of new projects on the one hand, and keeping in touch with existing projects on the other. During her studies in International Relations, Lideweij undertook an internship at the United Nations in India where she also visited schools. Even then she realized how crucial education is for the development of people and society: “education inspires, offers opportunities and advances entire communities”. In the years that followed, in addition to her career in the financial world, she often worked for charities. When the family lived in London, she mentored children from Afghanistan.
drs. Ilse de Heus, Secretary
Ilse de Heus is Secretary of the Projects Board. Together with her colleagues, she is always looking for great educational projects and helps maintain contacts with these projects. In recent years she has made regular trips to Africa and Asia, both professionally and privately, and has developed a wide network. The many contacts with local people have taught her that education is essential for children to envisage a better future. She has a strong financial background and would like to use her experience as an investor to benefit Globewise.
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“I am convinced that with the right contacts, and through the efforts of many teachers and volunteers, many children will have more opportunities to follow education in the coming years. A lot has been achieved in the past 20 years and many children have managed to find a job after receiving a good education. As long as there are children to whom this does not apply I will continue to work for it."
Rosalien van der Laan, Treasurer
Rosalien van der Laan is Treasurer of the Projects Board and has been involved with Globewise since its foundation in 2016. After working in accountancy and as a financial controller at a media production company, she moved to Asia and lived there with her family for over 10 years. Here she saw first-hand that, due to immense poverty, children were unable to be properly educated. This has stimulated her to passionately devote herself to offering educational opportunities to children who do not have the possibilities or resources to manage this themselves.
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“By supporting the many educational projects, we have seen a huge positive effect on the development of underprivileged young people and their surroundings. It is very satisfying to be able to contribute to this as a person and as a member of Globewise.”
mr. Ghislaine Hus
Ghislaine Hus is a board member of Globewise and is involved in general matters such as finding new projects and discussing potential projects. After her law studies, Ghislaine worked as a junior civil-law notary and later started working as a lawyer at a real estate firm.
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Ghislaine has done a lot of local volunteer work and she has been involved with the foundation from the start. “It is very rewarding to try to give other children the same opportunities that we offer our children in The Netherlands.”
Marinel van Zanten - de Clerck
Marinel van Zanten and her husband took the initiative to set-up Globewise based on the idea that education is a sustainable way of combating poverty. The children and young people that Globewise helps are from poor backgrounds and lack of money is the main reason why getting an education and sustaining it is a challenge. Enabling them to receive an education directly improves their chances in the labour market, and with a better paying job they will be able to improve their own lives, as well as that of their own children.
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Marinel is the mother of three adolescents. She has trained and worked as a psychiatric nurse and is now energised working for Globewise. She likes visiting the projects as part of the research phase: “During such a visit you get a better feeling for the organization and understand more of the context. Contact with local people makes me realise again and again that people all over the world do not differ much from each other, and that it often depends on their specific circumstances as to whether or not they can develop their talents. It is great that we can contribute to giving young people a better future than their parents had through education.”
Communications and Fundraising Board.
drs. Pleun Vroom, board member
Pleun Vroom is a member of the Communications & Fundraising Board. She is an HR and Talent Acquisition professional with experience at companies such as Ahold Delhaize, Action and Accenture. Her dedication to volunteering, including coaching young people and supporting charities such as the Emma Children's Hospital and the Johan Cruijff Foundation, illustrates her belief in creating a positive impact. "As a board member, I have a personal goal to support children and young people growing up in poverty by addressing economic and social inequalities through educational initiatives."