This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Aronow & Van Velden To 2025 Athlete Watchlist April 02 ShareSaveCommentLifestyleWatches & JewelryBibi Van Der Velden Celebrates 20th Anniversary In Sparkling StyleByKate Matthams Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights Kate Matthams Spencer is a Paris-based writer who covers jewelry.Follow AuthorMar 08 07:00am ESTShareSaveCommentJewelry from the The Diamond Collection by Bibi van der Velden The celebrated Dutch jewelry designer Bibi van der Velden has unveiled her first all-diamond collection to mark her brand’s 20th anniversary based around her favorite sharp-toothed mascot: the alligator Ahead of more anniversary celebrations later this year — including parties exclusive jewels and the brand’s first pop-up — the sinewy signature has been redesigned entirely in white diamonds representing a step into new territory for a creative with two decades of rich jewelry design behind her The Alligator Twist ring by Bibi van der Velden their ubiquity made them feel less compelling to me creatively.” But as she explains the milestone has been a watershed: “I felt ready to embrace their brilliance and explore the dialogue between their classic appeal and the more surreal sculptural style that’s become my signature.” van der Velden initially began making jewelry using found objects and has since become well-known for her bejewelled bestiary and fairytale representations of the natural world through jewelry; sometimes abstract but always executed with characteristic humor and verve While the narrative element is still central to her work two decades of creative refinement have produced a highly sophisticated sculptural style that echoes her work as an artist Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase The pair has an international following of collectors for their thoughtful work mother-daughter practice that explores themes like time Van der Velden has described her sculpture and jewelry as “two halves” of a single Rings and bracelets from The Diamond Collection designed by Bibi van der Velden to mark her brand's .. “I’ve become more intentional in my craftsmanship always seeking to elevate the materials and bring a sense of timelessness to the pieces,” she adds Long used to accent other stones in van der Velden’s rainbow palette the exquisitely wearable collection puts white diamonds firmly in the spotlight van der Velden says she feels “immense gratitude and a renewed sense of creative energy It’s a moment to celebrate not just the past experimenting with new techniques and collaborating with artisans around the world.” With an anniversary pop-up store hitting Amsterdam in the Spring new collections coming up and a party later in the year it sounds like there are more firsts lined up for this anniversary year The Diamond Collection by Bibi van der Velden is avaiable now on bibivandervelden.com vsNCAA Swimming and Diving Championships Backstroke Split Highlights Opening Day of NCAA Championships3/19/2025 11:41:00 PM | Women's Swimming and Diving Allison van der Velden of the Community Health Center of Franklin County speaks during the grand opening of the center’s 8 Burnham St director of community health with the Franklin Regional Council of Governments speaks during the grand opening of the Community Health Center of Franklin County’s 8 Burnham St Cutting the ribbon at the new Community Health Center of Franklin County location in Turners Falls on Monday are Phoebe Walker of the Franklin Regional Council of Governments health center board of directors President Garth Shaneyfelt and Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers President and CEO Michael Curry president and CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers Jo Comerford speaks during the grand opening of the Community Health Center of Franklin County’s 8 Burnham St The new Community Health Center of Franklin County location on Burnham Street in Montague MONTAGUE — Local and state officials gathered alongside health care workers on Monday afternoon to celebrate the return of a community health center to town The first community health center in western Massachusetts was founded in 1997 in Turners Falls at the former Farren Care Center site just up the road from 8 Burnham St. where the new offices of the Community Health Center of Franklin County are now located The organization had been looking for its next opportunity for growth having maximized use of its locations at 102 Main St in Greenfield and 119 New Athol Road in Orange The center bought the Burnham Street property previously owned by Baystate Franklin Medical Center Before Baystate Franklin acquired it in January 2020 it was home to Connecticut River Internists This new Community Health Center of Franklin County location was funded using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money along with grants for health centers across the United States Van der Velden said before Monday’s ceremony that she is excited to see the return of a community health center to the town where it began in western Massachusetts especially because of the increased demand for the care that the facility can provide “[This comes] at a time when there’s a huge demand for health care so I’m really proud of that,” van der Velden said The Community Health Center of Franklin County’s services include primary and medical care The center hopes to offer dental care in the future there will be three full-time providers and one part-time provider with one fluent in Spanish to offer expanded care to local Spanish-speaking populations Van der Velden offered opening remarks about the new center reiterating the commitment it has to people in the community “We remain committed to our rural community and our mission to champion community health by delivering accessible collaborating with patients in the community to improve length and quality of life and emphasizing health care as a fundamental right for all,” van der Velden said A unique element of the Community Health Center of Franklin County is the service it offers to the region’s rural communities stating that the ability to offer expanded health care is difficult in today’s climate but to offer community health care in a rural context is an “against-all-odds” scenario saying that “community health centers are really the cornerstones of our communities.” spoke on McGovern’s behalf as he was unable to attend He reiterated McGovern’s commitment to supporting these health care centers “He will continue to advocate for funding for health care and for community health centers in particular,” Gardner-Levine said “We will continue to fight for health care for all and to create a better Among the attendees at Monday’s grand opening was Dr Curry explained the idea of a community health center that began in the context of social justice in the 1960s and how the significance of the Community Health Center of Franklin County is the service it provides to rural communities that have lost their hospitals and are struggling to recruit health care professionals “These are the challenges that the Community Health Center of Franklin County has been working to address for the last 27 years The health center provides critical services to the underserved community here in Turners Falls as well as in Greenfield and Orange,” Curry said The Community Health Center of Franklin County is considered a federally qualified health care center — a primary medical care center that receives federal funding and has a nonprofit structure to serve communities facing barriers to health care. According to the United States Health Resources and Services Administration a FQHC can “provide equitable health care to people who are geographically isolated and economically or medically vulnerable This includes programs that deliver health services to people with HIV and those otherwise unable to access high-quality health care.” “This new expansion will allow you to treat an additional 4,000 patients,” Curry said “The 50% increase in capacity is crucial to addressing the continually growing needs of low-income Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG) Director of Community Health Phoebe Walker spoke about this new location’s importance when it comes to meeting the goals of FRCOG’s five-year Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) which points to the expansion of health care as a priority Walker said this expansion of service will not only provide care to people living in the five villages of Montague but will offer expanded space for health care as demand for service increases between the two existing Community Health Center of Franklin County locations “This allows for there to be enough space for people to have beautiful behavioral health offices and room for all of the possible needs of the patients,” Walker said “I think it’s important not to think of it as just an expansion for Montague-area people although this really does bring it easily within touch of Leverett or Wendell people so there are a lot of folks who [will benefit from health care being] that much closer but it’s also just an expansion overall of the footprint.” Patient enrollment for the Turners Falls location is now available and plans to provide more services at the location are in progress. For more information about the Community Health Center of Franklin County, visit chcfc.org Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com or 413-930-4231 you agree with our use of cookies to personalize your experience measure ads and monitor how our site works to improve it for our users The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi is dismayed that Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden has launched another attack on workers’ rights by removing employment protections for workers when they start in a new role These protections include being provided information about the role and function of unions and that new employees must be employed on the same (or better) terms with any onsite collective agreement while they decide whether to join a union “In yet another announcement from Brooke van Velden workers’ rights are being eroded and unions undermined,” said NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff “Currently workers in a new role have protection for 30 days to weigh their options and settle in without being disadvantaged The Minister clearly wants to disrupt this period and encourage employers to create division among workers – between those who have a union agreement and those who don’t this is a deliberate attempt to undermine the role of unions in workplaces and prevent working people from securing good pay and conditions when they take on a job in a new workplace they are in a vulnerable position and can’t be expected to assert their rights in terms of trade union coverage “The Minister has no experience of unions or collective bargaining and she refuses to engage with unions to understand the issues she already has the worst record in the portfolio in decades “Workers are sick and tired of this Government and their continued disdain for ordinary people who work hard every day to keep this country running “Across the country workers are organising to stand together and fight back against this Government which is actively hostile to their interests,” said Wagstaff Copyright © New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae KaimahiAuthorised by Richard Wagstaff The future Turners Falls location for the Community Health Center Franklin County at 8 Burnham St TURNERS FALLS — Amid an increased demand for primary care, the Community Health Center of Franklin County plans to open a Turners Falls location in December with primary medical care available to anyone The center bought the property at 8 Burnham St. which was previously owned by Baystate Franklin Medical Center Given the property’s history as medical offices only modest renovations are needed before the Community Health Center of Franklin County can open the center is helping to address a lack of primary care options CEO of the Community Health Center of Franklin County said new staff members have been hired and some existing staff will also be moved into the space upon opening Van der Velden stressed that the health center is accepting patients now as the expansion continues Van der Velden, when interviewed in July 2023 about the purchase said the organization had been looking for its next opportunity for growth having quickly maximized use of its locations at 102 Main St Though van der Velden had originally hoped to open the new Turners Falls facility in early 2024 construction delays pushed back the opening date Van der Velden calls the concept of the community health center “the best-kept secret in medical care” for its unique structure “There are about 1,400 community health centers that are federally qualified health centers (FQHC) in the United States We serve 32.5 million patients in the U.S. so that’s about 1 in 10 people across the country,” van der Velden explained A FQHC is a primary medical care center that receives federal funding and has a nonprofit structure to serve communities facing barriers to health care. According to the United States Health Resources and Services Administration and those otherwise unable to access high-quality health care.” Van der Velden explained the Community Health Center of Franklin County started in 1997 after the community health center structure gained traction in the United States Federal grant money is used to fund the health centers “Some of the things that FQHCs do that is most impactful are growing in ways that are dictated by community needs,” van der Velden explained “We engage in community health needs assessments and we really try to respond to the needs of the community in a way that other organizations can’t or don’t.” As part of a community health needs assessment certain material conditions within a region are reviewed that influence how care is managed at a community health center Van der Velden observes that just accessing primary care is a community need and people are often seeking it at urgent care centers or emergency rooms for non-emergencies By taking into account situations like a lack of housing van der Velden said patient care can be better tailored but we do have resources to connect folks to systems and help them navigate systems that are already placed,” van der Velden said Medical and dental care are available through community health centers with an integrated-care system, meaning the primary care covers a variety of health needs. Mental health and telehealth services are also provided, according to the Community Health Center of Franklin County’s website. Across Franklin County at the community health centers in Orange, Greenfield and Baystate Franklin, van der Velden said her organization employs roughly 135 people in administrative and health care roles, extending the community focus to employment as well. “We’re really invested in high-quality jobs,” van der Velden said. “It’s related to our mission to be a respectful, high-quality employer, because our employees are part of the community also, and we know that economic stimulation helps make them healthy.” A unique part of the community health center care model is that nobody who seeks care will be denied. According to the Community Health Center of Franklin County’s website, “Federal and state funding allows us to offer services thorough the Massachusetts Health Safety Net and a sliding-fee discount scale.” This discount scale, van der Velden elaborated, is based on the federal poverty level, so payment for services can be made more accessible to those seeking it. “If you have medical care [access] issues and you just need care, come see us,” van der Velden said. “We’re available and you’re supporting a nonprofit health care institution when you come to us for care.” Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com. An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the planned opening date of the new Turners Falls location. The correct opening date is December 2024. By using this site, you agree with our use of cookies to personalize your experience, measure ads and monitor how our site works to improve it for our users Jeweller Bibi van der Velden takes inspiration from everywhere - except SaveLog in or Subscribe to save articleShareCopy link Share via...Gift this articleSubscribe to gift this article Gift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe Every piece of jewellery made by Bibi van der Velden begins with a sculpture sitting on a plinth in a hotel room at the Château Voltaire in Paris This sculpture was the jumping off point for van der Velden’s 2021 collection opal and diamonds to represent the ephemeral waft of a smoulder that showcases a network of invisibly connected diamonds; the idea was to display impermanence She dreamed up the collection during COVID They became a symbol of the pandemic for me” Starting with a sculpture helps to define the collection in her mind “The sculpture helps me get my head around the shapes Gift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe. Follow the topics, people and companies that matter to you. Former Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA) chair and Lumira Ventures managing partner Peter van der Velden has publicly criticized CEO Kim Furlong for her handling of a recent meeting with international limited partners (LPs) in London In a September 20 LinkedIn post van der Velden alleged that “the meeting was a bit of a miss because the CEO of the CVCA appeared unwilling or unable to advocate for the largest part of its membership.”  Van der Velden lodged three specific complaints He claimed Furlong: failed to adequately highlight the Canadian venture capital (VC) story; spent too much time providing a broad Canadian economic update; and indicated that Canadian pension funds are not backing more domestic VCs because they focus solely on performance when he believes other factors are at play ​​BetaKit has not independently verified van der Velden’s account of what transpired at the meeting build engagement & attract foreign capital to CDN VC GPs & companies & the CVCA CEO just threw the entire sector under the bus.” the meeting was organized by the Global Affairs Canada liaison to the CVCA hosted by former Canadian Member of Parliament Ralph Goodale at Canada House and about encouraging foreign investors to participate in Canadian VC as co-investors or LPs connecting this group with Canadian general partners (GPs) & the CVCA CEO just threw the entire sector under the bus,” he alleged van der Velden did not refer to Furlong by name only “the CVCA CEO.” When reached by phone regarding his post van der Velden told BetaKit that he had nothing more to add BetaKit reached out to Furlong and the CVCA for a comment in response to van der Velden’s post Furlong did not respond by publication time while a spokesperson for the CVCA asserted in a statement that it “remains dedicated to fostering constructive stakeholder engagement on access to capital and championing Canada as an attractive destination for investment.” the CVCA did not respond directly to van der Velden’s comments instead offering a more general reply: “The CVCA provides numerous opportunities for members to share candid feedback CVCA takes pride in representing the interests of all our members—the investors behind the creation of thousands of jobs the advancement of innovative technologies and the strengthening of local economies across the country.” especially on issues that are vital not just to the success of our sector but to the future of Canada as a whole,” reads the statement “The CVCA remains dedicated to fostering constructive stakeholder engagement on access to capital and championing Canada as an attractive destination for investment.” including serving as president and chair in 2012 and between 2014 and 2016 RELATED: GPs and LPs at Startupfest expect gradual recovery with 2024 on pace for worst year for Canadian VC in a decade Furlong should have done a better job of selling Canada’s VC industry at the meeting by outlining its “growth how GPs have thrived despite the lack of domestic [pension plan] engagement and why GPs like those in the room are tougher & more resilient because of it.” Canada is home to some of the largest pension funds in the world, but they have among the smallest domestic allocations globally, according to FDI Intelligence include the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) Recently, there has been strong debate over whether the Government of Canada should force them to invest more in Canada Supporters of this idea have argued that it could help address Canada’s productivity woes and ensure greater access to capital for domestic businesses while detractors—including the pension funds themselves—say introducing local investment rules would compromise their mandates to provide secure retirement income for Canadians RELATED: John Ruffolo has advice for Canada’s pension funds in response to a question from a UK family office about why while Canada’s largest pension funds are investing heavily on a global basis top Canadian VCs have been forced to fundraise abroad “The reason for the lack of engagement is because the Maple 8’s sole objective is performance.”  Van der Velden took issue with this response which he claimed does not convey the whole story Canada’s big pension funds have largely been disengaged from the VC since the mid-2000s when they became “quasi [private equity] firms,” that they have consistently articulated to foreign and domestic GPs that the cheque sizes in Canadian VC are too small and that they have failed to build teams with the experience necessary to truly engage the industry “it’s not clear to us who exactly they are advocating for anymore.” the CVCA’s fundamental role is to advocate for the CDN VC/PE sector and this means having a CEO who is passionate high conviction and unfailingly willing to promote our sector to LPs everywhere by delivering the message that the CDN VC asset class can & should be accretive to their overall performance,” reads van der Velden’s post “If the CEO won’t do that for the majority of members then that is a problem.” Feature image courtesy Unsplash. Photo by JP Valery The publication of record for Canadian technology and innovation news. Learn more It’s more broken than most people can even imagine If you’ve had the privilege of not needing care you might not realize how hard it can be to get it when you do if you live in western Massachusetts and aren’t a multi-billionaire you still may struggle to find services near you and get timely care In this disconnected swamp of private-equity and corporate profits The Community Health Center of Franklin County (CHCFC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit primary care office right in downtown Greenfield and on the main drag in Orange Community health centers (unfortunately) are the best kept secret in health care because we know every dollar spent on ads is a dollar that could have been spent on actual care We don’t claim to have fixed the whole U.S “system,” but community health centers are the least broken part of it You may have seen notices from other practices about wait lists We are held to a higher standard for accessibility And we have a mission: to champion community health by delivering accessible collaborating with patients and the community to improve length and quality of life and emphasizing health care as a fundamental right for all so that's an achievement that won't be missed by us but we know we've got three more games to keep building on that." Is the Queensland boss the right man to lead Australia forward And will Joe Schmidt be tempted to stick around for Rugby World Cup 2027 ‘An example of the women’s game’ might be the perfect way to define Linde van der Velden But did you know she wasn’t very pro contact when she first started playing rugby “I wasn’t unaware of rugby, as my father always watched the Six Nations or the Rugby World Cup and even took me some of my cousin’s games,” Van der Velden tells RugbyPass “But I wasn’t prepared for the large number of rules when I experienced my first practice especially when it came to me being tackled Funny how things turned out to be in the end!” With exactly one year to go until Women’s Rugby World Cup England 2025 kicks offin Sunderland excitement is sweeping across the host nation in anticipation of whatwill be the biggest and most accessible celebration of women’s rugby ever Register now for the ticket presale‘This Energy Never Stops’ – One year to go until the Women’s Rugby World CupWith exactly one year to go until Women’s Rugby World Cup England 2025 kicks offin Sunderland Register now for the ticket presalewindow.scriptsToInit.push('BrightCoveEmbeddedScrollVideo.init("6360804784112");'); The Exeter Chiefs lock’s rugby adventure started 13 years ago influenced by family and the desire to belong to something bigger “Sometimes I do look back and remember my first days as a rugby player which can be seen as quite ‘old’ for someone who was having their first try-out,” she says “I was a horse-riding athlete for many years “I never thought I would have the chance to become a professional player when I first picked up a rugby ball or have the honour to represent my country but I ended up having the chance to do both.” the powerful Dutch lock also had a brief spell in handball with her size turning out to be a major advantage her first outing as a rugby player wasn’t in the second row but as a centre staying in the backline for quite some time – and representing her country at sevens – before finally moving up to the pack The transition to the engine room was an easy one “I always felt that my strengths would work better if I played as a forward,” she explains “I got to improve my skills as a ball carrier or getting out of the scrum to tackle the opposing players my weaknesses were exposed more easily and I didn’t want to jeopardise my team.” Netherlands captain Linde van der Velden admitted her side were “lucky” to have Lieve Stallmann after the full-back saved them from a debut WXV 3 defeat with a dramatic charge down Her debut for the Netherlands came in 2016 Linde was playing in the lower Dutch divisions and was far from the spotlight “The national team was getting ready for the World Cup qualifier [to be played in 2015] and so they ran some trials and I was also playing for the lowest division I didn’t have the chance to go,” Van der Velden says I was selected to play for a combined side who would be put against the national team and the national head coach noticed me and invited me to join the Dutch camp “I was lucky that Sascha Werlich believed in me and allowed me to be involved with them Thanks to her I managed to debut for my country in a game against Switzerland… coming from the bench as a centre They selected me as a wing but ended up playing me at centre but my team-mates and staff were so supportive and motivated me to keep going On that day I made the decision to understand what was happening around me on the field Combining her studies with sport and work wasn’t easy and in 2018 she joined the French club Stade Toulousain that chapter wasn’t a successful one but destiny showed up once again “I was living in Toulouse playing for the Stade Toulousain They are setting up their women’s programme and I think you should send an email’,” Van der Velden says “Holly shared the head coach’s email address ‘We are going to play against Newcastle on this day “I went for it and… got a contract in the end I signed for the Chiefs and that’s the beginning of my tale in England.” Linde’s time in France wasn’t the most fulfilling as the language barrier was difficult to overcome she regained the joy of playing for a club as she was able to understand what everyone wanted from her “When you can’t communicate you start doubting yourself more,” Van der Velden says I wasn’t playing in Toulouse and I found myself in a tricky spot with all the players being on the same level as we were debuting the programme allowing her to fully dedicate herself to rugby “My schedule was busy when I was living in Netherlands and played for the sevens and XVs national teams,” she says focusing on individual and skills training “It was literally a game-changing moment in my life The Chiefs gave me the opportunity to dedicate fully to the craft and thanks to them and the Premiership Women’s Rugby I have grown to become a better player.” Premiership Women’s Rugby has been the bedrock of the increase in quality of the international game with players from all over the world having a chance to shine the English top division has made an impact in the sport Van der Velden says: “It is just amazing to play in the Premiership Women’s Rugby It has turned out to be the perfect place for foreign players to develop which makes the competition even more exciting Let’s start domestically - and with the best league in the world Premiership Women’s Rugby is just weeks away and bristling more enticingly than ever with global talents - as would-be World Cuppers swarm English shores “The professional setup helps us to improve something completely new to me before signing with the Chiefs.” Exeter qualified for the 2022 and 2023 PWR finals losing to Saracens and Gloucester-Hartpury Having experienced more than 60 games in the competition we challenged her to pick the Chiefs’ prime rival We used to have this tradition of neither us nor them losing as hosts against each other and because they have a type of game that resembles ours Exeter reached the PWR final for a second time with 10,000 fans waiting for the clash between them and Gloucester-Hartpury always supporting and following us,” Van der Velden says “It keeps growing every new year and for players like me who don’t have their families coming to every game to have that fan community around almost feels like we belong to a family.” Gloucester-Hartpury will begin their quest for a third successive Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) title against Leicester Tigers at Kingsholm on Sunday Having helped her club win two Allianz Cups in the past I do think we have the team and the staff members to get there,” she insists “Susie Appleby and Steve Salvin are such amazing coaches and have done great work in the recruitment dossier for this new season “I am looking forward to get back with girls in Exeter and working together to finally taking the cup home.” With the dawn of the third decade of the 21st century women’s rugby has been winning more fans than ever shattering records and becoming a new way to expand the sport globally But has it grown in the eyes of the players “Women’s rugby has definitely grown in the last 10 years The biggest example is the size of the fan-base,” Van der Velden says the number of fans in the stands has become bigger In the Netherlands we had a record-breaking crowd against Colombia with over a thousand fans coming to watch us play on a Thursday evening “And the game against Samoa was the first time the Dutch women’s rugby national team had a game broadcast on national television like the salary cap in the PWR which is far lower than the men’s “I’m not saying we have to be in the same level right now but I think it shows there’s still room for improvement and more progress I find it important to acknowledge where we are standing right now and celebrate the bit in between like beating Fiji at home or having the honour of having a game broadcast on national television “Those steps will inspire more professionalism and funding in the future.” The increase in women’s Test matches has been hailed as one of the reasons for the growth experienced by countries like the Netherlands as it gives us more games to prove ourselves Rugby Europe has also invested in developing a more action-packed season allowing teams to grow in a very positive way,” she suggests “The increase of Test matches will help us improve narrowing down a wide gap that has existed for quite some time as we had just a couple of games to play in each season in the past.” two players from the U18s programme are involved and have already played minutes for the senior side a major sign of Netherlands’ growth in the sport “I hope to finish WXV 3 with Rugby World Cup qualification It won’t mean that we are on the same level as the others but it will push for more games and international activity,” Van der Velden states If we look at the Dutch U18 women’s programme you can see the massive changes being made and how those players are already at a higher level they will be inspired to work towards something greater and will push for more investment to come It’s amazing to see those girls come through and how talented they are Things changed massively from when I started playing.” Netherlands were able to hold Samoa to an 8-8 draw Linde made nine tackles and snatched a turnover in a game she will forever remember “I would say Samoa is up there in my all-time favourite games and have done incredible things in the past,” she says “Our match against Fiji has to be also included on the top three as we were not only able to compete but win against a World Cup side And I would say the Hong Kong China game in 2019 was special as my sister made her debut and played right next to me singing the anthem with her and having a great time Recognised as a thumping tackler and a bone-shattering ball carrier the lock reveals a piece of information that makes her growth look even more impressive but it was something I already had grasped quite well before,” Van der Velden says “And one skill that I wasn’t so good at when I started my journey in England a coach asked me ‘Why aren’t you in the lineout “I started practising the lifting and jumping It is funny when you think that four years ago Acknowledging the struggles of becoming a pro player and being able to achieve great things Linde offers a special and departing message to all of those who are starting their rugby journey There were times that I thought I couldn’t achieve certain things because I was from such a small rugby country I feel happy I believed in myself and the opportunities I had I always remember the first try I scored for the Netherlands some years ago and how I didn’t fully enjoy it because I was so nervous “It is important to enjoy those moments and the things in between.” The Women's Rugby World Cup 2025 is coming to England. Click here to buy tickets Join free and tell us what you really think Is the Queensland boss the right man to lead Australia forward Northampton Saints found a way of beating the fabled Jacques Nienaber blitz and inflicting another 'horrific' Champions Cup loss on the Leinster giants Warren Gatland forged a sense of togetherness in his 2013 Lions but faced personal 'vitriol' after leaving out a legend Current record is 52-40 for the Springboks The old adage holds - test matches are won up front… Interesting article Love certainly had impact at 10 against a very strong Chiefs side goal kicking and general play enabled his team to beat them comfortably If he can continue that form he would be an asset for the ABs so should at least be in the squad Pretty well The wallabies have a good record against the springboks Ther has been some talk of ‘good cop bad cop’ with Joe playing the tough love role A but Joe won’t be there for at least one year esp with Les slated to finish one year after a WC in 2028 I think the choice reflects the current battle for power between Waugh and Dan Herbert and you’re point of comp with Ewen McKenzie may turn out ot be all too accurate It is not a chocie which will lead to unity of purpose in the long run it will simply expose the flaws at the time of making it The next idea to try might be fornting up with the first XV on those tough tours of SA pre-Champions Cup semi Get them battle hardened upstairs for the tests ahead Previous games with Lienster showcased the full range of his abilities though Tim just have to give him the full 80 not half a bleedin hour In that case you are wrong JW Joe Heyes the toe-cruncher?😂 Lot of pressure on him to get it right as an Englishman coaching Ireland Chiefs In fairness Eng’s D was far better by the end of the 6N than it was in the first half of the tourney Tom Yep I think they’ll let the Prem go now ED They have a very good shot of beating UBB in the final Saints will prioritize he Champions Cup over the Prem naturally They have very little chance making the playoffs Steady on we’ve got two very tough tests in Argentina with ranking points on the line before the RWC draw With that selection we might have Joe Heyes at fly half We’ll never know now He can do more things well on the field now than Robbie in his thirties It started as a normal Tuesday I got an email warning of suspicious activity so I clicked the link and entered my login but everyone said the same: crypto scams are rarely recoverable The guilt and helplessness were overwhelming I found mentions of GRAYWARE TECH SERVICES on Reddit and their team responded quickly and professionally They traced the stolen funds using blockchain forensics and worked with crypto partners GRAYWARE didn’t just return my funds—they gave me back peace of mind Contact: graywaretechservices.com | WhatsApp: +1 858-275-9508 | contact@graywaretechservices.com 👍 It might be a mistake to read too much into the last England game England were all over the shop with Felix Jones having walked out very unexpectedly half way through implementing the complex ‘blitz’ system In the match half the team were ‘blitzing’ half drifting and it descended into a glorified game of sevens I don’t think was Jordie was a 50/50 option He gave Leinster a triple threat option they do not have with Robbie H at this stage of his career Metrics details Minimal/measurable residual disease (MRD) diagnostics using real-time quantitative PCR analysis of rearranged immunoglobulin and T-cell receptor gene rearrangements are nowadays implemented in most treatment protocols for patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) allowing appropriate risk-group classification for patients and inter-protocol comparisons that was gradually optimized and updated over the last 20 years and that now includes participants from around 70 laboratories worldwide We here describe the design and analysis of our quality assessment scheme we here report revised data interpretation guidelines based on our newly generated data and extensive discussions between experts The main novelty is the partial re-definition of the “positive below quantitative range” category by two new categories below quantitative range” and “MRD of uncertain significance” The quality assessment program and revised guidelines will ensure reproducible and accurate MRD data for ALL patients similar programs and guidelines have been introduced for other lymphoid diseases (e.g. digital droplet PCR or Next-Generation Sequencing) and for other patient-specific MRD PCR-based targets (e.g. making this technology a highly validated method that is used in many ongoing clinical trials Another unique feature of IG/TR-based RQ-PCR is that the vast majority of laboratories worldwide performing this type of analysis for MRD monitoring in lymphoid malignancies are interconnected within the international EuroMRD Consortium formerly known as the European Study Group on MRD detection in ALL (ESG-MRD-ALL) was established in 2001 and is currently composed of 71 MRD-PCR laboratories spread across 27 countries in Europe The red dots indicate the institutes of the co-chairpersons The three main goals of EuroMRD are (i) Quality: based on the organization of RQ-PCR-based MRD external quality assessment (QA) programs (ii) Education: providing continuous education of all participating members in assay performance and data interpretation and (iii) Innovation: the collaborative development and evaluation of new MRD strategies and techniques and the development and update of guidelines for the interpretation of RQ-PCR-based MRD data as well as those covering new strategies and techniques The quality scheme currently consists of QA rounds for several disease categories (ALL and B-cell lymphoma (FL and MCL)) for different molecular markers (IG/TR gene rearrangements and amplicon NGS) aiming at collaborative standardization of established MRD techniques and evaluation of new MRD strategies relation to (inter)national treatment protocols After successful application and approval by the EuroMRD Board laboratories can register via the EuroMRD web tool and participate in the QA rounds Information about the participating MRD-PCR laboratories is shown in Fig. 1 and is continuously updated online (www.EuroMRD.org/participants) All EuroMRD QA schemes are organized on a rotating basis by experienced organizer laboratories of the EuroMRD Consortium from different countries (hereafter referred to as ‘local organizer’). The scheme for the ALL (IG/TR) section consisted of two QA rounds per year, one in spring and one in autumn. The whole QA scheme process is depicted in Fig. 2. The Figure shows the various steps in the EuroMRD QA scheme for ALL for both the QA section leader & organizer (left part) as well as for the participants (right part) Each round includes the so-called task 1, consisting of 10 paper-based clinical cases, and the wet lab-based task 2 or task 3, respectively. The different tasks are described in Table 1 The samples originate from leftover patient materials obtained during routine care with patients´ consent that samples can be used for scientific purposes (opt-in or opt-out depending on national regulations) The local organizers are responsible for ensuring that the way in which the samples were obtained conform to the national legal requirements for the use of patient samples and that handling is compliant with international regulations and the Declaration of Helsinki IG/TR-based RQ-PCR raw data from 10 ALL patients are selected by the local organizer and participants should determine the quantitative range (QR) and MRD levels of the follow-up (FU) samples These cases may include one to three cases that were also used in a previous QA round so that improvements over time can be analyzed Other selected cases should mainly reflect routine cases with the addition of one to two more challenging cases are selected by the local organizer who is also responsible for pre-testing diagnostic DNA is extracted from bone marrow samples with known ALL infiltration and known IG/TR gene rearrangement patterns Three dilutions of this DNA in polyclonal DNA serve as artificial MRD samples with known MRD values All samples have a concentration of 100 ng/µl The concentration of these samples is confirmed by both spectrophotometer measurement (e.g. without adjusting of the concentration by the participants Starting with Excel sheets in the first QA rounds the submission and evaluation of data became more and more standardized and sophisticated over the years an in-house developed database and a submission website (EuroMRD web tool) are provided for the submission of results and the distribution of important information the evaluation of the results and the scoring of the different tasks is done using an in-house developed database and web tool Given the extent of the different tasks (task 1 being a paper-based task only while task 2 includes complete marker screening and subsequent MRD analysis) the tasks are weighted differently in the scoring system the reference data are determined by the consensus of five well-experienced laboratories the artificial dilutions are considered as reference values All data are presented and discussed in depth during the yearly EuroMRD meeting After that meeting the final reference values are determined and results from participants are scored all of the 10 paper-based cases are pre-evaluated by five experienced laboratories from the consortium (reference labs) this leads to a maximum score of 4 or 5 points per case depending on the number of FU samples used A sequence is also scored if it was not identified by any other laboratory but was used as an MRD-PCR target in an RQ-PCR assay with a QR of at least 10–4 The MRD levels of follow-up sample 1 were determined by the participants using different MRD-PCR targets The names of the respective targets used for the MRD assay by the participant are colored green the number of participants that used the respective target is written above the box plots (note: all participants will aim to analyze the FU sample using two MRD-PCR targets therefore the sum of these numbers is about twice the number of participants) The blue line indicates the reference value the quantitative MRD levels are provided by the respective QA organizer and used as references for scoring The raw points of this task are multiplied with a weighting factor of 10 for the final score certificates of participation and performance in QA rounds are provided to the participants Certificates of participation and performance in QA rounds are distributed after the annual meeting of the same calendar year pass and fail criteria were included in the scoring system A certificate of performance is only provided if ≥75% of all points have been achieved (spring QA round only a certificate of attendance is provided for the respective tasks Sustained (A) and improved (B) performance of paper-based cases of task 1 that were analyzed during various QA rounds Bars represent the percentages of laboratories with concordant results Data show the performance of six laboratories that more recently joined the ALL group The relative performance of these labs was calculated starting from their first participation to their sixth participation The score ratio is defined by dividing the percentage score of the 6 newer laboratories by the mean percentage of the respective QC of all participating laboratories Whereas the mean performance of the newer laboratories is already good from first participation onwards (showing appropriate training of these laboratories by experienced EuroMRD laboratories before entry) there are also some lower scores and some heterogeneity the guidelines now have been formally updated and can be found in the Supplementary information where all major changes compared to the original guideline are marked the updates address several relevant issues A second topic is the rounding of MRD results It was discussed and decided that for the EuroMRD QA rounds MRD data should be reported in one significant figure and that rounding should only be done in the final step of data interpretation till then all numbers should be used as they are Such information and common decisions are additionally tracked and shared on the FAQ section of the EuroMRD web tool If fragment length analysis is not performed or inconclusive the fragment length may be assumed to be correct which is a prerequisite for comparison of MRD data among clinical trials and treatment guiding in ALL MRD result reporting needs to follow uniform guidelines Based on routine MRD reports of several EuroMRD laboratories and legal obligations (i.e. recommendations for a standardized MRD report were developed These guidelines for correct reporting of the MRD results for patient care or within clinical trials are presented in the Supplementary information it now becomes possible to more reliably determine whether such low levels of MRD are truly positive or ambiguous below QR’ category into two new categories (‘MRD low positive <QR’ and ‘MRD of uncertain significance’) separate criteria for protocols that aim at therapy reduction or therapy intensification become redundant and therefore the guidelines are somewhat simplified This QA program has been constantly improved and updated in the last 20 years The results of our QA program confirm the competence of the participants to deliver such high-quality and reproducible MRD data The EuroMRD consortium has many specific features that explain its long-standing presence and success the consortium includes almost all reference laboratories worldwide applying IG/TR-based RQ-PCR MRD detection in ALL the consortium serves both pediatric and adult ALL patients due to the developed guidelines and standardization data comparison between many different trials has become possible EuroMRD serves as a contact for many clinical trials on ALL Due to the longstanding and close interactions between the participants the consortium also provides a solid base for scientific collaboration the work done within EuroMRD can serve as an example of how to validate in-house developed tests for rare diseases according to the IVDR The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request Minimal residual disease diagnostics in acute lymphoblastic leukemia: need for sensitive An update on PCR use for minimal residual disease monitoring in acute lymphoblastic leukemia Successful therapy reduction and intensification for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia based on minimal residual disease monitoring: study ALL10 from the Dutch Childhood Oncology Group Molecular response to treatment redefines all prognostic factors in children and adolescents with B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia: results in 3184 patients of the AIEOP-BFM ALL 2000 study Minimal residual disease-directed risk stratification using real-time quantitative PCR analysis of immunoglobulin and T-cell receptor gene rearrangements in the international multicenter trial AIEOP-BFM ALL 2000 for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia Minimal residual disease (MRD) analysis in the non-MRD-based ALL IC-BFM 2002 protocol for childhood ALL: is it possible to avoid MRD testing Optimization of PCR-based minimal residual disease diagnostics for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia in a multi-center setting Analysis of minimal residual disease by Ig/TCR gene rearrangements: guidelines for interpretation of real-time quantitative PCR data Standardisation and consensus guidelines for minimal residual disease assessment in Philadelphia-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph + ALL) by real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR of e1a2 BCR-ABL1 MRD detection in B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas using Ig gene rearrangements and chromosomal translocations as targets for real-time quantitative PCR Lefranc MP. IMGT databases, web resources and tools for immunoglobulin and T cell receptor sequence analysis. Leukemia. 2003;17:260–6. http://imgt.cines.fr Next-generation sequencing indicates false-positive MRD results and better predicts prognosis after SCT in patients with childhood ALL NGS better discriminates true MRD positivity for the risk stratification of childhood ALL treated on MRD-based protocol Non-specific amplification of patient-specific Ig/TCR gene rearrangements depends on the time point during therapy: implications for minimal residual disease monitoring B-cell reconstitution after allogeneic SCT impairs minimal residual disease monitoring in children with ALL Prognostic value of low-level MRD in adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia detected by low- and high-throughput methods Quality control for IG /TR marker identification and MRD analysis The gray area of RQ-PCR-based measurable residual disease: subdividing the ‘positive Droplet digital PCR quantification of mantle cell lymphoma follow-up samples from four prospective trials of the European MCL network Minimal residual disease (MRD) detection in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia based on fusion genes and genomic deletions: towards MRD for all ABL-class genomic breakpoint Q-PCR: a patient-specific approach for MRD monitoring in acute lymphoblastic leukemia Measurable residual disease analysis in paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukaemia patients with ABL-class fusions Rearranged T-cell receptor beta genes represent powerful targets for quantification of minimal residual disease in childhood and adult T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia Vdelta2-Jalpha rearrangements are frequent in precursor-B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia but rare in normal lymphoid cells Immunoglobulin light chain gene rearrangements in precursor-B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia: characteristics and applicability for the detection of minimal residual disease TCRB gene rearrangements in childhood and adult precursor-B-ALL: frequency and stability between diagnosis and relapse Highly sensitive MRD tests for ALL based on the IKZF1 Delta3-6 microdeletion Minimal residual disease analysis by monitoring immunoglobulin and T-cell receptor gene rearrangements by quantitative PCR and droplet digital PCR Standardized next-generation sequencing of immunoglobulin and T-cell receptor gene recombinations for MRD marker identification in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia; a EuroClonality-NGS validation study Standardized flow cytometry for highly sensitive MRD measurements in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia Download references We gratefully acknowledge all members of the EuroMRD consortium and Dr Bitter from the ESHLO office for their support Present address: Military Medical City Hospital These authors contributed equally: Vincent H A list of members and their affiliations appears in the Supplementary Information Department of Molecular Biotechnology and health sciences Department of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Second Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Motol Centro de Investigación del Cáncer-Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular del Cáncer (CIC-IBMCC USAL-CSIC-FICUS) and Department of Medicine European Scientific foundation for Laboratory Hemato Oncology (ESLHO) All authors participated in the collection of data VHJvdV and ID wrote the first draft of the manuscript All authors critically reviewed the manuscript and all authors approve its submission The authors declare no competing interests Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41375-024-02272-0 Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: a shareable link is not currently available for this article A health and safety expert says recent Government announcements fail to address a dysfunctional system and distract from what really needs to be done Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden made four separate announcements this week covering safety compliance for some businesses private land access and codes of practices They included clarifying that different industries could develop their own approved codes of practice that private landowners were not liable for accidents involving recreational activities on their land She also announced reduced health and safety compliance for some businesses by narrowing the focus of the Health and Safety at Work Act to risks that could cause death serious injury or illness for small operators and cutting notification requirements to critical incidents Institute of Safety Management board chair Mike Cosman told Nine to Noon that the minister had created some myths that she was now trying to solve He singled out comments she had made around businesses having to put warnings on hotwater systems and remind workers to hold handrails when using stairs which he said were "completely irrelevant" and questioned where those reports were coming from "People know how to use the stairs and that's a distraction from what are the things that are killing about 1000 Kiwis a year as a result of work," Cosman said "The minister referred to critical risk and certainly that is where we would encourage businesses to focus but the things that she is recommending won't actually do anything much to address those critical risks." The industry had faced funding cuts and restructuring which meant they lost people and their skills "Our ratio of WorkSafe inspectors to employees is about two-thirds of what the International Labour Organisation recommend and two-thirds of what they have in Australia," he said "If you reduce the numbers of people and their experience in relation to managing risk in those particularly high risk industries then we're not able to have effective control and moderation of our industries' performance." Cosman described the current system as dysfunctional with different organisations that were not working together or properly joined up with industry safety groups They needed a national strategy that was clear Cosman worked on the forestry safety review little more than a decade ago recommending an industry-approved code of practice that WorkSafe would produce That hadn't happened and he said nobody was holding it accountable He largely agreed with the minister's proposal for industry-led codes of practice saying they had tried to go down that path before Cosman described the announcement on board and director responsibilities as only indicating the direction she planned to travel in if she decided to reduce the role of directors in health and safety "I spend a lot of my time in boardrooms and I know that if directors are engaged around managing risks strategic decisions get made with worker safety at their heart." asking for a ministerial advisory group to better inform Government and a national strategy Van Velden said she consulted Kiwis up and down the country about their experiences and thoughts on health and safety "Our reforms - and reforms still to come - are a direct response to the feedback we received and I thank everyone who gave their time to come along," she said Van Velden also claimed she responded to the institute and invited it to meet with her Brooke van Velden says business directors and management are doubling up duties because of unclear rules The minister for workplace relations says she is looking to cut health and safety red tape for low-risk businesses and create a hotline to enable reporting of overzealous road cone use The change to the Health and Safety at Work Act would mean the land owner would still be responsible for risks where their work is in the immediate vicinity Health and safety experts say government announcements this week have fixed 'non issues' and fail to address what most needs to be done in the area Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard said he managed the conflict of interest appropriately Politics RSS Follow RNZ News Please select what you would like included for printing: Copy the text below and then paste that into your favorite email application Vander Velden went to be with her Heavenly Father on September 6 at home after being diagnosed with COPD.  eight siblings who she adored and graduated from Kimberly High School Her greatest joy was her family and being a homemaker while watching her three boys grow up She later found great pleasure and purpose in her work at the local homeless shelter and enjoying time with her grandchildren.  The beauty of nature always brought her peace and she loved gardening and being outdoors She especially loved going for rides in the fall to see the leaves change colors One of her favorite seasonal traditions was seeing her grandchildren’s Halloween costumes each year Sharry looked forward to vacations at Robert’s Lake fishing and enjoying time with friends and family there Her enthusiasm for cooking for loved ones inspired her to create many delicious family recipes.  Sharry is survived by her sons Jake (Bre) Vander Velden and Ross Vander Velden; along with her grandchildren She is also survived by her siblings Judy (Dennis) Schumacher There are also many other relatives and dear friends.  Sharry was preceded in death by her parents She loved her family dearly and they were everything to her She enjoyed spending time with them when she was able and we knew she loved us whole-heartedly too.   Sharry leaves a legacy of love and compassion She taught us to love people where they are at with acceptance and free of judgement We take comfort in knowing Sharry is at peace with Jesus her lord and Savior in heaven We will always cherish the memories we have had throughout the years.   Visitation will be from 2:00 PM until 4:00 PM on Friday located at 204 East Kimberly Avenue in Kimberly The celebration of life service will begin at 4:00 PM with a fellowship to follow Pastor John Slotten will be presiding.  In lieu of flowers a memorial fund has been established in Sharry’s honor.  Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors James “Dobbin” Vander Velden went to be with our heavenly Father on December 25 Jim passed peacefully at home surrounded by his family Jim loved his family tremendously and he fought hard to stay on earth as long as possible 1951 to Cleborn and Margaret Vander Velden and later became a Millwright at the former paper mill in Kimberly and most recently kept busy working on lawn mowers and snow blowers Jim was always willing to help anyone in need but especially enjoyed his bond with all of his grandchildren and his many beautiful memories with his boys Jim is survived by his sons: Jake (Bre) Vander Velden He is also survived by two sisters: Nancy (special friend Ken) Seidl Pat (Gene) Gloudemans; as well as Sharry Vander Velden There are also many other relatives and dear friends Leading up to this day we were praying that Jim wouldn’t pass on Christmas But the more we think about it being Christmas The day we celebrate Jesus birth as our Savior becomes the same day Jim was born eternally to be with the Lord forever in Heaven Jim became very faithful the last two years when he was diagnosed with a rare lung disease but because he knew that life was bigger than him Jim gave up control and put his life completely in God’s hands with trust and peace in God’s plan We love knowing that he is in God’s loving arms He taught us to trust in God and don’t wait and he was thankful and grateful for each day Visitation will be from 12:00 PM until 3:00 PM on Saturday December 29 The Celebration of Life Service will begin at 3:00 PM with Pastor John Slotten and Pastor Shawn Whitworth presiding In lieu of flowers a memorial fund has been established in Jim’s name Exeter Chiefs Women’s lock and back-row Linde van der Velden has extended her contract for another two years One of the founding members of the women’s squad back in 2020 van der Velden has been a near-constant feature of the Chiefs line-up ever since Despite being regularly called up for international duty as captain of the Netherlands the 29-year-old has racked up 77 appearances for the club Since scoring the club’s first-ever Allianz Premier 15s try against Gloucester-Hartpury in the opening round of the 2020/21 season Assistant coach Steve Salvin said: “Linde is a vital part of our squad Her no-nonsense attitude makes her a formidable player to play against but also one to rally around and we are delighted to have kept her Sandy Park.” Van der Velden juggles training with a day job as an architectural assistant at construction consultancy firm while also working part time for Chiefs’ marketing team Her regular video interviews with Claudia MacDonald have become a fan favourite She said: “I have been here from the start and cannot imagine playing anywhere else I am proud of what we have already accomplished as a team but I think there is so much more we can aim for and achieve as a team and club “Exeter Chiefs has become a home away from home because of the people in and around it The fans have always made me feel so welcome and I would miss not seeing them every week Copyright Exeter Rugby Club | Website developed by Webselect | Telephone systems, data networks, data centre services, video conferencing supplied by Focus Group To receive a copy of the Exeter Chiefs Newsletter You will then receive an email to confirm that you wish to receive it You can unsubscribe at any time simply by following the link at the bottom of the email Imke van der Velden completed her bachelor's programme at University College Venlo (UCV) with flying colours Her thesis addressed whether 14- to 17-year-olds could be interested in a healthier plant-based diet via social media platform Instagram Thanks to a Region Noord-Limburg Scholarship Imke was able to start the master's programme Health Food Innovation Management in September of that same year But a tragic accident in the summer of 2020 turned her world upside down..  Imke gets involved in a serious cycling accident she gets involved in a car incident a few weeks later I started my master's programme in good spirits but soon I knew that I just couldn't continue,’ Imke recalls and I could barely look at a screen for more than ten minutes I had to stop my studies to focus fully on my recovery' An emotionally and physically demanding time begun There was also the uncertainty of continuing her education But fortunately there was no reason to worry The University Fund Limburg and the scholarship provider were very understanding and helpful They put the scholarship on hold so I could focus on getting better.'  the moment has finally arrived: her recovery is going so well that Imke can start up her master's programme again that does not mean that she is back to her old self: Imke still experiences pain on a daily basis and has to take regular breaks when she reads or looks at a screen ‘But the intervals are getting longer; I notice that I am making progress every day I don't lack perseverance,’ Imke says with a smile positive mindset and willpower are admirable.  Imke has been studying again for about a year and a half now In addition to substantive knowledge about the health sector how to write a business plan and how to set up your own company What particularly appeals to me about studying at Maastricht University is the Problem-Based Learning approach The topics also stick better if you have a feeling with the subject and if you are able to work on your own learning goals We share our findings during class; the knowledge sharing component is very interesting and helpful.' Imke is currently doing an internship at the VieCuri Medical Centre in Venlo ‘At the hospital I am conducting research into functional intestinal complaints that people experience after bowel cancer surgery I am looking at how these complaints relate to sarcopenia (loss of muscle mass) and what role fibre intake plays in this.’ Imke expects to complete her Master's in December I'm looking forward to exploring the labour market and taking new steps here in Panningen But first I'll focus on finishing my master's and finding a job As long as a job has something to do with food and health; I truly have found my passion in that.' Would you like to connect with a fellow student in a similar situation Epilepsy is a condition that extends far beyond its visible symptoms and financial stability of patients and their caregivers understanding these broader impacts is at the heart of her work.  Beating the odds: Julien Luyten’ s path to rare bile duct cancer research Insight story from a NUTRIM PhD and chair of the NUTRIM PhD council son of the late Lyle and Estelle (nee Maciejwski) Vander Velden He grew up in Kimberly with his father and three brothers setting pins at Van’s Bar and Bowling Ken held hands with a girl and never let go he was united in marriage to Karin Jo Prusynski They were blessed to be together for 60 wonderful years Ken was a proud graduate of Kimberly High School Class of 1956.  He attended the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Education He later continued his love of learning to earn a Master’s Degree in School Counseling Ken was a dedicated and inspiring educator He spent more than 30 years with the Kaukauna Area School District teaching physical science and biology at the high school Ken made real connections with his students engaging his students in learning or just in life He was truly a favorite teacher to many who had him Ken also served Kaukauna as a Coach and Athletic Director That didn’t matter so much to Ken; although he liked to win for being part of something bigger than yourself He would fondly remember every player and could retell almost every play “Coach” made a difference to so many.     Ken was a talented athlete in his own right basketball and football) and turning down an offer to play minor league baseball in order to pursue education and family Ken is included in four Athletic Halls of Fame camping at Evergreen Campground and swimming at the YMCA He was an avid fan of anything sports - Packers Josephs Food Pantry and at Loaves & Fishes Ken was a devout Catholic and had a deep faith Paul’s Church in Combined Locks.  He built many lifelong relationships with his fellow teachers and coaches as well as many of his students He loved and cared for his wife until she parted He was proud of his children and grandchildren He had a way of making each and everyone feel special He was a kind and generous man whose smile lit up a room Ken is survived by his five children and grandchildren; Louise (Ted) Becklund Heather and Aimee (Dustin); John Vander Velden Zachary (LuTia) and Ashton; Larry (Beverly) Vander Velden Jordan and Paige; Joanne (Joseph) Metzen Rowan and Killian; 9 great grandchildren; many nieces Ken was preceded in death by his loving wife Lyle and Estelle Vander Velden; father and mother-in-law Ollie and Ethel Prusynski; brothers and sisters-in-law: Jerry (Bonnie) Ken made an impact and was loved by so many so it is with deep regret due to the Covid-19 pandemic that only a private family service will be held A live stream of the mass may be viewed on the Verkuilen-Van Deurzen Family Funeral Home Facebook page on October 30 memories and stories would be greatly appreciated by the family online at www.verkuilenfh.com. In lieu of flowers please consider making a donation to the ThedaCare Cancer Center or your local food pantry was heard by independent disciplinary panel on Tuesday 5 November 2024 chaired by Tom Gilbart sitting with Guy Lovgreen and Meg Gardiner Van der Velden was cited for dangerous tackling during a game against Saracens on Saturday 2 November 2024 The incident took place in the 60th minute The player admitted the charge and received a four-match ban Wolfi Pictures Suite by actors Daan Schuurmans and Bracha van Doesburgh D/DOCK Suite by the eponymous creative studio Bibi van der Velden Suite by the jewellery designer Harper’s Bazaar Suite by Miluska van ‘t Lam editor-in-chief of the magazine's Dutch edition RVDK Suite by fashion designer and couture label founder Ronald van der Kemp Amsterdam’s Hotel de L’Europe introduces whimsical suites by fashion designer Ronald van der Kemp After inviting creative friends to move in during Covid, Amsterdam’s Hotel de L’Europe has welcomed back the city’s most prominent names in art and fashion to translate their talents into a collection of hotel suites which sits on a street that Rembrandt once called home the artistic suites have been gathered together under the name ’t Huys which translates to ‘house’ in English Each designer worked with creative studio D/DOCK to mould their imaginative world into the practical confines of a hotel suite which has also been given a hybrid function to maximise the space for a mixture of sleep For the husband-and-wife duo behind the Wolfi Pictures suite actors Daan Schuurmans and Bracha van Doesburgh a palette of sapphire blue and gold and layers of tactile fabrics create a chic salon that multitasks as a private bar monochromatic space where the sparse living room serves as either a private dining room thanks to a central white table decorated with sculptural vases and Japanese ceramics or as a wellness space for yoga sessions and in-room treatments using the suite’s tatami mats For guests who prefer a homelier setting, jewellery designer Bibi van der Velden has imagined a soothing pied-à-terre that reflects her nature-inspired pieces Shades of green are a backdrop to vases of dried flowers Harper’s Bazaar Nederland editor-in-chief Miluska van ‘t Lam brought a personal touch to her suite by mixing her own possessions with sophisticated neutrals and layers of rich wood and cool marble furnishings Fashion also comes to life in Ronald van der Kemp’s suite which the designer used as a workspace during the pandemic He opted for immaculate white walls to show off his colourful RVDK couture to full effect – note the extra maxi floral dress that hangs in the suite’s entrance – and puts a modern spin on the traditional four-poster with a curtain of white fringing walls dressed with RVDK magazine clippings and a rail of real-life pieces – which guests are free to borrow – create a mini fashion atelier escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox A stay in each suite comes with exclusive access to Amsterdam through each designer – think private appointments with van der Velden and van der Kemp and an after-hours visit to the Van Gogh Museum whose team has also designed a suite – while downstairs the hotel's new concept store showcases the work of the ’t Huys designers to both guests and the public Hotel de L’Europe is located at Nieuwe Doelenstraat 2-14, Amsterdam, deleurope.com Nicola Leigh Stewart lived in London and Madrid before moving to Paris where she writes about travel and food for the likes of Conde Nast Traveler She has also co-authored Lonely Planet guidebooks on Paris and France and teaches travel writing at the American University of Paris The coalition government is scrapping the 30-day rule that automatically signs an employee up to the collective agreement when they sign on to a new job It is part of a suite of changes to employment laws being progressed by Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden Van Velden said the changes would support freedom of choice and reduce the burden on employers when new employees start in a role if a collective agreement is in place the employee's individual agreement must reflect the terms of the collective agreement and that applies for 30 days regardless of whether an employee chooses to join a union or not "Not only is the status quo convoluted and confusing the process adds another administrative cost on top of many others and those costs are dragging down workplace productivity." The minister said removing the 30-day rule meant employees and employers would be free to agree on a wider range of employment terms including those that differ from the collective employment agreement for the first month of someone's job "If a new employee chooses to negotiate the terms and conditions that suit their personal preferences or situation they should have that choice realised from day one of employment." She added a further benefit to the change would be that 90-day trials that have been reinstated under the coalition if the employee chose an individual employment agreement "Expanding the availability of 90-day trials was an ACT-National coalition commitment and supports workers that may struggle to gain employment and also give employers greater confidence around hiring." The government is also making changes to the way employers communicate and report back on union membership for new employees Employers will no longer have to use the 'active choice form' and unions will no longer have the ability to provide information about the role and functions of the unions that the employer must pass on to the employee Van Velden said employers would still need to communicate that the employee may join a union that is a party to the collective employment agreement how to contact the union and that if the employee joins the union the collective employment agreement will bind the employee The changes will be included in the Employment Relations Amendment Bill that will be introduced this year and is expected to be passed by the end of 2025 Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday New Zealand is woefully behind other developed countries in 'pay transparency' Reaction to a new law that criminalises wage theft has been mixed Business RSS Online casino operators will be allowed to advertise for the first time under a new market being opened up by the government sparking fears of a rise in problem gambling The government is to auction off 15 online casino gambling licences, which will largely be snapped up by foreign- owned, multinationals Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden the Act Party minister in charge of regulating online gambling said allowing the licence holders to advertise was crucial to the new market model "How do we ensure that it's actually profitable enough or beneficial enough for someone to even want to bid for the license And we know that that comes from people being able to know that your product even exists," she told RNZ "If you're an online gambling outfit and you can't even advertise your product in a legal market you're probably going to sit there wondering why you're even here A Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) briefing to van Velden says advertising will be allowed "in order to support tax collection" and reduce harm by channeling gamblers to licensed providers Currently it is illegal for offshore gambling sites to advertise in New Zealand and allowing ads could increase gambling harm "Allowing advertising and legitimising operators through licensing could have the unintended effect of encouraging more gambling." But it says the government's new model can not work without advertising "Continuing the current advertising ban would substantially undermine the policy design lessen the value and attractiveness of licenses and not enable channelling to regulated Problem Gambling Foundation spokesperson Andree Froude said online casinos should not be able to advertise "It just feeds into the normalisation of gambling It also opens up the doorway for inducements which we believe also should be prohibited." such as offering free games or topping up gambler's accounts "It does encourage people to gamble in a more risky way and it certainly does encourage people to spend more managing director of pokies operator Pub Charity Ltd said New Zealanders could expect a lot of "noise pollution" as the online casino operators advertised their sites "I think people need to be prepared for the bombardment of advertising," he said "There's enough being generated by Entain and the TAB and Lotto at the moment You imagine adding in 15 others who've got nothing else to spend their money on but promotion and advertising trying to win over and grow their customer base." DIA advice released to RNZ under the Official Information Act said the growth in online gambling had led to inquiries in the UK and Australia The UK inquiry found there was "good evidence" advertising could have a "disproportionate impact" on people with gambling problems DIA told the minister that Australia's parliamentary inquiry "recommended that all advertisements for online gambling should be banned within three years" Van Velden said advertising would be strongly regulated in New Zealand "Most of the ads you'd assume would be online because that's where your target audience is going to be So we're looking at a new area of how do you get the balance right about freedom of the internet and also the restriction of trying to advertise and target children and young people." Documents released to RNZ under the Official Information Act include emails Sky City casino sent to van Velden saying offshore casino sites that had been breaking the rules by advertising "New Zealand has been increasingly targeted by offshore online casino operators over recent years many of whom have openly breached the advertising restrictions," Sky City told the minister said Sky City had run an online casino out of Malta for the past five years and did not advertise because it was illegal to do so "We have more than 30 operators today targeting Kiwis but they're advertising and so they're doing that illegally." He said Sky City earned tens of millions in revenue each year from its online casino "We're actually losing market share and revenue is declining because we're competing legally against operators who are competing illegally by targeting Kiwis through advertising." Local gambling operators and those who deal with gambling harm have been surprised by the size of the market the government is opening up by auctioning off 15 licenses "We had no idea it would be as high as that," Andree Froude of the Problem Gambling Foundation said but to have 15 new players in the market is really concerning How can that not be seen as an increase in online gambling Walbridge said Sky City had analysed international markets and concluded seven licenses was the maximum New Zealand could sustain without "overwhelming the market and making it so competitive that every day you and I and our kids get up and see gambling ads everywhere" do not allow offshore websites to provide casino gambling" But overall the officials support regulation saying New Zealand was one of the only developed countries with an unregulated online casino gambling market "As a result New Zealand remains a haven for harmful gambling operations that scam consumers by not paying out prizes and provide a mechanism for financial crimes such as money laundering and serious fraud." there are wildly different estimates of how large the online gambling market is already A DIA briefing to the minister said the market revenue for online gambling was at least $304 million but turnover could be ten times that amount "If prize payouts are similar to Class 4 gambling (pokies) market turnover could be as large as $3 billion per year This makes online gambling a bit bigger than the racing industry Van Velden said a regulated market would provide more transparency we can actually capture that data and figure out whether or not it does increase over time," she said That would allow the government to see "whether we're getting the harm minimisation standards correct or the advertising standards correct to ensure that we're not incentivizing people to gamble online" Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday Foreign companies are set to dominate NZ's internet gambling as the government auctions online licences for the first time New online casino gambling licences to be auctioned off by the government will mainly go to large foreign operators Guyon Espiner is investigating the new online casino gambling market and filed this… Audio In Depth RSS Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden has confirmed she met with Uber as she considers banning contractors from going to court over their employment status Van Velden says the meeting was not because of an ongoing court case over whether Uber drivers are employees or contractors the legislation she is consulting on would have implications for similar cases in the future Government officials are preparing advice on removing the right for contractors to challenge their employment status The move was set out in the coalition agreement between National and ACT Official Information Act documents show she intended to discuss the potential law change at the meeting with Uber on 1 May The documents stated she had asked "officials for advice on policy options to increase certainty in contracting relationships including your proposal" and was interested to hear views from a wide range of stakeholders on the potential law change "The implications of the potential changes required to achieve this are significant and will impact a range of working relationships across the New Zealand economy "It would be great to hear the views of a wide range of stakeholders so I appreciate you meeting with me today." The minister's office confirmed Uber had reached out to secure the meeting "I meet with a range of people on a range of different policy topics," van Velden said with the Council of Trade Unions calling it an attack on workers rights The minister confirmed she has had at least one meeting with a union representative this year but did not say if it was related to the policy changes She rejected having any involvement in who was approached for targeted discussions about the policy Innovation and Employment are doing their own stakeholder analysis - but I haven't had any input into that "That's really a question for MBIE as to who they would like as their stakeholder analysis." Labour workplace relations spokesperson Camilla Belich is also concerned about the potential law change She said the meeting between Uber and van Velden could mean the minister was looking to change the law as other countries had done "to allow a third status of employment that isn't an employee or isn't a contractor" "I think it's worrying that we have a party in power now which is proposing to take away the right of employees to test their employment status in court." the Minister said she was still making policy decisions so could not disclose where her thinking was going to land with the coalition agreement MBIE is calling for feedback on private contractor rights as four Uber drivers fight to be recognised as employees - with holiday pay Something needs to be done to address the power imbalance between Uber and its drivers a lawyer for the Council of Trade Unions has argued in court Unions are heading to the Employment Court taking action over Uber's drivers - asking the question when a 'contractor' is really a 'worker' ACT's new policy to set more specific rules for hiring contractors would only lead to more exploitation of workers an employment lawyer who has fought cases on behalf of disgruntled workers says The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi have sent an open letter to Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden following another round of devastating job cuts at WorkSafe “Aotearoa New Zealand’s record on workplace health and safety is costing the lives of so many workers and instead of working to turn that record around we have a Minister who is making decisions that will cost even more lives,” said NZCTU Acting President Rachel Mackintosh “WorkSafe already lost 15% of its staff in the last 12 months – 113 roles Now the organisation will lose another 54 roles which will critically undermine its core functions as our workplace health and safety regulator WorkSafe have announced they are disestablishing the health team which will undoubtedly lead to an increase in health-related harm and deaths in workplaces across the country “Dozens of New Zealand workers die each year as a result of workplace injuries estimates suggest that 750-900 workers die each year from work-related occupational diseases such as asbestosis and cancers “This hollowing out of our health and safety regulator is deliberate The Minister and her Government have an aversion to regulation yet good regulation is essential to good health and safety and saving workers lives “Workers will need to issue the Minister with an improvement notice if she doesn’t start taking health and safety seriously and use her role to bring down our abysmal injury and death rates “This Minister is overseeing an all-out assault on working people – while gutting WorkSafe she is leaving workers in the ditch on Holidays Act reform and threatening to weaken health and safety law This is on top of scrapping fair pay agreements bringing back 90-day fire at will agreements and redrafting employment law on behalf of the multinational corporation “Working people are sick and tired of this Minister and her extreme anti-worker agenda It’s well past time she learnt the requirements of her role and put the health and wellbeing of workers above the interests of big business “We are putting Brooke van Velden on notice and saying enough is enough,” said Mackintosh The government is defending the re-introduction of pay deductions for partial strikes saying it's the public at large that bear the brunt of them Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden fronted questions at Select Committee on Wednesday morning she told MPs the change to collective bargaining settings would both incentivise parties to return to the negotiating table and minimise potential disruption to public services employers can respond by suspending the employee and not providing pay there are negative consequences for both sides," van Velden said "The same cannot be said for partial strike action at the moment if an employee is engaged in a partial strike the employer's options are to either accept the partial strike action or to lock out or suspend the employee for the duration of the strike." Van Velden said the reintroduction of pay deductions gave employers the option to respond in "a more nuanced" way "I consider that enabling employers to make partial pay deductions provides the opportunity for a more balanced and appropriate response to partial strikes," she said "It is also more consistent with the approach in Australia and the United Kingdom while I recognise the entitlement of employees to strike in support of the collective bargaining claims they should not expect to do so at no cost to themselves." Pay deductions were last introduced in 2014 under the former National government but repealed by Labour-led administration in 2018 Its reinstatement isn't part of either coalition agreement but rather a policy Cabinet has discussed and signed off on It passed its first reading with support from National ACT and New Zealand First at the end of last year the law change would give employers the option of reducing an employee's pay by a proportionate amount or to deduct 10 percent of their pay "The ability to make a fixed deduction of 10 percent gives employers a choice in situations where it may be difficult to calculate a proportionate pay deduction for example for a large workforce," she said "Without the option to make a fixed deduction the administrative cost of calculating the proportion of work impacted could mean that it is not practical for some employers to make a deduction." Labour MP Camilla Belich asked the Minister how it was fair that a 10 percent deduction could be used in cases where there had been a much smaller decrease in work output suggesting it should only be adopted in "extreme" situations what we're doing is going back to the rules that were in place under the previous national government which allowed for both of these abilities and that's what I've aimed to do by reinstating partial strike deductions," van Velden responded Belich then confirmed with the Minister that no analysis had been done to determine what was wrong with the 2018 repeal van Velden simply saying the previous settings hit a "more appropriate" balance between the rights of workers and employers Answering questions about the impact of strikes on students from National's Catherine Wedd the Minister said it was the public at large that bore the brunt of partial strike action which highly disrupted student learning but also provided a disruption for parents who needed to find cover or work or have to pay extra for childcare when they expected their kid to actually be at school," van Velden said Belich put to the Minister that submitters had earlier told MPs pay reductions for partial strikes would make it "more likely" employees would opt for full strike action "I can't speak to what would happen in the future I can only speak to what we've seen occur in the past," van Velden replied but it's up to employees within a collective to decide whether or not they'd be willing to go for a complete reduction in pay or whether or not they'd be willing to accept a 10 percent reduction or a more nuanced reduction." Green MP Lawrence Xu-Nan asked the Minister what evidence she had that the current balance between workers and employers rights was wrong research or external stakeholder engagement Van Velden said it was a government priority that public services were better and more efficient referring back to her earlier comments about the public paying the price for strike action "It has been patients who have had increased wait times and it's the parents who have had to fork out for additional childcare costs when they expect their child to be at school and that is what we are responding to," she said National's Grant McCallum asked the Minister if the government was simply re-instating the principle that if an employee does a full day's work I don't believe it is acceptable that a employer and the public can experience full negative consequence from a partial strike action while somebody who is not working their normal hours of work or have a disruption to regular work," van Velden said Government plans to dock employee pay for industrial action will cause more full strikes and lead to greater division The Workplace Relations minister has announced plans to reintroduce pay deductions for partial strikes "Offensive" zero percent pay offers could see a wave of strike action across the public sector in coming months Auckland commuters are being warned of more train cancellations as maintenance workers join strike action The Acta dental faculty is forty years old Its founding was by no means a cause for celebration as the VU and UvA dental schools were forced to merge “There were no two dental schools in the Netherlands as different as the UvA and VU.” The fortieth anniversary does not really seem to be on top of mind at the Academic Centre Dentistry Amsterdam (Acta). A planned alumni day on 16 November to celebrate 40 years of Acta was cancelled due to lack of enthusiasm The faculty is busy implementing a new curriculum and strengthening its administrative organisation with a new dean who took office since October when the dental faculties of the UvA and VU were obliged to merge the Netherlands was in an economic crisis and cuts had to be made on all fronts including dental schools: there was a dental surplus and of the five dental schools in the Netherlands That the UvA and VU dental faculties would merge was soon decided “That was obvious,” explains Ubele van der Velden (80) emeritus UvA professor of periodontology and still working there was a strong department of periodontology and materials science while the VU in turn had a good department of oral microbiology and orthodontics.” The two faculties not only had to be merged but also halved “Then education minister Wim Deetman addressed the two deans at the time,” recalls Van de Velden And I am convinced that you will do it better than me.”’ the merger was a fact and the VU staff moved to the UvA building on Louwesweg Cooperation was not so smooth in the beginning Van der Velden: “There were no two dental schools in the Netherlands as different as the UvA and VU Staff members in the clinic in particular experienced the disadvantages of this; in the research this played less of a role Opinions then still sometimes differed on how best to treat a patient.” In 1987 – to everyone’s surprise – the dental faculty in Utrecht had to close its doors “I thought for a long time that we would move to Utrecht,” Van der Velden says Utrecht’s dental faculty was the oldest in the Netherlands and was also in a brand-new building In retrospect, Van der Velden calls it “Law of the handicap of a head start” He explains: “Because Utrecht was the oldest faculty The professors themselves had had practical training which meant that scientific education at that faculty had lagged somewhat behind the rest of the Netherlands.” from dental school as pure practical training to scientific training where students learn to think academically and do their own research dental school became scientific on paper but it was not until around 2010 that that process was complete Scientific research also developed strongly in the first 20 years after the merger Van der Velden graduated as a dentist in the early 1970s the science that deals with everything around the tooth such as inflamed gums the first professor of periodontology in the Netherlands Van der Velden remembers his first lecture like it was yesterday in which Coppes showed a photo of a 25-square-centimetre wound he had grimaced on his daughter’s arm Coppes wanted to make visible how large and invisible the inflammation is in periodontitis a serious gum inflammation that affects one in 10 Dutch people because it’s all hidden on the inside of the gums.” Van der Velden spent his life working on why one person gets severe periodontitis and another does not Or with environmental factors such as stress?” In the end - after a study in Indonesia on a tea plantation southeast of Bandung among people who did not receive dental care - it turned out that nutrition played a very important role is that vitamin C levels in the blood correlated strongly with the severity of periodontitis,” Van der Velden explains I have advised my periodontitis patients to eat two kiwis a day: that is a natural source of large amounts of vitamin C and ensures that everyone gets enough vitamin C.” “That did work although one yellow kiwi a day is enough these days.” the distinction between the two faculties has become increasingly blurred for students in 1984 students often still had separate lectures: the UvA students in the laboratories at medicine at the AMC and the VU on the campus in Amsterdam Zuid The two study associations did merge right away in 1984 an abbreviation for Faculteitsvereniging VU tandheelkunde that could just as easily pass as an abbreviation for Faculteitsverenigingen Verenigde Universiteiten Tandheelkunde Amsterdam when the new Acta building on Gustav Mahlerlaan opened “The only difference I still notice as a student between the two universities is the logo on your diploma,” says Biba van Volen (22) fourth-year student at Acta and president of Favervuta That logo represents the university of enrolment Van der Velden does see the two universities living on within Acta He himself “absolutely” still feels he is a UvA employee cooperation and decision-making are still there.” Even in the organisational structure the division between the two universities still exists: 55 per cent are UvA employees and 45 per cent VU employees New recruitment has recently made the student population more diverse at Acta 40 per cent of students were of a nationality other than Dutch Study association Favervuta is adjusting its offerings accordingly Van Volen: “Students at Acta have different nationalities it’s mainly about having fun and making contact.” Besides parties and drinks there are also activities such as indoor football and laser gaming The association also organises lectures for students by specialists this will succeed and Acta will remain independent “I can still see Acta in its current form becoming 50.” The faculty board is even more optimistic, writing in the 2024 Annual Plan that Acta can face the next 40 years with confidence Van der Velden also does not see why Acta should ever give up its independence “The whole merger back then has really worked out very well in the long run I don’t see why they would ever merge with medicine.”