Foreword

We are delighted to present the Academy for International Relations annual report for 2024. It offers a brief summary of the facts and figures and the highlights of the past year: the launch of our new learning portal, our focus on learning, the development of online ‘welcome’ days for the missions, new e-learning courses, a pilot project aimed at designing policy on language learning, and connecting the world of diplomacy with the world of knowledge.

Team academie 2025 — Fltr top row: Jan Willem Naphegyi,-Schouw, Roos Petersen, Natasja Nikolić, Mark Jacobs, Mirella van de Noort - Tijhaar, Loes Vonk and Anjalie Ramkisor. Fltr lower row: Janet Klaassen, Irene Kessels, Babet Mooij, Rianne Zulfiqar-Wezendonk, Gina Meertens, Marijn Maats, David Oey, Tamara Sturing, Alma Ibrahimovic and Sabai Maas. Not in the picture: Cobi de Kort-Parlevliet, Henny Schippers and Frederik Birnie.

We look back on an eventful year. The framework coalition agreement and government programme, which lays down a retrenchment target for central government, mean that we will have to do our work with fewer people and a smaller budget. This requires different choices and a different way of working. And especially in these turbulent times, it also provides an opportunity for us and our central government staff posted abroad. Now that the playing field for the Netherlands is shrinking, the knowledge and skills of our staff worldwide are indispensable for promoting our interests. That is why we are investing in their knowledge and skills, so that they can achieve results in a fast-changing international context – and ensure Dutch nationals benefit too.

I am proud of everyone who has contributed to the Academy and to the results we have achieved in recent years.

Every year in April we hold a Learning & Development (L&O) meeting with our L&O partners to update each other on the latest developments and trends that we at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (BZ) experience in our international work and to discuss our experience of learning behaviour and learning conditions at BZ. This collaborative approach helps us develop a more targeted curriculum. At the 2024 meeting, we reflected on geopolitical developments, enhanced engagement, civil service professionalism, and the learning attitudes and learning culture at BZ.

As a team, we worked together on learning interventions and formats to make our curriculum even more interactive and ensure a safe and supportive learning environment for speakers, moderators and participants.

In the year ahead, we will continue our efforts to have the right people with the right knowledge in the right positions at the right time, on track to a Future-Proof BZ.

Mirella van de Noort-Tijhaar
Head of the Academy for International Relations

Prepared for the future, no matter where in the world