Partner Programme

(uniquement en version anglaise)

Partner Programme

We are delighted to learn that so many partners have registered for the 2019 IDI Session. We very much welcome you to The Hague and will facilitate three organized excursions during the week from 26 to 30 August. In addition, there is a host of places of interest in The Hague and vicinity which can best be visited on an individual basis or in small groups, such as the Mauritshuis, Panorama Mesdag, Prince William V Gallery, Museum Escher, Museum Beelden aan Zee and Museum Voorlinden. Upon registration you will be given a city guide of The Hague and someone will be on site to assist in anything you may need to find your way around. Many of you will be familiar with the city and will already have plans for visits and excursions. The Hague is a small city with excellent public transportation facilities.

To cover costs and ensure participation, you will be asked to register and pay by credit card in advance for any of the excursions mentioned below. This will be made possible through this website towards the end of June, early July. Registration for the Closing Dinner will also be made possible through this site. A contribution will be asked from the participants towards the costs of this dinner.

In addition to a guided tour of the Peace Palace (date to be determined), the following excursions are currently being organized:

Tuesday 27 August, morning: canal tour through the city of Delft including lunch:

The historically important city of Delft is best discovered and contemplated from its centuries-old canals. For 50 years the canal cruiser boats of Rondvaart Delft have been sailing people along its canals, historic landmarks and centuries-old arched bridges.

[The experienced team of captains and guides are all passionate and knowledgeable about the rich history of this picturesque city and pride themselves on the live commentary they deliver in several languages. ]Come and see the beautiful old town from the canals that gave it its name, learn about Delft’s illustrious history in Holland and its royal connections including William of Orange, Hugo Grotius, Dutch Masters Johannes Vermeer and Jan Steen, seafaring heroes Piet Hein and Maarten Tromp, Delftware, the leaning tower of Delft which is taller than the tower of Pisa and so much more.

Rondvaart Delft operates four cruise ships of which the silent boat “William the Silent” is one of the first fully electric canal cruise boats in the Netherlands. All vessels are purpose built for the canals of Delft in order to fit under the low bridges and with their retractable roofs are suitable for all weather conditions.

Lunch will be provided during this excursion.

 

Wednesday 28 August, afternoon and evening: visit of Slot Loevestein for the members and partners, possibly with dinner:

Loevestein Castle’s rich history spans some 650 years. Roughly speaking, you can split its history into three main periods that we refer to as the Middle Ages, the State Prison and the Hollandic Water Line periods. The most prominent period in the castle’s history is undoubtedly the State Prison period. Loevestein became notorious worldwide as the place in which [the world-famous legal scholar] Hugo Grotius (Dutch: Hugo de Groot), was imprisoned and from which he subsequently escaped in his book case with the assistance of his wife and their housemaid Elsje van Houweninge.

 

Thursday 29 August, morning: Visit of the country estate Ockenburgh, The Hague

Around 1650 the poet and physician Jacob Westerbaen cultivated the wild dune landscape south of The Hague and founded Landgoed Ockenburgh.The estate was designed in the formal classicist landscape style. The kitchen gardens he created laid the groundwork for the famous Westland market garden industry. Around 1840 the formal garden was turned into a landscape garden. Later the estate was merged with the adjacent Santvoort Estate. Having had many destinations, the future of the estate seemed uncertain for many years, until in 2012 three local residents came up with a plan to preserve and develop the estate, based on voluntary participation by neighbours and interested persons, contributing their time, knowledge, materials, or money. This citizen’s initiative, supported by the municipality, became a huge success. One of its promotors, Petra Brekelmans, has agreed to guide the participants around the estate.

Lunch will be provided during this excursion.