Duchess of Cambridge and Peter Fonagy to join round table in Netherlands
Our Patron, Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge, will visit The Netherlands on 11th October for a day of awareness raising and official engagements in The Hague and Rotterdam.
The Duchess of Cambridge has convened a round table discussion bringing together our Chief Executive, Peter Fonagy, professionals from the renowned Trimbos Institute, and representatives from Action on Addiction charity. The discussion will cover the themes of addiction, intervention, family and mental health.
Peter Fonagy said: “It is clear that we have much to learn about evidence-based care from colleagues in the Netherlands, and that we have valuable experience to contribute to this conversation, particularly in the area of treatment and prevention of addictions. I am delighted that The Duchess has opened this door for us to benefit from this preeminent international institution.”
The day will also see Her Royal Highness pay a courtesy call on His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands at his home, Villa Eikenhorst, and head to the Mauritshuis in The Hague for the exhibition 'At Home in Holland: Vermeer and his Contemporaries from the British Royal Collection'.
The 22 works selected for this exhibition are some of the finest 17th-century paintings by Dutch artists on loan from the Royal Collection, on display at Maurithuis from 29th September 2016 until 8th January 2017. The Duchess will tour the gallery's permanent collection before visiting the exhibition, meeting children taking part in the gallery's learning programme, and attending a short reception with museum supporters.
Her Royal Highness will also travel to the neighbouring city of Rotterdam to see Bouwkeet, the social Makerspace of Bospolder-Tussendijken. This is a new community-focussed initiative in the centre of an economically deprived district which provides a creative design and technology workspace. The centre works with local schools to bring young people in the area into workshops, where they learn to design, create and build their own projects.
We look forward to learning the outcomes of the round table, and see it as another step towards normalising conversations around mental health.