By Phindi Maduna Mathebula
Brand South Africa, in partnership with the South African Embassy in the Kingdom of the Netherlands and South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) hosted an engagement at The Heineken Experience, in Amsterdam. The aim was to highlight the importance of South Africans and entities in the diaspora in shaping perceptions about South Africa in the Netherlands and Europe.
This was in line with Brand South Africa’s flagship Global South Africans programme, that aims to acknowledge and celebrate thousands of South Africans who are exemplary citizens in the world and therefore brand advocates for the positive positioning of the Nation Brand abroad.
The rationale was that when a South African moves abroad, they bring along with them a piece of home and they can move away from a story told about them, to a story told by them.
According to Beaver Recruitment SA – a leading international recruitment agency based in Johannesburg – an estimated 41,300 South Africans currently live in the Netherlands, an increase from the country’s reported 21,878 in 2018.
Many of these citizens include highly skilled professionals, such as engineers, medical professionals, Information Technology experts and finance specialists.
The honing of these skills can be largely attributed to South Africa’s exceptional tertiary institutions. Earlier this month, the inaugural QS World University Rankings: Sub-Saharan Africa, published by QS Quacquarelli Symonds – a higher education analytics firm which shone a light on the continent’s leading universities. South African universities dominated the rankings, with nine institutions in the Top 10. The University of Cape Town ranked number one on the continent, followed by the University of Johannesburg and University of the Witwatersrand.
Furthermore, tertiary students pursuing their studies in the Netherlands make up a significant amount of the South African community. Educational cooperation between South Africa and the Netherlands is one of the cornerstones of the nation’s bilateral relations, focusing on enhancing post-secondary studies.
Speaking at the engagement, Ambassador of South Africa to the Netherlands, Vusi Madonsela said, “As South Africans, while we are building our lives and careers in the Netherlands -a country that shares strong historical ties and cordial bilateral relations with South Africa – our hearts remain deeply connected to the landscapes and people of our country in the southern tip of Africa. We watch the news, we check our social media apps, and we feel the distance.”
“The truth is the African diaspora in general and South Africans in particular, represents a “hidden economic power” produced through hard work of toil from their home countries. This means that given space, time and opportunity, the African diaspora, not least of which is South African, can similarly have a positive impact on their home country through direct investment and knowledge transfer” he continued.
The relationship between the two countries is mutually beneficial. Netherlands’ support of South Africa is an investment in a resilient, vibrant, and future-ready nation. Likewise, South Africa’s friendship with the Netherlands is based on the Kingdom being a major trading partner and investment destination. The Netherlands is a primary and consistent economic partner of South Africa, currently listed as the 7th largest trading partner globally and a top foreign investor with approximately 350 Dutch companies active in the country.
Global South Africans were encouraged to continue to represent the country by sharing South African stories and be exemplars of excellence internationally. South Africans’ pride and patriotism are the catalysts for the country’s future development.
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