Gerda Havertong | |
---|---|
Born | |
Nationality | Dutch |
Occupation(s) | Actress Storyteller Presenter |
Years active | 1976–present |
Known for | Playing Gerda / Peetje in Sesamstraat |
Gerda Alexandra Havertong (Paramaribo, Surinam - 23 October 1946) is a Dutch-Surinamese actress, television presenter, actress and singer. She is well known for being a recurring character in Sesamstraat , the Dutch version of Sesame Street, since 1984. [1]
Havertong was born in 1946 in Paramaribo, Surinam when it was still a Dutch colony. In 1966 Havertong moved to The Hague, the Netherlands. She studied to become a schoolteacher at the University of Amsterdam and graduated 1974. [2] After her studies she worked as a preschool teacher in Amsterdam. During her time in Amsterdam she played in amateur theatre groups.
In 1975 Havertong returned to Surinam with her husband. In 1977 she sang a song in the Sranan Tongo language in the television series Kon hesi baka - Kom gauw terug. [3] She also joined the Doe-theater troupe in Paramaribo. [4]
In 1979 Havertong returned to the Netherlands and started her professional career as an actress. In 1984 she appeared for the first time in the 2.500th episode of Sesamstraat . [1] In 1988 and 1989 she acted in the Dutch educational show Het Klokhuis , where she also sang the theme tune. [5]
In 1987 Havertong spoke out against the character of Zwarte Piet (Black Pete) in an episode of Sesamstraat, more than thirty years before this became a large public debate in the Netherlands. [6]
In 1999 Havertong founded Stichting Wiesje (Wiesje Foundation), a foundation that helps people in Surinam who suffer from dementia, as a remembrance for her mother who suffered from the disease. In 2020 the foundation opened a centre for dementia patients in Paramaribo. [7]
Sinterklaas or Sint-Nicolaas is a legendary figure based on Saint Nicholas, patron saint of children. Other Dutch names for the figure include De Sint, De Goede Sint and De Goedheiligman. Many descendants and cognates of "Sinterklaas" or "Saint Nicholas" in other languages are also used in the Low Countries, nearby regions, and former Dutch colonies.
Cornelis Lely was a Dutch politician of the Liberal Union (LU) and civil engineer. He oversaw the passage of an act of parliament authorising construction of the Zuiderzee Works, a huge project – designed to his own plans – that turned the Zuiderzee into a lake and made possible the conversion of a vast area of former seabed into dry land.
Surinam Airways, also known by its initials SLM, is the flag carrier of Suriname, based in Paramaribo. It operates regional and long-haul scheduled passenger services. Its hub is at Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport (Zanderij). Surinam Airways is wholly owned by the Government of Suriname.
Cornelis Gerhard Anton de Kom was a Surinamese resistance fighter and anti-colonialist author. He was arrested in Suriname and the protest against his arrest resulted in two deaths. De Kom was subsequently exiled to the Netherlands where he wrote Wij slaven van Suriname, an anti-colonial book. During World War II, he joined the resistance, was arrested, and sent to concentration camps where he died. In 2020, de Kom was added as a subject on the Canon of the Netherlands, a chronological list of fifty key events and people in Dutch history to be taught in schools.
Wageningen is a community resort and an agricultural place in the Republic of Suriname and located in the coastal area of West Suriname in the Nickerie District, at the harbour of the Nickerie River across the right estuary of the Maratakka River. The town was known as the rice centre of Suriname, Wageningen has been founded in 1949 and named after the Dutch city of Wageningen.
Aart Staartjes was a Dutch actor, director, television presenter and documentary maker from Amsterdam. He was portrayed Meneer Aart on Sesamstraat, the Dutch co-production of Sesame Street. In that persona he authored a book, Meneer Aart: Leven en werken van de man die geen kindervriend wil heten.
The Gouden Griffel is an award given to authors of children's or teenagers' literature in the Netherlands.
The Golden Coach is a coach owned and used by the Dutch royal family. The Golden Coach was used every year to carry the Dutch monarch from the Noordeinde Palace to the Ridderzaal in order to deliver the Speech from the Throne or the wedding of the Prince of Orange or the Princess of Orange. The Golden Coach is stored at the Royal Stables on the Noordeinde Palace grounds in The Hague.
Zwarte Piet, also known in English by the translated name Black Pete, is the companion of Saint Nicholas in the folklore of the Low Countries. Traditionally, Zwarte Piet serves as an assistant to the saint and distributes sweets and gifts to well-behaved children.
Susanna du Plessis (1739–1795) was a plantation owner in Dutch Surinam. She is a legendary figure in the history of Surinam, where she probably unjustely has become a metaphor of a cruel and sadistic slave owner. She is the subject of songs, plays, fairy tales and legends as well as books.
Netherlands–Suriname relations refers to the current and historical relations between the Netherlands and Suriname. Both nations share historic ties and a common language (Dutch) and are members of the Dutch Language Union.
This is a list of Dutch television related events from 2006.
Gloria Daisy Wekker is an Afro-Surinamese Dutch emeritus professor and writer who has focused on gender studies and sexuality in the Afro-Caribbean region and diaspora. She was the winner of the Ruth Benedict Prize from the American Anthropological Association in 2007.
Hanneke Groenteman is a Dutch journalist, radio broadcaster and television presenter who tends to focus on culture-related topics.
Henk Barnard was a Dutch writer of children's literature, journalist and television director.
Shortly after protests seeking justice for the murder of George Floyd, an African-American who was killed during a police arrest, began in the United States, people in the Netherlands protested to show solidarity with Americans and to demonstrate against issues with police or racism. Vigils and protests of up to thousands of participants took place nationwide.
Kick Out Zwarte Piet (KOZP) is a Dutch organization that campaigns against the Zwarte Piet character in the culture of the Low Countries. Zwarte Piet is traditionally part of the annual Christian feast of Sinterklaasavond in the Netherlands, Belgium, Suriname, Dutch Antilles and the Dutch diaspora on the evening of 5 December in the Netherlands and 6 December in Belgium. Saint Nicholas Day is also celebrated in the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Central Europe and the Middle East. In the folklore of the Low Countries, Zwarte Piet is portrayed as the dark-skinned Spanish Moor companion to Sinterklaas.
Ida Does is a Surinamese-born, Dutch journalist, writer, and documentary filmmaker. After working at Omroep West as a reporter, editor-in-chief, and program director, she began making independent films, mainly focused on art, culture, colonialism, and social justice. Her documentaries have won awards in Canada, the Netherlands, and Trinidad and Tobago.
François Haverschmidt was a Dutch judge who served in Suriname who also took an interest in birds, writing a major work The Birds of Surinam (1968).
Simone Weimans is a Dutch presenter. Since 2011 she is a news presenter of the Dutch public news broadcaster NOS Journaal.