The Speenhamland system was a form of outdoor relief intended to mitigate rural poverty in England and Wales at the end of the 18th century and during the early 19th century. The law was an amendment to the Elizabethan Poor Law. It was created as an indirect result of Britain's involvements in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1793–1815).
Marten Toonder was a Dutch comic strip creator, born in Rotterdam. He was probably the most successful comic artist in the Netherlands and had a great influence on the Dutch language by introducing new words and expressions. He is most famous for his series Tom Puss and Panda.
Gerrit Jan Komrij was a Dutch poet, novelist, translator, critic, polemic journalist and playwright. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s, writing poetry that sharply contrasted with the free-form poetry of his contemporaries. He acquired a reputation for his prose in the late 1970s, writing acerbic essays and columns often critical of writers, television programs, and politicians. As a literary critic and especially as an anthologist he had a formative influence on Dutch literature: his 1979 anthology of Dutch poetry of the 19th and 20th centuries, reformed the canon, and was followed by anthologies of Dutch poetry of the 17th and 18th centuries, of Afrikaans poetry, and of children's poetry. Those anthologies and a steady stream of prose and poetry publications solidified his reputation as one of the country's leading writers and critics; he was awarded the highest literary awards including the P. C. Hooft Award (1993), and from 2000 to 2004, he was the Dutch Dichter des Vaderlands. Komrij died in 2012 at age 68.
Beetsterzwaag is a village in the municipality of Opsterland in the east of Friesland in the Netherlands. It had a population of around 3,485 in January 2017. Beetsterzwaag is known for its estates and manor houses.
Universal basic income (UBI) is a social welfare proposal in which all citizens of a given population regularly receive a minimum income in the form of an unconditional transfer payment, i.e., without a means test or need to work. In contrast, a guaranteed minimum income is paid only to those who do not already receive an income that is enough to live on. A UBI would be received independently of any other income. If the level is sufficient to meet a person's basic needs, it is sometimes called a full basic income; if it is less than that amount, it may be called a partial basic income. As of 2024, no country has implemented a full UBI system, but two countries—Mongolia and Iran—have had a partial UBI in the past. There have been numerous pilot projects, and the idea is discussed in many countries. Some have labelled UBI as utopian due to its historical origin.
Giving What We Can (GWWC) is a group of charities promoting effective giving whose members pledge to give at least 10% of their income to effective charities. It was founded at Oxford University in 2009 by the philosopher Toby Ord, physician-in-training Bernadette Young, and fellow philosopher William MacAskill.
Yde Johan "Eddy" van Hijum is a Dutch politician who has served as the minister of social affairs and employment and third deputy prime minister in the Schoof cabinet since 2024.
David Grégoire Van Reybrouck is a Belgian cultural historian, archaeologist and author. He writes historical fiction, literary non-fiction, novels, poetry, plays and academic texts. He has received several awards for his works, which include Congo: The Epic History of a People and Revolusi.
Jules Anton Deelder was a Dutch poet, spoken word poet and writer. His poems cover topics such as life in the city of Rotterdam, drug use, and jazz. He was very passionate about the Dutch language and feared that European integration would cause smaller languages like Dutch to become a "folkloric" curiosity. He was well known in the Netherlands for his live performances and appearances in Dutch popular media. He collaborated with musicians and bands such as Herman Brood, Benjamin Herman and Bas van Lier to record and perform his poetry. His prominent role in the cultural life of Rotterdam earned him the nickname "night mayor of Rotterdam."
Jacob Julius Max Nord was a Dutch journalist, writer, and translator. He was one of the main editors of Het Parool, an illegal Dutch newspaper founded during World War II.
The 2017–18 Belgian First Division A was the 115th season of top-tier football in Belgium. The season began on 28 July 2017 and concluded on 20 May 2018. The fixtures were announced in early June 2017. Anderlecht were the defending champions but had to settle for third place with Club Brugge taking their 15th title.
Utopia for Realists: The Case for a Universal Basic Income, Open Borders, and a 15-hour Workweek is a book by Dutch popular historian Rutger Bregman. It was originally written as articles in Dutch for a virtual journal, De Correspondent, and was since compiled and published, and translated into several languages. It offers a critical proposal that it claims is a practical approach to reconstructing modern society to promote a more productive and equitable life based on three core ideas:
Hans Renders is a professor of history and biography theory at the University of Groningen. Since 2004, he is also the head of the university's "Biography Institute", as of 2024 as honorary professor.
The Ida Gerhardt Poëzieprijs is a Dutch poetry award named after classicist and poet Ida Gerhardt. The award was created by the municipal council of the city of Zutphen and is now awarded by the Stichting Ida Gerhardt Prijs. The award was created in 1998 and first awarded in 2000.
Erik Jan Willem Menkveld was a Dutch poet.
No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference is a book by climate activist Greta Thunberg. It was originally published on 30 May 2019. It consists of a collection of eleven speeches which she has written and presented about global warming and the climate crisis.
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.
The Political Party for Basic Income, formerly known as the Basic Income Party and De Basis, is a minor political party in the Netherlands, which advocates for the implementation of a universal basic income. The party registered with the electoral council on 9 December 2013.
Pierre Lauffer was a Curaçaoan writer and poet who mainly wrote in Papiamentu. He is considered one of the greatest poets of Curaçao.
Humankind: A Hopeful History is a 2019 non-fiction book by Dutch historian Rutger Bregman. It was published by Bloomsbury in May 2021. It argues that people are decent at heart and proposes a new worldview based on the corollaries of this optimistic view of human beings. It argues against ideas of humankind's essential egotism and malevolence. The book engages in a multi-disciplinary study of historical events, an examination of scientific studies, and philosophical argumentation in order to advance Bregman's opinion that, this outlook is more realistic compared to its negative counterpart. It has been translated into over 30 languages. In the United States, the paperback release was a New York Times Best Seller.
