Organization
The World Federalist Movement Netherlands is an association. On this page you can read about the board, advisory board and the working groups you can participate in. At the bottom you will find important documents that you can download.
Management
E-mail: bestuur@wfbn.nl
Frans Micklinghoff – voorzitter, E: voorzitter@wfbn.nl
Ton Macel – vice-voorzitter, E: vicevoorzitter@wfbn.nl
Carel Tielenburg – secretary, E: secretaris@wfbn.nl
Emile van Essen – penningmeester, E: penningmeester@wfbn.nl
Marjolijn Snippe – internationaal secretaris, E: international@wfbn.nl
Davy Foss – board member
Frans Vermeulen – board member
Working groups
In addition to the activities of the board and the association as a whole, the WFBN also has statutory working groups. The only currently active working group within the WFBN is the permanent Federalism Working Group.
The rise of international law has a long history. The need for it is therefore clear. However, in the future, a form of world law must be sought. This will then replace international law and be based on human rights, supported by an intercultural ethic in dialogue. The Federalism Working Group of the WFBN is working on this, and is therefore also contributing to the creation of a world federation.
The working group meets regularly, usually at the office in The Hague, to discuss current topics, conflicts and problems, and possible structural solutions, including the application of (world) federalist principles.
Contact: Frans Vermeulen (chairman)
T 0165 534506
E federalisme.wfbn@gmail.com
Advisory Board
The World Federalist Movement Netherlands has an Advisory Council, which consists of:
Prof. dr. JP (Jan) Pronk
Jan Pronk studied Economics at Erasmus University Rotterdam, where he subsequently worked (together with Jan Tinbergen) as a lecturer and researcher. He was a member of the House of Representatives for the Labour Party for several periods, Minister of Development Cooperation in the Den Uyl Cabinet (1973-1977), and later again in the Lubbers III Cabinet (1989-1994) and in the Kok I Cabinet (1994-1998). In the Kok II Cabinet he was Minister of the Environment, Spatial Planning and Housing (1998-2002).
From 1980 to 1986 Jan Pronk was Deputy Secretary-General United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD, Assistant Secretary General UN) in Geneva. Later he worked for the UN mission in Sudan as Special Representative of the Secretary General (2004-2006)
Jan Pronk was Professor of Theory and Practice of International Development at the ISS in The Hague; and since 2009 he has also been Visiting Professor at the United Nations University for Peace in Costa Rica.
Prof. dr. T. (Theo) van Boven
Theo van Boven studied law at Leiden University, where he also obtained his doctorate. From 1960 to 1977 he worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the last 10 years of that period he was also a lecturer in Human Rights at the University of Amsterdam. In 1977 Theo van Boven was appointed Director of the Human Rights Department of the United Nations in Geneva. At the same time he was appointed Professor of International Law at the University of Maastricht. From 1986 he held various positions in the UN system. For example, he was Special Rapporteur on the right to compensation for victims of gross violations of human rights, Special Rapporteur on Torture and First Registrar of the Yugoslavia Tribunal.
Dr. B. (Bashir) Azizi
Bashir Azizi was born in Afghanistan and obtained a master's degree in Biology in the Soviet Union. Once back in Afghanistan, he had to flee due to the rise of the mujahideen. In 1993, he finally arrived in the Netherlands. In his master's thesis in Philosophy, he positioned himself in the tradition of Socrates: 'The unexamined life is not worth living'. His scientific, but also educational thinking brings together various socially critical and philosophical lines: the (world) history of Afghanistan, cosmopolitanism throughout history and across national borders; all of this supplemented with his observations of the education debate in the Netherlands. Azizi obtained his doctorate from Leiden University on 9 April 2020 with his dissertation Global Citizenship, of which a trade edition is now available.
Dr. W. (Wim) van Eekelen
Wim van Eekelen began his career as a diplomat and then became a senior civil servant at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Shortly after his election as a member of the House of Representatives for the VVD, he became State Secretary for Defence in the Van Agt I Cabinet. In the Lubbers I Cabinet, he was State Secretary for European Affairs and in the Lubbers II Cabinet, he was Minister of Defence. After resigning in 1988 due to the 'passport affair', he became Secretary-General of the Western European Union and Senator. He was a member of the Senate from 1995 to 2003.
Wim van Eekelen is a passionate defender of international, Atlantic and European cooperation.
J. (Jan) Juffermans
Jan Juffermans studied sociology and philosophy at Leiden University for several years. After a period as a graphic designer, he became deputy director at the publishing house Inter Documentation Company Leiden. From 1978 to 2010 he was first editor-in-chief and publisher, and later policy officer global sustainability at De Kleine Aarde. He was mainly committed to Agenda 21 and introduced the term global and ecological footprint in the Netherlands: this indicates the number of square meters of Earth that each person uses. After his retirement in 2010 he became self-employed under the name Voor Mondiale Duurzaamheid. When he left De Kleine Aarde he received a framed Life-time Award – for pioneering Footprint thinking in the Netherlands and beyond offered by the Global Footprint Network and the World Wildlife Fund.
