Queen Maxima Opens Conference in Amsterdam

As special advocate of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for Inclusive Finance for Development, Dutch Queen Máxima opened today, Thursday December 7, the 5th edition of the IGNITE conference at the conference centre Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam.

The conference, entitled “Rebuilding Futures” and organized by the Dutch development organization SPARK, was focused on improving access to higher education, developing entrepreneurship, promoting sustainable leadership amongst young people in conflict-affected regions and the reconstruction of countries after conflict situations.

https://twitter.com/SPARKorg/status/938706892167241728

SPARK is a development organization founded in 1993 that offers access to higher education and supports entrepreneurship development in fragile states so that young, ambitious people can lead their societies into stability and prosperity and offers a variety of business and entrepreneurship programmes around the world. The organization is also helping students who have fled from Syria to Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon to continue their studies at universities and colleges in these countries.

In her speech Queen Maxima praised the efforts made by SPARK in almost 25 years of activity to help “people in fragile states and societies affected by conflict” and she also stressed the importance to support young refugees and to give them “positive alternatives and challenge them to use their capacities to the full”.

Koningin Máxima opent IGNITE conferentie Rebuilding Futures. Deze conferentie richt zich op de rol van ondernemerschap en hoger onderwijs in de wederopbouw van landen na conflictsituaties. #IGNITE2017 https://t.co/Wez2fcJB6g pic.twitter.com/LuAUO7UXav

— Koninklijk Huis (@koninklijkhuis) December 7, 2017

Filed under The Netherlands
Tagged Conference, Inclusive Finance, Patronage, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, United Nations.

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