Crown Princess Maxima visits Foundation ‘Be Interactive’

On Tuesday morning, Princess Maxima was in Amsterdam to visit the initiative for women Be Interactive. This Foundation aims to encourage isolated women to agreater physical activity. The Princess visited the Foundation Advantage community center in Amsterdam.

‘Be Interactive’ received one of the Apples of Orange in May 2010, an annual award of the Orange Fund which is given “for initiatives successful with groups of people.” The prize consists of a bronze statue designed and manufactured by Queen Beatrix, and a cash prize of 15,000 Euros. The foundation organizes sports training, particularly running, near where the women live. At the moment, the activities take place at twenty-seven locations across the Netherlands.

The group – mostly Moroccan women – were given the chance to talk with Princess Maxima about sports and had tea. Princess Maxima also discussed with them their experiences, motivations to participate and the impact of their participation in their daily lives.

In the Netherlands, a large problem exists for foreign women as they do not speak Dutch or have too few contacts to participate in the appropriate amount of physical activity. Princess Maxima, a big sports fan herself, hopes to break this taboo and travel the coutry to encourage women to be more active.

The Orange Fund is the largest fund in the social field and since 2005, a special budget has been set aside for projects that use sport as a means to bring different groups together. The Prince of Orange and Princess Máxima are patrons of the Orange Fund.

Filed under The Netherlands
Tagged Immigration, Patronage, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, Sport, The Oranje Fonds.