HCA NEWS Dutch Princess Honorary HCA Ambassador

HRH Princess Laurentien of The Netherlands was appointed Honorary Hans Christian Andersen Ambassador for both the Hans Christian Andersen 2005 Foundation and the HCA-abc Foundation by HRH Princess Benedikte of Denmark.

By on - H.C. Andersen 2005 - 29 November 2004

HRH Princess Benedikte of Denmark presided over the appointment of HRH Princess Laurentien of The Netherlands, which took place on 26 November between 13:30 pm and 16 pm at Kasteel van Ammersoyen, Kasteelaan 7, Ammerzoden in The Netherlands. 

Princess Laurentien of The Netherlands is the second royal to be appointed Hans Christian Andersen Ambassador among a long list of prominent public figures the world over. 

Princess Laurentien has for several years been committed to the cause of addressing illiteracy worldwide. In the Netherlands, she  initiated a foundation in 2004, Stichting Lezen en Schrijven (the "Reading and Writing Foundation" (www.lezenenschrijven.nl). It brings together public and private sector players to address illiteracy both via communications and projects within organisations.

Following her appointment as Honorary Hans Christian Andersen Ambassador, Princess Laurentien of The Netherlands commanded a short reading of a Hans Christian Andersen fairytale for a group of children aged 6-12 from the Dutch Hans Christian Andersen School, which is set to take active part in the Hans Christian Andersen bicentennial celebrations in The Netherlands in 2005.

The ceremony also included performances of excerpts of the Dutch Hans Christian Andersen projects scheduled for the Andersen bicentenary in 2005. The Ammersoyen Palace was thus the romantic setting for everything from screening of animated film, storytelling, and singing and dancing.

The Dutch Hans Christian Andersen projects were publicised at a major press launch in Efterling on 6 June 2005 where the Dutch Hans Christian Andersen Ambassadors Daphne Deckers, Ivo de Wijs, and Freek De Jonge were appointed.

The ceremony was hosted by the Danish Cultural Institute in Brussels and the Royal Danish Embassy in The Netherlands in association with the Hans Christian Andersen 2005 Foundation.


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