Working in politics in The Hague

When was the moment you thought: ‘Right, I am really working in politics in The Hague now?’

The funny thing is that that was neither during the general elections, nor when the government fell, nor on Prinsjesdag (Budget Day) nor during the Parliamentary Debate on the Speech from the Throne. It happened on a weekday during the parliamentary recess. I was in the plenary chamber – every now and then I take new photos for social media – and I was all alone. No audience, no MPs, no Speaker and no photographer. It was “I with the empty seats”. It was quiet, and yet I could sense a certain energy in the chamber. Perhaps it was the energy of democracy, or the realisation that had just struck me: ‘I am now alone in a chamber where important decisions are discussed and made every day; this is where history is being written.’

How did you end up there in the first place?

I have not ended up there ‘accidentally’; it wasn’t that sort of scenario. Even at a young age, I was already thinking about how I could contribute to society. I want to inform people, inspire them and bring them closer together. In my own community, I saw what ignorance and misinformation can do to people. That affected me deeply and I wanted to do something about it. But how? How do you ensure that information reaches people in an accessible and accurate way? Driven by that motivation, I chose to study Creative Business.

It all began soon after my graduation. A fellow student tipped me off about a vacancy for a television programme covering the 2017 elections to the Lower House. The studio was located in a basement at the Binnenhof, and we broadcast live every day to inform young people about the elections and encourage them to make sure they voted. To me, it immediately felt like ‘more than just a production’. Everything came together there: media, politics and social impact, not to pit people against one another, but rather to foster connection and understanding.

A few days after the last broadcast I was called by municipal executive councillor Yasin Torunoglu. He wanted to create workshops about vlogging and social media for his PvdA party in Eindhoven. I had never given such workshops before, but there is a first time for everything. After those workshops, I was asked to help with the campaign for the municipal elections. I managed the social media and created content for both the party and for the leading candidate, Yasin Torunoglu. It’s worth noting that we’re talking about 2018 here, a time when local politicians were nowhere near as visible on social media as they are now. This was quickly followed by the campaign for the Provincial Council elections. I moved on to the PvdA Brabant, and alongside my master’s programme, I continued to work for the parliamentary party.

And you’d think that with that experience, you’d breeze straight into a job within the central government. Not so. We were plunged into the COVID-19 pandemic; the job market had ground to a halt; and finding a job within the government was anything but easy. Until I came across Starterspool Communicatie, a central government programme for young communications professionals. I applied straight away and was matched with the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO). I really enjoyed my time there, but deep down, one workplace kept niggling at the back of my mind: the Lower House.

And then, one Monday, I ‘just happened’ (this time for real) to see a job vacancy on Instagram for a social media content specialist at the Lower House. I remember thinking straight away: this is it! It was as if all the previous steps – from that small studio in the basement of the Binnenhof to all the campaigns I’d worked on – had ultimately led up to this moment.

What did you take away from the Creative Business programme and what did you have to let go of completely?

What I took away from the study programme is that you have to keep moving with the times in our field. Right now, everything revolves around social media, but what will that look like in ten years’ time? How will people want to receive information then, what will their behaviour be like, and what technologies will be available? These are questions you need to keep asking yourself – rather than getting stuck in the present.

And what I have had to let go of completely? These are in fact two things. 
The idea that you mustn’t fail – that’s something I’ve had to let go of. Don’t give up on your dream if it doesn’t work out straight away the first time. Don’t let a single failure hold you back. Instead, dig deep and embrace the mistakes you make along the way. And secondly, let go of the idea that you’re in a hurry with your career. I’ve had various experiences that have led me to my dream job.