Immigration and Integration Minister Rita Verdonk called on all the mayors involved to make Thursday 24 August a special day, "because becoming Dutch means more than just a new entry in the population register."
"Let us give the arrival of new Dutch citizens a little more style. Let us celebrate that." This comment - made in a column written by Minister Rita Verdonk and published on her ministry's website - has been put into practice with this week's celebrations for all of the approximately 11,000 immigrants who have become naturalised Dutch citizens since the beginning of 2006. Their new status - or, as Ms Verdonk has described it - 'birth' as new citizens - will be marked by special ceremonies in each of the villages, towns or cities where they live. The minister has called for the creation of a "dignified ritual which the participants can look back on with pride and pleasure."
Ceremony
With local councils being free to decide what form the ceremony should take, there are some striking differences: The local mayor in one municipality in the northern province of Friesland will be serving coffee to the new citizens and a colleague in the province of Overijssel will be handing out currant bread, while the council of the southern city of Tilburg has organised a dinner.
The main feature of the events is that they'll take place in a relaxed atmosphere and not with a high degree of ceremony, although there is a formal part in which the mayors are to address the new citizens about what it means to be Dutch and about the rights and obligations that come with being a citizen of the Netherlands.
The 'enjoyable' part follows, with some municipalities taking the new Dutch men and women off to the tower of the town hall for a drink, a snack and a view out over their new home town, others providing some kind of musical performance or - as in the case of Capelle aan den Ijssel - multicultural food mixed with typical Dutch games. In some cases, there will be presents too, ranging from a newspaper subscription to free museum passes, or a basket of local food specialities. Generally speaking, the ceremonies will be notable for their lack of nationalism, with only a few councils giving the new citizens a Dutch flag to take home.
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Rita Verdonk: 'Let us give the arrival of new citizens a little more style.' |
Lack of interest
Yet, despite the relaxed nature of the ceremonies, there doesn't appear to be a massive amount of interest in the first Naturalisation Day. This is being attributed to the fact that attendance is not - yet - compulsory and also that the day itself is being held during the summer holidays.
In the capital, Amsterdam, for example, only 300 of the more than 3500 people invited to attend the ceremony are actually expected to turn up. In The Hague, where the ceremony will take place in a church in the presence of Queen Beatrix, 200 of the 900 people invited have said they will attend.
Attendance at the naturalisation ceremonies will become compulsory as of 1 October this year. From now on, councils will organise smaller ceremonies every few weeks or months, in addition to the annual 'Day' on 24 August. Up until 1 October, however, new citizens can opt to have their naturalisation decrees sent to them by post, as was previously the case. The conditions for naturalisation remain unchanged: candidates must have lived in the Netherlands for at least five years and pass a test covering their knowledge of the Dutch language and society.
The government took the decision to create a special day for new citizens in June last year. The ministry of justice's website explains: "Celebrating their Dutch citizenship could have a positive effect on further social integration." The date of 24 August was chosen because this was the day on which the country's constitution came into effect in 1815.
More formal
Although these initial ceremonies are generally informal by nature, they could become more formal within the next few years. This will be the case if parliament approves a cabinet proposal which would require new citizens to swear or promise to respect Dutch laws and the rule of law and 'to fulfil the obligations which are part of being a citizen of the Netherlands.' This would make the ceremony more like those already organised in Canada. In June this year, Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk attended a 'citizenship ceremony' in Toronto.
At these ceremonies, new Canadians are required to take an oath and sing the national anthem. The United States also has its own formal naturalisation ceremonies. In Europe the phenomenon is relatively new. The United Kingdom introduced the concept in 2004 and France and Germany plan to do the same in the near future.
* RNW Internet translation (tpf)
Tags: birth, immigrants, Naturalisation Day, new Dutch citizens, status, Verdonk