Author: Alette Vonk

Book nomination!

We are very pleased to announce that the book of Alette has been nominated for the BCA African Business Book of the Year Award 2026. It is a great honor to be included on this shortlist of eight distinguished books, and we look forward to attending the award ceremony in London. The book explores the […]

A cup of tea in Japan

What a cup of tea can tell you about doing business in Japan Drinking tea in Japan is not a quick affair, but a moment of calm, mindfulness and respect. This stands in stark contrast to the Western ‘matcha-to-go’ trend. In Japan, people do not eat or drink whilst on the move. Not out of […]

Double lecture

Today, Brigitte and Alette gave back-to-back talks on culture, inclusion, and rituals in the workplace. People know where to find us: without knowing that we work together at Cultural Insights, two of us were approached separately for one of the talks. The fact that we’re a team made the preparation all the easier. They were […]

Shake hands or not?

illustratie bij begroeting

Do you ever have those moments when you wonder, ‘Should I shake hands with the other person or not?’ Greetings are more than a formality; they say something about a person’s culture. Although the ways of greeting vary greatly, they often have the same purpose: to show connection, respect and trust. So let’s take a […]

Doing Business with Japan

Illustratie uit Japan

Japan is a market full of opportunities — but also full of subtleties. If you want to do business successfully with Japanese partners you’ll soon discover that trust, respect, and timing are at least as important as the product itself. In this newsletter, we take you into the unique dynamics of doing business in Japan: […]

Pilotage Service

Geeft indruk van ons bezoek aan het werkveld van het loodswezen

Cultural Insights will train the Dutch Pilotage Service in intercultural communication. To learn more about their work, all three of us were allowed to spend a day sailing with a pilot. What an experience that was! With over 460 pilots, spread across three partnerships and four ports (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Vlissingen, and Delfzijl), the Pilotage Service […]

Soft stuff or hard cash?

Cultural competence is classified as a soft skill. Soft skills are personal and social characteristics that you need to be successful, which describe how you tackle challenges, interact with people and organize your work. In a multicultural context, there is an extra layer of complexity. Your colleague sees the world differently, gives feedback that is […]

“Wonderful experience”

Group Photo to show the management team

After one of our consultants did a few online trainings, she finally got the chance to do a face-to-face training with this management team in Ghana. They had covered quite some ground online, yet they all felt the incredible difference with this one. Being in the room, being able to laugh, touch, discuss and look […]

Conference Friends of Hofstede

Sfeer impressie van conferentie

Last week, just before a soccer cup win set Deventer in the Netherlands ablaze, an international group of cultural experts came to this city. Two members of our Cooperative Cultural Insights joined in as well and we are happy to tell you about it! The event was organized for “the Friends of Hofstede,” an international […]

Interview Dutch ‘coziness’

Saskia was invited to the Dutch Broadcasting (NPO) Listen Podcast Festival, to join the conversation on the origins of the Dutch word and phenomenon ‘gezelligheid’. It’s one of those words that is impossible to translate yet used very frequently and therefore, it has a story to tell about Dutch culture. It is a combination of […]

Saskia Maarse

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Saskia Maarse is a Dutch intercultural speaker, trainer and author. For six years, she researched how Dutch culture is experienced by people from other cultures. She did so through in-depth interviews with entrepreneurs and managers from 30 different countries. She wrote two books on the subject: Tutti frutti – Success in a colourful and entreprising Netherlands and Onder de zeespiegel – collaborating and living together with the Dutch.

Saskia’s fascination for cultural differences started at a young age. She worked in tourism for over ten years, including several years in France, Spain, Italy and Austria. Her work experience abroad and her subsequent trip around the world broadened her view of the world and its inhabitants. Her research provided Saskia with much: more cultural awareness and extensive knowledge about Dutch culture in relation to other cultures.

Saskia’s mission is to provide as many people and organisations as possible with cultural insights and awareness in an accessible and inspiring way, so that more understanding of different cultures is created.

“During our team building day in Openluchtmuseum Arnhem we have had the pleasure to enjoy a very interesting cultural awareness workshop focussing on the Dutch culture in comparison with other cultures, how other cultures see us Dutch and what we can learn with the 6 principles of intercultural working from Saskia Maarse. The diverse group that we were with 25 people, 6 nationalities and even more cultures (including Frisian and Limburg) were really enthusiastic and even more understood the importance of good communication (verbal and visual) in international business.”
Marko van der Smitte, Sales Director Alfa Laval