Category: News

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 […]

Book presentation in Portugal

Compilation of the venue and speakers of the book presentation

On the 4th of July one of the members of the Cooperative was happy to present her book once more. This time for a room full of Portuguese businessmen, academia and (former) colleagues ánd former professors of Vasco Freitas Silva (co-author). In a pretty Casa do Corim, in Porto, the book was received with enthusiasm, […]

Masterclass Intercultural Competences

Een indruk van hoe de training eruit zag

On June 18, we organized the first Master Class with open enrollment, of our Cooperative. Great fun to join forces and complement each other, and exciting to co-facilitate well. The result was a good training with enthusiastic participants from five different companies and organizations, at a beautiful location in Amersfoort. Together we covered insights about […]

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 […]

NOS

Saskia was approached by the NOS with the question: what’s all the fuss about concerning Memphis Depay’s hair tire? Is that fuss typically Dutch?

Intermediair

Saskia Maarse was contacted by Intermediair to contribute to an article on cultural differences at the workplace and how to deal with them

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