Tafelspeech van minister Schultz bij het diner van High level Experts and Leaders’ Panel on Water and Disasters (HELP)

Toespraak | 28-05-2014

First of all, a warm welcome to the Wereldmuseum.
This is a very inspiring place to end our day. Why?
Because this museum seeks to unite different cultures in art.
Many of the exhibits express existential questions. They show how people are searching for answers, wherever they may live.

Today, despite our very different backgrounds, we too have searched for common answers to questions like:

• How can we make countries water-resilient?
• How can we put prevention and risk reduction higher on the international agenda?
• What can we do to allow people to live in a safe environment?

We’ve had a very fruitful day!
We’ve made good agreements, on which we can build.
You’ve also gained an impression of Rotterdam. A city that owes a lot to water, but has much to fear from it too.
Tomorrow we’ll be visiting the Maeslant storm surge barrier, which protects this delta. I’m always proud to show it to our guests from abroad.
Not only because it’s one of the most innovative storm surge barriers in the world.
But also because, when it was opened in 1997, it marked the completion of our Delta Works. The ultimate symbol of our age-old fight against the water. A fight that will always continue.

So it will also be interesting for us to go to Kinderdijk tomorrow, to the Noordwaard polder and to the Architecture Biennale ‘Urban by Nature’. Why?
You’ll see the changes that have taken place in our fight against the water.

• The Kinderdijk windmills illustrate how for centuries we’ve held the water back.
• The Noordwaard polder is an example of how nowadays we’re giving water more space.
• And the Biennale shows us how we can develop our cities with nature, and that includes water.

It was an honour to chair our meeting today.
I thank you all for your efforts, your ideas and your input and wish you a very pleasant evening.