Royal decoration for Mr. Monsewije
Mr. J.H.M. (John) Monsewije (age 66) received a Royal Decoration from Mr. Bert Bejas, deputy mayor of Kerkrade, last Friday, July 23, for his active involvement for an extended period of time in various national and Euroregional organizations in administrative positions.
He was appointed Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau.
The presentation took place at Hotel Van Der Valk in Heerlen during a reception to mark his retirement as chairman of the Executive Board at Stichting Voortgezet Onderwijs Parkstad Limburg (SVO|PL).
Mr. Monsewije retired from the foundation after 17 years in connection with reaching retirement age. Since 2005, he has driven and supported Euroregional developments and activities that go far beyond the commitment one might expect from a person in his position. For example, he is the booster and long-term supporter of the increase of Limburg students studying at the RWTH in Aachen and has contributed to many Euroregional projects from primary to higher education.
Even outside his position at the SVO|PL Foundation, Mr. Monsewije has been committed to the community in various areas for many years.
For example, as president of the Lions Club Heerlen, he has continuously devoted himself for 28 years to supporting target groups in society that can be referred to as "underprivileged. As chairman of the Supervisory Board at Relim, he has dedicated himself to the fate of vulnerable citizens in disadvantaged situations since 2007.
As chairman of the Supervisory Board at VluchtelingenWerk Nederland, Mr. Monsewije is also closely involved in both regional and national developments within VluchtelingenWerk.
From 2006 to 2015, he was chairman of the Supervisory Board at MeanderGroep. Here he made a special commitment to the organization, especially to the focus areas of strategy, finance and external contacts.
A member of the Knighthood of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, a charitable organization dedicated to supporting Christians in Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan, Mr. Monsewije has participated in international, national and regional meetings since 2014.
In his role as a member of the 'Committee 450 years Diocese of Roermond', from 2007 to 2010, he helped organize numerous activities to strengthen the jubilee
As a member of the Deutsch-Niederländische Jugendwerk curatorium at the Deutsch-Niederländische Gesellschaft, Mr. Monsewije has been committed to cross-border contacts in the Parkstad-Aachen border region since 2010. He has already contributed a great deal to German-Dutch relations in recent years. By contributing his networks and contacts and contributing substantially to the Euroregional agenda setting, he has been able to strengthen the Euroregional developments.
Since 2007, he has also been active on a voluntary basis as chairman of the work field committee Academy Business studies and member of the work field committee Commercial Economics at Zuyd University of Applied Sciences. In these roles, Mr. Monsewije has been committed for many years to advising the programs on important and defining developments in the field.
In addition, he has made significant contributions to the cultural sector in Limburg as a member of the Supervisory Board of Toneelgroep Maastricht (2016-present), Opera Zuid (2009-2018) and Cultura Nova (2008-2017). Furthermore, he contributed in the context of 75 years of Liberation Province of Limburg. As a member of the Civic Committee, he has
worked closely with national and European organizations. He acted as a connecting link between the committee and educational field and was actively involved in cross-border activities.
Finally, as a member of the visitation committee provincial museums Limburg, Mr. Monsewije contributed to the recommendations to strengthen the institutions inspected: the Bonnefantenmuseum in Maastricht, the Limburgs Museum in Venlo and Museumplein Limburg in Kerkrade.
