PHILIPSBURG:--- The Social Economic Council (SER), hosted a delegation of three persons who were part of the Dutch trade mission on Saturday, July 20, 2013. SER chairman, René A. Richardson welcomed the Director-General for Foreign Economic Relationships at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Simon Smits, chairman of MKB, the Dutch organization for medium and small enterprises, Mr. Hans Biesheuvel and Mrs. Marije Feersma-Hoekstra, senior policy advisor of the Representative of the Netherlands on Curacao.
The visit of the Dutch delegation to the SER, served mainly as a familiarization visit to the council. The SER chairman, gave an outline of the workings of the advisory body and highlighted the achievements over the past two years. Secretary-general Gerard Richardson outlined some of the future projects of the SER and summarized the recently submitted draft law AOV advice. The delegation members were interested to know in what areas SER contributed to Sint Maarten society. The SER council members expressed their views on this matter and focused mainly on the cooperation between businesses, government and labor unions. Topics such as the economy, education, crime, (youth) unemployment, pension schemes and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) were also discussed.
Senior policy advisor of the SER, drs. Arjen Alberts provided the guests with a presentation on its symposium theme Corporate Social Responsibility. The delegation members shared their views on the topic and comparisons were drawn with the other nations where CSR is becoming a more integral part of the operations of the companies.
In conclusion all parties agreed that the best way forward for businesses, is to accept some sort responsibility for the social challenges faced in the community. This rule can be applied worldwide in these challenging economic times.
