PHILIPSBURG:--- Sint Maarten students studying in Holland will be invited to attend the first student forum under the theme, "To Study Successfully and to Return Successfully," to be organized by Stichting Soualiga Foundation (SSF).
Vice Prime Minister Hon. Theo Heyliger says he fully supports the initiative to organize a forum for Sint Maarten students studying in the Netherlands under the aforementioned theme, and appeals to businesses to support forum.
The student forum is slated for April 20 in Bodegraven, the Netherlands.
The main goal of the student forum is to bring together students, recent graduates and young professionals to discuss and document factors that affect the academic performance of the students in the Netherlands as well as look at how they can return to the country successfully after completing their studies.
SSF's current initiative is to help students facing difficulties in achieving their goals during their studies in the Netherlands, and student dissatisfaction about limited opportunities graduates/young professionals face when returning to the country.
"We have achieved country status within the Kingdom. To move on in joining the international community of nation states and be a full autonomous country, we need to build country Sint Maarten at this level with Sint Maarteners equipped with a high level of human capital in promoting the economic growth and well-being of our country.
"Governments the world over have been confronted with so-called 'brain drain.' This phenomenon is believed to have had adverse effects on economic growth, education, income distribution and welfare. There are factors that determine brain drain, such as push factors and pull factors.
"The outcome of the student forum will give the political establishment an idea on moving forward. One idea is to set-up a data bank to identify and localize Sint Maarten students and professionals living and working in developed countries; and another idea is to assist in the creation and consolidation of the Sint Maarten Diaspora living in North America, Europe and wherever they can be found," Vice Prime Minister Hon. Theo Heyliger said on Sunday.
SSF was launched on October 11, 2011 and is not only for students but all Sint Maarteners living in the Netherlands with respect to social and cultural needs.