Hilke Jansen
"I was educated in Tropical Land Use (University of Wageningen) and have an interest in agriculture, rural development, food quality and sustainability. For some time I have worked abroad, e.g. in Africa and Guatemala for CMC. After that I have been employed by the Dutch Agricultural Youth Contact (NAJK) in Utrecht, particularly on the field of awareness and advocacy between young farmers in the Netherlands and in development countries. Now I want to bring all these "worlds" together by building bridges and cooperating with people."
most important roles: analist, advisor, intermediair en facilitator
Antoon Blokland
"The challenge in my job is to bring together the political and the civil society. Doing that I want to find better solutions for the problems of today. I know both societies from within and enjoy opening doors to these societies a lot."
most important roles: analist, advisor, trainer en intermediair
Cell phone 06 12938260
Karen Wiessing, Office Manager
"In our office my main role is being the liaision officer. It is my job to link people to each other. With my flexible and positive attitude I try to help our clients and my colleagues as well as I can. Some humour and companionship are indispensable for me."
Wichert van Dijk, Adviser
"During my study International Relations, I have been absorbed by the influence of international cooperation on the relationship between civil and political society in developing countries and have been involved in several development projects. I have experienced that cooperation between the global North and South improves the opportunities of people. After my policy adviser internship at the Dutch parliament I enthusiastically started as political adviser at BBO."
Nico Verzijden, Financial Administrator
"I am constantly looking for good ways to bring my ideals into practice. My job at BBO joins working for a world that could be, should be better, with my skills in administration like creating clear overviews and explaining complicated financial situations."
Debby Houtgraaf, Adviser
"With my background in media and communication I have a different view on the process of lobby and advocay in international coöperation. I support clients in the development of their strategies to lobby in an efficient manner. Also I watch over the quality of the services of BBO and I develop new services through listening to the wishes of organizations."
Else Boonstra, Political Adviser
"As I am based in Brussels, I am in the perfect place to closely monitor policies and politics in the field of development cooperation in the European Union. I enjoy to helping organisations to navigate their way through the complexity of the European Union and its institutions. It is hard to think of any European policy that does not have an impact on developing countries: security, migration, agriculture, trade. I think it is exciting to see through these interdependencies and to analyse the interests and positions involved in European decision-making."
