So what does dance have to do with working at an international or EU institution?
Perhaps more than you think, says Samuel Wuersten!

Samuel Wuersten is artistic and general director Holland Dance Festival and artistic director Bachelor/Master Dance programs, Zurich University of the Arts.
As a guest speaker at the annual Touch Dutch Base event of Foreign Affairs, he talks about diversity and the importance of working together within a team. In addition to the plenary session, Samuel Wuersten will elaborate on best practices in generation-binding and gender-diverse work compositions during a break-out session. Observations and experiences from the working practice of dance serve as reference and inspiration.

Touch Dutch Base (TDB) is the annual network meeting for Dutch people working in international organizations and European institutions at middle and higher management level. The aim is to bring these Dutch people back into contact (touch base) with each other, with the Netherlands in the general sense and specifically also with the National Coordinator for International Functions (NCIF), with the Coordinator for EU Functions (CEU) of the General Administration in Brussels and with Working at the EU. In addition, TDB wants to gather input for international policy for the Cabinet. To sum it all up in one word: cross-pollination.

The event took place at Het Spaansche Hof in The Hague.

Versatile dance life of Samuel Wuersten
Wuersten enjoyed a varied career as a contemporary repertory dancer, created both self-produced, and commissioned work as a choreographer, and is a sought-after teacher of contemporary dance around the world. He is artistic and executive director of the renowned Holland Dance Festival and artistic director of the Bachelor/Master Dance programs at Zurich University of the Arts, which he helped develop from the beginning. For twenty years he was associated with Codarts Rotterdam, first as director of dance programs and later as a member of the board of the art college. He is a regular jury member and advisor to various dance and arts organizations. He currently advises the Ballet Academy of the Vienna State Opera.

Samuel Wuersten (1961) was born and raised in Gstaad, Switzerland. He started his dance studies with Michaela Pavlin in Bern and followed his dance training at the Hamburg Ballet School and at Codarts Arts University Rotterdam (formerly Rotterdam Dance Academy). He has been living in the Netherlands for almost 40 years.