The Kingdom of The Netherlands provides a strategic location to serve markets within Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The central geographical position of the Netherlands, combined with accessibility and an excellent infrastructure, are only some of the reasons why numerous European, American and Asian companies have established their facilities in The Netherlands. 

 

TASKS

Bastian was invited as the guest of the government of the Kingdom of The Netherlands to be part of a week-long FAM research trip to that country in December 2014. The purpose was to familiarize Bastian with IT-related economic assets of the nation, in particular those involving Big Data, cyber-security, logistics, transportation and gaming concerns. Bastian was one of just nine international journalists, all of whom represented American and/or global business magazines. Bastian used her new information and knowledge to write news updates for various national U.S. business magazines and will continue to reference this trip for future pieces.

 

Highlights included a trip to The Hague for a full day of seminars about cutting-edge cyber-security technologies, a tour of a facility full of game tech startups, and a tour of a one-of-a-kind virtual reality training center for the world's cruise ships where Bastian virtually moved multi-ton containers on a dock, virtually steered a cruise ship in rough waters, and virtually fixed boiler room problems. 

 

SKILLS

Interviewing, writing, research, high-level interpersonal communications with government officials and corporate C-suite executives.

​

• Launch Invest in Holland website

• Launch story about my media visit at The Hague (copy)

• Launch 1/2015 Inbound Logistics transportation piece Bastian wrote

• Launch CSMART Academy (toured virtual reality training facility for cruise ships)

​