Over the holidays one of the cities I traveled to was Rotterdam and while there I was lucky enough to meet the mayor of the city Ahmed Aboutaleb. Before I left Kuwait my friend in Rotterdam told me he managed set up a meeting for me with the mayor and that we would have 30 minutes of his time followed by a private tour of City Hall. I was pretty thrilled, I hadn’t been to Rotterdam before and getting to meet the mayor on my first visit was really exciting.
We got to City Hall early because obviously we didn’t want to be late for the mayor. Once there we were given a very friendly welcome by the mayor himself and his staff who all met us outside at the entrance of his office. Once inside the mayors office we were led to the seating area where I was told to sit opposite the mayor. On the table in front of us was a little stand with three flags, a Dutch flag, the flag of Rotterdam and the Kuwaiti flag since that’s where I was coming from. Their hospitality and professionalism made me feel like I was someone very important.
We started talking about the weather first since that’s always a good ice breaker and then the conversation shifted towards the city and finally to the way the mayor runs the city. One thing I loved is the fact he checks his emails personally. Everyday he receives on average around 50 or 60 emails from Rotterdam citizens regarding various topics and he reads them all himself. Then depending on what the email is about he assigns various members of his team to follow up and sort the issues out. Rotterdam is the second largest city in Netherlands but the way he runs things hands on you would think he’s running a small town like Pawnee. I loved that.
After my 30 minutes were up I was given a parting gift by the mayor and then had a photo taken with him. I was then given a tour of City Hall before I ended up leaving for lunch. It was such a great and inspiring meeting that it made me more determined to want to be the Mayor of Salmiya one day.
17 replies on “Meeting the Mayor of Rotterdam”
sounds really cool, that does not happen in most cities for sure. Was curious what the parting gift was? I am guessing something to do with Rotterdam? wooden shoes……..
It was a book full of photos of Rotterdam from the top
https://instagram.com/p/V8q_yjx4dF/
Wow Mark, amazing that you were so formally dressed in a suit and he was casually chilling in jeans.
Expected you to be a bit younger though.
lol good one
lolol .. I like the fact that Mark actually went in with casual clothes :p
Did you say him your wish to become Salmiya mayor and get some tips ?
Mark, it’s time to design a flag for Salmiya.
You have my vote!
good stuff. This just goes to show you the reach of European officials to the people as opposed to here. And by here I don’t just mean Kuwait but the Middle East as a whole.
Try meeting with an MP or a minister over here. You’ll be given the run-around and get to witness the fine art of excuse making.
I’m not experienced with EU politicians but based on the US, useless politicians aren’t a Middle Eastern invention 🙂
So when you say you guys were talking about the weather you mean to say he started with “So how’s the weather up there?”
Nice, the city hall is one of the last remaining “old” buildings that wasn’t bombed during WWII.
alwatan prints are all over this trip.
looking good btw 🙂
Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp or what’s a heaven for, mate?!
Think bold think wild….. Mayor of Salmieh? I was thinking more along the lines of Mark for Mayor of Kuwait or sheriff of Dahiyat Abdalla Salem or some such. You disappoint, Mark
Beace be to you.
Now i finally know how you look!!!!
Dude get on instagram i got tons of photos there lol
fix the pot holes on salem-al-mubarek outside ag mart , as they’ve reappeared.
sort out the traffic lights by al-salam mall so they can turn left , instead of turning left regardless towards red tag and nearly running me over whenever i go for a walk.
get these on your to do list as an election gift to those living there.