{"id":47614,"date":"2026-09-21T14:42:44","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T12:42:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vnc-china.nl\/vnc-2026-general-assembly-on-the-way-to-our-50th-anniversary-with-confidence\/"},"modified":"2026-09-21T21:54:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T19:54:08","slug":"vnc-2026-general-assembly-on-the-way-to-our-50th-anniversary-with-confidence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vnc-china.nl\/en\/vnc-2026-general-assembly-on-the-way-to-our-50th-anniversary-with-confidence\/","title":{"rendered":"VNC Annual General Meeting 2026: Confidently Heading Towards Our 50th Anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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On Saturday, September 19, VNC\u2019s Annual General Meeting took place in Buren. This year, we were guests at Business School Netherlands (BSN) – a <\/b>wonderful venue for a productive and constructive gathering. Many thanks to Toine van den Heuvel and Dani\u00eblla van der Groef <\/b>for their hospitality and excellent organization.<\/p>

While we would naturally always welcome even more members to a General Meeting, the quality of attendance was high. The members present were engaged, asked perceptive and critical questions, and sparked a lively discussion regarding both the past year and the future of the association. This is precisely the purpose of a General Meeting: not only to account for past actions, but also to reflect together on the future direction of VNC.<\/p>

During the meeting, the developments in 2025 and 2026 were reviewed in detail, alongside a forward-looking perspective on the upcoming anniversary year in 2027.<\/p> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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An Active and Growing Association<\/b><\/h3>

There was a lot to look back on with satisfaction. VNC’s membership base continued to grow compared to the end of 2025. Today, approximately 20% of our members have a Chinese background, increasingly making VNC a meeting place for diverse groups connected to China and the relationship between the Netherlands and China.<\/p>

It has also been a particularly active year in the field of events. Between May 2025 and August 2026, VNC organized more than 50 events<\/b>. The program ranged from cultural activities and China Cafes to business gatherings and knowledge-focussed sessions. This reflects the broad scope of VNC: culture, society, economics, business, science, and expertise on China all come together within the association.<\/p>

Furthermore, the digital reach of VNC has continued to expand. The revamped bilingual website, the newsletter and our channels on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and WeChat collectively reach an audience far larger than just our membership base. LinkedIn, for instance, now counts over 1,600 followers.<\/b> The ability to reach individuals outside the existing VNC community offers significant opportunities for further growth.<\/p>

Underpinning all these activities is an increasingly robust organization, supported by a growing number of volunteers and even an intern.<\/p>

A Healthy Foundation for the Future<\/b><\/h3>

Financially, VNC is also on a healthy footing.The 2025 annual accounts closed with a positive result, further strengthening the financial basis of the association. During the meeting, the annual accounts, the financial performance of the first half of 2026, and the budget for 2027 were discussed.<\/p>

Clear priorities have been set out for the coming year. Alongside the 50th anniversary, VNC aims to further increase its impact in the strategic debate on the Netherlands and China, strengthen fundraising efforts and continue attracting new members and followers.<\/p>

The latter remains essential. While reach and visibility are growing, our ultimate goal is to actively involve more people in VNC: as a member, events attendees, readers of ChinaNU+, channel followers, volunteers, or partners.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Towards 50 Years of VNC<\/b><\/h3>

An important part of the meeting naturally focused on 2027: the year VNC celebrates its 50th anniversary<\/b>.<\/p>

It promises to be an exceptional year. The program features three major milestone events: a launch event in March 2027<\/b>, a VNC Culture Week,<\/b> and a closing conference in the autumn<\/b>. Additionally, a special printed anniversary edition of ChinaNU+ is very likely to be published.<\/p>

The anniversary arrives at a unique moment. The world, and the relationship between the Netherlands and China, look vastly different today than when VNC was founded in 1977. This makes the anniversary not only an occasion to look back on fifty years of history, but above all a moment to look forward and rethink the role VNC can play in this evolving relationship.<\/p>

Particularly in an era where perceptions of China are becoming increasingly complex – and where economic, geopolitical, societal, and cultural issues frequently overlap – the act of meeting remains vital. VNC aims to provide a space where knowledge and experiences are shared, diverse perspectives can coexist, and individuals with an interest in the Netherlands and China can genuinely connect.<\/p>

The General Meeting in Buren demonstrated that this commitment is fully alive within our association. The questions and discussions from attending members provided valuable input for the board and the plans for the coming year.<\/p>

Therefore, many thanks to all members who attended, and to everyone who contributed to VNC over the past year as a volunteer, partner, sponsor, or in any other capacity. Once again, sincere thanks to Toine and Daniella for their hospitality and the wonderful location in Buren.<\/p>

Following an active year, we look ahead with great energy.<\/p>

Onwards to 2027. Onwards to 50 years of VNC!<\/b><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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On Saturday, September 19, VNC\u2019s Annual General Meeting took place in Buren. This year, we were guests at Business School Netherlands (BSN) – a wonderful venue for a productive and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":857,"featured_media":47600,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[336,326,409,348,347],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-event-reports","category-geen-onderdeel-van-een-categorie","category-in-the-carousel","category-vnc-activities","category-vnc-current-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vnc-china.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vnc-china.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vnc-china.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vnc-china.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/857"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vnc-china.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47614"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.vnc-china.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47614\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47626,"href":"https:\/\/www.vnc-china.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47614\/revisions\/47626"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vnc-china.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vnc-china.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vnc-china.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vnc-china.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}