Dutchbuzz, an English radio programme especially geared to answer the question: “What’s the buzz in The Hague?” was launched in the city this week. The programme of news, views and interviews is hosted by the city broadcaster, Den Haag Totaal FM, and aims to be "your voice in the Netherlands", according to its producer and presenter, Lily-Anne Stroobach.

“Our team on Dutchbuzz is made up of locals and internationals from four different continents. We have pooled our experience as presenters, programme producers, sound engineers, journalists, lawyers, writers, critics, food and wine experts and PR and marketing consultants, to come up with a mix of topics that should appeal to most listeners,” Lily-Anne enthuses.

The focus is on the expat and international community in The Hague, but will also feature local residents and hopes to build a bridge between these different communities.

“Expats are not the only English speakers in this city, so the programme is also useful to locals who just want to know what’s on in The Hague and enjoy the option of hearing about it in English. We have a few volunteers on the programme who are Dutch and they are a healthy reminder that Dutchbuzz should not be an exclusive programme,” says Lily-Anne.

Regular features on the programme are; the local ‘News story of the Week', ‘What´s on in The Hague', and food and wine experts who tell you about the ‘Flavours of the Day in The Hague’.

“We aim to make it lively and informative and hope that it becomes a listening ear and reflective voice for English speakers in The Hague. We really encourage listener participation and can’t do our job properly without hearing about your rants and raves,” says Lily-Anne.

According to its producer, Dutchbuzz hopes to work in close co-operation with the international organisations, municipal and other services in The Hague that cater for English speakers in this city.

This week’s programme can be listened to in podcast form on the programme’s website; www.dutchbuzz.nl. You can also access the live broadcast of the programme via this site. Dutchbuzz is broadcast live on Den Haag FM every Tuesday from 19:00 to 20:00, both on the cable and streaming on the internet. Dutch time is currently I hour ahead of GMT.

 

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