Simon Polinder  (Chairman)

My name is Simon Polinder. I studied History (BA) and International Relations in historical perspective (MA) at the University of Utrecht. After my graduation I conducted research on family issues for Prisma, an association of non-profit development organizations. As a result I attended the World Congress of Families in Warsaw. The findings and results of his studies have been implemented by several organizations thus far. In 2006 I became a lecturer at the Department of International Relations and International Organization at the University of Groningen. Currently, I am finalizing a Masters Degree in Christian Studies and Sciences at the VU University in Amsterdam. This year I also started as a PhD student at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies in Groningen. The topic of my research is: a critical evaluation of the role of religion in theories of international relations (http://www.rug.nl/staff/s.polinder/index).

Evert-Jan Brouwer

Evert-Jan Brouwer was born in South Africa (1976). He studied political science in the Netherlands, after which he functioned as a political advisor in the Dutch Parliament for almost nine years. Presently he works as advocacy coordinator for two organisations: Woord en Daad and Prisma. Woord en Daad is a non-profit organization supporting development projects in twenty countries. The organization funds a variety of family-friendly projects in health, education and job-creation, trying to strengthen family structures in situations of extreme poverty. Prisma is a Dutch association representing 15 Christian development agencies. Evert-Jan is married since 1999, and has two daughters and two sons.

Geert-Jan Poker

My name is Geert-Jan Poker, 39 years old, married and currently living in The Netherlands. I was born and raised on a inland ship so I spend my childhood at boarding school. After studying Economy I started working at the University of Rotterdam for nine years. In 1998 I went to the Dutch Caribbean as a voluntary worker for almost 2 years. I enjoyed working with the kids and managing the team of the children’s home. I also was a group/team leader at the local Christian organisation for youth care. Since 2005 I am working at “Chris” (www.chris.nl) where I am responsible for the pastoral care / counselling of children and teenagers with my team. We also organise events to prevent children and teens from taking drugs and getting involved in unhealthy sexual relationships/behaviour. We also have a help line so children can get in touch with us 24/7. It is amazing to see how this organisation is quickly growing, we started in 1990 with one worker and now in 2007 we have over 400 voluntary workers. Our organisation is now merged with De Hoop which means that we can help more children. In 2009 we will open two clinics for children and teens that need psychiatric care and help to get free of addiction. In Holland we are the first organisation working with an unique concept, each child gets a buddy with who he meets every week which is very helpful in the process of healing and recovery. De Hoop is a dynamic and growing organisation that aims to offer professional psychiatric care for children and teens in the near future. I am confronted with the brokenness in families on a daily basis. Therefore I believe it is very important to have this conference to stimulate people to think about the importance of family life and how it influences our children and our society.