Fair Practice

The remuneration of both directors amply complies with the Top Income Standardization Act and is disclosed in the annual report. Remuneration, a clear job description and mutual obligations are communicated transparently with the employees and recorded by contract. The RvT works unpaid.

The festival joins the collective bargaining agreement of Dutch pop venues and festivals on honoring executive management and employees no later than January 1, 2025. Volunteers will receive travel and expense reimbursement upon declaration. All employees and volunteers receive meals during their shifts during and around the festival.

Performing musicians will receive a minimum of € 320 per performance and € 135 per rehearsal by January 1, 2024, excluding VAT, expenses and meals. That amount will be indexed annually. In most cases, the actual compensation is much higher. Composers will receive for commissions at least the guideline amounts of the current New Geneco Fee Table. Additional costs such as scores, rehearsals, travel expenses and other work are reimbursed separately. For fees for visual artists the BKNL artist fee guidelines are applied. Agreements are always recorded in writing.

With the representation of the festivals by Dorien van Londen on the chain table Freelance Classical Musicians (fairPACCT), Oranjewoud Festival also contributes to the collective interest of fair payment of classical musicians.

For the supervisory board, management, staff and performers, the festival has established a code of conduct, including protocols in the event of an alleged violation of it and contact information for confidential advisors.

The legal status of the employees (all self-employed) is guaranteed through their temporary contracts. Because of their vulnerable position as zzp'er, extra importance is attached to the regulations of the Supervisory Board and Board of Trustees and the code of conduct (see Governance).

All employees of the Family Zone possess a valid and relevant VOG. House rules have been established for visitors.

All persons working at the festival are expected to share the general vision of the festival regarding inclusion and to act accordingly. Conversely, the organization leadership commits to continuously work on this support and be open to individual differences in views.

 

Oranjewoud Festival is a learning organization. From volunteer to team member, everyone working at the festival is given the opportunity to develop, take on more responsibilities and thus influence the course of events. This advancement policy contributes to a broad knowledge and experience building of team members. They can coach or train new colleagues in "their" old positions.

Annual performance reviews are held with all employees based on an open dialogue, with mutual feedback and with an eye for goals, results and personal development opportunities. The team is involved in the creation of the (artistic) plans at an early stage. Attention is also expressly paid to the workload. During the annual evaluation, all employees are involved or represented.

Diversity & Inclusion

Oranjewoud Festival does not limit itself only to the classical canon but also makes musical connections to other cultures. Examples include Bab Ad-There in Festivalhart de Proeftuin and the Atlas Project.

Work is being done on participation programs in which people from disadvantaged backgrounds to society are given some role with influence on the program. This is a gradual process.

We are aware that there is a task to attract more socioeconomically and culturally diverse audiences to us. We are working toward this with the schools program The Festival as a Classroom, by investing heavily in participation projects, diverse programming in Festivalhart de Proeftuin and projects such as Atlas.

Despite significant steps in the right direction, such as building up the Supervisory Board and the program team (see below), we are aware that our staff composition can be an even better reflection of our environment (source: allecijfers.nl). By investing in everyone's personal development from the volunteer level and paying attention to socioeconomic and cultural diversity in recruitment with the help of our community partners, we see an opportunity to achieve an even more diverse workforce.

We work with culturally diverse guest curators, namely Karam Shebat (musician, activity coordinator for newcomers in Groningen and ambassador of the city program MENA is Here), Ahmad Abdulwahab (affiliated with NITE, also ambassador of MENA) and Vincent Henar (founder of the Afro-Caribbean band Fra Fra Sound).

We believe that culture is of value to everyone. We are therefore doing all kinds of things to reach and involve people with less privileged positions and thus increase accessibility. Employee participation Marieke Jissink, who was appointed specifically for this purpose in 2022, focuses in particular on sustainable collaborations with a wide range of organizations that support people in disadvantaged positions. This involves continually building mutual trust and learning what works.

Participation

Governance

The foundation has had a Supervisory Board since October 2023. The profiles of the five supervisors are cultural (director Ira Judkovskaya, chair), financial (Ruud van Zuilen, treasurer), social (community worker Iqbal Aslam), legal (lawyer Wilko Jan Aardema) and entrepreneurial (entrepreneur Piet Bandell). The composition also considered a balance between local and (inter)national connections and diversity. Externally, the council acts as an ambassador for the foundation. The council meets at least four times a year and bears its own responsibility for gathering relevant information.

Supervisors hold appointments for up to two four-year terms. A schedule of resignations can be downloaded from the Governance page. Vacancies are advertised publicly, including through Cultural Vacancies and Colourful Jobs.

The board consists of artistic director-director Yoram Ish-Hurwitz and business director-director Edith Nobel. Together they determine the strategic policy with careful consideration of artistic and business or internal and external interests. This is done in close consultation with the two other members of the core team. Ish-Hurwitz initiated the festival in 2010 and has helped its full development and growth from its first edition in 2012. He is responsible for programming, composition commissions, project development and fundraising. Nobel (started in 2024) deals with financial operations, sponsor acquisition, organization, team leadership and relationship management, including periodic consultations with (financial) stakeholders. She also monitors code compliance. Board meetings are held at least bi-weekly with written reports.

The Supervisory Board and the Board of Trustees jointly oversee the sustainable, businesslike and incorruptible achievement of the foundation's social and artistic objectives.

The core team is active 10 to 12 months a year and consists of both director-directors, head of general production Enno Feenstra and head of marketing Marco van Es. The (bi-)weekly meetings are minuted. Each core team member leads their own subteam that starts at least five months before each edition:

  • Business/General: business coordinator/head of hospitality Marinda de Groot, participation officer Marieke Jissink and volunteer coordinator Monique Jansma
  • Program: programmer Family Zone Remy Alexander, guest curators Karam Shebat and Ahmad Abdulwahab, Vincent Henar (2025), Julian Schneemann (2025), Candida Thompson (2025), Johannes Moser (2026).
  • Production: head of program production Wiebe Kootstra, head of technical production Thijs ten Berge and production assistant Afke de Jong
  • Marketing: head of ticket sales, also marketing assistant Suze Bonnema

In addition to bar staff, approximately 23 employees, including interns, provide services in the areas of venue design, bartending, transportation, staff catering, hospitality, accreditation and production with short contracts of several days to weeks.

About 150 volunteers are active before, during and after each festival edition. They are divided into job categories and managed by several volunteer team leaders and a volunteer coordinator. Some of the volunteers are recruited from our social welfare partners.

To supplement the statutes, which among other things define the RvT's employer's role, the board members and supervisors have each signed their own regulations. These describe the managerial and supervisory tasks, the manner in which the RvT advises (including the role of the chairman), the professionalism of management and supervision, the obligation for self-evaluation and scope for stakeholder involvement. The financial set-up and organizational structure are also laid down in the regulations.

Board Rules

Regulations of the Supervisory Board

Additional positions of supervisors and board members are listed in the annual report, downloadable at this link. Directors and supervisors must also sign a statement guaranteeing their independence. The interests of the organization take precedence over their own interests or the interests of those close to them. For cases where there is a breach of the agreements made, a protocol has been drawn up.

Sustainability

Festival policy is strongly focused on environmental sustainability with areas of focus including transportation, energy, food, materials/consumables/waste, ecology and communication. These and other policy topics, goals and measures will soon be described in our Nature and Environment Policy Plan, which will be published spring 2024. See also the Nature Policy page.

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Oranjewoud Festival is a low-threshold, versatile and stimulating music festival in the fairytale parkland of Oranjewoud near Heerenveen (Friesland) | June 12 to 15, 2025

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