Laurentien van Oranje
- HRH Laurentien of the Netherlands - Lecture
Date: Fri 2 September Time: 11:00 am Venue: BIBF
Life and work
Princess Laurentien holds a Master’s degree (Journalism) from the University of Berkeley and a Bachelor’s degree (Political Science) from the University of London. She holds senior functions at prestigious environmental organizations (European Climate Foundation, WWF and Fauna & Flora International). She also initiated and writes the Mr Finney book series, for which she works together with illustrator Sieb Posthuma. The best-selling books are parables, inspired by real-life world events: Mr Finney and the world turned upside-down (2009) and Mr Finney and the other side of the water (2011). Children identify themselves with Mr Finney´s perceptive but non-judgmental way of discovering the world. Mr Finney thus stimulates dialogue between children and adults. To this end, Princess Laurentien initiated the Missing Chapter Foundation to develop projects on inter-generational dialogue on sustainability between decision-makers and younger generations.
Princess Laurentien is deeply engaged in illiteracy issues for many years and in 2004 she founded the Reading and Writing Foundation. She is UNESCO´s Special Envoy on Literacy for Development and chairs the European Commission High Level Group on Literacy.
Mr Finney and the World Turned Upside-down
Mr Finney often sits on the bottom branch of his favorite tree, philosophizing with his best friend Snail. Their quiet lives change with the sudden arrival of Pinky Pepper, an adorable flying creature who prefers to ‘glimp’ around the world at great speed. On her SuperBeeBee she shows pictures of cities, oceans, jungles, ice-caps and a mysterious flag, which makes Mr Finney curious about the world beyond his garden. The images trigger Mr Finney’s curiosity about the world outside his garden. He has endless questions, but before he knows it, Pinky Pepper has already disappeared. To find answers, Mr Finney decides to go on a journey of adventures and unexpected situations. He meets all kinds of animals and thus learns that ‘if you ask questions, you´re never alone’. He also learns that ‘solutions are often closer-by than you think’.
Translation in Chinese
- Oranje, Laurentien van, & Posthuma, Sieb [(Mr. Finney en de wereld op zijn kop)] Chinese: Beijing, 21st Century Publishing House, 2011.