On 5 March last, association for former and reserve officers of the armed forces 'Mars and Mercury', officially joined as a partner of the Kooy Symposium.
The members of this Europe-wide association hold responsible positions in society and business and advise and assist each other both privately and in business. Their objectives fit in perfectly with the Kooy Symposium's aim - as an industry- and government-independent party - to inform bring together defence leaders, politicians and engineers to discuss technical developments for Defence.
The first Kooy Symposium was organised in 2002 in a collaboration between the Defence and Security Department of engineering association KIVI, TNO and APA. In the years that followed, NLR, KVMO, and now Mars & Mercury" joined in.
The objective of the Kooy Symposium is to bring the importance of technical developments to the attention of Defence and politicians and also to bring together technicians with a Defence background and share knowledge about the role of technology within Defence. To this end, a specific theme relevant to defence is chosen each year and addressed from both military and technical perspectives. As part of the symposium, companies are given the opportunity to tell more about Dutch technical and technological developments that fit within the theme.
Mars and Mercury
To organise a substantive symposium every year, the networks of the various committee members - representing the various partners - are used intensively. So when association Mars and Mercury requested to join the organisation, the committee did not have to think long.
Mars and Mercury is a select and active (European) association for former and reserve officers of the Armed Forces. A real so-called Business Club where members share and maintain a network based on their experiences from a responsible position in society or business. Board member Peter Rooijmans: "I was on the board of the Kooy Symposium for many years. When I became a board member of Mars and Mercury relatively recently, it was immediately clear to me that our objectives were a perfect fit with the Kooy Symposium's aim to connect defence with society and business, and made a request to join as a partner. I am very happy that this partnership has just been clinched."
Chairman of the Kooy Symposium committee Ulrich Berrevoets: "We warmly welcome Mars and Mercury and look forward to a long-term cooperation."
www.kooysymposium.nl- www.mars- mercurius.nl - www.kivi.nl/dv
