Yesterday QuinteQ had the honour to be invited by the leadership of our Dutch MOD – Ministerie van Defensie and be present at the “Conference on Defense and society. Together towards a safe and resilient Netherlands”.
The inspiring opening speech by our Minister of Defense Kajsa Ollongren made clear that preparedness starts with awareness and that is a joint-responsibility across our society, “from formation table to kitchen table”.
This was followed by a very personal and deeply-touching story by Tymofiy Mylovanov, Chairman of the Kyiv School of Economics and former Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture in Ukraine. Mr. Mylovanov spoke about the “first day of war” and how unreal that first day in Februay of 2022 unfolded in the Ulkraine. How he was brining his family to safety and was torn between one sister who was with him and the other who stayed behind in Kyiv and how getting gasoline for his car was the first priority. Even after having been at war with Russia for more than a decade, the people of Ukraine were still caught by surprise that the invasion by Russia actually was happening. On that first day and the following days, you are on your own, with your own preparedness, or lack thereof.
This goes to show that we also need to become aware and prepared for the unimaginable and make sure that when that “impossible event” happens, we have the suppllies and plans in place to ensure the immediate safety of ourselves and our loved ones. I for one, will take on the advice of our National Coordinator Counter-Terrorism and Security, Pieter Aalbersberg and make sure I will have an emergency package to get through the first 72-hours of such an unexpected event. I will also prepare and agree on a clear plan with family and friends on what we will do, where we will travel and try to get together when something happens.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWf74s987zk
Professionally, QuinteQ Energy will support these efforts where and how we can with our vision for the development of resilient energy systems, based on microgrids and reliable energy generation, storage and distribution systems.
A big shout out to the leadership of our Ministerie van Defensie and all men and women in uniform and its civilian workforce who are working diligently towards preparing and protecting our society for what we hope will never happen, but just in case, they will be there and ready to protect and defend us with all their means and measures.
Thank you to our Commander in Chief, Onno Eichelsheim for the invitation, good conversation and your vision to bring this all together. Furthermore thank you Secretary General Maarten Schurink, Director General Policy Koen Davidse, Director of Equipment, Living Environment, Real Estate and Sustainability Nanda Kellij, Deputy Commander Materiel and IT Command Ludy Schmidt and last but not least, Deputy Director General Policy, Luitenant-General Elanor B.oekholt Sullivan for inviting me to contribute to this important forum.
