Daniëlle Hirsch

I feel it is my mission to show that a country like the Netherlands has a lot of impact on the world, including the quality of life of people in developing countries. We can and must contribute more to sustainable and fair development all over the world, by working together with people, communities and local companies from the Global South to develop new economic activities that will benefit people, the environment and the economy.

The Netherlands is still one of the most polluting countries in the world. Instead of reducing our emissions, we gain wealth from fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas and stimulate 'alternative' energy sources like palm oil, which have a very negative impact on large areas in Asia, Africa and Latin America and lead to violations of land rights in developing countries. At the same time, we don't take the opportunities we have to improve our own economy and our financial system.

I want to contribute to finding a way of development of which not only the Netherlands gains profit, which respects the boundaries of nature and which also provides a better livelihood to others.

About Danielle Hirsch

Danielle Hirsch worked for three years in Mexico, Paraguay and Kenya during and after her studies in Economics. In 1995 she started working as an international consultant and at the same time became a volunteer at Both ENDS in 1995, where in 2003 she became policy advisor on water management. She was elected director of the organisation in 2008. Over the years she has been working in many of Both ENDS' projects, mainly in the field of international financial flows, water and climate. Although she's often still involved with projects, she now focuses primarily on developing the organization as a whole.

Danielle is a fellow of the Donella Meadows Leadership Fellows Program since 2008. She is also a member of the board of the Netherlands Water Partnership.