Iona Stichting 60 years

On March 17, 2026, the Iona Foundation will celebrate its 60th anniversary! Throughout the year, we will pay attention to this: through gatherings across the country and interviews with those involved, we will collectively look at the past, present, and future, and address current themes.

Interviews

Spring: interview with Michiel ter Horst

Four gatherings, four festive gatherings

Four events, four themes connected to the earth, four seasons, four directions – the Iona Foundation celebrates its birthday in a decentralized way and comes to your area. The events align thematically with the main message from Antjie Krog’s work *Fragile Earth*: how can we take care of the earth if we don’t take care of each other / how can we take care of each other if we don’t take care of the earth?

Here’s an overview of the gatherings: more information about each gathering is further down this page.

• April 15: Music & Insects (Biotope Haren, Groningen). Lecture by entomologist Marcel Dicke and performance by Linnaeus Trio
• May 20: Annual meeting Iona Foundation and bio-dinner (Urtica de Vijfsprong, Vorden)
• October: Fragile Earth tour
• November 24: Education that nourishes child and earth (Novalis College, Eindhoven). In conversation with educator Dieuwke Hovinga

  April 15: Music & insects, Haren

  ‘Music & Insects’ at Biotoop Haren
  art, science and nature – direction: North

  Entomologist Marcel Dicke (former professor at Wageningen University) took us on April 15 into the versatility and quality of insects. “Insects are everywhere and essential for life on earth. They pollinate flowers, play a key role in cycles, and some can even drink our blood. They cause plagues, but can also be used as biological controllers in sustainable crop protection. Eighty percent of birds eat insects and they are also a great protein source for humans. In a food web, everyone eats each other or is eaten. Isn’t that amazing?” says Marcel.

  

We choose to highlight this theme because they are very concerned about the agricultural transition. How do we achieve nature-friendly farming, where biodiversity and heirloom varieties have a permanent place? The Netherlands is struggling with the consequences of industrial agriculture and is urgently looking for alternatives. Be surprised by the smallest eyes in the field—the insects’. What can they tell us about farming and the connection between humans and the earth?

The lecture was enriched with musical performances by The Linnaeus Trio. The location was the Biotoop Haren (Groningen).

May 20: Annual meeting & biodinner

On May 20, not only was our annual meeting held, but a biodinner also took place at Urtica de Vijfsprong in Vorden, Gelderland.

In gesprek met onderwijspedagoog Dieuwke Hovinga op het Novalis College in Eindhoven

Onderwijspedagoog, onderzoeker Dieuwke Hovinga gaat op 24 november in gesprek over het belang van de natuur voor de ontwikkeling van kinderen. Als voormalig lector Natuur en Ontwikkeling Kind (2011-2025) aan de Hogeschool Leiden en de Thomas Moor Hogeschool in Rotterdam heeft ze een actieve onderzoeksgemeenschap gecreëerd rond Natuurinclusief onderwijs.

October: Fragile Earth

The Iona Stichting and the Netherlands Blazers Ensemble have joined forces for the music project ‘Fragile Earth.’ There will be a tour in October 2026 involving school choirs, and an educational package will also be made available for amateur choirs and orchestras, so that soon all of the Netherlands will sing and play for our planet.

More information on our Fragile Earth page.

Fragile Earth Ticket Sales
Tickets are sold via the NBE website.

After the concert on October 17 at the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ in Amsterdam, the Iona Foundation will host a festive reception.

November 24: Education that Nurtures Children and the Earth

In conversation with educationalist Dieuwke Hovinga at Novalis College in Eindhoven

The Iona Stichting aims for education in which a growing person can develop as a thinking, feeling, and practical being in and with the world. Education with the intention that children develop in such a way that they help shape the world of tomorrow. This calls for rethinking and redoing education. A renewed and strengthened awareness that humans and nature are inextricably connected, and that all life is intricately intertwined, is central here.

Program (free entry)
6:00 PM – 8:30 PM

Location
Novalis College