Robin van Koert Brooklyn, USA robin_van_koert@yahoo.com JOB CHRONOLOGY December 2007 - present: freelance contract with TransPerfect Translations International, New York, USA April 2001 - present: freelance writer and translator, Brooklyn, USA January 2004 - November 2006: Amnesty International (Brazil Team - Americas Regional Program), London, UK April 2001 - December 2003: Amnesty International (consulting contracts), London, UK April 1997 - June 2001: University of Amsterdam, Ph.D. research July 1996 - March 1997: Project Management (contracts), Amsterdam, NL July 1994 – June 1996: Ghana Textile Printing Ltd, Tema, Ghana (expatriate contract with Unilever plc, London, UK) February 1991 – June 1994: Vlisco B.V., Helmond, NL August 1990 - January 1990: Lavold B.V., Eindhoven, NL WORK EXPERIENCE Freelance writing, translating and consulting April 2001 - present Dutch Wax Design Technology from Helmond to West Africa (Dutch language book, publishing date 25 October 2007) (principal: Stichting Afrikaanse Dutch Wax, Helmond, the Netherlands, 2007) English translation of Dutch Wax Design Technology from Helmond to West Africa (principal: Stichting Afrikaanse Dutch Wax, Helmond, the Netherlands, 2007) English to Dutch translations of consumer web sites for IT products (principal: Net Media Planet, London, UK) Column for the official FC Den Bosch website (Dutch first division 2005/2006) Weblog: "Een Cyberfan in Blauw en Wit" (July 2004 - mei 2005) Several publications in the Algemeen Dagblad (Dutch national newspaper), the Brabants Dagblad (Dutch regional newspaper), fcdenbosch.nl, firstmonday.org and infoworld.nl The Internet in Vietnam: party propaganda of infotainment?(in: Asian Cyberactivism, Friedrich Naumann Stiftung, January 2004) Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Political Dissidents at Risk in Cyberspace (principal: Amnesty International, November 2003) Evaluation of activism supporting database (principal: Amnesty International, December 2002 - February 2003) Project officer Change I(nternational)S(ecretariat) Project Team (principal: Amnesty International, February 2002 - April 2002) Evaluation project concerning Internet- and Intranet-based "virtual collaborative work spaces" (principal: Amnesty International, September 2001 - April 2002) Research project on electronic surveillance and related legislation (e.g., Regulation of Investigatory Power Act 2000 and Data Protection Act 1998) (principal: Amnesty International, April 2001 - September 2001) Designing web site (principal: Rob Kouwenberg, Cow-n-berg BV, September 2001 - November 01) Timbuktu: an information and communication demand assessment (Multipurpose Community Telecentres) (principal: Johan Ernberg, International Telecommunication Union, ITU, 1998) Volunteer work (part-time) April 2002 - December 2003 (Amnesty International - International Secretariat) Human rights research work Project Management July 1996 - March 1997 (self-employed) Project management concerning engineering, contracting suppliers, installing and commissioning for production of new textile machinery Engineering and contracting executed at Vlisco B.V., the Netherlands, installation and commissioning at Ghana Textile Printing Ltd. Co. in Tema, Ghana Project Engineer/Production Manager July 1994 - June 1996 (Ghana Textile Printing Co. Ltd. for Unilever plc) Project Engineer of a team of 4 technical experts (Technical Director, Chief Engineer, Head of R&D and Project Engineer) Production management and Deputy Chief Engineer duties were combined with Project Engineer work Project engineering and management of modification of existing machinery and construction of new machinery and installations, including monitoring progress, budget control, procurement and contract management Manager of a production department of approximately 125 junior staff Surveying administrative systems at GTP and Uniwax SA, in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, a sister company of GTP Project Manager and In-house Consulting February 1991 - June 1994 (Vlisco B.V., textile manufacturer) In-house consulting on organisational changes, logistics, product and process quality and continuous improvement of business processes Participating in corporate strategy formulation and preparing reports on corporate environmental policy Project management of technical projects concerning textile machinery and installations, including monitoring project progress, chairing project meetings, budget control, procurement and contract management Project management of machinery related IT projects, including information analyses The general scope of the technical projects at Vlisco B.V. and Ghana Textile Printing Co. Ltd. ranged from 250.000 - 600.000 pounds, 8 - 12 months, 5 - 15 contractors and the projects included mechanical, electronic, automatic control and general construction elements. EDUCATION University of Amsterdam Department of Political & Socio-Cultural Sciences Amsterdam, the Netherlands April 1997 - June 2001 Ph.D. degree in Political Science obtained in June 2001 Research on information & communication in rural areas in developing countries. Extensive Internet research. Field research conducted in Mali and Ghana (three weeks each) and Indonesia, Peru and Vietnam (two months each) Title of PhD dissertation: Electronic Media in Rural Development, Individual freedoms to choose versus politics of power and control (case studies of Vietnam, Indonesia and Peru) http://www.btinternet.com/~rvankoert Consulting on the feasibility of establishing a multipurpose communication telecentre (MCT) in Timbuktu, Mali, an assignment for the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Geneva, Switzerland (July 1997) University of Twente Department of Industrial Engineering Enschede, the Netherlands August 1984 - June 1990 M.Sc. degree in Industrial Engineering obtained in June 1990 Masters project at Philips Electronics in Eindhoven, the Netherlands Title of thesis: Transforming a projects processing organisation to a project organisation, ISB's road to independent operations (grade: 8, out of a maximum of 10) Consulting on the reorganisation of Philips' mechanical & electronic construction subsidiary in preparation of independent operations of the subsidiary and based on a strategic SWOT-analysis of the construction industry University of Delft Department of Mechanical Engineering Delft, the Netherlands August 1983 - July 1984 Stedelijk Gymnasium 's-Hertogenbosch (preparatory academic education) Dutch equivalent of a UK Grammar School 's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands August 1977 - June 1983 VWO diploma obtained in June 1983 Exam subjects, which are the equivalent of UK A-levels (grades, 6 is the minimum passing grade): Dutch (7), English (8), French (7), Latin (7), Physics (6), Mathematics (7), Chemistry (6) LANGUAGE SKILLS Dutch: native speaker English: fluent German: good - very good French: good working knowledge (passed DELF A1 - A6 and DALF B1, B2 and B3) Spanish: good working knowledge PRESENTATIONS FAO - Communication Department: "ICTs and information traffic patterns" (May 1999) International Institute for Communication in Development (the Hague): "Communication Centres" (February 1999) Charles Sturt University (Wagga Wagga, Australia): "ICT in rural development" (May 1998)