History

A Brief History about CrossBorderRelations
In 2002 Roy Silos started CariConsult with the objective to get more sustainable investment into Suriname. The screening of the Surinamese horticultural chain logistics and their bottlenecks was the assignment for the first student crew that went to Suriname. They made history. They showed that education and entrepreneurship can be perfectly combined. Action learning (learning by doing) and action research (reflective process of progressive problem solving) became the educational concept that was used by the following crews. The initiative from Roy Silos in 2003 to combine his network in Suriname with the ambitions of students from the Netherlands was successful.

Because of its success Roy Silos initiated CrossBorderRelations. The development of the prosperity change concept CrossBorderProsperity is the core of CrossBorderRealtions. The positive experiences with young professionals and the solidarity within and outside The Netherlands were encouraging. The TV documentary "The New Republic" (“De nieuwe republiek”), lots of interviews, the relationships with different people from all layers of society in different countries have enriched us. Besides the cultural intelligence leap that all people involved have undergone, the experiences from Suriname, The Netherlands, Curaçao, Bonaire and Morocco convinced us that development aid does not work. Years of aid have led to permanent aid dependence, the existence of thousands of charitable organisations and waste of knowledge and capital, not to mention local talents and capacity.


Up to now, CrossBorderCrews have travelled to Suriname, Morocco, Curaçao, St. Maarten and Bonaire. The nature and extent of the reactions of the stakeholders in the target countries were promising enough to start professionalizing the organisation.

On May 28, 2008, Roy Silos followed the invitation of the Antillean Advisory Council. Alongside the speakers Tjeenk Willink, Dr. Romer and Prof. Duncan from the University of the West Indies (UWI) he held a speech on the Kaminda Nobo approach for Curaçao.

The minor, that is part of CrossBorderAcademy, is very popular at The Hague University. In addition, there is a growing interest to graduate on a topic linked to the CrossBorderProsperity concept. The minor is also offered at the Faculty of Architecture of the TU Delft (Technical University). The minor started in 2006 and since then it was followed by more than 300 students.