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Katelijne van Otterloo, jazz singer and ambassador of the Youth Culture Fund Aalsmeer says:

I believe music, dance, and theater, as well as visiting museums, are crucial for personal development, especially for children. They're an essential counterpart to the general development you receive at school. Creativity and talent must first be discovered and then developed. For this, children must be able to connect with culture in the broadest sense of the word. There are, of course, numerous institutions that subsidize culture, but that's mainly at the national and regional levels. Unfortunately, attention is often lacking at the local level. The Youth Culture Fund does provide this, giving children that opportunity if they can't get it at home for financial reasons. That's why I'm very supportive of the Youth Culture Fund Aalsmeer. I graduated from Delft University of Technology, a fairly rational, technical program, but as a counterpart, I took piano lessons for 13 years from the age of 7, created my own show between the sliding doors with theater, singing, and dance, and took singing lessons for several years. Now I'm on stage as an engineer, and I feel... I am extremely happy... How wonderful it is to be able to give this opportunity to the child 'around the corner' as well..."