About Effective Altruism Netherlands

Effective Altruism Netherlands (EAN) is the Dutch branch of the global effective altruism movement.

Introductiecursus - intro course Effective Altruism

Mission

Our mission is to build a community of and for effective altruists in the Netherlands.

Vision

Our vision is of a Netherlands where all of those who are interested in effective altruism have access to the people and the resources they need to maximise the social impact they achieve through their careers, projects, and donations.

What we do

Seeding and supporting effective altruism groups and initiatives right here in the Netherlands

Running events and educational programmes accessible to everyone in the Netherlands

Connecting community members with one another and the international community

Helping people embark on high impact careers

Giving introductory keynotes and workshops

Creating and maintaining an online presence at the national level

Meeting with people who are interested in effective altruism

Taking a representative role for external matters and the rest of the (global) effective altruism community

Co-creating strategies and goals for the Dutch effective altruism community

Coordinating the translation of relevant materials into Dutch

Why we do it

Ultimately, we want to help build a radically better world. A world where humanity has solved pressing global problems – like global poverty, factory farming, and existential risk – and is prepared to face the challenges of tomorrow.

We believe effective altruism has enormous potential to contribute to this (see our introductory essay for why we think this).

Because of this, we think there is a strong case for taking the indirect approach of building the effective altruism community itself, rather than simply working directly on one of these pressing problems. This is for three reasons: the multiplier effect, flexibility, and neglectedness.

The multiplier effect

How could you double your lifetime impact?

Consider the following two options:

Embark on a highly impactful career with an effective charity.
Embark on a highly impactful career with an effective charity, and help a friend do the same.

The second path does more good – probably about twice as much – and this illustrates the power of promoting important ideas. By promoting effective altruism we can multiply our social impact because we will have increased the number of people who take effective actions to help others.

Flexibility

We don’t know which global problems will be the most pressing in the future, or which interventions will best solve them. So, if we commit to something today, we might be wrong, and therefore have less impact in the long-term. Instead, it’s useful to keep our options open. Building the effective altruism community is one way of doing this.

Highly neglected

The ideas of effective altruism only coalesced in the 21st century, and the term was only coined in 2012. It’s currently highly neglected, and very few people know about it.

Who we are

Co-Director

Marieke de Visscher

Before joining EAN in this role, she was a volunteer and board member with several foundations (EAN, Doneer Effectief, The 10% Club and OPIS). Previously she worked as an implementation consultant in the healthcare sector. She finished high school in Singapore and studied Business Administration and Health Sciences in Amsterdam.

Co-Director

James Herbert

Originally from the UK, James now lives in Amsterdam. Previously, he worked as a consultant, creating, implementing, and securing funding for urban socioeconomic development projects and programmes across Europe. He has a bachelor’s in liberal arts and a master’s in philosophy.