Second-ever Children's Ombudsman, Kalverboer, takes office

Margrite Kalverboer was sworn in as the new Children's Ombudsman in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, on Wednesday. She is succeeding Marc Dullaert, whose term ended on April 1st. "I want to do something for children who fall outside the direct field of vision, such as children who are abused wand we don't know, children of disadvantaged parents who carry too heavy loads", Kalverboer said, according to NU.nl. "Dutch children are the happiest in the world. But there are also more that fall out of society." Klaverboer will build on the legacy Dullaert, as the Netherlands' first ever Children's Ombudsman, left behind him. "In recent years a good inventory was made of what is wrong, now I want to see what can be done about it and how. I want to exchange ideas about it with experts, but also with children." Kalverboer, 55, is a professor of Child, Education and Immigration at the University of Groningen. She shares several opinions with her predecessor, particularly a deep concern for the caring of asylum seeking children in the Netherlands. Marc Dullaert left as Children's Ombudsman on April 1st, when his term ended. National Ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen decided not to nominate him for another term.