Nico from the Netherlands : Dutch directness and supporting diversity

The Netherlands and Tasmania have many ties . From the name of our island through to the development of burgeoning agricultural exports such as onions and tulips, the Dutch have really left their mark on life in Tasmania. Even today, they represent Tasmania's 6th largest migrant group and are the only migrant group which is overrepresented in Tasmania compared to the rest of Australia. In the past few decades the Dutch population has experienced a fairly significant decline, but migration from the Netherlands hasn't completely dried up, and Nico represents on of those more recent arrivals, arriving 13 years ago. Initially she came over with intention of picking cherries for a short time but ended up staying longer and meeting the man who was eventually to become her life partner. After a few travel adventures and time living with her partner abroad, they decided to come back to Tasmania and Nico worked as Multicultural Community Development Officer for the Multicultural Council of Tasmania. In this role she has drawn on her experience both as a migrant and working across cultures around the world and while her Dutch directness seemed to be a bit of a problem initially, she's found that it had its advantages in her role as well.