According to Naardenberg, the success of it is in the simplicity of the idea. “There is no right or wrong. Every drawing is beautiful in its own way. And it is very accessible. Everyone from young to old can participate.” The birth of the idea is in New York, during the holiday from Naardenberg. “I was looking at a museum at a work of art by Keith Harring, whose work also resembles a bagpipe. Then I got the inspiration and I immediately wrote it down.”
The rest is history. The idea is now also used in The Hague to decorate the city during the upcoming NATO summit, where leaders from all over the world come to the Netherlands for a two-day top conference. A unique event, because it is the first time since 1949 that the Netherlands is organizing a NATO summit.
The idea that Trump will look at an idea of Janwillem Naaldenberg is pleased with Emmenaar. “Just like King’s Day, the NATO summit is an event that you want to belong to as a community. It is great of The Hague how they have achieved it in this way. If this concept connects and creates solidarity in The Hague, then it is a more than successful experiment. That has yielded it in Emmen in any case.”