“We have not inherited the Earth from our fathers, we are borrowing it from our children.”
– Native American proverb
Mark has been making an effort with heart and soul as director of Green Cross Netherlands since 2007. Mark has a background at the conservatory (classical) and has been the owner of an artist – and speaker agency for over 25 years. Since an early age, he was touched by social injustice and the growing ecological problems on our planet. At the height of the Cold War (during his conservatory studies) he was very worried about a possible escalation (which led to six months delay in his studies) between the former superpowers. He was also very active in different social organizations. As an example, he was a board member of the ‘Foundation South-Africa Committee Eindhoven’, which enabled university studies for black South-Africans in The Netherlands. After his studies, he refused military service and he did replacement conscription in Amsterdam. In the same period, he was also founder and co-director of the professional classical ‘Eindhovens Blazers Ensemble (EBE)’ with 30 musicians, in which he was also active as a musician.
In 2007, Mark attended a lecture of Rabbi Soetendorp, in which the Earth Charter had a central role. The body of thought of the Earth Charter inspired Mark to organize a playful action in Eindhoven, based on the movie ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ by Al Gore. He made it possible for 5000 students in Eindhoven to watch this movie. His contact with the Rabbi stayed very inspirational and out of the blue he was invited to come and support the Dutch division of Green Cross, for which Mark has been applying himself without remuneration – but with heart and soul – ever since.
