EA - Updates from the Dutch EA community by James Herbert

Link to original articleWelcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Updates from the Dutch EA community, published by James Herbert on May 30, 2023 on The Effective Altruism Forum.We wanted to post something on the Forum to share all of the amazing things the Dutch EA community has achieved in the past 18 months or so. But we also wanted to avoid spending too much time writing it. So please accept this very messy post and feel free to ask questions in the comments! Parts were co-written by ChatGPT with minimal editing, hence the sometimes overly braggadocious tone.We start with national-level updates and two quick lessons-learnt, and then we have bullet-point summaries from some of the local groups. But first, an executive summary.Executive summaryOver the past year, the Dutch EA community has seen impressive growth at both the national and local levels.At the national level, the community has seen significant gains. The number of intro programme completions increased nearly tenfold, from 45 in 2021 to 400 in 2022. The number of city groups and university groups also grew, from 1 to 3 and 1 to 13 respectively. Notably, there was an influx of €700k donations via Doneer Effectief and an increase in EA Netherlands newsletter subscribers from 670 to around 1500.Since hiring two full-time community builders in 2022, EAN has helped establish over a dozen new groups which have collectively produced 350 intro programme graduates in 2022 alone. In addition to launching a new website and co-working space, EAN organized multiple retreats, conducted introductory talks, facilitated 'giving games', provided career counselling, hosted city meet-ups, and participated in a public debate on EA.Effective altruism is gaining recognition in the Dutch media, with coverage in major Dutch publications and appearances by prominent figures like writer Rutger Bregman. However, there have also been a few critical pieces, to which the EAN board has responded.Other significant achievements include the successful launch of Doneer Effectief's online donation platform, the high-profile EAGxRotterdam 2022 conference, and the Tien Procent Club's successful events on effective giving.Local EA groups across Dutch cities have also seen substantial growth. For example, the Amsterdam city and university groups have merged, and together they host weekly meetups, multiple programs, and are developing a mental health program. At Utrecht, the student group has hatched an Alt Protein group with a grant from the university, has launched an AI Safety group, has hosted a big speaker event with Rutger Bregman, and runs introduction fellowships, socials, coworking sessions and other events. In The Hague, the group conducted weekly dinners, three rounds of intro fellowships, and two rounds of AI governance fellowships.The team at Delft has increased EA awareness through fellowships, book clubs, a retreat, and launching the Delft AI Safety Initiative. Eindhoven’s group has engaged 31 people in Introduction Fellowships, has launched an AI safety team, and collaborated with other groups on their university campus. Nijmegen’s group has grown rapidly, with biweekly meetups and collaborations with other campus groups.The PISE group in Rotterdam hosts member-only weekly events, open book clubs, and four fellowship rounds this year. They also initiated EAGx Rotterdam. The Twente group has attended the university’s career fair and organized meetups and an introductory talk. Wageningen University's group has hosted live events and completed an introductory fellowship.Lessons learnt:Do organising and mobilising (organisers invest in developing the capacities of people to engage with others in activism and become leaders; mobilisers focus on maximising the number of people involved without developing their capacity for civic action)It's very valuable to have a public figure endorse...