Nobel Prize Winner
On an early Wednesday morning, like every
morning, I was reading the Volkskrant. On the front page was a great picture
with the line “Nobel Prize for the pioneer of Chemistry”. Even though I think
it is amazing that a Dutch man had won the prize, my attention was drawn to the
word “pioneer”.
I read the story on Ben Feringa and the
discovery he made. He had discovered organic molecules that turn in just one
direction because of the influence of ultraviolet light and function as a kind
of spring. After this he created a nano car with 4 wheels that moved under the
influence of light. Due to time pressure I was not able to finish the article,
but it kept me thinking the whole car ride to FC Den Bosch.
In my opinion, scientists are people who are
currently busy with stuff that we do not understand or notice until many years
later. They are pioneers in researching matter whilst most people wonder what
to do with it. What is the use? What can we do with it, is a question often
asked. This comes from the fact that most people live in the present and are
not concerned with the future, something I come across in the soccer world.
Supporters are very much concerned with the first upcoming game; it has to be
won. From that perspective, nothing else really matters.
That Wednesday night I was watching “De Wereld
Draait Door”, where they had professor Ben Feringa as a guest. The audience was
filled with his proud students. The professor explained his discovery and what
it was going to mean for humanity in the long term. His passion and love for
teaching was evident. He emphasised that he did not make this discovery alone,
but with the many brilliant students he had the pleasure of working with. On a
calm and pleasant manner he explained. Like a true teacher he provided clear
steps, so everyone was able understand the car and how it was moving. Ben
Feringa’s face completely portrayed the immense fun he was having.
And I was too! He is a man who loves his
profession and who enjoys sharing his knowledge with others. But above all
that, he is someone who is concerned with the future. You could feel that he
was feeling responsible for that future, a future that he most likely would not
be a part of. He had made a discovery that might be functional in no sooner
than 20 years. He actually started a project with his team that had no
certainty of a future result. His discovery will be of great value in the
future, and Ben Fiering is currently laying the basis for that.
This is also one of the things that attracts me
to the CDA. The CDA is a party that believes it is very important to not only
live in the present, but to also care for the future. The CDA has translated
this into her aims and calls it stewardship: “We earned our environment and
culture from our ancestors and are only borrowing it from the people that will
live after we have left”. It askes us to look past our own interests and those
of our current era in all departments, even the financial department. To manage
and control is not enough. For a better society in the future we need
creativity and innovation in the present. This is very much needed to ensure
that we leave the world in such a state that is even better than the one we are
experiencing right now. This is what forms the true basis of sustainability.
But also at my current position at FC Den Bosch
I am busy with the future of the club. I have the personal drive to leave this
club in a better position than that I found it in. That is quite a mission
because most supporters focus only on the first upcoming game, which has to be
won. They want to see the team win.
The current sport performance that FC Den Bosch
is showing is not good. That is something me, my staff, and everyone around me
agree on. FC Den Bosch is at a position in the ranking list that we have no
desire of being on. Besides that, certain games are poorly played. So, a lot of
criticism is generated. This is a big part of the sports business.
The only thing that might be frustrating at
times is that not everyone wants to see what truly happened during this phase
of disappointment and emotions. Just last week the media reported that FC Den
Bosch’s technical policy is underperforming and failing, which is not the case
at all. The achievements are underperforming, but the internal technical policy
of FC Den Bosch is stronger than ever.
Every day the whole staff puts so much of energy
in improving and developing the technical policy. At this very moment I dare to
say that on the subject of technical policy, we are a First Division team where
people work at a level that suits the level at which we are active. It has cost
a lot of people blood, sweat and tears. We come from far and we are nowhere
near done. We all know where we want to work towards with the technical policy
of FC Den Bosch. To achieve this, more steps have to be taken. These steps are
necessary for the future of FC Den Bosch.
For outsiders the relation of current actions
and what it will mean for the future is not always visible. Some just want to
see their team win.
I know for sure that striving for internal
development in FC Den Bosch structurally increases the chances of winning. We
are working on the base on which we will be able to build a very well working
FC Den Bosch, that will win based on the quality of their play instead of dumb
luck.
It is essential to remain calm and ensure that
everyone is looking in the same direction. The team should not be demotivated
by agitation around them. I know like no other that we need to start winning
games to settle the dust. But my method does not change when performance is low
or when agitation arises. This is my form of sustainability. I still find it
incredibly important that FC Den Bosch can celebrate its 100th year
of existence as a paid soccer club, preferably at the highest level of soccer
in Holland.
Those thoughts crossed my mind during the
interview with Ben Feringa. Ben has developed something that in many years will
prove its worth. Today, he gets his recognition: the Nobel Prize.
Why does that rarely happen in sports? The
answer is of course simple: in sports there are so much more factors than
chemistry. Sports are filled with emotions. Almost all Dutch citizens know that
the Dutch team lost to Belarus. Many will also know the exact outcome. Few will
know who score the goals. And even fewer will know who played that day. But
even these numbers are incredibly high compared to the number of Dutch citizens
that actually know who Ben Feringa is and what he discovered. Maybe in 2046
none of us remember who he was and what he did for us.
Ben Feringa is a true scientific pioneer and
deserves never to be forgotten. Thanks to the work of Ben Feringa and his
students, molecular machines that deliver the right medication at the right
spot in the bloodstream might exist in 2046 already. This way more people can
be healed of terrible diseases at which we do not stand a chance today.