On 9 May 2022 the collection Freedom & Responsibility was presented to the Mayor, Mrs Wilmien Haverkamp-Wenker and to Mr Henny Oude Geerdink, the former alderman and chairman of the Schaepman Foundation. The collection contains the introductions to the conference of the same name one year ago on the occasion of the 75+1 year remembrance of the Dutch liberation. The key speakers were Dr Frans Timmermans, Vice-President of the European Commission, Prof. Mathieu Segers of the University of Maastricht, and Drs Welmud Vlieger, at the time, among others columnist of the daily Trouw. They shared their views on the meaning of freedom and responsibility in our contemporary society.

The combined commemoration of liberation and the so-called Schaepmanlecture are an initiative of Socires, the Municipality of Tubbergen and the Schaepmanfonds. It was intended to hold a major conference on the theme of freedom and responsibility, but because of the corona restrictions a virtual meeting was chosen. It has attracted a great deal of interest and has also been underlined by a specialdocumentaryBas Westerweel on the strength that a close Tubbergian society was capable of in World War II and the expectations that a new generation now has of a society characterised by freedom and responsibility. According to the organisers, the message of this conference deserves to be held and published in pressure. Because of the great prophetic value of the contributions that have already warned against the threats of Europe, which have now come true, and in which there is a strong call for a different relationship between those concepts of freedom of expression and responsibility. The lectures have been supplemented by current contributions by Mayor Haverkamp and former Senator Jos van Gennip, founder and advisor of Socires.

Prior to the hand-off, a group of students from SG Canisius, the former Schaepman mavo, led by Henny Oude Geerdink ran a memorial tour through Tubbergen, where they stopped at the birth house and the statue of Dr. Herman Schaepman. The message of this famous Tubbergenaar is more topical than ever, given the current situation in Europe and beyond. Freedom must not be a free will, and responsibility demands great courage. Clickherefor a record of this memorial tour.

The essays can be read individually:

• Innerness and freedom On freedom as an existential choiceby Happiness Flyer
• The Cross Sea of European Historyby Mathieu Segers
• Freedom and responsibilityby Frans Timmermans

The bundle is also fully available (PDF), and also available on papersocires@socires.nl.