The Order of the Companions of O.R. Tambo in Silver

Maria Petronella Adriana Kint (The Netherlands) Awarded for:

Her excellent contribution to the liberation movement and her courage to challenge policies that violated human rights. Her commitment to the liberation struggle contributed to the democracy we enjoy today.

Profile of Ms Maria Petronella Adriana Kint

Ms Maria Petronella Adriana Kint actively supported the anti-apartheid movement in the Netherlands for many years. The African National Congress (ANC) leadership in Amsterdam requested her to be involved in a project in Johannesburg, Operation Vula.

From 1990 until the first democratic elections in 1994 she was part of Operation Vula, thereby risking her own safety for a democratic and free South Africa. At the same time she left her family, friends and a successful banking career behind for her belief in making South Africa a just society in which all people could prosper.

After 1994 she did not return to the Netherlands, but opted to stay in South Africa and work in the arts and culture development sector. She has worked in dance at Moving into Dance Mopathong (MIDM), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), for over 10 years, where she was the catalyst for the Netherlands government’s support for MIDM’s community training and outreach programme.

She then set up an independent NGO, the Cultural Development Trust (CDT), which focuses on training in arts management and administration. Through the work at MIDM and the CDT, she was instrumental in changing the lives of many young South Africans from disadvantaged backgrounds, who are now proud and economically independent citizens.

The CDT has trained hundreds of students over the past 14 years and employs six South Africans, and has been accredited by the Media, Advertising, Publishing, Printing and Packaging and the Culture, Arts, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport sector education and training authorities.

Through her extraordinary work in the field of arts and culture she has opened doors of collaboration, and built strong and lasting bridges between the Netherlands and South Africa.

On average some 20 people a year have had the opportunity to travel and experience international cultural exchanges at a high level in Europe and South Africa.

Her awards include the 2014 Knight in the Order of Oranje-Nassau by the King of the Netherlands, for her long-term contribution to a free and democratic South Africa and the bilateral understanding of the Netherlands and South Africa in the field of arts and culture; in 2007, The Star newspaper’s Top 100 influential people under the arts section; and in 2004 the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Dance Umbrella for her contributions to the field of dance development.