25 years of Jon File

Speech for the 25th work anniversary of Jon File , and his upcoming retirement.

25th August 2022 - Enschede, The Netherlands

A couple of years ago I wrote a LinkedIn article about the man you know as Jon File, but we call him dad. A job he has had longer than this one, more stressful and will never retire from.

It was called ‘Ode to the son of a preacher man’ and it focussed on the work he does, and how I’d ever manage to follow in his footsteps. As Bruce Hornsby sings, “That’s just the way it is, somethings will never change.” So, I’ve given up on that and today and will focus on his achievements instead.

It’s not often a daughter gets the chance to talk about her father, other than the obvious, but I think there is something quite lovely about doing a speech on his life, so he can hear exactly what I think of him…

25 years ago, a family were brutally abducted from their home in clear daylight and shipped to a cold and foreign country. The perpetrators? Frans van V, Peter M and Leo G. We’re still waiting for our apology and compensation.

I should also add we were brought here under false pretences. I am not sure in what alternate universe 2 years equals 25. This was when I first learnt; parents lie.

Leaving the South-Eastern wind, shadow of the mountains and the warmth of the sun should only be left for something at least three times as good. The Netherlands had big shoes to fill on the home front, let alone on the work front.

How was the Center for Higher Education Policy Studies (CHEPS) going to fill the shoes of working on a committee appointed by Nelson Mandela? Or were CHEPS blackmailing my father?

In all honesty, CHEPS quickly became our second family. We made friends with the CHEPS children and adults, spending a lot of time with our new family. I have so many fond memories of the CHEPS OGs (Original Gangsters for those not in the know) of whom a lot are here today, not aged a day I might add! Marijk, Jasmine, Henno, Karin, Harry, Monique, Petra, Marlies, Gillian, Ben, Hans, Jeroen B and H and many more.

CHEPS Reunion featuring the OG's.?

Tennis tournaments, boules, cricket, BBQs, darts, summer parties and late nights at Van Der Wende’s Watering Hole (at a later age I might add).

There have of course, also been sad and difficult times – The Vuurwerk Ramp of Enschede, the fire at the old building, CHEPS family moving abroad and the loss of colleagues and friends. Who I know, dad would’ve loved to have here today.

There are no official stats on the increase of wine consumption in the Enschede area between 1990 and 2010. But I am fairly certain it saw a spike around 1997 that never went down again. Come to think of it, maybe this is why CHEPS wanted my father to come to The Netherlands?

You might think that all CHEPS did was party and create Christmas CDs year in year out for the last 25 years. They did what we call ‘Work Hard, Play Hard’ – which was hard to keep in mind when dad and his colleagues always managed to fly to the best places in the world. Why were the universities and conferences they had to go to always in beautiful and exotic locations? They never found themselves going to Birmingham, Cleveland or Tijuana.

In all seriousness, the things I have watched and heard my dad and his wider colleagues achieve in the last 25 years is incredible.

I can’t begin to imagine the amount of lives they have impacted and changed with their work. I would listen to the stories over dinner parties attended by anybody smart enough to want to taste my mom’s cooking. Directors and Ministers from across the globe would attend, of which one particular instance stays with me to this day – being serenaded outside by a lovely Portuguese Minister. Add that to the list of “Believe it or not – this happened”.

I’m not a parent, but if I was one, I know that I would want to live a life where I made my children proud. Where they would look at me, with that look, you know the one, and you’d know, they’re proud. Dad, I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed the look, but both Andrew and I have it. Especially being here today and hearing how many lives you have impacted for the good.

I wish I could tell you the details of each project, but hopefully, most of you were there or have heard about them in hushed tones in hallways. Multi-rank springs to mind, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Mozambique have always been a staple in the 25 years, European commission projects and Americans visiting Haarlem.

The famous Imaginalia and countless Lego blocks – I’m not sure that patent ever went through? And of course lots and lots of publications, lining the walls of the CHEPS hallways, of which I was always disappointed dad wasn’t the main author. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride as they say.

That leads me on nicely to the P word… not politics, not psychology, not Pinot Grigio. PhD. Sorry dad, you didn’t think you’d get away with retiring without me bringing up the other broken promise?

With everything dad achieved, not only in the last 25 years at CHEPS, but at the University of Cape Town, as a student and as a professional, and even as a choir boy in his father’s church. I think we can collectively forgive him for not writing a big book of paper (no offence to all the Doctors in the room - and I know there are a lot of you!).

It’s not in my power to do so, but I think he has defended his PhD in life, with flying colours.

Moving to South Africa on a boat, because God told them to, driving a motorbike into a swarm of bees, protesting in anti-apartheid marches, being arrested for said marches, meeting my beautiful mother who he convinced to date him - a huge achievement.

Completed his bachelor in social science, a master in sociology (Which he wrote on a typewriter in 1977!), married my mother, now even more beautiful. Had two wonderful children – who seem to have been lucky enough to get some of his brains, worked on the national commission of higher education, appointed by you know who, moved his family to The Netherlands for a better life, brought the love of wine to Twente, did incredible things at CHEPS, became a grandfather. And all of the great things in between.

So, with whatever official capacity or lack of capacity I have, I am excited to congratulate my father on completing his PhD in life; How to leave a legacy – a sociological perspective.

It’s somewhat ironic that neither Andrew or I, went to university, something we 99.99% certainly would’ve done if we had stayed in South Africa. In a strange turn of events, we both ended up working in Marketing. Turns out, the apples do fall far from the tree. But the tree did share some knowledge with us apples:

1. The importance of culture and language. I grew up surrounded by a melting pot of cultures, and it really has shaped me who I am today. We learn from each other’s differences, find strength in our cultures and connect in our shared passions.
2. We have the power to impact and change lives in the big and in the small. Sure, I’m not shaping the future of higher education in growing countries, but while my father provides the education, I provide the opportunities. Helping companies attract and retain talent of which some are changing the world through biopharma or technology.
3. Whatever you do, never settle for less.. than good wine. Truthfully, this is a blessing and a curse. If you’ve ever been lucky enough to be with my father when he picks a bottle of wine, you will know that any bottle you order thereafter will never live up to his choice.

Knowledge is a shared experience – a lesson we were taught from a young age, through the people we met and the places we visited, and hopefully the legacy he has left with you all too.

This beautiful quote sums up, in my opinion, everything my dad stands for.

"In life there isn’t a single person that knows everything and there is no person that knows nothing. It’s not too late to learn because you just need to develop that interest, talk to people, share with them what you have and learn from them. There is no breakthrough in this world if you are isolated, you can only make a breakthrough by talking to people.” - Marie-Christine Gasingirwa, a director at the Ministry of Education in Rwanda.

Dad, happy retirement – I can’t believe you’re actually retiring.

I’ll be taking bets later tonight if anybody wants to get in on the action as to how long we think he’ll last…