Expaterience Returns with Double Airtime after Breakout Success

Season premiere’s theme on Saturday, September 27:
Tackling language barriers faced even by highly educated migrants

The Hague: Thursday, September 25, 2025

Expaterience, the unrivaled English-language talk show produced by RTV Discus and  created by and for expats and internationals, launches a brand-new season on Saturday, September 27 — now with double airtime: expanding from one hour to two full hours.

The season premiere centers on the theme “No Dutch, No Problem? Or… Big Problem?” — a reference to the widespread but questionable assumption that speaking Dutch is not strictly necessary to thrive in the Netherlands’ knowledge economy.

Hour 1:
the first hour of Expaterience will focus on the necessity and challenges of learning Dutch for international knowledge workers — not only for smooth social integration but also for career opportunities in the Netherlands, a high-tech, cosmopolitan economy known for its excellent English communication skills.

Featured guests:

Andrew van Esch, Member of The Hague City Council (D66), with portfolios including Social Affairs & Employment, Economy, and International Relations — and initiator of the very first “Meet Your City Council” event on September 24 for expats and internationals in The Hague.

Selvei Topping, Chief People Officer (CC7 Europe) and Lavanya Mirle, international finance & research professional. They will contribute to the conversation from their own knowledge and experience: one as the top human resources executive of an international corporation, the other as a highly skilled international currently learning Dutch and navigating the many aspects of civic integration (‘inburgering’).

In addition, John Ritfeld, Dutch-as-a-second-language (NT2) Teacher and Founder of VDZ, will join as the fourth guest in the first hour of Expaterience, offering a teacher’s perspective drawn from his many years of experience teaching Dutch to expats and internationals.

Hour 2:
the new, added hour offers an in-depth exchange with two distinguished voices whose expertise in inclusive leadership and community building promises both insight and inspiration:

Tatjana San Luis, Founder of Inclusive Growth and DEI & Culture Consultant and Coach

Natalie Malis, President of AWC The Hague

Host Sanjay Sharma: “I am thrilled that, thanks to the encouraging response from our viewers, Expaterience now has twice the airtime, starting this Saturday, allowing for deeper conversations and more diverse panelists. I look forward to exploring, in greater depth, an issue that is both crucial and timely for knowledge migrants and the Dutch knowledge economy, especially in today’s climate of regional conflicts, shifting alliances, and unpredictable talent and supply chain management.”

Completing this episode’s on-air team, joining host Sanjay Sharma, are Nicoletta Pisanu (Expaterience News anchor) and Anupama Srivastava (stand-up comedy and opinion contributor).

Expaterience is the first English-language TV program and online & social media presence produced by RTV Discus, the community access public service TV producer in The Hague region, for almost thirty years.

Aptly titled Expaterience, the show will focus exclusively on everyday experiences of expats living in Greater The Hague, on their successes as well as the challenges they may encounter in their personal and professional lives abroad.

Expaterience is an expansion of RTV Discus’ current line-up, signifying its third TV production, alongside the long-standing Dutch-language programs: social issues talk show, Zaterdag Live, and current affairs news magazine, Escampjournaal.

How to watch Expaterience:

Saturday, September 27

11:00-13:00        LIVE STREAM and afterward: ON-DEMAND indefinitely
online:                expaterience.nl  / Facebook / Instagram / LinkedIn / YouTube

18:00-20:00       REPEAT / SEMI-LIVE BROADCAST
online &               Den Haag TV
cable TV:            Ziggo: channel 40, KPN: 1312, Caiway: 12, Odido: 829, and other providers.
More viewing options and more information on expaterience.nl

Expaterience On-Air Team:

Media contact:

Dennis Kokkelink
+31 6 2294 8806
press@rtvdiscus.nl

Other press releases:

June 18, 2025:
Theme show Expaterience on expats living in The Hague on Saturday, June 21
web version | .PDF version

May 19, 2025:
New TV show Expaterience for and by expats premieres Saturday, May 24
web version | .PDF version