The BRAM RADIO team visited the latest IamExpat Fair in Amsterdam to find out who’s there and what’s their story?

Newcomers to Amsterdam, coming to study, to work or to join family or partners: how do they make sense of their new life here? It can be quite different to what they are used to, wherever they come from. There’s quite a market in supporting these newcomers so, IamExpat Media holds regular fairs to bring useful services together in one place to meet as many new internationals as possible. Hear from a range of newcomers, service providers and one of the founders of the fair, in this order:

• Shahzeb, newcomer from Pakistan
• Panos Sarlanis, co-founder of IamExpat Media
• Emma Slot, new founder of Urban Kickstart, first time having a stand at the fair
• Melvin van Jaarsveld RB, partner of NAHV Belastingadviseurs
• Shannon Koopman, from the family team at Frans Otten Stadion

A report back from Amsterdam's IamExpat Fair on 7 March 2026 at the Beurs van Berlage.

Interviews by Michalis Daniilakis and Cathy Leung.

📻 Broadcast premiere on BRAM RADIO online radio station: Friday 15 May 2026, 13:00, with occasional repeats.

Music bed: 'Couch surfer' by We Are Ok

https://broadcastamsterdam.nl

Ahead of the 2026 Amsterdam municipal elections, on 9 March there was an Election Debate in English. BRAM RADIO aka Broadcast Amsterdam went along and made a [rough 😊] recording for anyone that missed it.

Debate participants: Suleyman Aslami (D66), Marianne Brackel (VVD), Juliet Broersen (Volt), Bastiaan Minderhoud(PvdA), Milka Yemane (Groenlinks)

Venue: Equals Amsterdam | Organiser: Tom Wouter Bijl (D66) | Host: Greg Shapiro 

This recording will also be aired several times on our streaming radio station in the run up to 18 March. (Disclaimer: minimal use of an AI tool to try to improve the audio quality, and edited for length.) 

About the Amsterdam elections 2026
Amsterdam will elect a new city council, and district committees, on Wednesday 18 March 2026. Many international residents are eligible to vote (see below), hence an elections debate in English also.

Quick links

• amsterdam.nl/en/elections [in English]
• amsterdam.nl/verkiezingen [in Dutch]

Choosing who to vote for?

• AT5 has a tool, the AT5 Kieskompas, to help you decide which party fits your issues, available in both Dutch and English, https://www.at5.nl/artikelen/237137/twijfel-jij-nog-wat-je-moet-stemmen-18-maart-vul-nu-het-at5-kieskompas-in
• Dutch News website has a round-up of the main local political parties and links here, https://www.dutchnews.nl/2026/02/local-election-watch-housing-and-litter-dominate-in-amsterdam/

Who can vote? 

• You can vote if all of these apply to you:You are 18 years or older.
  You are registered as a resident of Amsterdam.
  You are an EU citizen, or you have been registered in the Netherlands without interruption for at least 5 years.If you are not sure, you can find out it you are eligible at amsterdam.nl/who-can-vote.
• If you are eligible, you will automatically receive a stempas, a voting pass, in the post about two weeks before the elections. look out for an envelope with the word, ‘Stem’ in big red letters on the front.
• Find your local polling booth here, https://stembureaus.amsterdam.nl/map
• At the polling booth, you’ll need your voting pass (stamps) and proof of identity to be able to vote, eg your passport, ID card, driving license or residence permit.

What are these elections for?

• Elections for the city council and the district committees are held every 4 years.
• For the city council, political parties submit their candidates to sit as councillors in the city council.
• In addition, each district has its own district committee. Candidates from both political and non-political parties and groups are eligible to stand for election.

A fight for clean air in Amsterdam: on Tuesday 20 January 2026, the local action group Adem Vrij aan het IJ  (https://ademvrijaanhetij.nl) again shared their concerns about the emissions of the ICL fertiliser factory in their neighbourhood. They presented Jeroen Olthof, deputy of the province of North Holland, with a New Year's card from about 170 residents, all wishing for stronger measures to deal with the ICL factory. BRAM RADIO's Dominik Kucera was at the event and spoke with various parties to find out what's at the heart of this protest. 

(The province and the environmental service will come up with a new permit for ICL at the end of January, reports AT5.) 

Audio report by Dominik Kucera for BRAM RADIO, the online radio station for Amsterdam, produced by Stichting Broadcast Amsterdam. 

https://broadcastamsterdam.nl

Jennifer Barnett shares all about being a small boat owner in Amsterdam. From mooring and dock etiquette, dogs on boats, writing on boats and more.

Jennifer was talking with Dam Daily host, Sarah McCloskey, on 7 June 2023 on BRAM RADIO, the local, online radio station from Broadcast Amsterdam. https://broadcastamsterdam.nl

The original interview included lively music tracks picked out by the guest/host and is available on our website with her playlist and links, here, https://broadcastamsterdam.nl/podcast/jen-boat-life/

Podcast editor: Paweł Kierzniewski

Two young gamers, one from the Netherlands, one from Ukraine, talk about how they got connected online, and day to day life in a war zone for Julien compared to teen life for Samuel in rural Achterhoek.

This chat with Samuel and Julien originally featured on the Friday edition of Dam Daily radio show with Chris Willis on 24 March 2023, as broadcast on BRAM RADIO, the local, online station from Broadcast Amsterdam. https://broadcastamsterdam.nl

The original interview and full radio show included more music tracks and local news and is available on our website here,https://broadcastamsterdam.nl/podcast/24-mar-2023-dd/.

From night kayaking to his sadhu board, Ukrainian music artist, Fenoman (aka Igor Kramarenko), shares the story of his new life in Amsterdam, how he found a place to stay, and getting to know the city. He also talked about his music and other Ukranian bands, and what they can do to raise awareness and funds to support Ukraine following the Russian invasion.

You can follow Igor on Instagram at @igor_fenoman.

This is an edit of Igor's guest spot on the Your Amsterdam Weekend show with @CathyCentral on 12 January 2023, as broadcast on BRAM RADIO, the local, online radio station from Broadcast Amsterdam. https://broadcastamsterdam.nl

The original interview included more music tracks and is available on our website with links, here, https://broadcastamsterdam.nl/podcast/wk-2-yaw-2023-fenoman/.

What went down at the first ever AI hackathon in Amsterdam? Our Executive Producer @CathyCentral gave a short report on her experience.

Cathy was talking on the Dam Daily show on 13 February 2023 on BRAM RADIO, the local, online radio station from Stichting Broadcast Amsterdam. https://broadcastamsterdam.nl

Artist, Marnet Schoemaker talks about her art on shop shutters in Amsterdam’s De Pijp district, designing labels for Amsterdam beer and more. You can follow Marnet on Instagram at @marnetschoemaker, and check out her exhibition from 26 Nov 2022 to 26 February 2023 @ Oranjekerk in de Pijp.

Marnet was talking with Dam Daily host, Sarah McCloskey, on 14 November 2022 on BRAM RADIO, the local, online radio station from Broadcast Amsterdam. https://broadcastamsterdam.nl

The original interview included lively music tracks picked out by Marnet and is available on our website with her playlist and links, here, https://broadcastamsterdam.nl/podcast/marnet-schoemaker/.

Before he left Amsterdam, our long-time radio show host, Ben Maxwell, shared his feelings on leaving the city reluctantly, but on the bright side of his new radio opportunity at QBS in the Qatar. They also talked about football a little bit as that's where the 2022 FIFA World Cup will take place.

Ben was talking with Fridays' Dam Daily host, Chris Willis, on 17 June 2022 on Broadcast Amsterdam radio station.

https://broadcastamsterdam.nl

On 9 March 2022, there was an Election Special in English at the Podium Mozaïek in Amsterdam. It was organised by the local GroenLinks and D66 parties and they were joined by PvdA, Volt and VVD. Here’s how it went down … 

Amsterdam will elect a new city council, and district committees, on Wednesday 16 March 2022, and many international residents are eligible to vote. 

The event was a chance to hear directly from these parties, on their plans for making Amsterdam a better place, covering everything from housing and sustainability to public safety and culture.

The event was recorded and Broadcast Amsterdam has made this edit for listening back On Demand, and for airing on our local internet radio station in the run up to 16 March. https://broadcastamsterdam.nl