New Director of Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo wants to increase the institute’s visibility
Egyptologist Marleen De Meyer has been appointed the new Director of the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo (NVIC). Dr De Meyer has worked for the institute, which promotes Egyptian, Dutch and Flemish collaboration in the field of education and research, since 2016.
The Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo is a partnership of nine universities across the Netherlands and Flanders and aims to encourage and internationalise education and research activities in the Middle East and Asia. In 2021, the institute celebrated its 50th anniversary. More information about the important work of the NVIC.
Marleen De Meyer had already been the Interim Director of the institute for a year following the unexpected death of her predecessor Rudolf de Jong. His death came as a huge shock to the institute’s staff. Just over a year later, Dr De Meyer is now officially the NIVC’s new Director. It’s time to meet her.
You’re no stranger to Egypt, Cairo and the NVIC. How long have you been going there?
‘I first travelled to Egypt in 1995 – which is a sign of my age – so that’s around 30 years. At the time, I was studying Egyptology at KU Leuven. It was my first experience of Cairo, and shortly afterwards I participated in the excavation of a Roman temple near Luxor. Since 2002, I have worked on Belgian excavations in Dayr al-Barsha [a necropolis from the Pharaoh era, ed.], where I’m a co-director. So that’s also around 20 years ago. I was appointed Assistant Director of Egyptology in 2016 and since then I split my time equally between Cairo and Leuven. But since Rudolf’s death, I have primarily been in Cairo.’
From 1 March 2025, you will officially be the Director. How would you describe yourself as a director?
‘I think I’m a director whose door is always open. I still feel like a member of the close-knit team here – running this institute really is about teamwork. I also consider the contact with our visiting students and the NVIC’s broad network – in Egypt, the Netherlands and Flanders – extremely important. As well as leading the institute, I want to continue conducting research. I might not be able to spend two months at a time at an excavation site any more, but my current research site is a four-hour drive from Cairo, so it’s possible to travel there and back more frequently. I’m also working on a number of archeological archiving projects, and from a logistics perspective, that research is easier to combine with my other responsibilities.’
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Dr Marleen De Meyer with students in Deir el-Medina, an ancient Egyptian settlement -
Deciphering hieroglyphs at the Dayr al-Barsha excavation site -
The NVIC in November 2024
As the Director, it’s your job to lead the NVIC into the future. What does the future hold?
‘Just like Dutch universities, we are currently facing budget cuts. Programmes such as Arabic Studies, Middle Eastern Studies and Egyptology are having to make cuts, and that will affect our students. But we view it as a challenge and we’re looking for creative ways to increase our own income, for example by offering more paid courses to the general public.
‘An associated task is increasing the NIVC’s visibility – and especially in the Netherlands and Flanders. People who want to do anything related to Egypt need to be able to find us. We’re a Leiden-based institute, but outside our usual partner faculties, many of Leiden University’s departments have never heard of us, and that really shouldn't be the case. We want to broaden the institute’s reach so that disciplines with less traditional links to us know how to find us. You can also contact us if you want to research modern migration patterns, for example. So here’s a call to anyone reading this who is looking for collaboration with Egypt: please do get in touch!’