About Us

Radio La Benevolencija – Humanitarian Tools Foundation (RLB) is a Dutch NGO that empowers groups and individuals who are the target of hate speech and ensuing acts. We produce media edutainment (Entertainment-Education) programmes, and implement complementary grassroots practice activities, to educate citizens in vulnerable societies on how to recognise and resist manipulation to violence and how to deal with trauma – stimulating them to become active bystanders against incitement and hate.

Vision

We contribute to a future world that has overcome polarization and violence, acting in unison to deal with its dangers and problems.

Mission

“Attack Problems- not people!”

RLB works to increase resilience to processes that lead societies and individuals to all forms of Identity-based violence. We use the best available research, broadcast- and online media behaviour change practices, to effectively reach audiences vulnerable to incitement. and empower them to resist it as “active bystanders”. This in order to fight polarization and make a durable contribution to social cohesion and conflict transformation in our increasingly vulnerable societies.

Values

RLB is strictly non-ethnic, non-denominational, and non-governmental, combating identity-based violence. Advocating sanity, empathy, and mutual aid under the motto “Attack problems, not people!”

Core Values:

Credibility: Acting on research-based knowledge, evaluating, and publishing impact.
Solidarity: Acting with empathy and respecting individual differences.
Self-empowerment: Encouraging both potential perpetrators and their targets to take control of their lives.
Active Bystandership: Promoting individual agency and responsibility to intervene against destructive actions.

History

The founding of Radio La Benevolencija Humanitarian Tools Foundation was inspired by La Benevolencija Sarajevo, a local humanitarian organization set up by members of the city’s Jewish community, which played a unique role during the Bosnian war (1992-1995). The organization was regarded as neutral, its members acting as emissaries and negotiators between the warring parties in the conflict (Bosniak Muslims, Catholic Croats and Orthodox Serbs). This enabled them to support the civilians affected by the violence.

During the siege of Sarajevo (1992-1996), the organization supplied the city with up to 40% of the needed medicines, and smuggled thousands of people out of the city by providing them with documents as members of the Jewish community, emulating the actions of those who saved Jews from the concentration camps by providing them with foreign passports. Acting themselves as they would have liked others to act towards them in times of threat, the organization evolved into an ethnic mix and became a symbol for empathy, solidarity and self-empowerment among targets of hate speech and ethnocentric violence.

George Weiss set up a European support network for La Benevolencija Sarajevo in the 1990s. Some years later (2002) he founded, together with a group of Amsterdam-based media professionals, Radio La Benevolencija Humanitarian Tools Foundation: a Dutch NGO working in La Benevolencija Sarajevo’s spirit of self-empowerment through a solidarity alliance among targets of persecution and those who stand up to help them.

Radio La Benevolencija is strictly non-ethnic, non-denominational and non-governmental. It first started operating in Rwanda in 2003, and later extended its activities to neighboring countries (Burundi in 2007 and the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2008). European operations commenced in 2016.

Holocaust rememberance & the impact of the Gaza War

Our organisation was shaped by the moral legacy of a people marked by genocide. The very concept of genocide was named and fought for by Raphael Lemkin, a Jewish jurist. Our archetype, La Benevolencija Sarajevo, transformed that identity—from victimhood into active solidarity with all people persecuted for who they are.

But in the war in Gaza, the State of Israel now invokes this very victimhood as justification for the disproportionate killing, starving, and expulsion of an entire population of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. This is an intolerable distortion of the values we stand for. We stand with all those who demand an urgent stop to the killing, release of all hostages and bringing those responsible to justice.

In February 2024, our founding director George Weiss gave voice to these concerns in a letter to the Israeli presidency. The response we received is part of the correspondence we now publish here.

We also invite you to listen to our podcast episode Grey—a reflection on the difficult terrain where memory, identity, trauma, and accountability converge.

Read Radio La Benevolencija’s letter to the Israeli president here.

Read the answer by the Chief of Staff of the Israeli president here.

Headquarters

George Weiss

Founding CEO
Indira Bedi-Thomas

Head of Programmes
Johan Deflander

Regional Coordinater - Great Lakes Africa
Soedir Oemrawsingh

Head of Finance
Georgeta Pintilie

Project Officer
Valeria Querzola

Project Coordinator
Casper Baehr

Support Officer

Burundi

Nestor Nkurunziza

Head of mission
Sixte Nisasagare

Regional Drama Coordinator
Philippe Mateso

Chauffeur-logistician
Brigitte Nshimirimana

Grassroots coordinator
Djuma Kabura

Chauffeur
Philippe Ndikumana

Cleaner
Divine Nshimirimana

Coordinator Radio Drama Burundi
Coline Butoyi

Assistant Coordinator Radio Drama
Jeanine Ndayishimiye

Administrative and Financial Manager
Nestor Ndikumana

Media Support project coordinator
Agathonique Barakukuza

Gender Coach
Vestine Butoyi

EWER Coordinator

Rwanda

Charles Lwanga Rukundo

Head of Bureau / Radio Drama Coordinator
Ngoma King

Grassroots Coordinator
Ignatienne Bucyeye

Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator
Laurence Ingabire

Scriptwriter
Olivier Gashugi

Chauffeur

DRC

Nielsen Witanene

Head of Radio La Benevolencija HTF office in DRC
Baudouin Kabailamia

Programme Coordinator and Grassroots Coordinator in South Kivu
Henri Kulimushi

Financial assistant and receptionist
Justin Muderhwa

Chauffeur / Cameraman
Léandre Nyambwe

Chauffeur / Logistician
Modeste Sabwanda

Drama Producer
Justin Fikiri

Writer
Ghislain Kabuyaya

Writer
Cosmas Mungazi

Grassroot Coordinator and partner production focal point in North Kivu
Théodore Toyi

Focal point production partners in South Kivu
Colette Salima

Regional Media Coordinator
Josaphat Musamba

Monitoring & Assessment
Jonas Kasereka

M4D Coordinator Grand Nord

Board

Anneke van Hoek
Sikko Cleveringa
Hendrik Kaptein
Peter Knoope
Caroline Helversteijn

Governance

Management

The governance structure of the organisation consists of an Executive Board, a Director, a Management Team at the HQ in Amsterdam, and local Heads of Mission (HoMs) overseeing field operations. From 2015, a Regional Coordinator was appointed to oversee implementation of the regional projects in the Great Lakes region of Africa. RLB is led by George Weiss, its founding Director. The Director bears final responsibility for the organisation and is overseen by the Executive Board of the Foundation. He is assisted by the following members of the management team:

Finance Manager/Controller responsible for overseeing financial integrity, compliance and auditing for all the offices of RLB (in Europe, Rwanda, Burundi, and Democratic Republic of Congo ).

Programme Manager responsible for developing, coordinating and line-managing the different projects in the 3 African countries, as well as ensuring donor criteria compliance & reporting, supporting both the Finance Controller and Regional Coordinator in the execution of their tasks.

Programme Manager responsible for developing, coordinating and line-managing the the organisation’s projects in Europe in close cooperation with RLB’s European content creation team and partners.

Regional Coordinator responsible for the content development, implementation and monitoring of regional projects, ensuring thematic coherence and harmonisation of activities.

The organisation has three registered offices in the countries of operation - Burundi, Rwanda and DR Congo situated in Bujumbura, Kigali, and Bukavu/Goma respectively. Each of the country offices is managed by a Head of Mission who reports directly to the Director and Programme manager at the Head Office. The HoMs are the focal points in their respective countries for the implementation of project activities. Dedicated support for project implementation in the field is provided by national programme, finance and admin/logistics staff in each of the respective missions. RLB has in-house production studios, scriptwriters, journalists, and actors for the facilitation of media outputs.

Code of conduct

RLB is a member of Partos, the Dutch umbrella organization for NGOs working in international development. It endorses and follows the Partos Code of Conduct 2012 and therefore the values regarded as commonplace within the sector. The RLB Code of Conduct is part of the individual employment contract between RLB and its employees. It also applies to consultants and associates in a broad sense (including experts, volunteers, interns, trainees and members of the Board), regardless of the location of their activities for the organisation. RLB asks all staff to abide by the Code of Conduct, with clear agreements regarding integrity, good governance, sexual harassment, fraud, and gender inequality. An Anti-Fraud policy is also in place along with a section on Fraud Response Plan/ Whistleblowing. Copies of these policies are available on request.

Legal status

Radio La Benevolencija Humanitarian Tools Foundation (La Benevolencija/RLB) was founded by a deed of incorporation on 21 May 2002 as a Stichting (Foundation) under Dutch law and has its seat/registered office in the municipality of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It was registered with the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce (Kamer van Koophandel) as a not-for-profit Foundation on 18 July 2002. The Statutes were last amended on 12 May 2003.

Fiscal number (BTW/VAT): NL811072423B01
Chamber of Commerce number: 34176587
Bank Account Number: IBAN: NL70 ABNA 0549 3003 09 / BIC: ABNANL2A

WNT

Remuneration of individual management (Director, HQ) complies with the Executives’ Pay (Standards) Act (Wet Normering Topinkomens).  WNT compliance is demonstrated in the explanatory notes of the audited annual accounts.

RLB strives to be fair in staff remuneration. Each local office has a salary grid in place where remuneration is commensurate with skills, competencies, and experience of the employees. The organisation’s staff members are remunerated in line with comparable organisations. Employee provisions such as pensions, medical insurance, maternity leave and such other benefits as required by the local labour law are in place in each country. For consultants and fixed-term contracts, the local labour law provisions are strictly implemented. At HQ, the benchmark is the salary scale provided by Partos.

ANBI

RLB has been recognised as a Public Benefit Organisation (ANBI: ‘Algemeen Nut Beogende Instelling’) by the Dutch Tax Authorities. Natural and legal persons making donations to an ANBI organisation may deduct their gifts from their Dutch income tax or corporate income tax.

Annual Report

RLB publishes its Annual Report on its website. The Annual Reports include an overview of activities as well as audited financial information and are available here.

Donors