Home - Arjan Erkel

EXPAND YOUR FREEDOM OF THOUGHT AND ACTION

Strengthen your resilience, take control of your life now

My mission is to touch the lives of as many people as possible with my story. I have always refused to be a victim. The most important lesson I learned during my abduction is that as a person, you can achieve so much more than you ever dared to think.

I want to give people back their positivity and willpower. Provide that familiar “kick in the butt.” Be an inspiration for change in their lives. After my abduction, I developed myself in various areas without being certain that I could.

I have been giving lectures for years, I have written multiple books, I have hosted a TV program, and I am the co-founder of the Free a Girl foundation.

Expand your freedom of thought and action

masterclass

Lectures

Table talk

Arjan in de media

For months, the story of my abduction was everywhere in the news. Initially, during and after the kidnapping, and later on, following my release and return. After my release, I gave hundreds of interviews. Other news items covered my books, the establishment, and work of my Free a Girl foundation. Fortunately, I have a good relationship with the media, and they also reported on my public speaking, theater shows, performances at festivals, my role as the presenter of the TV program ‘Vreemde Tralies,’ and even the opening of our former guesthouse in Rotterdam.

Experiences

"Dear Arjan, Your session went well. Participants got plenty of reflective moments."

Peter Versluijs ABN AMRO Bank N.V.

"Hi Arjan, thanks for the very inspiring workshop at the Professional Development day in Rotterdam! Nice tweet about this!"

René Notten Van Lanschot Bank

Dear Arjan, thank you for your efforts during our workshop. You managed to turn your hostage experiences into lessons for us as individuals and as team members in a penetrating way. This certainly contributed to a growth in our group cohesion and personal leadership.

Boudewijn Siemons - Managing Director Vopak Oil B.V.

Bizarrely good feedback, both fun and learning moments. Linking story to action was also top notch. Learnings already used today in several team meetings: "What would Arjan have done?" Thanks very much.

Rudi Houthuijs Shell

"I enjoyed your story. I was really carried away and at times felt like I could really feel where you were at certain moments. Like I was reading a book. Really well done. You have fantastic storytelling skills."

Bezoeker theatershow Debby H.

"Arjan is neither an actor nor a singer, but that is precisely the strength: the audience realizes that it is not watching someone who is playing it, but someone who has really experienced it. The abduction, the fear, the sadness, but also the necessary humor and the music that dragged him through those twenty months. The scenery and projections complete the picture. With the added value of the guitar playing of the sympathetic Jan Wilm Tolkamp. The last guitarist of the band Normaal. And after the performance people realize; what a great thing, your freedom of thought and action! Highly recommended to visit."

Bezoeker theatershow

"Thank you for a beautiful performance. What a beautiful combo with the guitarist and also beautiful how your story was adapted for theater. That is particularly cleverly done."

Bezoeker theatershow Hanny van de W.

This will certainly not be the first or last time you have heard this - but I heard you speak at the Justice Foundation Congress and it left a huge impression. I am quieted by your optimism, self-reflection, strength, resilience and above all humor. Thank you for a tremendously inspiring afternoon, it is going to stay with me forever.

B.M. DLA Piper Amsterdam

Hello Arjan, I am a student at the Grafisch Lyceum in Rotterdam. Yesterday morning, when you did that talk, you made me think. Ever since I was young I wanted to serve my country. (as a soldier, for example) but because of you I really know what I want to go for. Namely, I plan to work as a cop. And I wanted to thank you for this.

Anoniem Student

I listened to your book in the first week of this Corona crisis. Very respectful and beautifully described how you handled that situation. Definitely applicable now, although it is not comparable. We still get to decide a lot of things for ourselves. I have been at home without an income since March 16, but I mainly look at what I can and may do. And that is a lot!

M.T. Facebook