VARA (radio and TV)

VARA is a public broadcasting organization in the Netherlands, established in 1927.

The name was originally an abbreviation of Vereeniging van Arbeiders Radio Amateurs (the "Association of Worker Radio Amateurs"). Since 1957, however, the organization's official name has been Omroepvereniging VARA (the "VARA Broadcasting Association") and the letters VARA are no longer an acronym.

VARA was originally aimed at socialist workers. During the era of verzuiling (the division of the Dutch population and its institutions into four main ideological and confessional groups: Liberal, Socialist, Protestant, and Catholic), VARA was linked to the Partij van de Arbeid (PvdA — the Dutch Labour Party). For many years, the chairmen of VARA were well-known leading members of the PvdA, such as Marcel van Dam and Andre Kloos . In more recent times the connection between the two organizations has become looser, although many affinities remain, including a largely shared support base.