Maarten embarked on fulltime work with MRA in 1959. His first adventure was going to America to take part, alongside 150 others from different countries, in the construction of a television film studio at the MRA Conference Center on Mackinac Island, Michigan.
Following completion of the studio he was for several years involved in the making and promotion of MRA documentary and feature films.
He was part of a support team that travelled across America with a number of plays and musicals. In 1963 and ’64 he was based in New Mexico and Arizona as part of an internatioal MRA team, working closely with Native American youth and Tribal Leaders, who had been inspired by Peter Howard’s vision of the contribution the Native Americans could give to America and the world. As a result many of them took part in the youth confrences at Mackinac in 1964 and 1965, and like hundreds of other young men and women, became part of the first ‘Sing-Out’ musical show, which in the following years evolved into ‘Up with People’. Maarten was part of one of the travelling Up with People casts and later helped train and support local Sing Outs in various US cities.
He remained part of Up with People until the end of 1968, when he returned to The Netherlands. He joined the Musical Review Anything to Declare on its tour of India, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. Back in Europe he became involved in organising in annual ‘Family Conferences’ and ‘Industrial Conferences’ at Caux. He was European Coordinator of the Caux Round Table from 1986 until 2007.
In 2015 he attended the 50th Reunion of Up with People in Florida (three thousand participants), and in 2022 he and his wife took part in the ‘Rendez-vous’ in Chicago of some three hundred people who were involved from 1965-1970 in “MRA, Sing-Out, Up with People, Mackinac College, PACE Magazine”.
Maarten de Pous is married to Elisabeth Davey. They live in The Netherlands.
