The Omroepvereniging VARA (VARA Broadcasting Association) is a Dutch public broadcasting association operating within the framework of the Nederlandse Publieke Omroep system, founded in 1925 as the Vereeniging van Arbeiders Radio Amateurs (Association of Worker Radio Amateurs). The name was changed to Omroepvereniging VARA in 1957 and is no longer an acronym.

VARA's original focus was on labour and socialism, and in the era of Dutch pillarization the association had close links to the Social Democratic Workers Party

Social Democratic Workers' Party (Netherlands)

The Social Democratic Workers' Party was a Dutch socialist political party and a predecessor of the social-democratic PvdA.-1893-1904:...

 and its follow-up organization, the Labour Party. For many years VARA's chairmen were prominent members of the party, such as Marcel van Dam

Marcel van Dam

Marcel Parcival Arthur van Dam is a former Dutch politician and television presenter. As a member of the Labour Party he was Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment from 1981 to 1982....

 and Andre Kloos. In more recent times the connection between the two organizations has loosened although there remain many affinities, including a largely shared support base.

Programming

Former and present VARA television programmes include:

• Pipo de Clown
  Pipo de Clown
  Pipo de Clown is a character created by writer and artist Wim Meuldijk, which became famous as the lead character of a popular early Dutch television series also written by Meuldijk, and which was subsequently popularized in movies and on records...
  
  
• Kassa
  Kassa (television program)
  Kassa is a consumer television program produced by VARA, which was created by and is hosted by Felix Meurders. The program focuses on consumer affairs, reviewing and testing products, and also doing investigative reporting on issues with products or services...
  
  
• Kinderen geen Bezwaar
• Kinderen voor Kinderen
  Kinderen voor Kinderen
  Kinderen voor Kinderen is a Dutch children's choir maintained by public broadcaster VARA. The name translates as "children for children".Since 1980 the choir has released one album of new children's songs each year, and is probably the only act from the 1980s with consecutive albums in the top 40...
  
  
• Oppassen!!!
• Unit 13
• talk shows hosted by Sonja Barend
  Sonja Barend
  Sonja Maria Barend is a Dutch television personality and former talk show host. Her talk show Sonja, which she presented since the 1970s, was noted for breaking taboos and allowing ordinary people a voice in public dialog. She retired from television in 2006, after four decades of television...
  
  
• De Wereld Draait Door
  De Wereld Draait Door
  De Wereld Draait Door is a Dutch television program produced by the VARA and broadcast on Nederland 3. The host is Matthijs van Nieuwkerk. The program contains a mixture of news, information, and amusement....
  
  , a live programme about current events hosted by Matthijs van Nieuwkerk
  Matthijs van Nieuwkerk
  Matthijs van Nieuwkerk is a Dutch journalist and television presenter.-Biography:Matthijs van Nieuwkerk was born on September 8, 1960 in Amsterdam in the Netherlands....
  
  
• shows presented by Paul de Leeuw
  Paul de Leeuw
  Paul Henri de Leeuw is a Dutch television comedian, singer and actor.De Leeuw gained national fame in the late eighties and early nineties with television shows for broadcasting company VARA...
  
  
• Alfred J. Kwak
  Alfred Jodocus Kwak
  is a cartoon television series based on a Dutch theatre show by Herman van Veen and was co-produced by VARA, Telecable Benelux B.V. and TV Tokyo and first shown in 1989. It consists of 52 episodes. The series characters were designed by Harald Siepermann...
  
  (cartoon series)
• Sonic X
  Sonic X
  is an anime series based on the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series. It was produced in Japan by TMS Entertainment with the partnership of Sega and was created by Sonic Team and Sonic Project. In the United States, 4Kids currently owns and manages copyright and branding of the series.- Series 1 ...
  
  (Anime Series)
• The Smurfs
  The Smurfs
  The Smurfs is a comic and television franchise centred on a group of small blue fictional creatures called Smurfs, created and first introduced as a series of comic strips by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo on October 23, 1958...
  
  (cartoon series)
• De Film van Ome Willem (children's comedy show)
• "Pauw & Witteman
  Pauw & Witteman
  Pauw & Witteman is a Dutch late-night talk show, hosted by Jeroen Pauw en Paul Witteman. It is generally focused on current affairs and politics. It is broadcast every weekday at 11 pm on Nederland 1. It is produced by Dutch public broadcasters NPS and VARA....
  
  ", a live programme about current events hosted by Jeroen Pauw and Paul Witteman