29 May

Posted at 10:41h in Cases

Misschien wel één van mijn meest bijzondere opdrachten. Een dag lang in gesprek met het Team Facilitair van het Leger des Heils in Rotterdam. Mijn opdrachtgever wilde graag het thema "gastvrijheid" tijdens een teamdag agenderen. Mijn hospitality achtergrond, waaronder mijn ervaring als hotel manager van citizenM Amsterdam Airport, en mijn werk als gespreksleider kwamen dus goed samen in deze mooie opdracht! Een middag dakloos ter voorbereiding Zoals ik graag van tevoren bij organisaties over de vloer kom, gold dat niet minder voor het Leger des Heils. Een middag ging ik daarom op pad met de mensen van het Leger: eerst naar de...

12 Aug

Posted at 12:19h in Cases

In spring 2014 His Holiness the Dalai Lama visited The Netherlands for a 2-day visit. The Global Leaders Academy organized "Education of the Heart" at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. This conference was visited by about 500 educational professionals. Keynote speaker was the Dalai Lama and with the audience he shared his vision on how education these days ideally should look like. During his extensive speech attendees were raising many questions. Partly related to the subject, but as it goes with 'celebrities', attendees were curious about other things too. I had the privilege to interview him [and his friend and former...

04 Aug

Posted at 12:19h in Cases

Brainstorm with Association Cities of Limburg [VLG] | 50 mayors and aldermen exchanged ideas on how to strenghten the connection between citizen and local governments. Trust, responsibilities and social media Invited by Mrs Penn-te Strake, mayor of the city of Maastricht and chairlady of an association representing all municipalities of the Dutch province of Limburg [VLG], I hosted a brainstorm about the growing gap between citizens and local governments. The audience consisted of local aldermen and mayors from around the province. Based on a number of statements, on which attendees could vote via Sendsteps technology, we talked about "trust", "the role of...

27 Aug

Posted at 12:01h in Cases

The European Economic and Social Committee [EESC] is an EU advisory body comprising representatives of workers' and employers' organizations. It issues opinions on EU issues to the European Commission, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament, thus acting as a bridge between the EU's decision-making institutions and EU citizens. Strategy reflections During “Europe 2020” [Brussels, summer 2015] I co-hosted the conference together with the chair of the organization. Throughout the day the audience reflected on the current Europe 2020 strategy. A strategy that has 5 objectives with which it wants to boost economic growth and employment: more research investments, less...

12 Aug

Posted at 16:22h in Cases

Innovation Festival | 300 Entrepreneurs, educational institutes and other stakeholders reflect on how to boast innovation within their region ["De Achterhoek"]. Every year Dutch region "De Achterhoek", organizes the "Innovation Festival". The goals is to bring together local entrepreneurs, educational institutes and other stakeholders and exchange views on how to improve collaboration. During a one-hour talkshow setting, I was sidekick of former Dutch TV talkshow host Frits Barend and his daughter Barbara Barend. Panel discussion 2.0 During the talkshow we interviewed a panel of entrepreneurs, educational professionals and representatives of local municipal authorities. The interview was based on 4 statements on which every...

27 Aug

Posted at 13:03h in Cases

During the 3rd edition of the FRESH Conference - an international meeting for event professionals - Sendsteps sponsored an interactive talkshow of which I was the presenter and host. Together with event app developers [SpotMe, DoubleDutch, WhalesOnWhaves, EventMobi, SuperEvent and Twoppy] I talked about the current use and the onward development of event apps. I did so in the form of a table interview. The setup of a clever table interview Instead of just talking out and about, I structured the talk by discussing a statement every 15 minutes [the talkshow lasted an hour]. Those statements were formulated in advance and together...

12 Aug

Posted at 16:54h in Cases

Accountant Day [INCLUDING video] | 1300 Accountants, financial professionals and -students reflecting on "ethics within the profession of accountants". In the midst of the financial crisis, the role of accountants got more and more under pressure. During the Dutch Accountant Day, organized by the NBA [a national association for accountants], several speakers reflected on the theme of "ethics" within this professional group. One of them being former politician Ms Femke Halsema [Green Left Alliance]. She presented the findings from a commission report about "ethics and the role of accountants". About 1300 attendees were eager to hear the conclusions. An interactive Q&A After her presentation...