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the future of Urban Energy, June 2012
Club of Amsterdam pdf version Supporter Van Eesterenmuseum Presentations Kim Taylor, Marketing Manager, The New Motion Attitudes towards mobility and the potential of EV’s in energy supply Pauline Westendorp, Co-founder, Wij krijgen Kippen Amsterdam Zuid lives, works and moves on clean local energy before 2020! Half of humanity – 3.5 billion people – currently lives in cities and by 2055 an estimated 75% of the world’s population will live in urban areas. Cities occupy just 2% of the Earth’s land, but account for over 70% of both energy consumption and carbon emissions. However, cities present the world’s population with the best chance of reducing our ecological footprint. Urban areas are uniquely positioned to lead the greening of the global economy through improvements in transport, energy, buildings, technology, water and waste systems, as well as producing a wide range of economic and social benefits. To achieve this, existing and new-build cities will have to adopt sustainable development strategies, including efficiency gains, innovative infrastructures and technological advancements in order to meet the demands of this rapidly growing urban population. – Sustainable Cities is being launched in June 2012 at Rio+20 – the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development Laurens Tait, Associate Civil Engineer, Arup Adapting to a changing energy landscape The art of adaptation relies on the capability to convert future-thinking into viable solutions. This requires the combination of commercial and technical innovation to push forward solutions. Laurens will present some of the trends observed in projects and in Arup R&D, where new (and old) ideas have been used to produce smarter energy solutions. In particular the combination of design with an understanding of energy to set new benchmarks in low-energy buildings, to retrofit, or to look to the future for low-carbon communities. Kim Taylor, Marketing Manager, The New Motion Attitudes towards mobility and the potential of EV’s in energy supply Attitudes towards mobility have been shifting over recent years and new trends are forming. Kim will present the mobility market and behavior towards it as it is today and which trends we will see in the next few years. Kim will also talk about the potential for electric cars to play a role in the energy supply. Pauline Westendorp, Co-founder, Wij krijgen Kippen Amsterdam Zuid lives, works and moves on clean local energy before 2020! In 2007 we saw a strange phenomenon in Amsterdam: 60 electrical scooters, an electrical TNT lorry and an electric Lotus Elise Sports car (100 km/h within 4 seconds). Everybody was surprised, is it already possible to drive clean? My dream is, within 8 years to live in a part of Amsterdam, which is only accessible by clean vehicles. My interest: the lungs of my children, who will be 10 and 12 years old by then. The same goes for buildings. My house and professional workspace are on clean energy, soon to be followed by schools and shops we visit. In 2020 my part of Amsterdam will be clean. It is technically and financially possible, let’s start! 19:00 – 20:00 Introduction by our Moderator Paul Hughes, Ten Meters of Thinking Part I: Laurens Tait, Associate Civil Engineer, Arup Adapting to a changing energy landscape Kim Taylor, Marketing Manager, The New Motion Attitudes towards mobility and the potential of EV’s in energy supply Pauline Westendorp, Co-founder, Wij krijgen Kippen Amsterdam Zuid lives, works and moves on clean local energy before 2020! 20:00 – 20:30 Coffee break with drinks and snacks. 20:30 – 21:15 Part II: Open discussion Laurens Tait Associate Civil Engineer, Arup Laurens Tait currently leads the Cities and Masterplanning team of Arup in Amsterdam. The team offers technical advice to public organisations, private organisations, and designers in the fields of city planning and the development of large-scale urban projects. Over the last 15 years Laurens has been active in urban real-estate developments, urban road and rail infrastructure, and airport projects in Western Europe, the Middle-East and Asia. A dedication to the application of best practice and internal R&D knowledge to help resolve complex urban problems marks the Cities and Masterplanning team’s work. As well as giving guest lectures at various technical universities Laurens is a Studio Tutor at the Berlage Institute of Postgraduate Urbanism. www.arup.com Kim Taylor Marketing Manager, The New Motion Kim Taylor has been working on clean tech mobility projects for the last 6 years. Starting out at Formula Zero, a start-up focused on the promotion of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. For the past two years Kim has been leading the communications team at The New Motion, an Amsterdam start-up establishing a national network of intelligent fast and normal chargers, and providing the charging solutions for individuals and companies driving electric cars. Kim is also chairman of the Professional Passionates organisation which organised Europe’s largest electric rally with 100 electric cars for 100 CEO’s politicians and celebrities in 2011. In May 2012 Kim received the world’s first electric driving license. www.thenewmotion.com Pauline Westendorp Co-founder, Wij krijgen Kippen Pauline Westendorp studied business in Groningen University. After 5 jobs for business, charity and governmental organisations and a tour around the world, she decided it was time to work for shareholders value: in the sense of gaining “true” value. In 2001 she decided to build residential or business parks, which are no longer using any energy from out of the compound. All energy harvested from roofs, air, wind, earth, of biomass. Since 2010 Pauline works on the project WijkrijgenKippen, which supports the strengthening of 50 local energy corporations in Amsterdam Zuid, a central part of the metropole region of Amsterdam. A project, which is initiated by citizens, companies and the local and central government. www.wijkrijgenkippen.nl Paul Hughes Ten Meters of Thinking Paul Hughes left the rolling green hills of his native Ireland, shortly after completing his studies in Visual Communication, and arrived in the distinctive flat planes of the Netherlands, where he has worked in the creative industries since the mid-90’s. Having successful led a number of creative companies, including Design Machine in New York and Lava Design in Amsterdam, which was awarded the European Design Agency of the Year in 2010, he now spends his time engaging with change makers to help organizations embrace design thinking to create adaptive strategies. He does this through a unique visual/verbal experience where he will draw on ten meters of paper as he speaks – he calls this ‘10 Meters of Thinking’. ‘10 Meters of Thinking’ highlights that we are facing global challenges across every aspect of life that we have never faced before. These challenges many seem overwhelming at first however Paul feels optimistic as he believes these challenges are in essence design challenges. Therefore he believes ‘design is now the difference that makes the difference’. www.tenmetersofthinking.com
the future of Taxes, May 2012
Club of Amsterdam pdf version Supporter Info.nl Presentations Frank Herreveld, Partner Tax Controversy and Litigation, Deloitte Belastingadviseurs B.V., Chairman Tax Controversy Management Group Taxation in 2020, IRS for Big Brother. Iskander Smit, strategy director, Info.nl and head of info.nl/labs The Internet of Things as enabler of a new organization of responsibility Contributions by Leif Olsen A New Taxation Paradigm; Some Details A New Taxation Paradigm; Overview The Heartland Institute Ten Principles of Federal Tax Policy Videos Frank Herreveld, Partner Tax Controversy and Litigation, Deloitte Belastingadviseurs B.V., Chairman Tax Controversy Management Group Taxation in 2020, IRS for Big Brother. https://vimeo.com/43439050 Iskander Smit, strategy director, Info.nl and head of info.nl/labs The Internet of Things as enabler of a new organization of responsibility https://vimeo.com/43433084 Tax has many associations. It has long been viewed with fatal resignation, likened to a natural but inevitable force. It has also underpinned our civilisation’s history. Whether we embrace positive or negative views of tax it has a deeply embedded role within society. [percapita] Homme Heida: – Would it make sense to create a different tax structure reflecting the allocation of taxes to specific purposes? – Why doesn’t everyone revolt, when accumulative taxes (direct and indirect) on income are about 80%? – What will happen if tax evasion becomes a national sport and when digital media facilitate tax evasion? – Will lower taxes in surrounding countries lead to a massive outflux of tax payers? – To which extent can taxes be used to influence purchasing behaviour of people and companies? Frank Herreveld, Partner Tax Controversy and Litigation, Deloitte Belastingadviseurs B.V., Chairman Tax Controversy Management Group Taxation in 2020, IRS for Big Brother. No doubt the future of taxation will be in so called enhanced relations between taxpayer and the Tax Authorities and the use of electronic data gathering and internet. For individual taxpayers this will be seen through a personal internet page (PIP), for companies through Horizontal Monitoring. Mainstream will be: those who are compliant will be left alone, much relies on the self assessment of taxpayers; on the other side, those who choose not te be compliant or are supposed to be non compliant, will be chased by a tough acting IRS, according to the stick and carrot theory. Iskander Smit, strategy director, Info.nl and head of info.nl/labs The Internet of Things as enabler of a new organization of responsibility More and more things are connected to the Internet. And we grow into an access based economy where we expect products and services that are available on a right-now basis. In the future we can expect this new reality to develop in another way of paying taxes for the use of goods. It will change the model of participation as we ‘vote’ with our consumption. Iskander Smit explores this possible future and makes it tangible with a possible customer journey. Annegien Blokpoel, CEO, PerspeXo & Carla Hoekendijk, Artist, Consultant, New Media and Game Theorist Taxes, making the world a better or worse place? Taxes are of all times and of all societies. Therefore no society can be without, at the same time the architecture is manmade, based on paradigms. Are taxes fair? What are the systems we use to create wealth and (re)distribute wealth and welfare? Are the human basic principles of fairness of all times or changing? In this session we will co-create together a system which balances individual and communal interest today and tomorrow. 19:00 – 19:40 Introduction by our Moderator Annegien Blokpoel, CEO, PerspeXo Part I: Frank Herreveld, Partner Tax Controversy and Litigation, Deloitte Belastingadviseurs B.V., Chairman Tax Controversy Management Group Taxation in 2020, IRS for Big Brother. Iskander Smit, strategy director, Info.nl and head of info.nl/labs The Internet of Things as enabler of a new organization of responsibility 19:40 – 20:05 Coffee break with drinks and snacks. 20:05 – max. 21:15 Part II: Annegien Blokpoel, CEO, PerspeXo & Carla Hoekendijk, Artist, Consultant, New Media and Game Theorist Taxes, making the world a better or worse place? Frank Herreveld Partner Tax Controversy and Litigation, Deloitte Belastingadviseurs B.V. Chairman Tax Controversy Management Group Frank rides a Harley-Davidson, a brand that stands for power and non-conformism. That is what he also propagates as a tax consultant. Frank works in the national tax practice in Rotterdam. His clients include both larger family enterprises as well as large national and international companies. In addition, Frank is a specialist in formal law. Encouraged by his earlier work in the scientific department of the Hoge Raad and a large law firm, Frank is heading the litigation practice of Deloitte. In addition, he is engaged in issuing opinions on complex tax matters. Frank is responsible for the training process of the NOB. He also litigates regularly. Frank also gives guest lectures e.g. at the University of Leiden. Frank is editor of the Weekblad fiscaal recht and publishes mainly on formal law and legal topics. He is active in the field of horizontal monitoring, where he has published several articles critical. www.deloitte.com Iskander Smit strategy director, Info.nl and head of info.nl/labs Iskander Smit works as strategy director Info.nl, one of the oldest internet agencies in the Netherlands. Based in the heart of Amsterdam Info.nl is specialized in the creation and realization of online services. Iskander is responsible for strategy within Info.nl and advices clients how to transform their products and services into engaging online ecosystems. Inspired on our models Virtual Warmth, Exploding Website and Realtime Company. Iskander is educated as Industrial Design Engineer and works since 1994 in digital media as interaction designer, concept developer and strategist. Driven by the added value of interactivity and the social power of connected media. He has a strong passion in how human behavior works and is related to the use of products and services and the interactions with others. www.info.nl Annegien Blokpoel CEO, PerspeXo Annegien Blokpoel is founder and director of the independent strategy firm PerspeXo. She has worked in the fields of strategy, investor relations, communications, and structured finance at two AEX-listed companies, CF PwC and Merchant bank MeesPierson. Over more than 15 years she has assisted over 35 boards and directors in formulating and realising value strategies. She holds degrees in economics and archaeology, and an MBA, having studied in Amsterdam and Jerusalem. She regularly acts as moderator and speaker at conferences and business schools. www.perspexo.com Carla Hoekendijk Artist, Consultant, New Media and Game Theorist Carla Hoekendijk works as an independent advisor and (concept/product) developer for (game/media) projects in cooperation with, and for, a wide range of both cultural and educational institutes and businesses. She has developed the new Game Development Course of the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, and recently got involved in developing the curriculum of the master for the University of Amsterdam. With her background in art and philosophy Carla is well-known for her successful projects within the creative industry, and known for her daring approach to content. She is a member of several committees and juries. Homme Heida Homme Heida is a former journalist, entrepreneur and communication professionnel. He studied architecture, but wanted to design complete cities. One step further was the profession of a journalist enabling him to stick his nose into every possible corner of society. By heart an intellectual, but also a sportsman, Homme is trying to live body and soul as much as he can. He is an optimist, who believes that humans cause problems in order to find solutions. The type of the most recent problems need a global network to find those solutions. Club of Amsterdam is a platform for people who are active in this field. So he finds it the right place to be.
the future of Germany, April 2012
Club of Amsterdam pdf version Supporter The Chamber of Commerce for Amsterdam Germany has been Holland’s neighbour longer then we can imagine. As a small country balancing on the edge of a continent we are poised between a landmass and the sea. That has always been our position and we have been able to make the best of it by becoming a trading nation. Traders cannot afford enemies and so we also balanced our relations with the surrounding nations. Germany is out biggest neighbour and one of our most important trading partners. When it pours in Germany it rains in the Netherlands. The ties between the two countries have always been very close. German 19th century authors went on holiday in Zandvoort and rich Dutch went to Berlin. German was taught at most schools and German philosophers were all the rage. Obviously the Second World War has made a breach in the relation between the two nations. Yet we are still connected on many levels: economically, culturally and linguistically. After 1945 the Dutch have set their course west and looked to the other side of the ocean for guidance and inspiration. Maybe it is time that we looked east and take some examples from the German rule book to learn from their amazing success. Concept: Peter van Gorsel, Educational Business Developer, University of Amsterdam / UvA/HvA Hanco Jürgens, Researcher, Teacher, Institute for German Studies at the University of Amsterdam The German model: From sick patient to the leading political economy of Europe Around the turn of the twenty-first century, Germany was considered the sick patient of Europe: Wages were too high, the labour market was not flexible enough, and the welfare state was a leaden burden. Today, Germany is the leading political economy of Europe. One of the explanations for this revival is the way Germany conceives its own future. The many debates about the future challenges of the federal republic has led to a sober and sensible policy, with an eye for checks and balances, and for the threats of a shrinking labour force in a globalizing world. We should learn from the way Germany discusses its future problems. Frans Vogelaar, Professor, Academy of Media Arts Cologne, Founder, Hybrid Space Lab, Berlin InertInnovation Germany viewed from the west, has for long been considered as dull, inert and tardy. This inertness is not only a handicap – but also proving a strong point. With its conservative policy Germany has – against all advises – kept up industrial production. With a tradition in long term investment in excellence it faces today new challenges such as innovation in green technologies. And Berlin is becoming the cultural hotspot. Huib Wursten, Senior Partner, ITIM International How to manage the Germans 19:00 – 20:00 Introduction by our Moderator Peter van Gorsel, Educational Business Developer, University of Amsterdam / UvA/HvA Welcome by Age Fluitman, Chairman at Chamber of Commerce Amsterdam Part I: Hanco Jürgens, Researcher, Teacher, Institute for German Studies at the University of Amsterdam The German model: From sick patient to the leading political economy of Europe Frans Vogelaar, Professor, Academy of Media Arts Cologne, Founder, Hybrid Space Lab, Berlin InertInnovation Huib Wursten, Senior Partner, ITIM International How to manage the Germans 20:00 – 20:30 Coffee break with drinks and snacks. 20:30 – 21:15 Part II: Open discussion Hanco Jürgens Researcher, Teacher, Institute for German Studies at the University of Amsterdam Hanco Jürgens is a researcher, teacher and member of staff at the Institute for German Studies at the University of Amsterdam. He specializes in the history of the Twentieth and the Eighteenth Century. With a grant of the Montesquieu Institute he researches the influence of the European integration on the social, economic, constitutional and political relations in Germany and the Netherlands. He lectures on Germany and Europe and has published on a wide variety of subjects. His publications include studies of the concepts of the Enlightenment, the history of the Dutch border, and the life and politics of Angela Merkel. www.duitslandinstituut.nl www.duitslandweb.nl Frans Vogelaar Professor, Academy of Media Arts Cologne, Founder, Hybrid Space Lab, Berlin Hybrid Design esplores new areas in Design that emerge from the combination and fusion from environments, objects and services, within their network of production, distribution, usage and recycling, in context of the era of communication. Prof. Frans Vogelaar founded in 1998 at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne in Germany the first Department of Hybrid Space worldwide. Prof. Frans Vogelaar is also founder of Hybrid Space Lab, a r&d and design practice focusing on the hybrid fields that are emerging through the combination and fusion of environments, objects and services in the information-communication age. The scope of his research, development and design projects ranges from those on urban games and urban planning to buildings, architectural interiors and industrial design applications and wearables. www.khm.de www.hybridspacelab.net Huib Wursten Senior Partner, ITIM International Huib is experienced in translating international and global strategies and policies into practical consequences for management. He has been working in this field since 1989 with a variety of Fortune 1000 companies, with public and private organisations in 85 countries on all continents. His main clients in the business sector are IBM, 3M, Vodafone, McCain, Quest, Texaco, ABN AMRO, Nike, and Unilever. Non-profit clients include the IMF, the European Central Bank, the World Bank, the UN Development Programme, the Council of Europe, and the Dutch peacekeeping forces. www.itim.org Peter C. van Gorsel Educational Business Developer, University of Amsterdam / UvA/HvA Peter van Gorsel spent many years in publishing before becoming Director of the Institute for Media and Information Management at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam. Since October 2010 he started his new assignment as Educational Business Developer, University of Amsterdam / UvA/HvA. www.uva.nl Impressions
the future of Languages, March 2012
Club of Amsterdam pdf version – more than just words Supporters In collaboration with the British Council OBA – Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam As a part of the Language Rich Europe project the current state of play as for multilingualism policy and practice has been researched in 20 European countries. Its results will be published in a publication as well as on an interactive website in May 2012. The project advocates “multilingualism for stable and prosperous societies”. We learn all our life how to communicate with each other. In the contemporary world with various borders becoming more and more blurred, it is even more tempting to use one common language. The most widely spoken constructed intralanguage, Esperanto, comes to mind. What would the consequences be if we all spoke one language? History shows that languages that we use are not only about words. Federico Fellini, an Italian filmmaker, once said, “A different language is a different vision of life”. But is there really a relationship between the language and the thought? If we do decide to learn another language, what is the easiest way to get a good grasp of it? The newest technology offers stunning solutions for language learning. CAVE (Cave Automatic Virtual Environment) is an immersive virtual reality environment where projectors are directed to three, four, five or six sides of a room-sized cube. It is used in experiments for language learning as it offers the unique opportunity to immerse into a different world and language. (The name is also the reference to the allegory of the Cave in Plato’s Republic, where a philosopher contemplates perception, reality and illusion). On the other hand, the newest solutions for machine and real-time translation seem to undermine the effort required to speak other languages. Where will it lead us? Concept: Aleksandra Parcinska Mirjam Broersma, PhD, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics Why linguistic diversity will never disappear Speaking and understanding speech are much more difficult in a second language than in one’s native language. Some of the associated problems are not obvious to understand. Why do some foreign languages seem so much faster than our native language? Why do Dutch speakers never manage to pronounce the English ‘th’ correctly? This talk will explain such difficulties by addressing the cognitive processes underlying speech. And it will answer the question why, despite such difficulties, linguistic diversity will never disappear. Simon King, Professor of Speech Processing & Director of the Centre for Speech Technology Research, University of Edinburgh, UK Making computers speak like individual people. Simon will demonstrate what is currently possible in speech synthesis – the conversion from text to speech by computers. Recent developments now make it possible for computers to sound like individual people, opening up new applications such as personalised speech translation and assistive communication aids for people who have difficulty speaking. But there remain barriers to making this technology available in all the world’s languages, especially those with small numbers of speakers, or spoken in less affluent parts of the world. Tsead Bruinja, Poet Failing in Between – Writing Poetry in two languages Tsead s a poet/performer who writes both in Frisian (the language spoken in the provence Fryslân) and in Dutch. Bruinja has read his work at festival all over the world, from Zimbabwe and Nicaragua to Indonesia. His work has been translated in many languages and he himself has translated the work of poets from other into Dutch and Frisian. In his talk he will read some of his translations and original poetry and talk about his experiences as a poet writing in two languages. Bruinja had to relearn to write Frisian when he was 25 and he did this mainly by reading Frisian books and studying Frisian at the University of Groningen, where he first studied English language and American literature. Frisian is a language spoken by half of the population of Fryslân, but about 4% can actually write Frisian and maybe 20% can read it. ‘Why would you want to write for such a small audience?’ is a question he is often asked by his Dutch colleagues and Bruinja answers ‘because it is the language that my mother spoke.’ 19:00 – 20:00 Introduction by our Moderator Aleksandra Parcinska Part I: Mirjam Broersma, PhD, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics Why linguistic diversity will never disappear Simon King, Professor of Speech Processing & Director of the Centre for Speech Technology Research, University of Edinburgh, UK Making computers speak like individual people. Tsead Bruinja, Poet Failing in Between – Writing Poetry in two languages 20:00 – 20:30 Coffee break with drinks and snacks. And live music with Asia Kowalewska, a Polish singer and songwriter 20:30 – 21:15 Part II: Open discussion Mirjam Broersma PhD, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics Mirjam Broersma, PhD, is a researcher in language psychology: she studies the way the mind deals with language. She has a particular interest in bilingual speakers and listeners. Dr. Broersma received a doctoral degree in Social Sciences from the Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands, in 2005. She was affiliated with the Radboud University Nijmegen, the University of Sussex, UK, and currently works as Senior Investigator at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen. She has received several grants and awards from, e.g., the European Commission, the British Academy, the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, the Max Planck Society, Germany, and the Acoustical Society of America. www.mirjambroersma.nl Simon King Professor of Speech Processing & Director of the Centre for Speech Technology Research, University of Edinburgh, UK Simon King is Professor of Speech Processing in the School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh and Director of the Centre for Speech Technology Research. Simon is working in a number of areas such as automatic speech recognition, speech synthesis and multilingual systems as a way to look at the basic units of speech. Can we build systems that use common models for multiple languages? – it is one of the questions Simon is looking to answer. His current projects include computer-generated speech that adapts to the listening environment, spoken communication aids for people who have difficulty speaking, and text-to-speech technology that can be used in any language. homepages.inf.ed.ac.uk/simonk LISTA listening-talker.org Simple4All simple4all.org EMIME www.emime.org NST www.natural-speech-technology.org Tsead Bruinja Poet Tsead Bruinja is a Dutch poet who writes both in Frisian and Dutch. He was born in Rinsumageest (17-7-1974) and educated in Groningen, where he studied English language and literature at the University. His Frisian debut De wizers yn it read [The meters in the red] was published in 2000. In 2008, he published his fifth collection of Frisian poetry, Angel / Sting. His Dutch poetry collections are Dat het zo horde [The way it should be] (2003), Batterij [Battery] (2004), and Bang voor de bal [Afraid of the ball] (2007). Dat het zo hoorde was nominated for the Jo Peters Poetry Prize. Translations of his work have been published in several international magazines, such as Atlas (India/UK), Action Poétique (France), Mantis (USA) and Mentor (Slovenia). Tsead performs his work widely and lives in Amsterdam. In 2008 he was nominated to become the next Poet Laureate of the Netherlands. www.tseadbruinja.nl Aleksandra Parcinska Passionate about people and different cultures Aleks enjoys an international life style. Originally from Poland, she lived in France, Austria, and England before moving to the Netherlands and the multilingual city of Amsterdam. After a few years of working as a management consultant, Aleks moved into the cultural sector. Aleks worked with the Dutch Polish Foundation in Amsterdam and recently completed a job as a project manager for the research project on multilingualism in Europe, “Language Rich Europe” in the British Council Netherlands. She speaks several languages and her last contribution to the Language Rich Europe blog in eight languages can be viewed here. http://languagerichblog.eu/2012/01/05/1060 Asia Kowalewska Asia Kowalewska is a Polish singer and songwriter. She started playing piano as a child and singing followed naturally. She wanted to see more of the world and went to study to Amsterdam where she finished the jazz department at the Conservatory. Asia played in the jazz quintet SuperString, the bossa duo A&J, the electronic band Bonicha and now with DarAsia and as a soloist. She sings in many languages and had concerts all over Europe. She is inspired by worldmusic, especially Brazilian bossa and samba, Argentinean tango and Portuguese fado. “If you sing with intention it doesn’t matter in which language you sing, emotions will always come through”. Impressions by Anna Devi Markus
the future of Film, January 2012
Club of Amsterdam pdf version In collaboration with the Freelance Factory Supporters Freelance Factory India House Amsterdam Most Hollywood mind confections are cotton candy that reverts back into sugar and coloring as it enters your mouth. What’s missing is any substance that you take away after the movie. There’s no nutrition there. When the movie is over, you’re left with nothing. We need to take back the powerful media of film – the media should be teaching us valuable lessons about how to survive, keep the earth clean and healthy. There are so many important discussions, new philosophies, concepts, ways to living, so many valuable ways the media could function, instead of focusing only on killing, wealth and excess. Who will teach us how to survive the coming ecological and economic storms? The one idea that Hollywood movies strive to suppress more than any other is the idea of an egalitarian society. We are constantly reminded of how bad we are, how criminal, how bloody, how deadly. In a psychological test, 70% of us seem to readjust our brains to believe what a peer group says happened, rather than what we actually witnessed ourselves in real life. Movies and media dictate people’s consciousness by glorifying the lives of the rich and criminal, simplifying our stratified social order and making the unspeakable norm. Do we accept the rule of the 1% over the 99%? Thoughts by Dimitri Devyatkin – an American filmmaker, writer that specializes in social documentaries, historical feature films. Eline Flipse, Independent Motion Pictures and Film Professional ‘What is actually a documentary?’ It sounds simple, but there are some misunderstandings about the meaning of the concept. Once that is resolved, I will consider its future. One of the issues: is a documentary a journalistic quest or is it art? Or both? Eventually it’s a personal view on my own work and my wish for the future Wendy L. Bernfeld, Founder, Managing Director, Rights Stuff Wendy Bernfeld will present a short talk on the evolving future of film, from the business and creative perspective. She will outline various new approaches and opportunities regarding producing / distributing / funding films, embracing cross- platform / transmedia via international VOD platforms, brands, tech companies and other new partners, and also via innovative (non traditional) ”windows”. The importance of engaging with audiences long before the film is released eg via online sourcing and social networks, is also discussed. Paul Breuls, CEO, Corsan NV, Producer & Director Dialogue about European Dreams Jonathan Marks talks with Paul Breuls about Corsan – a fully integrated international operating film development, financing, production and sales company headquartered in Antwerp – its international positioning and the challenges involved / the rich culture of Film Festivals / European versus American values in movies / working with Robert de Niro and John Travolta / and about the European Dreams … 19:00 – 20:00 Introduction by our Moderator Jonathan Marks, Director, Critical Distance Part I: Eline Flipse, Independent Motion Pictures and Film Professional Wendy L. Bernfeld, Founder, Managing Director, Rights Stuff Paul Breuls, CEO, Corsan NV, Producer & Director Dialogue about European Dreams 20:00 – 20:30 Coffee break with drinks and snacks. 20:30 – 21:15 Part II: Open discussion Eline Flipse Independent Motion Pictures and Film Professional Following language studies at the Sorbonne in Paris, Eline Flipse attended the Amsterdam Film Academy from 1974 to 1977. She has since worked as a freelance documentary filmmaker. Eline: “My work is quite diverse. I’m interested in ‘small’ personal stories where ‘big’ history is always somewhere in the background. Most of my films contain a common thread: how to maintain your dignity in a complex world in which it is sometimes very hard to survive. My work consists of 25 long documentaries and about 30 short films. It includes portraits of artists, some films about music/musicians and films with a more social issues.” Her film BROKEN SILENCE, which tells the tales of five young Chinese composers, received an award at Nyon’s Visions du Réel in 1996. Her medium-length film NASHA GAZETA, about a one-man Russian newspaper, brought Flipse the Jury Award at the 2010 Hot Docs Film Festival in Toronto. www.eliflifilm.com Wendy L. Bernfeld Founder, Managing Director, Rights Stuff Wendy Bernfeld, founder, Rights Stuff BV, is a passionate film buff specialized in hard core content acquisition and distribution, licensing negotiations, and related international strategy and deal advice, for traditional media (film, TV, Pay TV/pay per view, formats) and digital new media (Internet, IPTV, VOD, mobile/handhelds, etc.). Wendy founded her consulting company “Rights Stuff” in 1999, with offices in Amsterdam and Dublin. For more than a decade, they have specialized in content licensing, focussing primarily on the new media/digital sector. Originally from Montreal, Canada, Wendy has more than 15 year’s experience as an in-house movie buyer/senior exec in traditional Pay TV, Video On Demand, and distribution (including being CEO of Canal+International Acquisitions, MD of Alliance-Atlantis Europe, SVP Acquisitions for The Movie Network (Canada). She has also been an entertainment lawyer and a Law Clerk to the Supreme Court. Rights Stuff also assists with new digital channel start-ups and channel carriage licensing. Wendy points out that they are not aggregators, but rather a bespoke content licensing ‘nitty gritty’ team, working for both the new platforms and the producers / distributors who want to sell to them. They help producers / distributors with their current and catalogue licensing, but also get involved with original ‘made for web/mobile‘, cross platform and/or ‘transmedia‘ programming, so as to maximize revenues across multiple windows and platforms. The clients have included – Sony Digital, France Telecom/Orange, Canal+, Indiemoviesonline.com, Endemol, IDFA, ABC-Cinemien, Disney Europe, UPC/Chello, Forthnet/Nova, Movielink.com, Joost.com, Viasat, Submarine, Independent Film Channel (IFC) and Pathé. In December 2010, Wendy was named as one of the “Brave Thinkers of Indie Film, 2010” by Oscar-winning independent producer Ted Hope. www.rights-stuff.com Paul Breuls CEO, Corsan NV, Producer & Director Paul Breuls is a film director, producer and Chief Executive Officer of Corsan, a fully integrated international operating film development, financing, production and sales company. Corsan has cast the top American actors Robert De Niro and John Travolta in its new production “Killing Season”. … In 1989, Breuls founded the film production and financing company, Corsan NV, with the head office based in Antwerp, Belgium. In 2003, he created the ‘Corsan Tax Fund’, which currently funds all of Corsan’s film productions. Five years later, he added a sales department, ‘Corsan World Sales’, which sells and distributes all their product. «The Hessen Affair» (2008) was Paul Breuls’ directorial debut and «Meant To Be followed» in 2009. His producers track record includes recently finished Lee Tamahori film THE DEVIL’S DOUBLE, which received a selection for the Sundance and Berlin 2011 International Film Festival, SUITE 16 by Dominic Deruddere, SHADES by Erik Van Looy, and numerous of others. Breuls received a Master’s Degree in Law at the University of Brussels (VUB), as well as an MBA at the Vlerick-Leuvel-Gent Management School. After a brief academic career, he established himself as a lawyer specializing in finance before moving into the film industry. www.corsanfilms.com Jonathan Marks Director, Critical Distance Jonathan Marks founded Critical Distance in 2003, following a career in both production and management in traditional broadcasting. Critical Distance has now turned into an international knowledge network and specializes in building cross-media strategies and video story-telling. The goal is the same – to use existing and emerging media platforms to build meaningful conversations in society. Many companies are making more use of video to communicate their ideas and goals. But few companies are able to do this in an engaging way. Critical Distance has developed methods to get this right, both fast and economically. The company is currently active with projects in UK, Kenya, Netherlands, Norway, Finland, USA, Eastern Europe and South-East Asia. Jonathan will be hosting the evening discussion on the Future of Film. He says it promises to be an interesting evening. “There are huge changes going on in film. For a start, no-one is making film cameras any more, Kodak is on the verge of declaring Chapter 11 bankruptcy and funding for films (especially in Europe) has suffered severely from the recession. However, high quality digital cameras have never been cheaper or higher in resolution, directors and actors are publishing and collaborating through social media platforms (like YouTube and Vimeo) and some of the Crowdfunding experiments for film are delivering on their promises. There is clearly a new breed of documentary makers who understand what involves their audience and how to draw them in. So how are those using video navigating the new possibilities? I hope you’ll join us to find out” www.criticaldistance.org Impressions
the future of the Future, November 2011
Club of Amsterdam pdf version Utopia versus The End Of The World As We Know It In collaboration with Gendo Supporter Gendo Presentations Arjen Kamphuis, Co-founder, CTO, Gendo The Cassandra Syndrome, nobody likes a party pooper. Anders Sandberg, James Martin Research Fellow, Future of Humanity Institute, Oxford University Cognitive biases and what to do about them. The art of usable foresight. “The trouble with our times is that the future is not what it used to be.” Paul Valery, French poet The Future of the Future is an examination of the various future vision as portrayed by futurists, academics and scenario thinkers. Many futurists who try to earn a living telling stories about the future quickly learn that a happy end sells much better than a tale of troubles. Because of this the scenario’s futurists tend to publicly talk about tend to be wondrous tales of the Startrek/Jetsons world were our problems have been solved by technology and sensible policies based on rational thinking. Telling these tales, and support them with a lot of research data is a genuinely good way to help non specialists think beyond the usual limitation of their profession. But there is a danger in the fact that many futurists need to ‘sell’ their stories may very well be influencing their objectivity. Just as is it easy to tell a very positive story about the future it is easy to spin a vision were thing end very badly for humanity. Threats from global warming to peakoil to overpopulation to future wars involving biological, nuclear or perhaps even nano-weapons could be quite real. Our more advanced knowledge about the world makes the original seven biblical plagues seem almost provincial. Cassadra was cursed by the Greek gods with the combination of accurate foresight and the fact that no-one would ever believe here visions of the future. Today is no different. Most people don’t like to hear bad news about their own future let alone pay for hearing it. Acting today to prevent ‘possible’ big problems tomorrow as a society is even harder. This leads to $20 million movie budgets for a movie about meteor-impact while the global annual budget for preventing actual meteor impacts is only $1 million per year. Can we find better methods for forecasting? And will we want to listen to those forecasts and act on them? This are serious challenges and we need more brains involved in solving it. May we count on you brain? Concept: Arjen Kamphuis 19:00 – 20:00 Introduction by our Moderator Kwela Sabine Hermanns Part I: Andrea Wiegman, Founder & owner, Second Sight The work futurists do, humanities great potential. Arjen Kamphuis, Co-founder, CTO, Gendo The Cassandra Syndrome, nobody likes a party pooper. Anders Sandberg, James Martin Research Fellow, Future of Humanity Institute, Oxford University Cognitive biases and what to do about them. The art of usable foresight. 20:00 – 20:30 Coffee break with drinks and snacks. 20:30 – 21:15 Part II: Open discussion Impressions
the future of the Living Room, October 2011
Club of Amsterdam pdf version Experience interior design In collaboration with Museum Geelvinck Supporters Museum Geelvinck India House Amsterdam Our living room may be one of our most important surroundings. It is where we relax and feel at home. Yet many of us let chance, coincidence and gifts from others decide how it looks. Others follow strict rules or theories. How important is your living room? How do you shape it? How is this going to change in the near future? Kees Spanjers, Former President, European Council of Interior Architects ‘Venustas, Solacia, Durabilitas’, a house is not a home Some 2000 years ago Roman architect Vitruvius captured the core values of architecture in three words; ‘Utilitas, Venustas, Firmitas’ (Utility, Beauty, Stability). While still relevant, the playing field for architecture appears to be changing today. With a shrinking and aging population the western world asks for a different approach to dwelling. This is the age of comfort; we want our environment to be safe, healthy and sustainable. Interiors are the new architecture, be it in the domain of our homes and offices or in public spaces like shopping malls, transportation hubs, schools or hospitals. Is it time to reassess Vitruvius’ legacy? Desiree Kerklaan, BDes spatial designer Furniture based on biomimicry ideas I’ll show a few products designed according to the honeycomb principle. I believe biomimicry will almost every time result in the most sustainable solution for production, transport and recycling… Is that true? E.g. Sandcomb wall pieces want to be a refugee building material based on the honeycomb principle. The building blocks use local material to function and can be reused in other places. In the long run the Sandcomb blocks can be fully locally produced. Rogier van der Heide, Vice President and Chief Design Officer, Philips Lighting Feel what Light can Do Staying In is the new Going Out. Increasingly, we have a desire to perform many different activities at home: relax, play, work, meet with friends, get inspired and reflect. Our environment could be adaptable to those activities without changing physically. Join Rogier van der Heide, who introduces light and colour as the stylists of our home. An inspiring talk about the beauty of light, and the power of it as it shapes our environment and touches our mood. 19:00 – 20:00 Introduction by our Moderator Job Romijn, bedenker, brainstormer, problem solver, artist. Part I: Kees Spanjers, Former President, European Council of Interior Architects ‘Venustas, Solacia, Durabilitas’, a house is not a home Desiree Kerklaan, BDes spatial designer Furniture based on biomimicry ideas Rogier van der Heide, Vice President and Chief Design Officer, Philips Lighting Feel what Light can Do 20:00 – 20:30 Coffee break with drinks and snacks. 20:30 – 21:15 Part II: Open discussion Kees Spanjers Former President, European Council of Interior Architects Kees Spanjers is a registered interior architect and architect and lives and works in Amsterdam and New York. He is the director of Zaanen Spanjers Architects in Amsterdam, specializing in cultural buildings and public interiors. He is the recipient of numerous awards in particular the Architectural Record Interiors Award, European Parking Award. Kees was the President of the European Council of Interior Architects from 2004-2008. He also served as co-opted board member of the International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers IFI from 2004-2009. During many years Kees has contributed to the design community with service on several boards, such as the Dutch Historic Interiors Society SHNI, Dutch Interiors Platform and the Dutch Board of Arbitrage for Architects. He is a past President and honorable member of BNI, the National Organization of Interior Architects in the Netherlands, and a honorable member of the Society of British Interior Designers and the Consejo General De Los Colegios Oficiales De Decoradores Diseñadores De Interior in Spain. Kees has written many professional articles in numerous publications, and has been active on many international panels and jury’s. He currently divides his time between his practices in Amsterdam and New York, and as the curator of the inamsterdam World Interiors Event 2013. Desiree Kerklaan BDes spatial designer research architect, SteenhuisMeurs board member and guest curator, Blaak10 Desiree Kerklaan is a creative thinker and spatial designer. She has her own studio DKSD, designing spatial objects and art exhibition concepts in the field of interior architecture and graphic design. She also works for SteenhuisMeurs as a reseach architect in Schiedam and is board member of gallery and store Blaak 10 at the WittedeWithstraat in Rotterdam. She is visiting lecturer in ‘Concept thinking’ and ‘Presentation is everything’ for students. She studied BDes interior architecture at Willem de Kooning Academy and at the China Academy of Art. She was involved in collobarated projects on that subject with the Tongji University in Shanghai. During her studies she won the Satelliet Design Challenge and her graduation assignment was nominated for the Drempelprijs for design. It’s on the outcomes of that last assignment she will share an innovative approach towards sustainable furniture at the night of “the future of the Living Room”. www.wraf.nl Rogier van der Heide Vice President and Chief Design Officer, Philips Lighting Rogier van der Heide is VP of Philips Design and Chief Design Officer of Philips Lighting. Rogier focuses on innovation-led design as an enabler of bridging technology and the creation of meaningful, life-enhancing solutions. He has 20 years of experience in engaging, inspiring, three-dimensional design that fuses light, image projection, architecture and product design to create a memorable, authentic experience. Until 2009, Rogier van der Heide was Director with Arup and the Global Leader of Arup Lighting. In that role, Rogier has been responsible for innovative, creative and well-executed projects all over the world. Being a recipient of the prestigious IALD Radiance Award, the Lighting Designer of the Year Award, an Edison Award of Excellence, two Edison Awards of Merit, three International Illumination Design Awards, a Royal Institute of British Architecture Award (together with Zaha Hadid) as well as a British Lighting Design Award, Rogier’s work is widely recognised as leading in the field of creative and independent lighting design. Many architects work together with Rogier, who has worked in collaboration with Renzo Piano, Ben van Berkel, Zaha Hadid, Michael Graves, Cesar Pelli, Rob Krier and many others. Besides his work for Philips, Rogier delivers many lectures, presentations and seminars about design, light, business, and strategic design at many international conferences. Rogier was also Professor at the Technical University of Graz, Austria. www.lighting.philips.nl Job Romijn bedenker, brainstormer, problem solver, artist Job Romijn is an innovative mind with an eye for improvement. Not caring too much about a career or money he leads an interestingly unconventional life. He helps others with ideas and observations. Job Romijn is an unconventional innovator with a steep learning curve. This leads him to interesting observations and results in loads of ideas. He uses his abilities in brainstorming, testing and improving, with a current focus on websites. Job Romijn is Job Romijn. Job Romijn is quite a nice guy, albeit with some issues. Instead of solving his issues, he tries to use them and adapts his life accordingly. His current business is testing the user experience and usability of websites. He is a generalist with a broad education: a masters degree in high voltage engineering, conceptual art and applied creativity. After brain activity he finds relaxation underwater in freediving. www.bedenker.com