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Content Program Tickets Supporters Bios Location Ressources Contact the future of Languages– more than just words Thursday, March 29, 2012Registration: 18:30-19:00, Conference: 19:00-21:15 Tickets Location:  OBA – Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam, Oosterdokseiland 143, 1011 DL Amsterdam (east of Amsterdam Centraal Station), 7th floor, Het Theater van ‘t Woord The conference language is English. In collaboration with the  British Council and OBA – Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam Video Summaryby Anna Devi Markus ######################## Impressionsby Anna Devi Markus 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 PsycholinguisticsWhy linguistic diversity will never disappearSpeaking 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, UKMaking 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, PoetFailing in Between – Writing Poetry in two languagesTsead 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.’ 18:30 – 19:00Registration & welcome drinks 19:00 – 20:00Introduction by our Moderator Aleksandra Parcinska Part I:  Mirjam Broersma, PhD, Max Planck Institute for PsycholinguisticsWhy linguistic diversity will never disappear  Simon King, Professor of Speech Processing & Director of the Centre for Speech Technology Research, University of Edinburgh, UKMaking computers speak like individual people.  Tsead Bruinja, PoetFailing in Between – Writing Poetry in two languages20:00 – 20:30Coffee break with drinks and snacks. And live music with  Asia Kowalewska, a Polish singer and songwriter 20:30 – 21:15Part II:Open discussion Tickets for this Season Event are….Regular Ticket: € 30,-….Discount Ticket: € 20,- [*]….Student Ticket: € 10,-As a non-for-profit foundation we don’t charge VAT. How to pay for the tickets? ….a) Online booking with credit card:  Ticket Corner ….b) By bank: send an email with your details, number of tickets, type of tickets….….and event name to: ticketcorner@clubofamsterdam.com……..Bank: ABN AMRO Bank, Club of Amsterdam, Account 976399393, Amstelveen,……..The Netherlands, IBAN NL52ABNA0976399393, BIC ABNANL2A ….c) By invoice: send an email with your billing details, number of tickets, type of……..tickets.and event name to: ticketcorner@clubofamsterdam.com ….d) At the registration desk the evening of the event – unless we are sold out……..earlier: 18:30-19:00 British CouncilFor more than 75 years, the British Council has shared the UK’s knowledge and ideas with the world. We are a cultural relations organization recognised throughout the world as one of the UK’s real assets. The British Council creates international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries.Our mix of ‘for good and for profit’ draws on a diminishing proportion of public funding to deliver major economic, social and cultural benefit for the UK.www.britishcouncil.orgLanguage Rich Europehttp://languagerichblog.eu OBA – Openbare Bibliotheek AmsterdamThe Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam (Public Library Amsterdam) is a collective name for all public libraries in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The first library opened in 1919 at the Keizersgracht. As of 2007, there are 28 public libraries and 43 lending points, such as in hospitals. In 2005, OBA had 1.7 million books and 165,000 members and lent out 5 million books.The largest of these libraries, the Centrale Bibliotheek, moved on 7 July 2007 to the Oosterdokseiland, just east of Amsterdam Centraal Station. It is the largest public library in Europe.www.oba.nl Mirjam BroersmaPhD, 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 KingProfessor 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/simonkLISTA listening-talker.orgSimple4All simple4all.orgEMIME www.emime.orgNST www.natural-speech-technology.org Tsead BruinjaPoet 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 ParcinskaPassionate 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”. OBA – Openbare Bibliotheek AmsterdamPublic Library AmsterdamOosterdokseiland 1431011 DL Amsterdam(east of Amsterdam Centraal Station)7th floor, Het Theater van ‘t Woordwww.oba.nl Related to this topic see also Club of Amsterdam Journal and for more events Agenda

Content Program Tickets Supporters Bios Location Ressources Contact the future of Social BiomimicryWhat we can learn from nature Thursday, February 23, 2012Registration: 18:30-19:00, Conference: 19:00-21:15 Tickets Location:  Volkskrantgebouw, Wibautstraat 150, 1091 GR Amsterdam [former building of the Volkskrant] The conference language is English. In collaboration with  LvDO Presentations Bowine Wijffels, Cailin Partners Social Biomimicry – for project management, leadership, change in organisationsDouwe Jan Joustra, Managing Partner, One Planet Architecture institute Living City Article Elisabet Sahtouris, PhD Towards a Biomimicry Culture of Cooperation Impresseions          Nature has a long history and it’s been known for some time that designers and architect find good solutions and ideas looking at nature. Nature is an inspiration when it comes to effective use of materials, construction of housing and other design challenges. But there is more to learn from nature. Did you ever ask yourself questions like: How do swarms, flogs or herds work together? How do living organisms cooperate? How does nature grow or respond to changes? What about leadership? In the meeting of February 23, 2012 we would like to address some of the issues of social Biomimicry. We will present some common patterns from nature that are inspirational for social issues like: communication, teamwork, leadership, development of organisations and society. We will give an idea of how to translate these patterns to work situation, architecture of organisations, teamwork and future growth. Social Biomimicry gives a fresh new perspective and we also belief it will contribute to resilient and future-orientated organisations.Concept  LvDO, Programm Learning for Sustainable Development  Bowine Wijffels is working as consultant and process leader in environmental education and learning for sustainable development. Learning from nature of one of her passions.Social Biomimicry – for project management, leadership, change in organisations  Douwe Jan Joustra, Managing Partner, One Planet Architecture instituteLiving City Can nature inspire us for cityplanning and -development? Mostly we see the city as a non-natural habitat for people and some birds and other species like cars and bicycles. When we look upon the city as a living ecosystem, what can we learn from nature. Has the city it’s own metabolism, can it feed itself? How does a living city provide living conditions for all organisms? 18:30 – 19:00Registration & welcome drinks 19:00 – 20:05Part I19:00Introduction by our Moderator Caroline van Leenders, LvDO, Ministry of Economics, Agriculture, and Innovation19:05 Bowine Wijffels, Cailin PartnersSocial Biomimicry – for project management, leadership, change in organisations19:35 Douwe Jan Joustra, Managing Partner, One Planet Architecture instituteLiving City 20:05 – 20:25Coffee break with drinks and snacks. 20:25 – 21:15Part II20:25reflection from keynote listeners (we will ask 3 or 4 people)20:50Open discussion Tickets for this Season Event are….Regular Ticket: € 30,-….Discount Ticket: € 20,- [*]….Student Ticket: € 10,-As a non-for-profit foundation we don’t charge VAT. How to pay for the tickets? ….a) Online booking with credit card:  Ticket Corner ….b) By bank: send an email with your details, number of tickets, type of tickets….….and event name to: ticketcorner@clubofamsterdam.com……..Bank: ABN AMRO Bank, Club of Amsterdam, Account 976399393, Amstelveen,……..The Netherlands, IBAN NL52ABNA0976399393, BIC ABNANL2A ….c) By invoice: send an email with your billing details, number of tickets, type of……..tickets.and event name to: ticketcorner@clubofamsterdam.com ….d) At the registration desk the evening of the event – unless we are sold out……..earlier: 18:30-19:00 LvDO The Dutch Program “Learning for Sustainable Development” enhances learning processes on sustainablility in many issues, and helps students, professionals, organisations and individuals to identify and make sustainable choices. Participants in decision-making processes work together to resolve problems, carefully balancing the interests of people, nature and the environment, and the economy, in perspective of global responsability, future orientation and sharing of values.www.lerenvoorduurzameontwikkeling.nl/content/learning-sustainable-development-2008-2011.nl Bowine Wijffels, Cailin PartnersConsultancy on learning and sustainable development Bowine Wijffels has a background in teaching (Biology and Geography) and has since 10 years a small consultancy company. She has working experience in a variety of organisations (NGO’s like environmental (education) organisations, city councils, provinces, water boards, businesses e.g. For the last 3 years she is involved in a Dutch National Program on environmental education (based at Agency NL). Bowine is fascinated by learning processes and nature and since recently involved in ‘Biomimicry’. For Bowine sustainable development is working on how we would like to relate to nature and to each other and how we operate in these relations. Nature has broad experience in doing this in a (on a system scale) sustainable way.www.cailinpartners.nl Douwe Jan JoustraManaging Partner, One Planet Architecture institute Douwe Jan Joustra is managing partner in the One Planet Architecture institute. This Amsterdam-based institute works on creation of sustainable solutions through technical, proces and systemsinnovations. Douwe Jan Joustra is educated as naturemanager, coach and programmanager. “Always look at the bright side of life and use life as a source of inspiration” is his motto. Together with Thomas Rau (see also www.rau.eu) I work on the ambitions of OPAi. Specializations: sustainable and Cradle to Cradle architecture, area development and specialized, innovative, projects. Program Management is the basic quality.www.opai.eu Caroline van Leenders, LvDOMinistry of Economics, Agriculture, and Innovation Caroline van Leenders has 20 years of experience in the field of sustainable development. She works for LvDO which is part of the Dutch Government. From the agency she advises and supports different programmes on a variety of sustainable topics for the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Environment. She is specialized in transition management and in cooperation between industry, NGOs & knowledge institutes. She has a degree in molecular biology and in science philosophy and a PhD in Environmental Studies. She now has bundled her 20 years of experience in tips for the clever change for sustainable development in Leenders, C. van (2011). 10 Tips for Clever Change. Nieuw Akademia, the Netherlands.www.lerenvoorduurzameontwikkeling.nl/content/learning-sustainable-development-2008-2011.nlwww.slimmesturing.nl VolkskrantgebouwWibautstraat 1501091 GR Amsterdam[former building of the Volkskrant] Public transportwww.9292ov.nl by metroMetrostop Wibautstraat, exit ‘Gijsbrecht van Aemstel’.From Centraal Station take metro 51, 53 or 54.From Amstelstation take metro 51, 53 or 54 direction Centraal Station. by tramTram 3 take Ruyschstraat, exit at tramstop Wibautstraat. Walk Wibautstraat in direction Amstelstation, you find the Volkskrantgebouw on the right side after 5-10 minutes.By CarTake the ring A10. Exit s112. At roundabout Prins Bernhardplein first street to the right is Wibautstraat. After the railway bridge you find the Volkskrantgebouw on your left side. There is parking on the property – contact the reception desk. Related to this topic see also Club of Amsterdam Journal and for more events Agenda

Content Program Tickets Supporters Bios Location Ressources Contact the future of Film Thursday, January 26, 2012Registration: 18:30-19:00, Conference: 19:00-21:15 Tickets Location:  Pakhuis de Zwijger, Expo Zaal, Piet Heinkade 179, first floor, 1019 HC Amsterdam The conference language is English. In collaboration with the  Freelance Factory Impressions 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 & DirectorDialogue 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 … 18:30 – 19:00Registration & welcome drinks 19:00 – 20:00Introduction 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 & DirectorDialogue about European Dreams20:00 – 20:30Coffee break with drinks and snacks. 20:30 – 21:15Part II:Open discussion Tickets for this Season Event are….Regular Ticket: € 30,-….Discount Ticket: € 20,- [*]….Student Ticket: € 10,-As a non-for-profit foundation we don’t charge VAT. How to pay for the tickets? ….a) Online booking with credit card:  Ticket Corner ….b) By bank: send an email with your details, number of tickets, type of tickets….….and event name to: ticketcorner@clubofamsterdam.com……..Bank: ABN AMRO Bank, Club of Amsterdam, Account 976399393, Amstelveen,……..The Netherlands, IBAN NL46 FTSB 0976399393, BIC FTSB NL2R ….c) By invoice: send an email with your billing details, number of tickets, type of……..tickets.and event name to: ticketcorner@clubofamsterdam.com ….d) At the registration desk the evening of the event – unless we are sold out……..earlier: 18:30-19:00 Freelance FactoryThe Freelance Factory is a network organization for freelancers and small companies operating in the creative sector. They run free monthly network events in more than seven cities across the Netherlands. Workshops are organised on a regular basis to assist members professionalize their entrepreneurial and production skills. With more than 350 network members and 1500 professionals registered for the monthly Newsletter, they have grown to be the largest professional freelance network in the Netherlands. Freelance Factory work closely with influential partners in the creative industry, such as Club of Amsterdam, Pakhuis de Zwijger, Creative Cities Amsterdam Area, CHI Nederland, Cultuurfabriek, IPAN, Digikring, Open Circles and many others.www.freelancefactory.nl India House Amsterdam India House Foundation is a cultural non-profit organisation; an initiative from philanthropist Rajkumar Jagbandhan. India House will be an Indian culture centre, situated in the capital of the Netherlands, Amsterdam. The centre will have a museum, library, food court, meeting rooms, and much more. Its goal is to support and maintain the Indian culture nationwide.www.indiahouse.org Eline FlipseIndependent 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. BernfeldFounder, 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 BreulsCEO, Corsan NV, Producer & DirectorPaul 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 MarksDirector, Critical DistanceJonathan 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 Pakhuis de ZwijgerExpo ZaalPiet Heinkade 179, first floor1019 HC Amsterdamwww.dezwijger.nl Public TransportSee:  www.9292ov.nlBy train or metro to Amsterdam Central Station.Walking to the venue from Central Station –> Go to the back entrance (river side), turn right heading East. you’ll find Pakhuis De Zwijger after 1,5 km or a 15 minute walk. By tram to the venue from Central StationFrom the square in front of the station (Stationsplein)– tram 26, marked in the direction of IJburg, stop Kattenburgerstraat– bus 42 direction KNSM eiland, stop J. Schaeferbrug– nightbus 359 direction IJburg, stop J.Schaeferbrug– a taxirank is also available at Central Station From within the city– tram 25 goes from Martin Luther Kingpark, via Ceintuurbaan, Vijzelstraat and Prins Hendrikkade to the Passenger Terminal Amsterdam. From this stop it is a 2 minutes walk.– tram 10 goes from Van Hallstraat to Azartplein via Rietlandpark. At Rietlandpark you can change to tram 26, direction Central Station, stop Kattenburgerstraat. By car from outside AmsterdamComing from the ring road Amsterdam-Noord A10 turn off at junction s114; direction Centrum. Coming out of the Piet Heintunnel turn right into the Piet Heinkade. Pakhuis de Zwijger is about 800 metres further on your right. Please note the details about parking garages below. Pakhuis De Zwijger has no parking facilities of its own. Street parking is not allowed in the vicinity.By car or bicycle from within AmsterdamComing from Tropenmuseum –> Mauritskade turn left at the first bridge (past the windmill) then turn right across the bridge into the Czaar Peterstraat – underneath the railway; take a left onto the Piet Heinkade; you’ll find Pakhuis De Zwijger 1 km further on your right.From Waterlooplein -> Mr. Visserplein – Valkenburgstraat – turn right onto the Prins Hendrikkade – then take a left past the Scheepvaartmuseum – Kattenburgerstraat – underneath the railway. You’ll find Pakhuis De Zwijger straight across the road.ParkingThere are several paid parking possibilities near De Zwijger. But street parking is not possible anywhere near Pakhuis de Zwijger. P I -> Parking Passenger Terminal Amsterdam, (address: Piet Heinkade 59 1019GM Amsterdam), is the largest parking park, containing app. 450 parking spaces. From this car park it is 500 metres on foot to Pakhuis de Zwijger (or one stop with tram 26, direction IJburg). Prices: € 4,- an hour | € 48,- a day. P II -> Car Park De Loodsen is situated to the right of De Zwijger and contains app. 70 parking spaces. Note: You can only pay with Dutch Chipknip. Price – : € 3,- an hour P III -> Car park Nieuw Amerika (Withoedenveem 10, 1019 HE, Amsterdam) is situated approximately 300 metres to the right of De Zwijger and contains app. 80 parking spaces. Price – € 3,- an hour P+R Zeeburg, is situated near the A-10 side of the Piet Heintunnel. After parking you take tram 26 (direction Central Station), getting out at Kattenburgerstraat (about a 17 minute ride). (from ring road A10 Noord – take junction s114 – follow signs to P+R Zeeburg). Price: € 8 a day including tram tickets into the city. Note this ticket is not valid on night buses. Related to this topic see also Club of Amsterdam Journal and for more events Agenda

Content Program Tickets Supporters Bios Location Ressources Contact the future of the Future Utopia versus The End Of The World As We Know ItThursday, November 3, 2011Registration: 18:30-19:00, Conference: 19:00-21:15 Tickets Location:  Volkskrantgebouw, Wibautstraat 150, 1091 GR Amsterdam [former building of the Volkskrant] The conference language is English. In collaboration with 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. Impressions           “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 visionas 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 cenario’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 theoriginal 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  Andrea Wiegman, Founder & owner, Second SightThe work futurists do, humanities great potential.  Arjen Kamphuis, Co-founder, CTO, GendoThe Cassandra Syndrome, nobody likes a party pooper.  Anders Sandberg, James Martin Research Fellow, Future of Humanity Institute, Oxford UniversityCognitive biases and what to do about them. The art of usable foresight. Tickets for this Season Event are….Regular Ticket: € 30,-….Discount Ticket: € 20,- [*]….Student Ticket: € 10,-As a non-for-profit foundation we don’t charge VAT. How to pay for the tickets? ….a) Online booking with credit card:  Ticket Corner ….b) By bank: send an email with your details, number of tickets, type of tickets….….and event name to: ticketcorner@clubofamsterdam.com……..Bank: ABN AMRO Bank, Club of Amsterdam, Account 976399393, Amstelveen,……..The Netherlands, IBAN NL46 FTSB 0976399393, BIC FTSB NL2R ….c) By invoice: send an email with your billing details, number of tickets, type of……..tickets.and event name to: ticketcorner@clubofamsterdam.com ….d) At the registration desk the evening of the event – unless we are sold out……..earlier: 18:30-19:00 Tickets for this Season Event are….Regular Ticket: € 30,-….Discount Ticket: € 20,- [*]….Student Ticket: € 10,-As a non-for-profit foundation we don’t charge VAT. How to pay for the tickets? ….a) Online booking with credit card:  Ticket Corner ….b) By bank: send an email with your details, number of tickets, type of tickets….….and event name to: ticketcorner@clubofamsterdam.com……..Bank: ABN AMRO Bank, Club of Amsterdam, Account 976399393, Amstelveen,……..The Netherlands, IBAN NL46 FTSB 0976399393, BIC FTSB NL2R ….c) By invoice: send an email with your billing details, number of tickets, type of……..tickets.and event name to: ticketcorner@clubofamsterdam.com ….d) At the registration desk the evening of the event – unless we are sold out……..earlier: 18:30-19:00 Gendo Gendo is a management consultancy firm specialising in technological innovation. At Gendo we find that people and organisations work better when their knowledge is shared. We therefore advise our clients on new ways of working together and the impact of technology on organisations. We do this using a variety of methods, including scenario planning, open innovation, and developing appropriate IT strategies.http://gendo.nl Andrea WiegmanFounder & owner, Second SightFor more than 14 years, Andrea Wiegman has been collecting and connecting trends as an editor/publisher and forecaster. She founded trend magazines Eye and Second Sight and worked for major publishing companies, including Prometheus / Bert Bakker, VNU Business Publications, Quote, TTG and Springer. During those years she built an inspiring network of trend experts and original thinkers within the Netherlands and beyond. Trained as a historian, Andrea believes that change is part of our life, although the transition period that is currently taking place might be one we won’t easily forget. Impetuous shifts within technology, science, economics etc. are omnipresent: opportunities for new business and challenging lifestyles are everywhere.www.secondsight.nl Arjen KamphuisCo-founder, CTO, Gendo Arjen is co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Gendo. He studied Science & Policy at Utrecht University and worked for IBM and Twynstra Gudde as IT-architect, trainer and IT-strategy advisor. Since late 2001 Arjen has been self-employed, advising clients on the strategic impact of new technological developments. He is a certified EDP auditor and information security specialist. As a much sought-after international speaker on technology policy issues he gives over 100 keynote talks every year. Since 2002 he has been involved in formulating public IT-policy in the area of open standards and opensource for the government and public sector. Arjen advises senior managers and administrators of companies and public institutions, members of parliament and the Dutch Cabinet about the opportunities offered by open standards and opensource software for the European knowledge economy and society as a whole. Besides information technology Arjen also works on scenarioplanning and strategic assesments of emerging technologies sush as bio- and nanotechnology. With clients he investigates the social, economic and geo-political impact of science and technology.Arjen’s collumns and article’s can be found on his Gendo blog.Dutch: www.gendo.nl/blog/arjenEnglish: www.gendo.nl/blogs/arjen-int Dr Anders SandbergJames Martin Research Fellow, Future of Humanity Institute, Oxford UniversityAnders Sandberg’s research at the Future of Humanity Institute centres on societal and ethical issues surrounding human enhancement and new technology, as well as estimating the capabilities and underlying science of future technologies. Topics of particular interest include enhancement of cognition, cognitive biases, technology-enabled collective intelligence, neuroethics and public policy. He has worked on this within the EU project ENHANCE, where he also was responsible for public outreach and online presence.www.fhi.ox.ac.uk Kwela Sabine HermannsKwela is a highly focussed, process-oriented entrepreneur and innovation specialist with many years of business experience in education, research, training and project management in the creative industries. She is bi-lingual in English and German, owns a Masters degree in New Media Studies and trained in small business innovation at Copenhagen Business School. She coaches and trains people and organisations in goal implementation and dynamic change management techniques. ”My own goal is to support inter-disciplinary innovation towards value based and surprising sustainable futures. I combine a highly analytical and strategic mind with a passion for team work, people and relationship buidling.”www.portaltoyourdreams.com VolkskrantgebouwWibautstraat 1501091 GR Amsterdam[former building of the Volkskrant] Public transportwww.9292ov.nl by metroMetrostop Wibautstraat, exit ‘Gijsbrecht van Aemstel’.From Centraal Station take metro 51, 53 or 54.From Amstelstation take metro 51, 53 or 54 direction Centraal Station. by tramTram 3 take Ruyschstraat, exit at tramstop Wibautstraat. Walk Wibautstraat in direction Amstelstation, you find the Volkskrantgebouw on the right side after 5-10 minutes. By CarTake the ring A10. Exit s112. At roundabout Prins Bernhardplein first street to the right is Wibautstraat. After the railway bridge you find the Volkskrantgebouw on your left side. There is parking on the property – contact the reception desk. Related to this topic see also Club of Amsterdam Journal and for more events Agenda

Content Program Tickets Supporters Bios Location Ressources Contact the future of the Living Room Experience interior design Thursday, October 13, 2011Registration: 18:30-19:00, Conference: 19:00-21:15 Tickets Location:  Museum Geelvinck, Keizersgracht 633, 1017 DS Amsterdam The conference language is English. In collaboration with Museum Geelvinck ImpressionsClub of Amsterdam: the future of the living room.A collaboration with Museum GeelvinckBy Job Romijn Now how important is your living room to you?Three speakers shared their insights: +Kees Spanjers took us on a visual historic trip, explaining how and why certain styles were in fashion. He concluded that our needs have changed from the Vitruvian ‘Utility, Beauty, Stability’ to the present ‘Beauty, Comfort, Durability’. +Desiree Kerklaan showed us that people in different circumstances have very different needs, for example a refugee in an African desert. Her nature inspired ‘sandcomb’ furniture makes a minimalistic living room portable and adaptable. +Rogier van der Heide focussed on the importance and beauty of light. His ideal is Vermeer-style light. But equally important are the often overlooked dark areas. He reminds us to choose our lightsources and fixtures better, and help make the earth a little darker again. The evening ended with a lively discussion involving speakers and audience. 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 designerFurniture 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 LightingFeel 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. 18:30 – 19:00Registration & welcome drinks 19:00 – 20:00Introduction 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 designerFurniture based on biomimicry ideas  Rogier van der Heide, Vice President and Chief Design Officer, Philips LightingFeel what Light can Do20:00 – 20:30Coffee break with drinks and snacks. 20:30 – 21:15Part II:Open discussion Tickets for this Season Event are….Regular Ticket: € 30,-….Discount Ticket: € 20,- [*]….Student Ticket: € 10,-As a non-for-profit foundation we don’t charge VAT. How to pay for the tickets? ….a) Online booking with credit card:  Ticket Corner ….b) By bank: send an email with your details, number of tickets, type of tickets….….and event name to: ticketcorner@clubofamsterdam.com……..Bank: ABN AMRO Bank, Club of Amsterdam, Account 976399393, Amstelveen,……..The Netherlands, IBAN NL46 FTSB 0976399393, BIC FTSB NL2R ….c) By invoice: send an email with your billing details, number of tickets, type of……..tickets.and event name to: ticketcorner@clubofamsterdam.com ….d) At the registration desk the evening of the event – unless we are sold out……..earlier: 18:30-19:00 Museum Geelvinck Already twenty years, the Geelvinck Hinlopen Huis, a private canal mansion dating back to 1687, shows its overwhelmingly decorated 18th and early 19th Century ‘beletage’ interiors to the public. Today, the museum focuses on the living room as social phenomena, relating contemporary lifestyle design with its historic predecessors and disseminating cultural links. Thus, the Geelvinck aims at inspiring the visitor for creativity and awareness of the stuff and space in his own home.http://geelvinck.nl India House Amsterdam India House Foundation is a cultural non-profit organisation; an initiative from philanthropist Rajkumar Jagbandhan. India House will be an Indian culture centre, situated in the capital of the Netherlands, Amsterdam. The centre will have a museum, library, food court, meeting rooms, and much more. Its goal is to support and maintain the Indian culture nationwide.www.indiahouse.org Kees SpanjersFormer 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 KerklaanBDes spatial designerresearch architect, SteenhuisMeursboard 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 HeideVice 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 Romijnbedenker, 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 Museum GeelvinckKeizersgracht 6331017 DS Amsterdamhttp://geelvinck.nl The museum is situated in the center of Amsterdam, near the Rembrandtplein, between Vijzelstraat and the Amstel. The entrance of the museum is at Keizersgracht 633. By public transport From Amsterdam Centraal Station take tram 16, 24 and 25: and get off at tram stop Keizersgracht. Walk 30 meters in the direction of the tram, turn left before the bridge. This is Keizersgracht. The entrance to the museum is at number 633. By car We recommend you to take the car park of the Stopera at Waterlooplein, on the other side of the Amstel. Walk 8 minutes – take Blauwbrug, after Rembradtplein turn left into Reguliersgracht, turn right at Keizersgracht – to the museum atKeizersgracht 633.. Related to this topic see also Club of Amsterdam Journal and for more events Agenda