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Club of Amsterdam Journal, February 2013, Issue 154

Content Fan Culture – a social and political indicatorNext Event: the future of Football Think.Eat.Save. Reduce Your FoodprintClub of Amsterdam blogNews about the Future The internet must remain borderlessRecommended Book: A Beautiful Game: The World’s Greatest Players and How Soccer Changed Their Lives Computer Aided Architectural Design, Departement for Architecture, ETH Zürich Futurist Portrait: Evgeny Morozov Agenda Club of Amsterdam SearchSubmit your articleContactSubscribe Welcome to the  Club of Amsterdam Journal. Philosopher Albert Camus, who was a goalie for his university team before TB ended his professional hopes. He later said, “what I know most about morality and the duty of man I owe to football.”Join us at our next event about the future of Football – Thursday, February 28, 18:30 – 21:15! Felix F Bopp, Founder & Chairman  Fan Culture – a social and political indicator By James M. Dorsey, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, co-director of the University of Wuerzburg’s Institute for Fan Culture, and the author of The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer blog. Remarks at 2. Colloquium of the Institute of Fan Culture, University of Wuerzburg, January 11-12, 2013 The past year has been one of repeated incidents of racism on the pitch. The question I asked myself was what could be gleaned from comparing last year’s shouting of racist slogans in Serbia during the Under-21 match between Serbia and England, and attacks by rabid Beitar Jerusalem supporters against Palestinians in a Jerusalem mall and Jews advocating compromise with the Palestinians. Those familiar with Serbian football are likely to argue that there is no reason to be surprised at the incident. Serbian fan culture has always been highly nationalistic and had a racist element. It always has been violent. As far back as World War Two, Serb fans were believed to have supported the Nazis. And in the 1990s they formed key elements of Milosevic’s paramilitaries. In 2005, they raised banners supporting the slaughter in Srebenica during a World Cup qualifier against Bosnia. Similarly, Beitar Jerusalem fans have always been known for their rabid hatred of the Arabs and Palestinians. The one thing that has never been clear however is who they hated more the Palestinians or the Ashkenazi Jews. Beitar Jerusalem is the only major Israeli club that has never hired a Palestinian player even though Palestinians rank among Israel’s top players. Beitar’s matches are characterized by racist anti-Arab and anti-Muslim slogans. In recent months, Beitar fans attacked a Jerusalem mall, singling out Palestinian shoppers. They also attacked a Jewish female musician on a street who expressed disagreement with their racism and violence and more recently vowed to keep their club “pure” in response to the hiring of two Chechen Muslim players. Violence and racism is so endemic to Serbian and Israeli soccer that the Serbian interior ministry and the Israeli Football Association (IFA) have separate units to combat hooliganism and racism. In fact, the Israeli association is the only one in the Middle East and North Africa that wages an anti-racist campaign even if one can question whether it does so wholeheartedly and effectively. By contrast with Israel, the Serbian prime minister refused to acknowledge that last year’s incident was racist and the federation refused to investigate the incident. The federation’s attitude also contrasts starkly with the approaches of UEFA and the English FA towards racism and tarnishes Serbian efforts to join the EU. So if the Serbians and the Beitarniks are fan groups with long-standing traditions and attitudes, what do the most recent incidents tell us about whether there is anything new and if so what? In fact, they do tell us something, namely that they are one indicator of what does and does not change in society. Serbian prime minister Ivica Dacic’s attitude tells us that 13 years after the overthrow of Milosovic and his ruinous Serbian nationalism, Serbia has yet to seriously tackle intolerance and racism. In a broader context, last year’s incident at the Under-21 championship in Krusevac is part of the rise of a far-right in Europe that is anti-immigrant and anti-foreigner at a time of severe economic difficulty. Similarly, the Israeli fans’ violence was at closer examination very telling. Beitar Jerusalem was taking its battles out of the stadium at a time that more than four decades of occupation of Palestinian land and perceived Palestinian ability to produce a viable partner in peace has hid a brutalizing effect on Israeli society. The violence also serves as in indicator of a greater degree of intolerance as well as a shift to the right of Israeli public opinion despite the emergence of a center-left political party – albeit one that refuses to work with Palestinian members of the Israeli parliament – in this month’s Israeli election. That shift is symbolized by the attack of an elderly Jewish musician just because her views were more liberal than theirs. There is of course a third major intersection of fan activism and politics these days. As we speak here, ultras are part of mounting protests against the government of Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi in the wake of the sentencing of 21 soccer fans in the trial of those allegedly responsible for the death a year ago of 74 fans in the Suez Canal city of Port Said in a politically loaded brawl. And there is something else that these three case studies have in common that is I believe relevant to why we are here today. All three help us establish some definitions based on the work of Melissa M. Brough and Sangita Shresthova [1]: 1. We are looking at groups of people who assert their identity through popular culture – in this case soccer, but it could also be music or video. This assertion is active and often creative in its production of various forms of popular culture. Think of ultras music, graffiti and videos. 2. What sets the groups I look at further apart from other fan groups is their social and political activism defined as intentional action to challenge existing hegemonies and provoke political and/or social change. 3. Increasingly socially aware, politically engaged fan groups often are engines of movements that go far beyond the confines of what they are fans of – think of the very distinct political roles of fans in the creation of the gay movement in the 1950s or fans of Joss Whedon and the canceled TV show Firefly who continue to gather every year to organize “Can’t Stop the Serenity,” a fund-raiser for the women’s rights and advocacy organization Equality Now. 4. A further commonality is that what politicized these groups or at the very least turned them into political actors were either societal trends that increasingly became intolerable or an event including for example confrontation with law enforcement. However I would suggest that as we move forward we don’t ignore efforts to turn enamor with a product of popular culture into civic action. One example of this is the Harry Potter Alliance (HPA), a US-based nonprofit organization that works “for human rights, equality, and a better world just as Harry and his friends did.” The group is inspired by Dumbledore’s Army in the Harry Potter narratives. The alliance builds on active and creative engagement with the Harry Potter world by connecting its figures to goals of social justice such as fair trade and marriage equality. 5. Fandom turns political when it is employed as a tool of resistance or change as in the case of the Egyptian ultras, the Harry Potter Alliance, and the push to assert identity, nationhood or further statehood as in the case of the Palestinians, the Kurds, Kosovo and northern Cyprus just to mention a few. It is worth noting in this context that hitherto social movement theory has rarely been applied to the analysis of fandom. The importance of doing so is highlighted by the role of ultras in the Arab revolts and the fact that for example the ultras in Egypt constitute the second largest civic group after the ruling Muslim Brotherhood. 6. The role of law enforcement and security is often key in the politicization and radicalization of fans. Much of the post-Mubarak violence stems from clashes between the militants and security forces. Their battle is a battle for karama or dignity. Their dignity is vested in their ability to stand up to the dakhliya or interior ministry, the knowledge that they no longer can be abused by security forces without recourse and the fact that they no longer have to pay off each and every policemen to stay out of trouble. That dignity is unlikely to be fully restored until the police and security forces have been reformed – a task Mr. Morsi’s government has so far largely shied away from. Official foot-dragging in holding security officers accountable as in the case of Port Said and the deaths of hundreds of protesters in the last two years reinforces the perception of the police and security forces as an institution that in the words of scholars Eduardo P. Archetti and Romero Amilcar [2] is “exclusively destined to harm, wound, injure, or, in some cases, kill other persons.” It gives “police power…the aura of omnipotence” who “at the same time lost all legitimacy both in moral and social terms… To resist and to attack the police force is thus seen as morally justified,” they argue. 7. Finally, this situation gives rise to the question whether all militant, violence-prone fans are hooligans. I would argue no. Israeli and Serb fans live today in societies with multiple options to express themselves and highlight their concerns and discontent. By contrast, Egyptian ultras as well as fans in for example Algeria or Iran, even if violence-prone are a perfect example of what Messrs Archetti and Amilcar argue. Egypt’s police and security force existed not to serve the people, but to brutally enforce the regime’s repression. Egyptians encountered their brutality not just in the stadiums but daily in the popular neighborhoods. Even if I favor a distinction between hooligans and militants, the North African ultras’ self-definition comes closest to the controversial view of Marxist scholars such as Ian Taylor and John Clarke who argued that British hooligans were the product of unemployment and urban decay, a “subcultural agent” that had been abandoned by his parents, government and his soccer club management. All of this is food for thought, a first stab at conceptualization, an effort to spark a discussion that is long overdue. Thank you. James M. Dorsey is a speaker at our event about  the future of Football – Thursday, February 28 [1] Melissa M. Brough and Sangita Shresthova, Fandom meets activism: Rethinking civic and political participation, Transformative Works and Culture, Vol 10, 2012, http://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/article/view/303/265[2] Eduardo P. Archetti and Romero G. Amilcar, Death and Violence in Argentinian Football, in Football, Violence and Social Identity edited by Richard Guillianotti, London, Routledge, 2012, page 48 Next Event: the future of Football the future of Football Thursday, February 28, 2013Location: AmsterdamThe conference language is English.Supported by India House The speakers and topics are Tom Fadrhonc, Consultant, itim International, former General Manager Benelux, NikeThe future of Football. More or less united? James M. Dorsey, senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and co-director of the Institute for Fan Culture of the University of WürzburgSoccer – A Middle Eastern and North African Battlefield.… and more .. Our moderator is John Mahnen, Business Development Manager, Heg Consult Think.Eat.Save. Reduce Your Foodprint Think, Eat, Save:FAO, UNEP and partners launch global campaign on food waste Simple actions by consumers and food retailers can dramatically cut the 1.3 billion tonnes of food lost or wasted each year and help shape a sustainable future, according to a new global campaign to cut food waste launched today by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and partners. The Think.Eat.Save. Reduce Your Foodprint campaign is in support of the SAVE FOOD Initiative to reduce food loss and waste along the entire chain of food production and consumption. Worldwide, about one-third of all food produced, worth around $1 trillion, gets lost or wasted in food production and consumption systems, according to data released by FAO. “Together, we can reverse this unacceptable trend and improve lives. In industrialized regions, almost half of the total food squandered, around 300 million tonnes annually, occurs because producers, retailers and consumers discard food that is still fit for consumption,” said José Graziano da Silva, FAO Director-General. “This is more than the total net food production of Sub-Saharan Africa, and would be sufficient to feed the estimated 870 million people hungry in the world.” “If we can help food producers to reduce losses through better harvesting, processing, storage, transport and marketing methods, and combine this with profound and lasting changes in the way people consume food, then we can have a healthier and hunger-free world,” Graziano da Silva added. Global Food Losses and food waste – a study by SAVE FOODOverview of the key findings: • Roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year — approximately 1.3 billion tonnes — gets lost or wasted. • Every year, consumers in rich countries waste almost as much food (222 million tonnes) as the entire net food production of sub-Saharan Africa (230 million tonnes). • The amount of food lost or wasted every year is equivalent to more than half of the world’s annual cereals crop (2.3 billion tonnes in 2009/2010). • Food loss and waste also amount to a major squandering of resources, including water, land, energy, labour and capital and needlessly produce greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to global warming and climate change. • In developing countries food waste and losses occur mainly at early stages of the food value chain and can be traced back to financial, managerial and technical constraints in harvesting techniques as well as storage –and cooling facilities. Thus, a strengthening of the supply chain through the support farmers and investments in infrastructure, transportation, as well as in an expansion of the food – and packaging industry could help to reduce the amount of food loss and waste. • In medium- and high-income countries food is wasted and lost mainly at later stages in the supply chain. Differing from the situation in developing countries, the behaviour of consumers plays a huge part in industrialized countries. Moreover, the study identified a lacking coordination between actors in the supply chain as a contributing factor. Farmer-buyer agreements can be helpful to increase the level of coordination. Additionally, raising awareness among industries, retailers and consumers as well as finding beneficial use for save food that is presently thrown away are useful measures to decrease the amount of losses and waste. Club of Amsterdam blog Club of Amsterdam bloghttp://clubofamsterdam.blogspot.com Joy Rides and Robots are the Future of Space TravelThe Transposon10-step program for a sick planetPublic Brainstorm: Economic-Demographic CrisisPublic Brainstorm: EnergyPublic Brainstorm: EnvironmentPublic Brainstorm:Food and WaterPublic Brainstorm: Overpopulation News about the Future Researchers make DNA storage a reality Researchers at the EMBL-European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) have created a way to store data in the form of DNA – a material that lasts for tens of thousands of years. The new method makes it possible to store at least 100 million hours of high-definition video in about a cup of DNA. There is a lot of digital information in the world – about three zettabytes’ worth (that’s 3000 billion billion bytes) – and the constant influx of new digital content poses a real challenge for archivists. Hard disks are expensive and require a constant supply of electricity, while even the best ‘no-power’ archiving materials such as magnetic tape degrade within a decade. This is a growing problem in the life sciences, where massive volumes of data – including DNA sequences – make up the fabric of the scientific record. “We already know that DNA is a robust way to store information because we can extract it from bones of woolly mammoths, which date back tens of thousands of years, and make sense of it,” explains Nick Goldman of EMBL-EBI. “It’s also incredibly small, dense and does not need any power for storage, so shipping and keeping it is easy.”Although there are many practical aspects to solve, the inherent density and longevity of DNA makes it an attractive storage medium. The next step for the researchers is to perfect the coding scheme and explore practical aspects, paving the way for a commercially viable DNA storage model. Solar Water Disinfection Solar water disinfection – the SODIS method – is a simple procedure to disinfect drinking water. Contaminated water is filled in a transparent PET-bottle or glass bottle and exposed to the sun for 6 hours. During this time, the UV-radiation of the sun kills diarrhoea-causing pathogens. The SODIS-method helps to prevent diarrhoea and thereby is saving lives of people. This is urgently necessary as still more than 4000 children die every day from the consequences of diarrhoea. When developing the SODIS method, it was important to know which germs die and how much sunlight is required to kill them. These questions have been answered for most of the germs that threaten the health of humans. The SODIS method kills bacteria, viruses, and most parasites. We know not only that the germs die; we are also beginning to find out why. The internet must remain borderless By Peter Cochrane, an IT consultant and former chief technologist at BTThe internet must remain borderless and not under the control of any one country, government or organisation. THROUGHOUT THE WEST, we enjoy the freedom to communicate, associate, travel and trade. We also expect to be able to think, preach and speak without political, security or financial penalty. These basic human rights have been hard-won over centuries and should not be taken as god-given; they have to be defended. Freedom is now epitomised by websites and blogs; social nets that rapidly became a part of our culture. That these are beyond the reach of government control or censorship is an outcome of self-organisation and viral growth. For the most part, the system works well, but we would be unwise to take it for granted. Sadly, a large proportion of humanity does not enjoy such riches, but live under regimes that censor, edit and steer information to their own religious and/or political purposes. When visiting or communicating with people in such areas, I have been impressed with the various subterfuges employed to by-pass all forms of control. Cut off, or try to control, email, text or instant message and people will adopt anonymising software. Ban Google and people will employ tunnels and proxies to gain access through other countries. Close down the internet and riots quickly follow. It is far too late for total control; the genie is out of the bottle. Previously suppressed peoples have tasted freedom and want more, while several Western governments have attempted to monitor all net traffic and found themselves trying to boil the ocean. New freedoms equate to new opportunities, creativity, business models and modes of trading as well as advances for education, healthcare, industry, commerce and society, but the price is more tolerance and less control in large measure. We have now reached an interesting epoch, with five billion people able to access the internet via PC, laptop, tablet and smartphone – we are just a hair’s breadth away from liberating all people with access to everything. So it is something of a surprise to learn that the recent International Telecommunications Union (ITU) gathering in Dubai had Control of The Internet on the agenda. Why do they think that they are involved in or entitled to consider this, you might ask. It is none of their business and outside their remit. The ITU was born of a need for countries and peoples to be able to communicate using standard interfaces, protocols and network topologies, not to control or restrict content. The ITU is an organ of the UN and this conference hosted more than 1,950 delegates, a number of whom are inclined to vote in the direction of control and limitation. To be blunt, the ITU is becoming dominated by controlist regimes, and they are making a move to control the internet across the globe. This is beyond defining and regulating the wireless and optical spectrum, interfaces and protocols. We already see differing degrees of internet freedom by region, but there is a growing voice to make it global and uniform. Perhaps the worst feature of all this is that the ITU meeting and voting is conducted behind closed doors. UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said: “The overall objective is to ensure universal access to the benefits of IT, including for the two-thirds of the world’s population currently not on-line. The management of information and communication technology should be transparent, democratic and inclusive of all stakeholders.” However, many people think this conference may reshape the internet for decades to come. I doubt it, and my prediction is that all attempts at censorship will be thwarted by new solutions. We have all seen what openness can create in terms of economic and social value. It is also essential that the internet remains borderless, belonging to everyone, and not under the control of any one country, government or organisation. Recommended Book A Beautiful Game: The World’s Greatest Players and How Soccer Changed Their LivesBy Tom Watt Wherever you are on earth, it’s only a matter of time before you come across children playing soccer. Another five minutes and you will probably find yourself having a ball rolled to your feet as an invitation to join in the game. Soccer is a common language and a culture shared: a joy, a passion, an escape, and an affirmation of identity understood and celebrated by children – and their parents – in every country around the globe. For this unique collaborative project, soccer writer Tom Watt talked to the world’s top players about growing up and falling in love with the game: Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Brazil’s Gilberto Silva; England’s David James and Scotland’s Craig Gordon; Italy’s Fabio Cannavaro, Spain’s Iker Casillas, and France’s Franck Ribéry; South Africa’s Benni McCarthy and Nigeria’s Nwankwo Kanu; USA’s Landon Donovan and Japan’s Shunsuke Nakamura; and the world’s most famous player, David Beckham. A Beautiful Game tells their stories, in the players’ own words – stories of boys who would grow up to be heroes for a new generation of young players and fans. They look back to their childhoods: to their family homes, to their schoolrooms, to the friends they grew up with, and to the places where they first played the game that has made them stars. The players’ words are brought to life with over 160 full-color images that offer rare, emotive, and striking insights into childhood all over the world, and celebrate soccer’s ability to touch the lives of children – and adults – wherever the beautiful game is played. Computer Aided Architectural Design Departement for Architecture, ETH Zürich Professor Ludger Hovestadt, Chair for Computer Aided Architectural Design (CAAD) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule, ETH) in Zürich. His approach, broadly speaking, is to look for a new relationship between architecture and information technology and aims at developing a global perspective that relates to and integrates with developments in different fields such as politics and demographics, as well as technology, in a post-industrial era. He is the inventor of the digitalSTROM® chip and founder of several spin-off companies in the fields of Smart Building Technology and Digital Design and Fabrication. a few activities of the Institute … Animated Textile Animated Textiles was a five-day workshop held at the Swedish School of Textiles at the University of Borås from Sept. 17th to 21st 2012. Within this workshop we explored the combination of soft electroactive polymers with various lightweight textile systems to create animated surfaces, structures and assemblies. The workshop participants, both Master and Phd students, were split in three groups of four people each. After a generous introduction into the techniques of producing electroactive polymers, each group produced their own membranes based on iterative mutations of a previously defined working component. The necessary support frames were cut using a laser cutter. The components that exhibited the best behavior and strongest deformation were picked to become attached to textiles and fabrics in order to form animated ecologies of moving textile assemblies. At the end of the workshop each group had built a physical prototype which was then presented to a larger audience. Within this workshop we explored the combination of soft electroactive polymers with various lightweight textile systems to create animated surfaces, structures and assemblies. The workshop participants, both Master and Phd students, were split in three groups of four people each. After a generous introduction into the techniques of producing electroactive polymers, each group produced their own membranes based on iterative mutations of a previously defined working component. The necessary support frames were cut using a laser cutter. The components that exhibited the best behavior and strongest deformation were picked to become attached to textiles and fabrics in order to form animated ecologies of moving textile assemblies. At the end of the workshop each group had built a physical prototype which was then presented to a larger audience. ShapeShift is an experiment in future possibilities of architectural materialization. This project explores the potential application of electro-active polymer (EAP) at an architectural scale. EAP offers a new relationship to built space through its unique combination of qualities. It is an ultra-lightweight, flexible material with the ability to change shape without the need for mechanical actuators. As a collaboration between the chair for Computer Aided Architectural Design (ETHZ) and the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA), ShapeShift bridges gaps between advanced techniques in architectural design/fabrication and material science as well as pushing academic research towards real world applications. EmbeddedLab The EmbeddedLab is an open group of creative researchers and students, within the chair for caad, ETH Zürich. We are interested in developing neat Physical-, Smart-, Wearable-, Wireless Applications. Stone NodeThe aim of this project is to research, if there is a way using Arduino and it‘s embedded technology to track falling rock motion and rotation, as well as the decent and impact. The advantage would be, to have tiny, easy accessible, reusable and affordable electronics. This would also dramatically shrink the costs of every experiment in that field. China NodeChina Node project is a remote control system based on Arduino, Ethernet shield and RFM12 wireless module, which is cooperated with the CAAD of Southeast University in China. dSail Trim SystemUsing wireless sensor networks to monitor airflows and pressure differences on sails in realtime. Imagine you could see the airflows in your sails and trim your boat to the max.. Ludger Hovestadt was a speaker at the Club of Amsterdam event about the future of Architecture (19 May 2004) Futurist Portrait: Evgeny Morozov Born in Belarus, Evgeny Morozov attended the American University in Bulgaria and later lived in Berlin before moving to the United States. Morozov is a visiting scholar at Stanford University, a fellow at the New America Foundation, and a contributing editor of and blogger for Foreign Policy magazine, for which he writes the blog Net Effect. He has previously been a Yahoo! fellow at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, a fellow at the Open Society Institute, director of new media at the NGO Transitions Online, and a columnist for the Russian newspaper Akzia. In 2009 he was chosen as a TED fellow where he spoke about how the Web influences civic engagement and regime stability in authoritarian, closed societies or in countries “in transition”. Morozov’s writings have appeared in various newspapers and magazines around the world, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Economist, The Guardian, New Scientist, The New Republic, Times Literary Supplement, Newsweek International, International Herald Tribune, Boston Review, Slate, and the San Francisco Chronicle. Morozov expresses skepticism about the popular view that the Internet is helping to democratize authoritarian regimes, arguing that it could also be a powerful tool for engaging in mass surveillance, political repression, and spreading nationalist and extremist propaganda. He has also criticized what he calls “The Internet Freedom Agenda” of the US government, finding it naive and even counterproductive to the very goal of promoting democracy through the Web. Morozov’s new book:To Save Everything, Click Here: The Folly of Technological Solutionism In the very near future, “smart” technologies and “big data” will allow us to make large-scale and sophisticated interventions in politics, culture, and everyday life. Technology will allow us to solve problems in highly original ways and create new incentives to get more people to do the right thing. But how will such “solutionism” affect our society, once deeply political, moral, and irresolvable dilemmas are recast as uncontroversial and easily manageable matters of technological efficiency? What if some such problems are simply vices in disguise? What if some friction in communication is productive and some hypocrisy in politics necessary? The temptation of the digital age is to fix everything – from crime to corruption to pollution to obesity – by digitally quantifying, tracking, or gamifying behavior. But when we change the motivations for our moral, ethical, and civic behavior we may also change the very nature of that behavior. Technology, Evgeny Morozov proposes, can be a force for improvement – but only if we keep solutionism in check and learn to appreciate the imperfections of liberal democracy. Some of those imperfections are not accidental but by design. Arguing that we badly need a new, post-Internet way to debate the moral consequences of digital technologies, To Save Everything, Click Here warns against a world of seamless efficiency, where everyone is forced to wear Silicon Valley’s digital straitjacket. Evgeny Morozov: The End of Cyber Utopia Agenda Season Events 2012/2013 February 28, 2013the future of FootballLocation: AmsterdamSupported by India House the future of Impact InvestmentMarch 28, 2013, 18:30 – 21:15Location: AmsterdamSupported by India House April 25, 2013the future of Digital Identityor the death of Social Media as we know it.Location: Info.nl, Sint Antoniesbreestraat 16, 1011 HB Amsterdam [Next to Nieuwmarkt]Supported by Info.nl & Freelance Factory May 30, 2013the future of EuropeLocation: AmsterdamIn collaboration with the World Future SocietySupported by India House June 27, 2013the future of Urban GardeningLocation: Geelvinck Museum, Keizersgracht 633, 1017 DS AmsterdamSupported by Geelvinck Museum

corona virus 5382613 1280 - Club of Amsterdam

Public Brainstorm: Environment

December 6, 2012 will be the 10 Years Anniversary event of the Club of Amsterdam.

corona virus 5382613 1280 - Club of Amsterdam

Impact Investment Glossary of Terms

I believe it can and it creates an interesting vehicle from which people can actually invest in their own community.

corona virus 5382613 1280 - Club of Amsterdam

Why is Impact Investment needed?

I believe it can and it creates an interesting vehicle from which people can actually invest in their own community.

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Club of Amsterdam Journal, March 2013, Issue 155

Content Markets for Good: Put Your Data Where Your Mouth IsNext Event: the future of Impact Investment Tablet Touch Walls in your hotel room Club of Amsterdam blog News about the Future Bringing down Europe’s energy prices for 2020 and beyondRecommended Book: Impact Investing: Transforming How We Make Money While Making a Difference Earth Hour Futurist Portrait: Michell Zappa Agenda Club of Amsterdam SearchSubmit your articleContactSubscribe Welcome to the  Club of Amsterdam Journal. Impact investments are investments made into companies, organisations, and funds with the intention to generate measurable social and environmental impact alongside a financial return.Join us at our next event about the future of Impact Investment – Thursday, March 28, 18:30 – 21:15! Felix F Bopp, Founder & Chairman A collaboration with the World Future Society. Markets for Good: Put Your Data Where Your Mouth Is By David Bank is co-founder and editor of Impact IQ and ImpactSpaceOpen Data to Fuel Impact Investing I’m an old-school journalist steeped in the timeless wisdom: follow the money. So when I assigned myself in 2012 to cover impact investing, I wanted to know who was making bets on what, and how they were working out. To my surprise, there was no daily, weekly or even annual dealsheet of the kind that venture-capital and private-equity investors take for granted. There was no easy way for me to track private investments of equity or debt in for-profit enterprises explicitly seeking and measuring positive social and environmental results along with financial returns. If it was hard for me to track “impact” deals, how could impact investors themselves? How could new investors and entrepreneurs just exploring the opportunities make sense of the marketplace? White papers were easy to find. There was the foundational 2008 Monitor Institute report that made a “good guess” at a $500 billion impact investing market in a decade. And a 2010 JP Morgan report that estimated impact profits of up to $667 billion from just five base-of-the-pyramid sectors — urban housing, rural water, maternal health, primary education, and microfinance. And last year’s Hope Consulting survey multiplied the 69 percent of financial advisors at least warm to the idea of “sustainable investing” by one-third of their clients and 10% or so of their portfolios. That equals 2.5 percent of the $26 trillion in managed investments or $650 billion. None of these estimates took me to actual investments backing the numbers; so I kept looking for the deals. ImpactBase is a terrific resource from the Global Impact Investing Network, the closest thing to an industry association for the nascent field. It now counts 221 funds with $14 billion in committed capital. The GIIN counted 2,200 impact deals worth $4.4 billion in 2011, up from 1,000 deals worth $2.5 billion in 2010. In their most recent survey, the GIIN and JP Morgan report that 99 fund managers who committed $8 billion to impact investing in 2012 expect to commit $9 billion this year. Most of those investors reported they had at least one “home run” — an investment that significantly outperformed expectations while delivering the intended impact. But there’s no way to identify those deals. The GIIN collects data from funds and provides it to JP Morgan in aggregated and anonymized formonly. PCV Insight, which surveyed 300 private equity firms and found 69 firms, with $4 billion in assets, that can be considered impact investors, doesn’t list the funds. ImpactAssets does produce an annual list of 50 impact investment funds, but doesn’t track their portfolio investments. If impact investing is such a compelling way to leverage private capital for social impact, where are the impact deals? Even impact true believers have grumbled they keep hearing the same examples, be it Bridge International Academies’ low-cost private schools or d.light’s solar lanterns. Terrific ventures, but not nearly big enough to shoulder the whole load of expectations. Impact investing risked death by anecdote and allowed the conventional wisdom to take hold: There was too much impact money chasing too few impact deals. Too much money? As if! The veritable explosion of small and growing businesses, entrepreneurial start-ups, social ventures and NGOS with innovative approaches and disruptive technologies is one of the bright spots in the global economy. But few of the entrepreneurs trying to build scalable models to cost-effectively deliver transformative change for vulnerable populations would say there’s too much money. No, the first problem to address is just getting the information. But, openness challenges the traditional practices of some investors and funds, as well as of some data providers in other investment domains. Some investors want to guard their privacy; fund managers don’t want to telegraph their strategies. Both funders and entrepreneurs can be wary of premature publicity for ventures that may fail. Some funds, of course, publish lists of their portfolio companies, but generally without deal details. Many deals are so small they don’t get announced, much less picked up by the media. Nevertheless, the pros and cons increasingly favor disclosure: to show the world that impact investing is a real and growing market and attract new investors…to gain insight and forge common solutions from the ecosystem of stakeholders…to validate their portfolio teams and perhaps get some credit themselves…and to embrace accountability in a market robust enough to stand up to scrutiny. As Lucy Bernholz declared in her excellent new report on trends in philanthropy for the year ahead: “Linked, comparable, accessible data is the new starting line. The race is now on to see who will create what public-facing tools for making sense of this information.” That holds true for impact investing as well. As the data becomes more robust, we’ll be able to report trends by quarter, by sector, by geographic market. We’ll be able to spot new kinds of financial instruments and term sheet provisions, and track acquisitions and other exits. We’ll be able to track the flow of capital as it goes to ground in projects on the ground. Deals are real-time indicators of the flow of capital, such as it is, toward a sustainable, inclusive economy for the 21st century. Are we approaching a tipping point? The data is in the deals. Closing the Deal It’s one thing to advocate for greater transparency to accelerate the marketplace for private investments that deliver positive social and environmental impact along with financial returns. It’s another thing to make it happen. As we explored the terrain of impact investing for Impact IQ, the startup media platform I founded last year, we tested our arguments for transparency and disclosure on every entrepreneur, angel investor, fund manager and social-venture accelerator operator we met. Nearly everyone supported openness, except perhaps when it came to their own data. Along with my colleague Avary Kent, Impact IQ started building the case (with the support of Kevin Jones and Penelope Douglas of SOCAP and the Stiefel Family Foundation). One of the first to provide data was Acumen Fund which on its own had disclosed general information about its portfolio results and lived to tell the tale. Others that agreed to “put their data where their mouths are” included First Light, Hub Ventures, Toniic, Unitus Seed Fund, Unreasonable Institute and Village Capital. One of the first public supporters was Acumen Fund which on its own had disclosed general information about its portfolio results and lived to tell the tale. Others that agreed to “put their data where their mouths are” included First Light, Hub Ventures, Toniic, Unitus Seed Fund, Unreasonable Institute and Village Capital. That meant simply broad support for “the voluntary and timely disclosure of basic information about financial investments in ventures and projects that seek social, environmental and financial returns, consistent with regulatory and confidentiality requirements.” At the same time, ImpactSpace was building a robust database platform and pumping in data about just such deals. Ravi Kurani and Zuleyma Bebell, and their team, collected public data and started entries for more than 500 impact investing financial organizations and ventures including, for example, more than 100 deals completed by Root Capital. Of course that’s barely a start. Many entries remain incomplete. But new funds and companies are going up quickly. The newly announced Unitus Seed Fund, for example, has posted its four early deals and will add to its portfolio page as it closes its planned dozen investments a year in base-of-the-pyramid ventures in India. Already that page shows that Hippocampus Learning Centers, which is building a network of low-cost private schools, leveraged seed financing from Unitus to raise Series A financing from Acumen Fund and Lok Capital. An ecosystem is coming into focus. Collaborating for Impact In the spirit of collaboration, Impact IQ and ImpactSpace are merging their complementary efforts. Think of it as TechCrunch and CrunchBase — for impact. ImpactSpace is building the data store and tools for gathering, filtering and displaying the data. Impact IQ is about notable deals, compelling people and gathering trends. Together, we’re building the database through voluntary submissions, manual “scraping” of public data and old-fashioned reporting. We’re committed to open-source and open data. “Open impact data” means that basic deal data — venture, investor, amount, type, date — is available for re-use by stakeholders and service providers of all kinds. As a public good, the basic layer of open data is available under an open-data license to any number of free and paid-for products and services — apps — serving the needs of impact investors and entrepreneurs. ImpactSpace’s data fields are compliant with industry standards, such as the IRIS taxonomy, to facilitate data exchange and integration. Common and open data platforms can support the very specific services needed by different stakeholders. For example, the network of social-venture accelerators is collaborating to create a common application form to enhance collaboration and reduce the burden on social ventures. Academic researchers are using open impact data and tools to analyze trends and practices in impact investing. Emerging social finance mapping efforts, such as the Impact Investing Ecosystem Map in Mexico and the Ayllu Initiative in India can draw from, and contribute to, the open impact database. Transparency Transparency is needed across the capital spectrum, but one area is particularly ripe for openness: the new class of startup entrepreneurs mixing technology, emerging markets and new financing mechanisms to disrupt business as usual in food, water, health care, education, energy and even sanitation. Angel investor networks such as Investors’ Circle are buzzing with activity, and greater transparency is the price of admission to this new environment. “Accelerators” open for applications every month to drive new ventures toward investor pitch days. New seed funds, such as Unitus, are raising capital from venture capitalists such as Vinod Khosla. Accredited-investor exchanges and portals such as Mission Markets in New York, the Impact Investment Exchange in Asia and MaxImpact in Zurich are looking for deals. “Crowdfunding” sites eagerly await federal regulations to offer equity stakes in startups to smaller investors. Sen. Michael Bennett of Colorado, an author of last year’s federal crowdfunding legislation, recently wrote to Mary Schapiro, chairwoman of the Securities and Exchange Commision, that many entrepreneurs, angel investors, lawyers and software developers feel “that businesses must be transparent about their capital structure before participating in a crowdfunded offering.” Such practices will migrate upstream over time. Challenges Ahead We know there are practical and conceptual question marks all over the place. Impact investing is not only, or even primarily, about equity; tracking debt, project finance and other forms of financing may be even more important and more difficult. Financing is not the only, or even the best signal of a venture’s success; companies able to bootstrap their growth from revenues won’t show up in a dealsheet of investments. One of the biggest challenges is measuring, valuing and communicating social and environmental benefit. Impact, of course, is what sets these investments apart. And system-change is more than a series of deals, as Joy Anderson of Criterion Institute reminds us. How does a database of transactions help in the hard work of “looking for new patterns, crossing boundaries, messing with taxonomies, shifting the rules of the game”? Money follows money. Today’s seed investment is tomorrow’s growth company and maybe the next world-changer. Tracking such investments can itself help catalyze capital for the sustainable and inclusive future. As the geeks would say, that data “wants to be free.” How to Participate Tag impact deals. Use #impinvdeal as a hashtag for flagging financing events on Twitter. Combined with the already popular #impinv, it’s an easy step toward real-time reporting of impact investing. Add or edit your profile. Add a company, financial organization or person profile. (You can also send a spreadsheet or link to your portfolio to info@impactspace.org.) If your venture or financial organization is already in ImpactSpace, please review and update the information. Put Your Data Where Your Mouth Is. Add your organization to the roster of those supporting disclosure of basic impact investment deal data. David Bank is an entrepreneur and thought leader in social innovation, technology and finance. As a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, he covered software, the Internet and venture capital. His book, Breaking Windows: How Bill Gates Fumbled the Future of Microsoft(Free Press, 2001) was named one of the “Best Business Books of 2001″ by the Harvard Business Review and Amazon.com. Most recently, he was a Vice President of Civic Ventures / Encore.org. where he advanced innovative ideas and compelling people making a difference with encore careers. Bank was a 1996 Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. He has an M.S. in journalism from Columbia University and a B.A. in politics from the University of California at Santa Cruz. Next Event: the future of Impact Investment the future of Impact InvestmentThursday, March 28, 2013Location: DoubleTree Hilton Hotel, Amsterdam Centraal Station, Oosterdoksstraat 4, 1011 DK Amsterdam The conference language is English. This event is in collaboration with  India HouseMedia Partners: Forbes India & CNBC India The speakers and topics are Herman Mulder, Chairman of the Global Reporting Initiative – GRI, impact investor, the NetherlandsImpact Investing as key driver for new-style International Development Cooperation Giuseppe van der Helm, Executive Director, Dutch Association of Investors for Sustainable Development (VBDO), President, Eurosif (European Sustainable Investment Forum), the NetherlandsImpact investment: investing in your mission, delivering more than financial returns Maximilian Martin, Founder and Managing Director of Impact Economy SA, SwitzerlandMainstreaming Impact Investing: What Are The Levers? Neeraj Bhatia, Executive Director, Member of the Board, Bank of India Ltd, India Our moderator is Hedda Pahlson-Moller, Angel Investor / Impact Investor, Omnisource International, Luxemburg Tablet Touch Walls in your hotel room “ITH Room Xperience” – a model hotel room made of Microsoft Surface Tablets. Technological boundaries research by SerranoBrothers™ – a project exploring the future of hotel rooms through technology and guests experience. Presented in Fiturtech 2013 and commissioned by Instituto Tecnológico Hotelero, Madrid, Spain. Club of Amsterdam blog Club of Amsterdam bloghttp://clubofamsterdam.blogspot.com The EggJoy Rides and Robots are the Future of Space TravelThe Transposon10-step program for a sick planetPublic Brainstorm: Economic-Demographic CrisisPublic Brainstorm: EnergyPublic Brainstorm: EnvironmentPublic Brainstorm:Food and WaterPublic Brainstorm: Overpopulation News about the Future A Report Card for Global Food Giants The social and environmental policies of the world’s ten biggest food and beverage giants need a major shake-up, said international relief and development organization Oxfam America as it launched its new global campaign called ‘Behind the Brands’. The campaign was launched with new research that for the first time scores and ranks the agricultural policies, public commitments and supply chain oversight of Associated British Foods, Coca Cola, Danone, General Mills, Kellogg, Mars, Mondelez, Nestlé, Pepsico and Unilever. The research reveals that the “Big 10” food and beverage companies – that together make $1 billion-a-day – are failing millions of people in developing countries who supply land, labor, water and commodities needed to make their products. ABF (19%), Kellogg’s (23%) and General Mills (23%) scored most poorly. They have weaker policies than Coca-Cola (41%), Unilever (49%) and Nestle (54%) for example. “While some companies are doing better than others, no company has passed the test,” said Raymond C. Offenheiser, President of Oxfam America. World in 2050A report by pwc The BRICs and beyond: prospects, challenges and opportunitiesKey findings:The world economy is projected to grow at an average rate of just over 3% per annum from 2011 to 2050, doubling in size by 2032 and nearly doubling again by 2050. China is projected to overtake the US as the largest economy by 2017 in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms and by 2027 in market exchange rate terms. India should become the third ‘global economic giant’ by 2050, a long way ahead of Brazil, which we expect to move up to 4th place ahead of Japan. Russia could overtake Germany to become the largest European economy before 2020 in PPP terms and by around 2035 at market exchange rates. Emerging economies such as Mexico and Indonesia could be larger than the UK and France by 2050, and Turkey larger than Italy. Outside the G20, Vietnam, Malaysia and Nigeria all have strong long-term growth potential, while Poland should comfortably outpace the large Western European economies for the next couple of decades. Bringing down Europe’s energy prices for 2020 and beyond Ecofys prepared this study by order of Friends of the Earth Europe and Climate Action Network Europe. The actual scale of benefits of energy savings is often underestimated. In this paper, we show that energy savings do not only bring direct cost savings; they also indirectly reduce energy prices. In other words, consumers would use fewer units of energy, and the price of the units used would be lower than they would otherwise. […] ConclusionsMany studies on efficiency conclude that there is a large potential for cost-effective savings. But these studies generally only consider the cost savings for consumers and businesses resulting from avoided energy use. In this paper we have drawn attention to the fact that energy savings do not only result in direct cost savings, but have a multiplier effect due to their downward effect on energy prices. The result is that real cost savings from exploiting the EU’s cost-effective energy savings potential are likely to be considerably higher than figures commonly cited. Savings in 2020We have shown the three main effects of energy savings on energy prices: 1. Energy efficiency policies in the EU will lead to lower fossil fuel prices in Europe2. In addition, lower electricity demand will lead to lower electricity prices3. Infrastructure investments can be cancelled or postponed, leading to a further reduction of energy prices We have estimated that the first effect is already substantial, leading to a decrease in energy prices of up to 1% for every 1% of energy saved. The impact on short-term electricity prices is difficult to quantify, but will be significant for electricity. The impact on infrastructure investments will be more noticeable in the long term.. It is important to note, however, that there will be trade-offs between the three effects (notably that more investment in certain types of infrastructure supports the use of lower cost fuels). All in all we expect that for every €1 of direct energy cost savings, an additional €1 could be saved due to lower energy prices. Therefore, net additional annual cost savings on the order of €100 billion can be expected on top of the €107 billion that will result from implementing cost-effective energy savings measures. Savings in 2030If ambitious energy savings are pursued further in the period 2020 – 2030, we expect net direct energy cost savings to be in the order of €200 billion per year and indirect energy cost savings on the order of €50 billion per year in 2030, giving €250 billion per year total net savings for consumers. To conclude, we note that energy efficiency can bring great economic benefits to European consumers, but without effective regulation savings will not materialise. It is therefore of vital importance that ambitious and effective policies are put in place in order to see these benefits realised. Recommended Book Impact Investing: Transforming How We Make Money While Making a DifferenceBy Antony Bugg-Levine & Jed Emerson This is the first book to chart the catalytic path of this new industry, explaining how it is and can be a positive disruptive force. It shows how impact investing is a transformational vehicle for delivering “blended value” throughout the investment spectrum, giving a single name to a set of activities previously siloed in enclaves, revealing how they are linked within what is becoming a new field of investing. Written by two leaders in the growing field of impact investing, the book defines this emerging industry for participants on all sides of the funding equation (investors, funders and social entrepreneurs). Filled with illustrative examples of impact investing success stories Reveals how the field can expand in order to address the most critical social and environmental issues of our day Explores the wide-ranging applications of impact investing as well as entrepreneurial opportunities The authors do not take a normative approach to argue how investors should behave like an investment guide might but show how entrepreneurial people and institutions are already offering an integrated alternative. Earth Hour Earth Hour is one of the single, largest, symbolic mass participation event in the world. Born out of a hope that we could mobilize people to take action on climate change, Earth Hour now inspires a global community of millions of people in 7,001 cities and towns across 152 countries and territories to switch lights off for an hour as a massive show of concern for the environment. Earth Hour has now become much more than a symbolic action. It has evolved into a continuous movement driving real actions, big and small, that are changing the world we live in. UgandaIn Uganda, the world’s first Earth Hour Forest was allocated with 2700 hectares of land, challenging Ugandans to fill it with 500,000 trees to fight against the 6000 hectares of deforestation that occurs in the country every month. Standard Chartered Bank (250,000 trees), the Ugandan Minister of Water Environment (1,000 trees) and many individuals have taken on the challenge..RussiaThe Russian parliament passed a long-awaited law to protect the country’s seas from oil pollution in December, after the voices of 120,000 Russians were presented to the government during the I Will If You Will campaign for Earth Hour 2012. BotswanaThe Former President of Botswana and Earth Hour Botswana coordinators Wena Environmental Education and News Trust, recently launched a project called ‘One Million Trees-Plant For Life’ as part of our I Will If You Will campaign. The project will rehabilitate degraded lands through the planting of more than one million trees over four years in Botswana. Futurist Portrait:  Michell Zappa Michell Zappa is a São Paulo-based technology futurist who has spent part of his life between London, Berlin, Stockholm & Amsterdam. His work, called Envisioning Technology, focuses on explaining where society is heading in the near future by extrapolating on current technological developments. His research facilitates understanding the field for those who work in technology by painting a bigger picture of where the landscape is heading. In this, he tries to guide both corporations and public institutions in making better decisions about their (and society’s) future. Envisioning the future of education technology Click to see the visualization Keynote Michell Zappa at TNW Latin America 2012 Agenda Season Events 2012/2013 March 28, 2013the future of Impact InvestmentLocation: DoubleTree Hilton Hotel, Amsterdam Centraal Station, Oosterdoksstraat 4, 1011 DK AmsterdamIn collaboration with India House April 25, 2013the future of Digital Identityor the death of Social Media as we know it.Location: Info.nl, Sint Antoniesbreestraat 16, 1011 HB Amsterdam [Next to Nieuwmarkt]Supported by Info.nl & Freelance Factory May 30, 2013the future of EuropeLocation: AmsterdamIn collaboration with the World Future SocietySupported by India House June 27, 2013the future of Urban GardeningLocation: Geelvinck Museum, Keizersgracht 633, 1017 DS AmsterdamSupported by Geelvinck Museum

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the future of Digital Identity

Content Program Tickets Supporters Bios Location Ressources Contact the future of Digital Identityor the death of Social Media as we know it. Thursday, April 25, 2013Registration: 18:30-19:00, Conference: 19:00-21:15Location: Info.nl – Sint Antoniesbreestraat 16, 1011 HB Amsterdam [Next to Nieuwmarkt]The conference language is English. This event is supported by  Info.nl & Freelance Factory Videosby Info.nl the future of Digital Identity – Michael Hagen, CEO, IDchecker the future of Digital Identity – Balázs Bodó, economist, piracy researcher at the Institute for Information Law (IViR), University of Amsterdam the future of Digital Identity – Annie Machon, Director, LEAP Europe. Formerly MI5 Presentation Michael Hagen, CEO, IDcheckerCan you be in control of your online identity? Impressions Without really noticing, our society has gone through a revolutionary change. In the last 30 years the world as we knew it has been moved from an analogue to a digital foundation. We have become completely dependent upon this new foundation. Some of the effects of this revolution we see, many we can’t even start to think about. Social encounters in physical space are facilitated by all human senses. All our impressions combined help us build up an impression of someone. Once we get to know someone, we get a feel of someone’s identity. In cyberspace, everything is reduced to bits of information, transported across utterly unknown digital pathways. Is the person we interact with on Skype the same person we shook hands with yesterday? Can we detect someone else digitally impersonating someone you know ‘in the flesh’? When you have been impersonated, can you defend against it? Will our online activities follow us through the whole life? Things we did as young people play a role at every job interview? This may look bleak, but at this point in time, we can’t even imagine the effect of the digital revolution. The positive effects of the digital revolution are endless. For hundreds of years we augmented ourselves, using glasses, hearing aids and artificial limbs to overcome our biological limits. More fully integrating digital technology enables us to truly transcend them. Instead of just our five senses, we will develop new senses and develop new ways of interacting with reality, people and tools. This will have an even larger impact on the way we live and work together. Concept: John Grüter, Owner, Digital Knowledge. Club of Amsterdam Round Table The speakers and topics are  Michael Hagen, CEO, IDcheckerCan you be in control of your online identity? Nowadays we can’t imagine a world without Internet anymore. We use the Internet for Social media, shopping, search engine etc and because of that we share a whole lot of information about ourselves. Once the information is there, it is nearly impossible to get it of the Internet. Is there a way we are able to change this? I think there is hope for all of us!  Balázs Bodó, economist, piracy researcher at the Institute for Information Law (IViR), University of AmsterdamHow I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Living in the Panopticon The story of having a double identity / multiple personas is one of the most basic toposes of human imagination. We don’t need to be Dr. Jekyll (and Mr. Hyde), or Superman (and Clarke Kent) to realize that most of us have more than one face. One we show in public, one, we prefer to keep private, one, we consciously maintain, another we unwillingly hint at, etc. The Internet makes it hard to compartmentalize these personas, since we all live in the “perfect prison”, in the Panopticon. Will Jeremy Bentham’s dream “Morals reformed — health preserved — industry invigorated — instruction diffused — public burthens lightened — Economy seated, as it were, upon a rock — the gordian knot of the poor-law not cut, but untied — all by a simple idea in Architecture!” will finally be achieved now?  Annie Machon, Director, LEAP Europe. Formerly MI5Panoptic Dystopia or Citizens’ Utopia? We are at a crossroads in history: never before have people had such access to information and the ability to communicate with others as the Internet now provides. Conversely, never before have governments, intelligence agencies and corporations had such an ability to track our every move, thought and word, with social media such as Facebook providing access the spies could only dream of 15 years ago. As technology continues to evolve, how do we, as citizens, preserve our basic freedoms? 18:30 – 19:00Reception & Welcome Drinks 19:00 – 20:00Introduction by our Moderator John Grüter, Owner, Digital Knowledge. Club of Amsterdam Round Table Part I  Michael Hagen, CEO, IDcheckerCan you be in control of your online identity?  Balázs Bodó, economist, piracy researcher at the Institute for Information Law (IViR), University of AmsterdamHow I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Living in the Panopticon  Annie Machon, Director, LEAP Europe. Formerly MI5Panoptic Dystopia or Citizens’ Utopia?20:15 – 20:45Coffee break with drinks and snacks. 20:45 – 21:15Part II Open discussion FULLY BOOKED! Info.nlInfo.nl makes online services and commerce successful. We connect ICT and online Marketing with your business in order for you to build a fruitful relationship with your customers. We function as directors and guard the complete process, with a sharp eye on details. Our principles are simple: Create 1 overarching online platform, treat your customers like kings, and acknowledge data as the fuel of your business. In short: Info.nl makes sure that every online contact with your brand or organization happens fluently. For an optimal online result. In short· Founded in 1994· Full service online agency in the centre of Amsterdam· The best knowledgeable agency in 2010, 2011 and 2012 according to Emerce 100· ± 70 enthusiastic employees· Amsterdam, London, Madrid, Riga and Sofia.www.info.nl Freelance Factorywww.freelancefactory.nl Michael HagenCEO, IDchecker I started my career as a purchasing and logistic manager back in 1993. From 1997-2007 I lead my employment agency DyFlex, which I successfully sold to In Person in 2008. Since 2005 I’ve been building the concept of IDchecker, which is to create a service who will help consumers and companies to be safer online. Our goal is to free the true potential of Internet. IDchecker checks and processes digitalised identification documents so that the user can easily establish the identity of a potential employee, customer or visitor, in person or online.www.idchecker.nl Balázs BodóEconomist, piracy researcher at the Institute for Information Law (IViR), University of Amsterdam He was a Fulbright Visiting Researcher at Stanford University’s Center for Internet and Society in 2006/7 and a Fellow at the Center between 2006 and 2012. Since 2012 he has been a Fulbright Fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. Since 2013 he is based in Amsterdam, working as a researcher and a Marie Curie Fellow at the Institute for Information Law (IViR) at the University of Amsterdam. Before moving to the Netherlands, he was deeply involved in the development of the Hungarian internet culture. He was the project lead for Creative Commons Hungary. He is a member of the National Copyright Expert Group. As an assistant professor at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, he helped to established and led the university’s Masters Program in Cultural Industries. He has advised several public and private institutions on digital archives, content distribution, online communities, business development. His academic interests include copyright and economics, piracy, media regulation, peer-to-peer communities, underground libraries, digital archives, informal media economies. His most recent book is on the role of P2P piracy in the Hungarian cultural ecosystem.www.ivir.nl  Annie MachonDirector, LEAP Europe. Formerly MI5 Annie Machon was an intelligence officer for the UK’s MI5 in the 1990s, before leaving to help blow the whistle on the crimes and incompetence of the British spy agencies.She is now a writer, media commentator, political campaigner, and international public speaker on a variety of related issues: the war on terrorism, the war on drugs, and the war on the internet.In 2012 she started as a Director of LEAP in Europe.Annie has an MA (Hons) Classics from Cambridge University.anniemachon.chwww.leap.cc John GrüterOwner, Digital KnowledgeClub of Amsterdam Round Table Business Architect, Knowledge Management Specialist, Business Developer, Systems Thinker, IT Generalist & Change Agent Digital technology is rapidly transforming our society, our business practices and lives. Technology is a driver, but not the real issue. Adoption by individuals, companies and governments is far more important. But how can we manage the technology, the adoption process and the effect on our businesses and private lives, without getting lost in that change?SpecialtiesBusiness Architecture; Knowledge Management; Process and Services Innovation; New Business Development; Product Managementwww.digital-knowledge.com Info.nlSint Antoniesbreestraat 161011 HB Amsterdam[Next to Nieuwmarkt]Public TransportMetroMetrostop Nieuwmarkt, exit NieuwmarktCarParkingOosterdok ParkingOosterdokstraat 150, 1011 DK AmsterdamSpecial evening rate (Park & Party: Daily 7 p.m. – 7 a.m.) € 10,- per evening.Standard rate: € 1.50 per 20 minutes.www.oosterdokparking.nlParking Stopera / MuziektheaterWaterlooplein 28, 1011 PG Amsterdamwww.parkeren-amsterdam.com/parkeergarage-stopera Related to this topic see also Club of Amsterdam Journal and for more events Agenda

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Club of Amsterdam Journal, April 2013, Issue 156

Content Identity Theft in 2013: The Battle for Your Data Next Event: the future of Digital Identity CubeSensors Club of Amsterdam blogNews about the Future International Institute of Tropical AgricultureRecommended Book: Identity, Community, and Learning Lives in the Digital Age Tree Houses Futurist Portrait: Ross Dawson Agenda Club of Amsterdam SearchSubmit your articleContactSubscribe Welcome to the  Club of Amsterdam Journal. “The positive effects of the digital revolution are endless. For hundreds of years we augmented ourselves, using glasses, hearing aids and artificial limbs to overcome our biological limits. More fully integrating digital technology enables us to truly transcend them. Instead of just our five senses, we will develop new senses and develop new ways of interacting with reality, people and tools. This will have an even larger impact on the way we live and work together.” – John Grüter Join us at our next Season Event about the future of Digital Identity – Thursday, April 25, 18:30 – 21:15! Felix F Bopp, Founder & Chairman Identity Theft in 2013: The Battle for Your Data By Adam Levin – Chairman and cofounder of Credit.com and Identity Theft 911. In 2013, we’ll have to make a choice: Either we acknowledge we’re at war and push back hard, or we keep pretending nothing’s wrong — and pay the price. In the coming weeks, as we’ve seen every year for the past six, there will be endless reports detailing the digital dangers and identity threats lurking in every corner of our highly networked universe. But to what end? Despite considerable coverage and legislative initiatives, identity theft, cyber warfare, and the death of privacy at the hands of hackers and hyper-marketers are barely on the public radar. People say they care about identity theft but they don’t really understand it. Except for industry players, technocrats, and a handful of politicians and consumer advocates, few seemed moved to action. Frankly, this situation is insane. Practically every day, someone flags risks and makes dire predictions — all deadly accurate, by the way — but unless there’s a class action suit pending, or an entire grid in darkness, no one seems to give a damn. Check your credit report? Only one out of five really do. Encrypt your database? “Encryption is hard.” Friends, the barbarians are no longer at the gate, they’re in our homes eating off our best china — yet we can’t be bothered to deal with them. The signs of things to come are everywhere — but like a man crossing a highway blindfolded, we refuse to see what’s coming. This year the situation must change. For the next few minutes, I invite you to take off the blindfold and look reality right in the eye. A war is being waged both here and abroad against our people, our economy, our institutions, indeed, our way of life. But until we take that seriously and respond strategically, we’re in for a serious can of whoop-ass. Even a fool can see where the enemy is headed, but for some reason the cavalry doesn’t seem up to the task of heading them off. As with all things in Washington and corporate America, folks are talking the talk, but few are walking the walk. Here are a number of battlegrounds where the fighting will be fiercest in 2013: Mobile devices. That smartphone in your pocket is one mother of a data storage device, and it’s like a bull’s-eye on your back. We use them to communicate our most intimate (and sometimes highly inappropriate) thoughts, figure out where we are, telegraph our next move, as well as check bank balances, deposit checks, even file taxes. There’s a gold mine behind that touch screen. Users may not realize how exposed their data is (I dare say most don’t use password-protection or remote data wiping in case of loss), but criminals know the weak spots, and they’re making mobile exploits a high priority. One scenario to watch for: a malicious programmer sneaks a malware-bearing app past smartphone gatekeepers and millions of users realize the honeymoon is over. Note that Europe already suffered the first large-scale attack on financial accounts via mobile phones: Eurograbber, a mobile SMS keylogger scam that pumped 36 million euros out of 30,000 European bank accounts. Make no mistake, we’re next. The insider threat. These come in two flavors: duplicitous and duped. Either way, they’re sleeping with the enemy. Compromising or turning an insider is a big win for criminals, providing a precious pipeline to account info, network passwords, or a company’s deepest secrets. Infecting an outside (or inside) device used at work — mobile phone, tablet, laptop — by means of something as simple as an email can get keyloggers and other malware inside the firewall to infect other computers. The FBI warns of criminals targeting bank and credit union employees — and why wouldn’t they? They’ve gone after folks at the most secure companies in the world already with spectacular results — just ask RSA and Lockheed. Medical identity theft. Our push to digitize medical records and associated data — including identity, insurance and financial information — has spawned system design flaws, sloppy data handling and everything in between. The logistics of conversion has exposed risks and led to countless breaches — including data theft and/or loss by third-party contractors. No wonder electronic health records are a magnet for identity thieves — with potentially deadly consequences for victims, since medical identity theft can mean co-mingled medical records, magically changed blood types, disappearing allergies and looted insurance policies. Malware, Malware, Everywhere. These days any would-be cyber-mercenary can play “infect your way to riches.” Be prepared for more sophisticated, undetectable, and untraceable malware available for low-cost purchase, rental, or lease from the underground purveyors of havoc. Now that botnets (like jet skis) can be rented by the hour, we’ll also see more customer-facing networks crippled by denial-of-service attacks in 2013, as hackers distract and exhaust security teams to cover their own tracks. Nonprofits and foundations. What’s more delicious than an unencrypted database overflowing with wealthy donor data? Doubtless, several foundation or charities will face big breaches in 2013. Just don’t expect them to be so forthcoming with the details. [Credit Check Tool: Monitor your credit score and activity for free with Credit.com] Debt collectors. After breaches of several debt collector databases expose records for hundreds of thousands of debtors (many who shouldn’t be in those files in the first place), public pressure will build for controls on collection agencies’ handling of clients’ data — including a requirement that breach response programs be in place before they can be bonded or licensed. Infrastructure threat. Some facet of our critical infrastructure — perhaps the electrical grid, public transportation, air traffic control, banking, medical facilities, or some large bridge or tunnel — will suffer one or a series of cyber attacks, highlighting the ever evolving, highly dangerous cyber-war threat and the shared goals of enemy agents, cybercriminals and identity thieves. Mega breaches of government data. South Carolina’s “encryption is hard” data debacle showed how myopic and negligent a government can be. But don’t assume politicians learned anything from it — though it brought the number of improperly accessed files in government custody to nearly 100 million. If anyone learned a lesson, it was the criminals, who will be emboldened in 2013 to revisit that poorly guarded well again and again. Identity theft is big business, and the bad guys want to make this their most profitable year ever. So expect repeated, persistent attacks on government databases — followed by rage from a frustrated citizenry demanding (but not getting) action. Expect an increasing tidal wave of fraudulent business and individual tax returns and refunds filed by criminals in the names of legitimate taxpayers. And remember, criminals file early! Data breach fallout. To confront the inevitable surge in attacks, 2013 should be the year of mandatory encryption, stringent security, and tough legislation holding negligent data stewards accountable; and “accountable,” dear friends, means doing hard time, not mouthing lukewarm mea culpas. I would prefer to say “will be” — but given the inability of Congress to agree on even the mundane, like the hour of the day — action seems unlikely. At this rate, we may be forced to rely on the ultimate regulators of our economic system — class-action attorneys. Strategic realignment. When we are truly focused on this issue, a depressingly rare occurrence indeed, we are playing by an arcane set of rules in the face of a highly sophisticated, totally committed, stealthy, deadly, hydra-headed opponent who knows no rules of engagement. To properly address this threat, nothing short of a Manhattan Project, or a renewed commitment to the kind of national effort that put a man on the moon will suffice. Complete cooperation, collaboration and communication among all levels of government, law enforcement, the business community, consumer advocates, individuals and the media must be achieved. Taking the fight to the criminals is exactly what we must do — along with shoring up our corporate and individual defenses and demanding that our lawmakers take this fight seriously. This is war — and whether the attacks come from hackers in Latvia, agents in Beijing, a botnet stretched across the globe, or the quiet employee in the next office, the adversary is the same, as is the M.O. These guys have one more thing in common: They play for keeps. So should we. Perhaps 2013 will be the year we start to get it right. [Featured Products: Research and compare Identity theft protection plans at Credit.com] Adam Levin is chairman and cofounder of Credit.com and Identity Theft 911. Adam’s experience as former director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs gives him unique insight into consumer privacy, legislation and financial advocacy. He is a nationally recognized expert on identity theft and credit. Next Event: the future of Impact Investment the future of Digital Identity or the death of Social Media as we know it. Thursday, April 25, 2013Location: Info.nl – Sint Antoniesbreestraat 16, 1011 HB Amsterdam The conference language is English.This event is supported by Info.nl & Freelance Factory The speakers and topics are Michael Hagen, CEO, IDcheckerCan you be in control of your online identity? Balázs Bodó, economist, piracy researcher at the Institute for Information Law (IViR), University of AmsterdamHow I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Living in the Panopticon Annie Machon, Director, LEAP Europe. Formerly MI5Panoptic Dystopia or Citizens’ Utopia? Our moderator is John Grüter, Owner, Digital Knowledge. Club of Amsterdam Round Table CubeSensors CubeSensors are small, cordless and connected devices that continuously measure temperature, humidity, noise, light, air quality and barometric pressure for every room, they can even pick up unwanted vibrations that shake up your building. Access AnywhereCubes stream data to the cloud so that you can access it from any device anywhere. You can see the historical trends of environmental changes, or current view that shows the effectiveness of your actions. CubeSensors analyze the data from your Cubes and sends you alerts and recommendations on how you can improve your indoor environment. CubeSensors are small 2 inch cubes that continuously measure and stream indoor data. Each cube has the following sensors:– thermometer, to accurately measure temperature– barometer, to detect fluctuations in barometric pressure– noise detection, to measure noise and it’s impact– light meter, for illumination– volatile organic compounds sensor, to measure indoor air pollution– moisture sensors, for humidity detection– accelerometer, for detection vibrations and cubes movementCubes are battery operated and communicate wirelessly. Club of Amsterdam blog Club of Amsterdam bloghttp://clubofamsterdam.blogspot.com The EggJoy Rides and Robots are the Future of Space TravelThe Transposon10-step program for a sick planetPublic Brainstorm: Economic-Demographic CrisisPublic Brainstorm: EnergyPublic Brainstorm: EnvironmentPublic Brainstorm:Food and WaterPublic Brainstorm: Overpopulation News about the Future Wonder Nanomaterial: Multi-use Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) A new wonder material that can generate hydrogen, produce clean water and even create energy. “While there is no single silver bullet to solving two of the world’s biggest challenges: cheap renewable energy and an abundant supply of clean water; our single multi-use membrane comes close, with its titanium dioxide nanoparticles being a key catalyst in discovering such solutions,” Professor Sun from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore said. “With our unique nanomaterial, we hope to be able to help convert today’s waste into tomorrow’s resources, such as clean water and energy.” “With such a discovery, it is possible to concurrently treat wastewater and yet have a much cheaper option of storing solar energy in the form of hydrogen so that it can be available any time, day or night, regardless of whether the sun is shining or not, which makes it truly a source of clean fuel,” said Professor Sun. “As of now, we are achieving a very high efficiency of about three times more than if we had used platinum, but at a much lower cost, allowing for cheap hydrogen production. In addition, we can concurrently produce clean water for close-to-zero energy cost, which may change our current water reclamation system over the world for future liveable cities.” Year of Air Clean air will be the focus of EU environmental policy discussions throughout 2013, the Year of Air. The European Environment Agency (EEA) provides a wealth of information underpinning the review of air pollutant legislation. Air pollution remains a concern for public health and the environment, according to the most recent analyses published by the EEA. To improve the situation, the European Commission is reviewing the EU Thematic Strategy on Air Pollution and related policies in 2013. EEA Executive Director Jacqueline McGlade said: “As the Eurobarometer survey shows, the impact of air pollution is something that European citizens feel strongly about. The decision to designate 2013 as the Year of Air reflects both the economic seriousness of the problem, but also the impacts on humans. Lives are being cut short by air pollution and chronic respiratory disease makes life miserable for many across the continent.” International Institute of Tropical Agriculture The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is one of the world’s leading research partners in finding solutions for hunger, malnutrition, and poverty. Our award-winning research for development (R4D) addresses the development needs of tropical countries. IITA works with partners to enhance crop quality and productivity, reduce producer and consumer risks, and generate wealth from agriculture. IITA has aligned all its research programs to the new CGIAR Research Programs. We conduct research on the following thematic areas: Biotechnology and genetic improvement, Natural resource management, Social science and agribusiness, and Plant production and plant health. Roots, Tubers, and Bananas for Food Security and IncomeThis CRP combines the research activities of CGIAR centers working on bananas, plantains, cassava, potato, sweet potato, yam, and several other tropical and Andean root and tuber crops. Its primary objective is to more fully realize the potential of these crops for improving nutrition, income generation, and food security among some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable populations. The program builds on the expertise, complementarities, and comparative advantages of four CGIAR centers; Bioversity International, CIAT, IITA, and CIP (headquartered in Peru) as the lead center. It has 3-year budget of US$183 million. Graham Thiele from CGIAR on the Roots, Tubers and Bananas . IITA’s Genetic Resource CenterIITA’s genebank holds plant material (germplasm) of major food crops of Africa. This germplasm is held in trust on behalf of humanity under the auspices of the United Nations. It is distributed without restriction for use in research for food and agriculture. Dr Dominique Dumet, Head of IITA’s Genetic Resource Center, explains why it is important to conserve African seeds in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault and how IITA contributes to this important effort. Recommended Book Identity, Community, and Learning Lives in the Digital AgeBy Ola Erstad (Editor), Julian Sefton-Green (Editor) Recent work on education, identity, and community has expanded the intellectual boundaries of learning research. From home-based studies examining youth experiences with technology, to forms of entrepreneurial learning in informal settings, to communities of participation in the workplace, family, community, trade union, and school, research has attempted to describe and theorize the meaning and nature of learning. Learning Lives offers a systematic reflection on these studies, exploring how learning can be characterized across a range of “whole-life” experiences. The volume brings together hitherto discrete and competing scholarly traditions: sociocultural analyses of learning, ethnographic literacy research, geo-spatial location studies, discourse analysis, comparative anthropological studies of education research, and actor network theory. The contributions are united through a focus on the ways in which learning shapes lives in a digital age. Tree Houses Baumraum designs constructions for natural and urban surroundings where you can unwind and let your imagination run free. From simple garden houses for private properties to elaborate constructions for commercial use, baumraum will realize your concept according to your individual wishes.Photographer: Alasdair Jardine MirrorcubeIt all began with a film. Treehotel’s founders were inspired by ”The Tree Lover” by Jonas Selberg Augustsen. The unyielding question formed was:Why not create a hotel that gives people a chance to experience nature amongst the tree-tops, while also providing a uniquely designed housing experience?That led to the creation of Treehotel, Harads. The Mirrorcube is the flagship creation of Treehotel. A perfect match of design, sustainability, art and efficiency. Delivered by distinguished Scandinavian architects Bolle Tham & Martin Videgård.Mirrorcube offers an extraordinary opportunity to experience nature on nature’s terms, without compromising on design or comfort.You have the perfect spot for Mirrorcube in the back of your mind or in the back of your grounds. Treehotel introduces Mirrorcube – your link to nature. Futurist Portrait:  Ross Dawson Ross Dawson is globally recognized as a leading futurist, entrepreneur, keynote speaker, strategy advisor, and bestselling author. He is Founding Chairman of AHT Group, which consists of 3 companies: consulting, publishing, and ventures firm Advanced Human Technologies, future and strategy firm Future Exploration Network, and events company The Insight Exchange. Ross is author most recently of Getting Results From Crowds, the prescient Living Networks, which anticipated the social network revolution, the Amazon.com bestseller Developing Knowledge-Based Client Relationships, and Implementing Enterprise 2.0. He is based in Sydney and San Francisco with his wife jewellery designer Victoria Buckley and two beautiful young daughters. Ross: “Key principles of successful crowdsourcing are respect, relationships, rewards, and roles.” “What lessons have we learned on the conditions for creating great art from crowds?The crowd is certainly capable of remarkable creativity. But expecting it to autonomously produce art is unrealistic. Rather, the key to creating the mass masterpiece — as in other crowdsourced projects — lies in controlling the crowd.””In art — as well as business — the crowd needs a well-defined goal and clear work processes in place in order to achieve results.While the crowd is indeed capable of creativity, it cannot yet achieve art alone.” Agenda Season Events 2012/2013 April 25, 2013the future of Digital Identityor the death of Social Media as we know it.Location: Info.nl, Sint Antoniesbreestraat 16, 1011 HB Amsterdam Supported by Info.nl & Freelance Factory May 30, 2013 the future of EuropeLocation: DoubleTree Hilton Hotel, Amsterdam Centraal Station, Oosterdoksstraat 4, 1011 DK AmsterdamIn collaboration with the World Future SocietySupported by India House June 27, 2013the future of Urban GardeningLocation: Geelvinck Museum, Keizersgracht 633, 1017 DS AmsterdamSupported by Geelvinck Museum

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the future of Europe

Content Program Tickets Supporters Bios Location Ressources Contact event pagethe future of Europe Thursday, May 30, 2013Registration: 18:30-19:00, Conference: 19:00-21:15Location: DoubleTree Hilton Hotel, Amsterdam Centraal Station, Oosterdoksstraat 4, 1011 DK AmsterdamTickets: Euro 10 (Students), Euro 20 (Members etc.) or Euro 30. Tickets The conference language is English. This event is in collaboration with the  World Future SocietyThe supporters are  India House Foundation & Heineken Presentations Stephen Aguilar-Millan, Director of Research, The European Futures Observatory, Director, The Greenways Partnership Which Europe? (pdf) Fernando Lanzer Pereira de Souza, Consultant, itim International The future of Europe is not rational! (pdf)Huib Wursten and Fernando Lanzer The EU: the third great European cultural contribution to the world (pdf) Wim J. de Ridder, Professor Futures Studies, University Twente, Founder & Director, Futures Studies Management Consultancy – FSM bv The future creates opportunities for a leading role for Europe (pdf) Ali Tunga, Chairman, Atayol Group, Turkey Europe, Turkey, and the 21st century (pdf) Videosby Winston Nanlohy the future of Europe – Stephen Aguilar-Millan, Director of Research, The European Futures Observatory, Director, The Greenways Partnership the future of Europe – Fernando Lanzer Pereira de Souza, Consultant, itim International the future of Europe – Wim J. de Ridder, Professor Futures Studies, University Twente, Founder & Director, Futures Studies Management Consultancy – FSM bv Impressionsby Jelena Sonja Popadic “I believe a United States of Europe is the right vision to surmount the current crisis, but above all to overcome the failings of the Maastricht Treaty” – Viviane Reding, Vice-President of the European Commission, responsible for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship “Without Turkey we can forget our ambition to be a global player in the future.” – Günter Verheugen, former Commission Vice-President and enlargement commissioner. Aren’t there plenty of reasons why we should celebrate the ‘Future of Europe’?Out of the window with doom scenarios: Europe is a hotspot of excellence, ready to achieve new heights. The future of Europe can look bright since it has what it takes to exploit its growth potential. Europe scores high on the ‘Four Ts’, which enable innovation and excellence: tax regime, talent, technology and track record. Economy, entrepreneurship, social and cultural richness are the pillars of the new Europe. Diversity and a high-level of education provide the tools to successfully tackle the current challenges. Olli Rehn, Commission Vice-President for Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Euro said: “The ongoing rebalancing of the European economy is continuing to weigh on growth in the short term. The current situation can be summarised like this: we have disappointing hard data from the end of last year, some more encouraging soft data in the recent past, and growing investor confidence in the future.” What are the characteristics of the future Europe? Will it stay a Union of Nation States? How will diversity strengthen Europe? What makes it competitive in the future? What global role is Europe going to play? The speakers and topics are:  Stephen Aguilar-Millan, Director of Research, The European Futures Observatory, Director, The Greenways PartnershipWhich Europe? The model of the European Union that served it well for the first 50 years has come under a great deal of pressure since the onset of the financial collapse of 2008. There are those who take the view that now might be a good time to review that model before events impose changes to the EU. This session will trace the development of the EU model, consider how it could change, and how that will influence the future of Europe.  Fernando Lanzer Pereira de Souza, Consultant, itim InternationalThe future of Europe is not rational! Discussions about the future of Europe need to consider the influence of values and emotions and not only rational aspects. There are five value-clusters in Europe, an important component of identity. If we do not address that, political/economic proposals for an effective European Union are unlikely to be accepted.  Wim J. de Ridder, Professor Futures Studies, University Twente, Founder & Director, Futures Studies Management Consultancy – FSM bvThe future creates opportunities for a leading role for Europe Precompetitive research in the main domains of the next technological evolution (cleantech, genetics and artificial intelligence) is globally managed by amongst others the International Technology Roadmap Semiconductors. This governance system is a blessing in disguise for Europe. Above, after 2020 singularity will be mainstream. The world is entering a period of technological creation of super intelligence. This innovation will disrupt many cultures in the world. Europe is in the best position to play a leading role as peacemaker in the next turbulent times.  Ali Tunga, Chairman, Atayol Group, TurkeyEurope, Turkey, and the 21st century Europe has gone in the past 200 years through many extensive transitions, but perhaps none of them has reshaped Europe as substantially as the one of the next 15 to 20 years. Europe’s financial, demographic and geopolitical challenges will force either a painful and confrontational adjustment, or the willingness to change, adapt and accept new opportunities and new geopolitical partnerships. This presentation will raise the issues, and present potential perspectives. 18:30 – 19:00Reception & Welcome Drinks 19:00 – 20:00Introduction by our Moderator Annegien Blokpoel, CEO, PerspeXo Part I  Stephen Aguilar-Millan, Director of Research, The European Futures Observatory, Director, The Greenways PartnershipWhich Europe?  Fernando Lanzer Pereira de Souza, Consultant, itim InternationalThe future of Europe is not rational!  Wim J. de Ridder, Professor Futures Studies, University Twente, Founder & Director, Futures Studies Management Consultancy – FSM bvThe future creates opportunities for a leading role for Europe Ali Tunga, Chairman, Atayol Group, TurkeyEurope, Turkey, and the 21st century 20:15 – 20:45Coffee break with drinks and snacks. 20:45 – 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.[*] see www.clubofamsterdam.com/ticketcorner.htm How to pay for the tickets? ….a) Online booking with credit card:  Ticket Corner….….www.clubofamsterdam.com/ticketcorner.html ….b) By bank: send an email with your details, number of tickets, type of tickets….….and event name to: ticketcorner@clubofamsterdam.com and make the payment to……..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 The World Future Society The World Future Society is an organization of people dedicated to exploring the future. Since its establishment more than 40 years ago, the Society and THE FUTURIST magazine have endeavored to do one thing and to excel at it and that is to serve as a neutral clearinghouse of ideas on the future. Our mission is to enable thinkers, political personalities, scientists and lay-people to share an informed, serious dialogue on what the future will be like.www.wfs.org India House Foundationwww.indiahouse.org Heinekenwww.heineken.com Stephen Aguilar-MillanDirector of Research, The European Futures ObservatoryDirector, The Greenways Partnership Stephen Aguilar-Millan is the director of research at the The European Futures Observatory and the longtime director of the The Greenways Partnership.Stephen’s main focus is to use future business trends to develop a range of possible futures that assist clients to generate their preferred futures. His areas of specialization include financial futures, economic futures, geopolitical futures, strategic futures, and the future of the organisation. Current projects include:The Next Golden Age Of Technology 2030-45Wildcards For the UK National Ecosystem At Mid-CenturyA Monetary System For The 22nd CenturyDeveloping A New EconomicsThe Future Of The European Healthcare Systemwww.eufo.orgwww.greenways-partnership.com   Fernando Lanzer Pereira de SouzaConsultant, itim InternationalManaging Partner, LCO PartnersSenior Consultant, The Oxford Group Fernando Lanzer is a Brazilian living in Amsterdam since 2003, an international HR executive turned management consultant with a focus on Leadership Development and Managing Across Cultures. His clients are multinational organizations in Europe, Africa and Latin America. Mr. Lanzer also chairs the Supervisory Group of AIESEC International, the world’s largest student internship organization, based in Rotterdam. He is the author of many articles and of the book “Take Off Your Glasses” (2012).www.itim.org Wim J. de RidderProfessor Futures Studies, University TwenteFounder & Director, Futures Studies Management Consultancy – FSM bv Wim J. de Ridder holds a chair in futures studies at the University of Twente, The Netherlands and a Pd.D. in economics. He has published a series of books and articles on long term developments in technology and economy. From 1983 through 2008 he was director of Society and Enterprise Foundation, futures research centre of the Dutch business community, The Hague. He is founder and director of Futures Studies & Management Consultancy. a professional member of the World Futures Society and founder and member of a Dutch network of Public Affairs directors.International publicationsDecision-making processes in cyberspace, published in: Cynthia G. Wagner (ed), World Future Society’s 2005 conference volume, Foresight, Innovation and Strategy: Towards a Wiser World, 2005Corporate dealing with the network economy, published in Futures: Journal of policy, planning and futures studies, Elsevier, November/December 2006Applying memes in Foresight, published in: Cynthia G. Wagner (ed), World Future Society’s 2011 conference volume, Moving from Vision to Action, 2011www.futuresstudies.nl  Ali TungaChairman, Atayol Group, Turkey Ali Tunga was born in 1962 in Kayseri, Turkey. He is the Chairman of Atayol Group of Companies. Mr. Tunga holds a Bachelor’s degree in Physic Engineering. He is fully engaged with the energy business and the construction sector. He is the owner and founder of the Atayol Group of Companies with more than 1,500 employees headquartered in Istanbul since 1990. Some of the Group Companies are as follows:Petco Energy Inc., as one of our group companies, operates, as investor or contractor, in the following fields: construction of power plants, cross border natural gas and oil pipelines and oil refineries, electricity distribution and generation and is fully engaged with natural gas and LNG importation activities and renewable energy Projects.Atayol Construction Inc. and Star Walltech International LLC. operate as investor and contractor in construction sector in Turkey and abroad.Global Nuclear Energy Generation Inc. offers a full array of engineering and consulting services applicable to each and everyday field of energy sector. The company cooperates with leading international companies, research and engineering institutions for purposes of technology transfer and advancement.atayolgroup.com/groupcomp.htm Annegien BlokpoelCEO, 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 DoubleTreeby Hilton HotelAmsterdam Centraal StationOosterdoksstraat 41011 DK AmsterdamNetherlandsPhone: +31-20-530 0800 (For parking and hotel information. No conference reservation.)website By public transportThe hotel is located adjacent to Amsterdam Centraal Station.From the airportComing from Schiphol Airport, you can reach DoubleTree Hilton Hotel by train or by taxi.Train: A direct train line runs direct to and between the airport and the hotel every 10-15 minutes and costs on average €7.50 per person. Taxis generally take a bit longer and cost up to €50 per ride. The Amsterdam Centraal Station is located adjacent to the hotel from where most national and international trains arrive/depart.Taxi: Ask for destination DoubleTree Hilton Hotel, next to Amsterdam Centraal Station, Oosterdoksstraat 4. The ride takes approx. 30 minutes, depending on traffic and costs up to € 50.By carFrom Schipol Airport Amsterdam:follow signs for A4 Utrecht / Haarlem / Amsterdam and merge onto A4.At the interchange De Nieuwe Meer, keep right and follow signs for E22 / A10 west toward Ring Amsterdam (west) / Centrum / Zaanstad / LeeuwardenTake exit IJmuiden for s102 toward Centrum / Westpoort.Turn right onto Transformatorweg / s102. Continue to follow s102.Continue onto Westerkeersluisbrug / s100. Continue to follow s100.Turn left to stay on s100.Turn left onto Oosterdokskade.Take the 2nd right onto Oosterdoksstraat. From Utrecht:Take A2 to Amsterdam.Continue onto Nieuwe Utrechtseweg / s110.Turn right onto President Kennedylaan / s110. Continue to follow s110.Turn right onto Berlagebrug.Continue onto Meester Treublaan.At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Wibautstraat / s112.Continue onto Rhijnspoorplein.Continue onto Weesperplein.Continue onto Weesperstraat.Continue onto Hortusplantsoenbrug / Jonas Daniël Meijerplein. Continue to follow Jonas Daniël Meijerplein.Continue onto Meester Visserplein.Continue onto Valkenburgerstraat.Slight right onto IJtunnel.Continue straight onto Nieuwe Foeliestraat / Rapenburg / Rapenburgerplein. Continue to follow Nieuwe Foeliestraat.Turn left onto Prins Hendrikkade.Turn right onto Oosterdokskade.Turn right to stay on Oosterdokskade.Take the 1st left onto Willem Frederik Hermansstraat.Willem Frederik Hermansstraat turns right and becomes Oosterdoksstraat. ParkingPublic parking facilities are available underneath the hotel:Oosterdok Parking:Special evening rate (Park & Party: Daily 7 p.m. – 7 a.m.) € 10,- per evening.Standard rate: € 1.50 per 20 minutes.www.oosterdokparking.nlIt is virtually impossible to park anywhere on the street. DoubleTree Hilton Hotel Related to this topic see also Club of Amsterdam Journal and for more events Agenda