The Future of Us on 18 September 2023 in Arnhem is an innovative conference event on energy transition and a circular economy. The focus this year is specifically on the finite nature of raw materials. Producing energy with green technologies, such as solar and wind, requires many scarce metals. How will we cope with this dilemma within the energy transition?
Visionaries, inventors, truthers, politicians, entrepreneurs, scientists, students, startups and you will find each other at this festival organised by Kiemt and Industriepark Kleefse Waard (IPKW), the ‘most circular workplace in the Netherlands. Supply and demand are linked, innovations get a stage and stories get listeners. At The Future of Us, we find, connect, tell and accelerate.
The theme of this year’s edition is Breaking down Barriers. Making the energy transition and the transition to a circular economy a success requires breaking through the barriers that stand in the way of these transitions. These include barriers between sectors, between plans and their execution, and between current behaviour and the behaviour we want to see. National and regional borders also pose barriers, as do language and cultural differences and differences in laws and regulations. All these barriers will be addressed.
This year’s keynote speakers will include Dutch journalist and producer Teun van de Keuken, best known for being one of the presenters on ‘Keuringdienst van Waarde’, a TV programme that explores where our food comes from and how it’s produced. Also speaking will be Rico Bakker, podcast creator and author of ‘De kracht van een slecht idee’ (‘The Power of a Bad Idea’), a book that seeks unconventional answers to crucial issues.
In addition, Jan Terlouw hands out the annual Jan Terlouw innovation award named after him to innovative start-ups with groundbreaking ideas.
Image: Greenbutterfly/Shutterstock
