Last week I attended TEDxRotterdam on future leadership. It was for the first time that a TEDx event was open only for students in their last year of their studies and CEO’s. There was an opportunity for future leaders to meet current leaders from all areas of society. Over 25 speakers and performers shared their vision on future leadership in the Nieuwe Luxor Theater.
As said beforehand, it was not a business event. And although many students were dressed ready for a job interview, the particular young audience today gave a fresh vibe. A whole array of speakers shared their view of what according to them will lead the future, whether that be science, music, entrepreneurship, philosophy, exploration or expertise. Most of the speakers in the end turned to us, the audience: “YOU will lead the future”.
CEO for one day
“The use of social media seems to have a good influence on the feeling of solidarity at the working place”, twittered Boudewijn Pols. He had the opportunity to try this out, being one of the 20 students that got selected to swap seats with a top executive and chair the board of a high-ranking organization for one day. The first edition of the leadership transformation program ‘CEO for One Day’ was launched at TEDxRotterdam. It appeared to me as a great success and a very special opportunity to witness the daily practice of a CEO. A handful of student-CEO’s shared their impression with the audience through a live video connection
.
During the day the inspiration heats up
In the morning speakers warmed up the audience by presenting their perspectives on the world and their understandings of the world. Mikko Hypponen raised awareness on our (dis)ability to protect our digital identities and Haiyan Wang shared her vision about how the world will change when China becomes the largest economic power in the world. After the lunch break, the speeches about designing the world and inspiring the world sparked our imagination. Joost Conijn cheered up the audience by showing pictures of his travels from Flevoland to Kenya in his own build airplane. Sander Veeneman encouraged us to realize that every ‘no’ can turn into a ‘yes’. He made a big impression with his work as a photographer to create more awareness on poverty around the world. On a more confronting level Giel Beelen collected all favourite songs of today’s audience, noticing that the majority sticks to mainstream music.
The power of art
Rotterdam appeared to be the Dutch heart of great dance and music. We could enjoy the amazing voices of Roos Jonker and Ming’s Pretty Heroes. And the dances of Conny Jannsen Danst and HipHopHuis left us in silence; it was beautiful.
Future leaders
In our application form all students were asked to indicate what according to us will lead the future. A array of buzzwords was seen on the badges, making interesting matches between future and present leaders. Favourite words were: ambition, change, China, communication, creativity, curiosity, energy, ideas, innovation, passion, science, sustainability, technology and ‘we’. Be aware of the new generation of future leaders, represented at TEDxRotterdam. We’re on our way!
Facebook
Twitter
Youtube
Flickr