The world is in a rapid transformation that crosses cultures, industries and localities. In the midst of everything that is going on, the events industry is looking for ways to meet the demands of a future still open for definition. What does the future hold? What are the new technologies and methods of collaborations that are needed? How can we learn to thrive? Besides these questions, it's clear that for the foreseeable future we won’t be able to travel or come together in the traditional way. Hybrid and online events are expected to become more and more the standard.

REGISTER HERE

Rotterdam is the capital of innovation; resilience is in our DNA. When conditions are challenging, we excel. And these challenging times call for future focused solutions. Led by Rotterdam’s own futurist, best-selling author Yuri van Geest, we will engage you during a dynamic series of 7 hybrid collaborative experiments to explore the future of the events-industry.

“We are entering a new world: from control to trust, from scarcity to abundance, from separation to unity and from short term to long term. In our hearts we are connected to ourselves, each other, nature and the universe. We allow necessary imagination for the transformation of the system that is now revealing itself. For the event industry this means, among other things, space for co-creation, longer content-driven sessions, deep, personal and professional stories, retreats and new forms of being together.”

– Yuri van Geest

During the 1st Rotterdam Experiment we will discover the exciting possibilities mixed reality offers the events industry in a living experiment connecting the virtual & live sphere to each other.

Learning and sharing

Like any good experiment, we will collect real-time data and exchange knowledge with each other. Experts from the events industry & beyond will provide an interdisciplinary perspective of our findings, and together we will build up the cumulative knowledge needed to give shape the event of the future. Knowledge and insights gained through The Rotterdam Experiment will be shared on this page!

When – December 3, 13:00-15:00 hours CET
Where – Postillion Hotel & Convention Centre WTC Rotterdam + online
Who – You!

• 13:00-13:05 – Intro to The Rotterdam Experiment – Mirjam van de Kamp
• 13:05-13:30 – Keynote ‘Inspiration: The global perspective for the path ahead’- Yuri van Geest
• 13:30-14:00 – Experiment 1 ‘Mixed Reality – Let’s meet in VR’ – Freek Teunen
• 14:00-14:15 – Break
• 14:15-14:50 – Panel discussion with speakers: Carola van der Hoeff (COO FIP), Marjan van der Haar (MD IFFR), Kris Stabel (EUR-RISBO)
• 14:50-15:00 – Results & Wrap up
• 15:00 – End

7 events in 2020/2021

Each of the 7 editions of The Rotterdam Experiment will be a step toward the future of events, by the industry and for the industry. Each Rotterdam Experiment will be a new experience, taking place at a different location, with different speakers addressing progressive themes within the event industry. The topics for the 7 scheduled events are (dates or themes may change, so check this page regularly): The Rotterdam Experiment