Programme
“Purpose comes when we know we have done something that we believe matters.” (Hurst, 2015)
The knowledge society we live in is diverse, globalized and imbued with media and technology. The fading of borders offers opportunities worldwide to work together on creative solutions that are meaningful for society.
The rapidly changing society has a major influence on the current and future ‘Leisure Landscape’. Also within the Leisure Landscape, the end user determines what is valuable and what is not. To secure this Leisure Future, a good insight into the end user and constant innovation thus is important. Innovating means not being reactive, and being sensitive towards oneself and one’s environment, and being open to adopt a different perspective on the world and be willing to look ahead and move forward based on this. Making a valuable contribution to the quality of life of the individual, the Leisure Industry and communities.
It is important for the Leisure industry to look at all of these aspects of sustainability as a whole integrating it into its dna. We already see this happening in festivals such as DGTL and welcome to the village but also in many other Leisure sectors.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s)
As we all know sustainability is much more than environmental sustainability. Something that is becomes clear and apparent when looking at the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). Although all SDG’s are important points of focus, if you look at the SDG’s from a Leisure perspective there are a few that the Leisure industry could perhaps have a bigger influence on.
SDG 4 Quality Education
Although this is not directly related to leisure we are in the educational field so it would be strange to leave this one out.
SDG 17 Partnerships for goals
First of all, it is important to realize that the leisure and event manager operates in a complex and dynamic environment, in which the leisure manager must be able to connect different stakeholders within the public and private domain in order to establish sustainable partnerships.
SDGs 3 Good health and well-being and 11: Sustainable cities and Communities
This should subsequently lead to value creation aimed at creating sustainable cities and communities in which quality of life, whereby the well-being of society and the well-being of individuals within society are paramount. This translates into the creation of meaningful leisure concepts that strive for a balance between prosperity, welfare and well-being.
SDGs 5 Gender Equality, 12 Responsible consumption and Production, and 15 Life on land
That means paying attention to social equality through the use of leisure, business models aimed at the long term, being able to pursue personal ambitions and improving social conditions. All this from an awareness of the impact that leisure has on the natural environment
The combination of all these aspects will force us to look at a more sustainable future and the important role that the leisure industry could play in that future narrative.
Rolph Adriaansen
Genietgroep (Van PET naar PRET)
With his company Genietgroep, entrepreneur Rolph Adriaansen enthuses and inspires people from young to old to work on a better world. After previous projects, he has settled in KaaiDuurzaam, the creative and sustainable breeding ground in Roosendaal. From here, Adriaansen wants to make all of West Brabant more aware of the impact of waste and circular thinking in an instructive way.
In what way? It started with over a hundred and fifty thousand PET bottles from before the depositsystem era. As a reaction to an irritation of al the litter on the streets Rolph Adriaansen started a campaign to have these collected. He now has a shed with dozens of pallets full of these bottles. He uses these bottles for his school programme ‘From Cap to Fun (van Pet naar Pret)’, in which he visits six Roosendaal primary schools and teaches children about the versatility and what you can actually do with waste.
Elisah Pals
Zero Waste Netherlands
Elisah Pals is a Brabant native with a passion for nature and adventure. She has a fascination for human behaviour and how to influence it in a positive way. In 2018, she started the civic initiative Zero Waste Netherlands, after already living waste-free herself for 2.5 years. On a plastic-strewn beach, she realised that waste symbolises how we as humanity treat our planet. On the spot, she decided to increase her clout and share her tips and insights, using positive psychology. Thus the waste-free citizen movement was born, which now numbers thousands. Elisah focuses on waste prevention and waste in the broad sense.
Laura Pardo
Artist and lecturer
LinkedIn
Laura is a Lecturer at the Academy of Games and Media at Breda University of Applied Sciences. She teaches in the areas of Interaction Design and Creativity for which she relies on prototyping and testing. Her background is in Visuals Arts and has a passion for Educational Design.
Ron Bekker
Owner Runnerscafe and ‘De magazinemakers’
LinkedIn
Going outside together provides many positive health benefits. In my view, people are not made to sit inside and look at a screen all day. Now, if you have to do this often because your work requires it, go for a lunch walk every day or go outside before a meeting. As a lifestyle coach and running trainer, I definitely see the health benefits of this. Being outside a lot, I experience the beauty of nature and greenery. I also sometimes see litter lying around. I usually pick it up. Based on this vision, I started organising group walks and ploggings. I call this movement with impact. Impact for your own health and impact for a clean environment.
Marisa de Brito
Researcher and lecturer Breda University of Applied Sciences
LinkedIn
Marisa de Brito is a senior researcher on the area of Events and Placemaking with a PhD on Circularity, teaching among others at the Master of Strategic Events Management at Breda University of Applied Sciences (BUas). Following the learning community philosophy of her university, Marisa cooperates with festivals and municipalities on applied research leading to sustainable impact. She publishes regularly at trade magazines and academic journals and is a renown speaker on the topic of sustainability. She is also a certified A Greener Festival (AGF) Assessor.
Amber Herrewijn
Lecturer and researcher NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences
LinkedIn
Amber Herrewijn teaches Event Management in the Master programme International Leisure, Tourism & Events Management at NHL Stenden University. Following the design-based philosophy of her university, Amber cooperates with local festivals to work on innovative prototype developments. Her interest in circularity & sustainability lead to collaborative research on nudging visitors towards disposing their cigarette butts responsibly. Together with her students, Amber works on keeping their Leeuwarden campus cigarette butt free.