Speakers¹⁶

For say, it is rather turbulent in the world. It feels like we are stumbling from crisis to crisis. That’s because our systems and institutions are dated and no longer doing what they were designed to do. There has never been a better time in our history to redesign and reshape our future.

Where are the opportunities that we don’t see now, let alone take advantage of? How should we connect with the emerging future and what role and responsibility is there for governments and for the business community? Not to mention for ourselves? How do we create together the world everyone longs for?

Make your event an unforgettable experience and go with Ruud on an exiting expedition to the unleashed future. Maximum impact with lots of interaction and examples of best practices.

Daphne Laan is a creative impact entrepreneur; the common thread in her story is pioneering and impact. Daphne has over 20 years of experience at the nexus of business, technology, creativity, and impact. As Head of Technology & Ecosystems at Google, she took on the experiment: In business, what happens when you follow your heart and do only the things you love? Then doors open unexpectedly….

Her mission is to create space for freedom of thinking, doing & feeling. House of Wonder is her umbrella for creative collaborations and impactful entrepreneurship. In doing so, she stretches the boundaries to create new possibilities.

She is co-founder of The Board Whisperers, who help founders, boards and executive teams with transitions and turn vision or strategy into inspiring action, by also looking what is swept under the carpet.

Daphne fuels the fire of change in CEOs, founders and leaders of the future and helps them make more impact through collaboration.

She is active in connecting people and traversing bubbles. As an ecosystem orchestrator, she brings networks together, transcending the importance of individual bubbles and always looks at the big picture.

“I create space for possibilities in thinking, from positivity and show that pigeonholes we like to think in can be stretched, so that something new emerges.”

Daphne’s lectures are characterized by a light-hearted and upbeat tone on important topics such as technology, leadership, and transition issues. She brings energy, passion, lightness, fun and hope; as she herself tackles her challenges.

Read more about Daphne Laan >>

“Take care of the place that takes care of you“, that’s really the essence. The reason biomimicry stayed on her mind when Saskia was introduced to it in 2009:

“We as humans want to take care of our children and grandchildren. But we can’t physically do that for our descendants seven generations from now. What we can do is create an environment that takes care of them.”

That realization touched her, as it did the many people she inspires with biomimicry. Audiences are sometimes moved to tears. So Saskia strives for a better, more beautiful, fairer and healthier world, and if you ask her, biomimicry plays a key role in her mission.

According to Saskia, the philosophy of biomimicry can be applied in all facets of our personal lives, but also in all areas within various organizations. It can provide new perspective and guidance for engineers and architects, economists, policy makers, educators and entrepreneurs, for example.

Saskia van den Muijsenberg therefore appeals to a broad audience with her lectures and workshops, which are interesting for anyone who wants practical tools and answers to the question: “How can I start making changes tomorrow in order to do better?”

Speaker, scientist, professor and world champion soccer-playing robots; Maarten Steinbuch simply cannot be pigeonholed. A brief summary of his career: he studied Mechanical Engineering at TU Delft, where he later obtained his PhD in Measurement and Control Technology. He worked for 12 years as a mechanical engineer (Philips) and at the age of 39 started working as a professor at TU Eindhoven.

Maarten takes his audience on a journey to the future and tells them about the speed of technological developments and their impact on our lives. When he speaks people are on the edge of their seat; young, old, scientist, director or engineer. And if not him, his faithful companion will make sure of that; a small, robotic dinosaur that even impressed the Dalai Lama in 2018.

Aniek was 19 when she first became aware of sustainability and the consequences of climate change. At home at the kitchen table, it was never discussed, nor was it part of the curriculum at school. Bizarre, she now thinks in retrospect.

“The climate crisis is the biggest challenge humanity has ever seen. Every reason for an ‘all hands on deck’ mentality.”

She is currently attending the Masters in Societal Transitions at Erasmus University in Rotterdam and does not rule out that her ambition will eventually lead her towards politics. She specializes in intergenerational justice, long-term decision-making, future design and Broad Prosperity.

In the lectures Aniek gives, she also argues for systemic change. Not making logical what is illogical and curbing things that are harmful to people, animals and the living environment. Not only climate change, but also themes such as social equality and diversity are on her agenda.

Aniek’s lectures confront, abrade and activate, because as she herself says:

“I don’t believe in hope, but in courage and commitment. Hope is passive, sitting back and thinking things will work themselves out won’t change anything.”

Read more about Aniek >>

“We overconsume and buy products we don’t need to impress people we don’t even like.”

Minimalism is often explained as the opposite of materialism. But personally, Jelle perceives minimalism as a much broader concept. One that relates to all aspects of life. It’s not just the things you buy, but also the way you organize your life, fill in your time and spend your energy.

You may even call Jelle’s way of life essentialism. Back to the essence, nothing more and nothing less. This not only benefits our (mental) health, but also the planet, because “taking action against climate change is incredibly urgent”.

Jelle’s message moves people because his story is personal, vulnerable and positive. He tells the painful truth, without pointing the finger. He explains how we can all do better, by giving practical tips. His audience goes home full of enthusiasm and inspiration.

“Why do people do what they do?” A very important question that everyone in society and in organizations should study if you ask Mark. Because understanding our mind plays a big role in tackling major societal challenges and issues.

According to Mark, a better world starts by taking into account the different ways people function, work and change. Among other things, he draws inspiration from nature, cultural and healthcare organizations – pioneers who fulfill a social role and are people-oriented rather than commercial-oriented.

The traditional way of dealing with a problem – such as high workload – for example is to work faster, harder and more efficiently. But efficiency can actually make us ineffective if we put processes instead of people first, says Mark.

With his lectures, Mark wants to make a difference for people and organizations, by reminding them what their purpose is, showing them how their beliefs play a role and how they determine their behavior.

Marga’s drive to have maximum impact to make business more sustainable is the common thread in all her roles. Initially as a CEO, then as the leader of networks ‘De Groene Zaak’ and ‘Het Groene Brein’, now as an international writer, speaker and Board Member. She is deeply convinced that entrepreneurs can and should help solve world problems. They can, because it offers a range of business opportunities, according to Marga. Therefore, there is no reason not to do it, so she wants to help companies see how they can do it. Ultimately, her wish is for sustainable business to become the norm, rather than the exception.

Purpose is therefore her keyword and she helps companies find that purpose, make it concrete and lead the company from that insight. This means that companies actually focus on world challenges and then consider how their business can contribute to them, while maintaining or even increasing profitability and growth. In doing so, she likes to use the Sustainable Development Goals, which also form the core of her gold-winning new book ‘The Trillion Dollar Shift’.

A grandfather who was a policeman in the resistance during World War II. That is Tom Kok’s personal inspiration. Because thanks to the choices his grandfather made back then, Tom is not only inspired. He lives!

Over 23 years ago, Tom Kok said goodbye to his corporate career and his chairmanship of D66. What for? He didn’t exactly know. He did have a list of everything he wanted to be: millionaire, celebrated statesman, captain of industry, inspirer, warm dad. That list quickly dwindled, with the last two options remaining. Tom decided he had to choose and finally realized he didn’t want to be someone who hadn’t really inspired anyone in his life. And so he chose inspiration. A line he has continued ever since, in everything he does. And that’s a lot.

Tom is a speaker and can be hired for small and large groups; from 1-on-1 coaching to small-scale workshops and lectures for 1,000 people. With his stories, which are based on his own experiences and combined with theory, he gets his audience thinking about leadership, Stephen Covey’s 8th trait, energy and fundamental questions such as ‘who am I?’.

Tom is a man of many words who also knows and appreciates the power of silence. After a meeting with Tom, you will have plenty of food for thought as a listener. To which Tom warns:

“You may come to the conclusion that you need to make big decisions in your personal or professional life.”

Rumbling in the margins

Once Harm saw Princess Irene speaking in front of a group of people about sustainability. An 88-year-old man in the audience exclaimed, “I’m doing it all for my grandchildren“. Irene – then also in her 80s – replied somewhat piqued “if you don’t think life is worth doing it for yourself, then it won’t be anything!”

“That’s the way I see it. If you only do it for your children or grandchildren, you don’t really feel it. You also have to want it for yourself, for nature, for everything on earth.”

And it’s desperately needed too. Ecosystems are on the verge of collapse, deforestation, freshwater and resource shortages, plastic soup. Or in Harm’s words, “It’s drama! The Earth Overshoot Day is at the end of July, which means 5 months of living at the expense of the future, every year.” His lectures are a plea to stop messing around on the margins, and get two feet in the new economy.

“Companies need to stop lying to us, young people need to demand a better future from those currently in power, and we need to dream and act bigger and more radically.“

“News and opinions about climate are often charged and negative. I want to change this to bold and positive.”

During the corona pandemic, Maartje Bregman – then a physical therapy student – decides to write a book; “The Power of Giving Back. Among other things, she researches veganism and its effect on health, climate, and animal welfare. The book is published but all this freshly acquired knowledge becomes a dilemma …

The realization that the situation is untenable grabs her by the throat.
Lagging behind and being despondent is not what she wants, ignoring this is also not an option either…. So, what then?

She decides to use her talent and large network for good. She founded an online platform for positive climate news, ‘happytimesmagazine.nl’, a physical magazine and gives lectures on sustainability with contagious enthusiasm, refreshing among all the heated climate debates.

“I want people to leave the room with their heads held high, realizing that they are part of the solution. I share the sincere concerns of my generation, but don’t point fingers. I show how things can be done differently in a fun way. With that positive approach, I get people on board.”

Frank shows a new version of how the ‘the good life’ could look. Food is an important part of that, because this is where we can make a lot of impact together. Contributing to this is not just for vegetarians and vegans, says Frank:

“The idea still prevails to a large extent, that you are either convincingly carnivorous or vegan, otherwise you are a hypocrite. That is not true. There is room somewhere in between for everyone to make a better choice every day. In my book and lectures, I show people that the opportunity is there.”

In both his cookbook and lectures, he uses data to show which food choices have the most impact on our ecological footprint. And the great thing is, he makes even the biggest meat lover, sceptic or pessimist see that you don’t have to make a huge sacrifice to do so.

Frank’s mission against climate change began when, as a 15-year-old, he saw Al Gore’s ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, which predicted the bleak future of his beloved glacier – the Aletsch Glacier. At the time, he was living in Switzerland with his parents, both pastors.  He could not have imagined then that he would later follow in their footsteps to some extent. But he now sees himself as a ‘sustainability preacher’, with an important message.

Read more about Frank Holleman >>

Marnix Kluiters was well on his way to a corporate career when two things changed in his life. One, he got an eye condition, which caused him to go almost completely blind within a short period of time. Two, he got an internship at the employer of his dreams and was bored to tears. Was this all? Will he do this for the rest of his life? Did he put everything aside and study hard for this for years?

He decided to take a radically different route. Touched by the friendly volunteers who made sure he could still go on winter sports vacation even with poor visibility – he had been an avid skier for years – and inspired by the documentary Return of Happiness, he started looking into sustainability. In 2019, started his own podcast Ecosophy, where ecology, economics and philosophy come together in conversations with sustainability experts from a variety of disciplines. He spoke with over a hundred leading politicians, entrepreneurs, and scientists, on the question: how do we strive for the good life within the ecological limits of the planet? He now has more than 15,000 listeners a month, with a new episode appearing every two weeks.

“By bringing different disciplines together, we can strive for an ecosophy, a system in which everyone has the opportunity to live a good life, now and in the future. In my podcast, I’m not looking for creative answers, but mainly ask if we’re asking the right questions.”

In his book Sustainable Ambition, Marnix describes how everyone can dedicate their careers to the transition to a sustainable world. If we leave that to the government and business, it will be far too slow. Together with Mark Siegenbeek van Heukelom, personal leadership coach, he explains how all of us, even if you are not a CEO or board member, can make a difference.

“It sometimes seems that people forget their sustainable ideas and views between nine and five. But we can change systems if we put our careers to work.”

If anyone knows how change works, both societal changes toward sustainability and profound changes in your personal life, it’s Marnix. For Speakers for Good, he lectures on giving meaning to your career, dignity as a solution to the climate crisis and making big changes happen.

Read more about Marnix >>

Law and ethics form the foundation of everything Jan van de Venis undertakes in his life and career. After his early years in commercial law, he joined Greenpeace International as a lawyer; the beginning of a new direction, conservation and human rights.

“I became increasingly aware of the pressure on nature and the planet, and that our current law is not working to protect nature and future generations.”

A healthy environment is a human right and from this perspective he advised and supported – among others with his company JustLaw – citizens and NGOs in UN trajectories and lawsuits against companies and institutions violating human and children’s rights. The coalition of NGOs he is involved with also won the UN Human Rights Prize in 2023.

Jan is additionally a great ambassador of seventh generation thinking. He is concerned with the question, “what choices should we make now to ensure a good future for future generations?”. In his lectures he challenges his audience to think about this with him.

Read more about Jan van de Venis >>

Tosca van der Wouden wants to show that when we truly feel ourselves part of nature again, when we connect with our home planet, we can have a positive impact on our environment.

From love, radical hope and a good dose of humor, she is committed to a livable planet for people, animals, plants and fungi. As an independent from her own company ‘From The Woods’, she is involved in The Pollinators, where she organizes campaigns, coordinates events and works on the development of The Pollinators Academy.

Tosca also daily with her feet in the mud and hands in the clay herself; as she is currently transforming her own acres of land into a food forest with vegetable garden and shares her first-hand observations. In addition, Tosca teaches yoga classes and she shares her mission and insights as a speaker or workshop facilitator.

“My mission is to add more life to the world and leave it better than how I found it.”

Tosca’s admiration of and wonder for all that lives is contagious and inspiring. She shows you how we can transform into an age where humans live together with nature; from the anthropocene to the symbiocene.

Read more about Tosca van der Wouden >>

Gina Maffey grew up on a farm in Warwickshire, England, where she developed a deep connection with nature. She has an academic background and worked in various disciplines such as Astronomy, Anthropology and Ecology, which gives her a broad view of the natural world and our relationship to it.

She worked for years as a science communicator in the Scottish Highlands and, South America, among other places, before living outdoors in the Netherlands with her partner for a year. Their “Wild Year” is mentioned in several books, including Koen Arts’ book of the same name.

“Allowing a piece of ‘wildness’ into your life doesn’t have to be grand and compelling.”

Gina is also founder of Green Roots, through which she brings together science and nature experiences in a way that is both engaging and educational. As a speaker, her story resonates with a diverse audience. Among other things, she can tell policymakers about the importance of protecting “the night,” researchers how to give themselves and nature a voice through storytelling, and how we as humans can weave nature into our own lives.

Read more about Gina Maffey >>