The year just started, but we’re still in a lockdown situation because of Covid-19. Behind this seeming tranquillity, there is a storm raging through our values and structures. It gives us the space to think about a complete ‘reset’ of the dysfunctional systems in our society. In this series, we showcase the perspectives of a variety of thought leaders who will reflect on our present-day situation. Through the lens of their own area of expertise and with an emphasis on the power of design and imagination. The corona crisis is, without a doubt, a crisis that is leaving behind a trail of victims. But which transformations will we be left within the aftermath? In times as these, it is the creatives, philosophers, scientists, makers, and designers who can visualize new scenarios, and develop new insights for our future.

Roman Krznaric
Roman Krznaric is a public philosopher who writes about the power of ideas to change society. His latest book, The Good Ancestor: How to Think Long Term in a Short Term World, has been described by U2’s The Edge as ‘the book our children’s children will thank us for reading’. The Dutch translation ‘De Goede Voorouder’ will be published in January 2021.

After growing up in Sydney and Hong Kong, Roman studied at the universities of Oxford, London and Essex, where he gained his PhD in political sociology. He is founder of the world’s first Empathy Museum and is currently a Research Fellow of the Long Now Foundation.

Roman has been named by The Observer as one of Britain’s leading popular philosophers. His writings have been widely influential amongst political and ecological campaigners, education reformers, social entrepreneurs and designers. An acclaimed public speaker, his talks and workshops have taken him from a London prison to the TED global stage.

Roman has previously been an academic, a gardener, and worked on human rights issues in Guatemala. He is also a fanatical player of the medieval sport of ‘real tennis’ and has a passion for making furniture.

Daan Roovers
Since March 29, 2019, Daan Roover is ‘Denker des Vaderlands’ (Thinker Laureate) for two years. During these two years, she wants to focus on public thinking: “How can we move forward together? After all, politics is about us, and we have to make the questions we ask part of our daily lives again.” Together with Marc van Dijk, she wrote a book ‘Wij zijn de politiek‘ (2019) about this.

As a philosopher Daan develops ways to make people think. Investing in individual and collective thinking is her main motivation, and at the moment it is more urgent than ever. She is inspired by the ideas from philosophy to better understand the world of today, our place in it and our personal life. She does this as a teacher (University of Amsterdam), as a program maker, as a speaker, as a trainer and as a writer.

This event is developed by
Folkert Lodewijks
Programmamaker Duurzaamheid en Technologie
Programme seriesWeMakeThe.City - Reset

The world is turned upside down, the streets are empty. Behind this seeming tranquillity, there is a storm raging through our values and structures. This gives us the space to think about a complete ‘reset’. How can we restructure existing dysfunctional systems? This summer, every Thursday at 20.30h we will showcase the perspectives of a variety of thought leaders who will reflect on this present-day situation. Through the lens of their own area of expertise and with an emphasis on the Creative Industry. The corona crisis is, without a doubt, a crisis that is leaving behind a trail of victims. But which transformations will we be left within the aftermath? During these times, it is the creatives who can visualise new scenarios and through hypothesising can develop new insights into our future.