Circular Economy Blog #1 - Introduction

Ben jij thuis in de wereld van communicatie en event management? En gaat jouw hart sneller kloppen van duurzaamheid, stedelijke innovatie en netwerken?

Kom dan als junior Communicatie- en Programmamedewerker het team van Amsterdam Smart City versterken!

Wie zijn wij?

Amsterdam Smart City is een onafhankelijk innovatieplatform, dat innovatieve bedrijven, kennisinstellingen, maatschappelijke organisaties, overheden en proactieve bewoners samenbrengt en de stad van de toekomst vormgeeft. Amsterdam Smart City maakt als programma deel uit van Amsterdam Economic Board.

Samen met 29 partners werken wij aan een betere, duurzame en toekomstbestendige wereld. Daarnaast brengen we een internationale community samen van meer dan 9.000 innovatieprofessionals, studenten en geïnteresseerden. Zij ontmoeten elkaar rond verschillende thema’s en helpen elkaar verder. Door al deze partijen te verbinden, en met hen het gesprek te voeren over de grote uitdagingen in onze regio, komen we tot nieuwe verhalen en innovatieve oplossingen die bijdragen aan betere straten, buurten en steden. We richten ons met name op vier transitiethema’s: Mobiliteit, Digitaal, Energie en Circulair.

Hier staan wij voor
Iedereen is anders, en juist met verschillende mensen werken wij nog beter aan de metropool van morgen. We zijn nieuwsgierig naar jouw talenten, wat jou bijzonder maakt. We horen graag jouw ideeën en perspectieven. Dat helpt ons om samen nog meer impact te maken.

Wat ga je doen?

Je beheert onze online kanalen en je organiseert samen met het team evenementen. Met verslaglegging, enthousiasme en het maken van nieuwe connecties binnen ons netwerk versterk je ons regionale en internationale netwerk! Je werkt nauw samen met- en ondersteunt het hele Amsterdam Smart City team en de programmadirecteur. Dit zijn je taken:

• Beheer en schrijven van onze wekelijkse nieuwsbrief en LinkedIn content. Je neemt initiatieven om de interactie en het bereik te vergroten.

• Je houdt toezicht op de berichten op het online platform en je stimuleert leden om content te plaatsen

• Beheer info mailbox (inkomende verzoeken, vragen etc.)

• Ondersteuning inhoudelijke verslaglegging netwerkevenementen en werksessies, en het opmaken van presentaties

• Praktische ondersteuning bij evenementen (locaties, uitnodigingen, communicatie)

• Ondersteuning bij het organiseren van werksessies en het bouwen van coalities

Wie ben jij?

• Je hebt wo/hbo werk- en denkniveau, een opleiding in de richting van communicatie (of vergelijkbaar);

• Je hebt 1-2 jaar werkervaring en ervaring op het gebied van online communicatie/community en/of event management

• Je beheerst de Nederlandse en Engelse taal uitstekend in woord én geschrift

• Je hebt affiniteit met duurzaamheid, innovatie en stedelijke ontwikkelingen en je vindt het belangrijk om met je werk maatschappelijke impact te maken.

• Je beschikt over voldoende algemene kennis over bovenstaande en je kan hier helder over schrijven.

• Je bent proactief en nieuwsgierig

• Je bent sociaal, enthousiast en houdt van netwerken en verbinden.

Wat bieden wij?

Wij bieden je een fijne werkplek op het Marineterrein in Amsterdam, met een informele en collegiale sfeer. We zijn een klein team dat nauw met elkaar en onze partners samenwerkt.

Je wordt deel van een enorm divers en dynamisch netwerk van koplopers en pioniers in stedelijke innovatie van toonaangevende organisaties in de Metropool Amsterdam. Er is veel ruimte om te leren van collega’s en specialisten uit het netwerk en je te verdiepen in de thema’s die jou interesseren. Samen leren we door te doen!

Daarnaast bieden wij:

• Een functie voor 32 uur per week;

• Een half-jaar-contract met uitzicht op verlenging;

• Salarisindicatie €3.300 - €3.500 bruto per maand (o.b.v. 40 uur), aangevuld met vakantie- en eindejaarstoeslag.

Interesse gewekt?

Ben je enthousiast? Dan horen we graag van je! Stuur je CV en een korte motivatie uiterlijk 4 april per mail aan solliciteren@amecboard.com. De eerste gesprekken vinden plaats op 10 en 12 april. Vervolggesprekken zijn in de ochtend van 19 april. Een schrijfopdracht maakt deel uit van de procedure. Neem voor meer informatie over de functie contact op met Pelle Menke. Hopelijk spreken we elkaar snel!

On Thursday December 14th, Amsterdam Smart City partners concluded 2023 with an afternoon full of inspiration, exchange and connections at our 22nd Demoday! Our partner Deloitte welcomed our network in The Garage, where their ‘Deloitte Studios’ department is located. In this article, we’ll give you a quick overview of the Knowledge Session, Work Sessions and Pitches. Interesting in learning more? Read the full reports by our Programme Managers Noor, Pelle and Sophie (linked below).

About our Demodays

The Demodays are one of the tools we use to stimulate innovation and encourage connection between our partners and community. The purpose of the Demodays is to present the progress of various innovation projects, ask for help, share dilemmas and involve more partners to take these projects to the next level. More information about the Demodays can be found here.

Knowledge Session: Change in the here and now, with Theory U

To kick-off our final Demoday of 2023, our brand-new partner Hieroo led an inspiring knowledge session about the change method they use for social innovation in the city: Theory U. Dorien Schneider and Maartje Krijnen taught us more about this methodology and how it can help us solve complex problems by shifting from ego to eco-thinking. Read the full report here.

Work sessions

After the plenary Knowledge Session we split up in different worksessions, each exploring regional innovation challenges. As always, we had set up the sessions’ topics and moderation in collaboration with our partners.

Mobility | Decision-making along the principles of Inclusive Prosperity – Jurhan Kwee (Municipality of Amsterdam)
In The Netherlands, the concept of ‘Inclusive Prosperity’ is on the rise. Policy makers are busy defining this concept, figuring out how to put this concept into practice and what it means for their decision-making process. Together with his colleagues at the Municipality of Amsterdam, Yurhan Kwee hosts sessions on decision-making along the principles of Inclusive Prosperity. With the input he gathers, he hopes to make the decisions needed for our Inclusive Prosperity ambitions more understandable and transparent, both for Amsterdam’s administrators and councillors as well as its citizens. Read Pelle’s recap article here.

Digital | Data Commons Collective: Using data for a liveable city – Lia Hsu (Amsterdam Economic Board) and Simone van der Burg (Waag)
In the big tech-dominated era, data has been commercially exploited for so long that it is now hard to imagine that data sharing might also benefit the community. Yet that is what a collective of businesses, governments, social institutions and residents in Amsterdam aim to do. Sharing more data to better care for the city. On behalf of the Data Commons Collective, Lia Hsu (Strategic Advisor at Amsterdam Economic Board) asked the Amsterdam Smart City network for input and feedback on their Data Commons initiative. Read Sophie's recap article here.

Energy | How can we continue to facilitate the homeowner in driving the energy transition? | Wouter van Rooijen (Alliander)
Wouter van Rooijen (Alliander) discussed the challenges related to grid congestion. From 2030 onwards, it is expected that a significant portion of the low-voltage network will experience both over- and under-voltage. While the network will be reinforced as quickly as possible, the lack of labour capacity is also prompting the consideration of alternative solutions.

The solution that emerged from Wouter's co-creation process was WijkWise. In this work session, Wouter aimed to validate the WijkWise concept and find parties that could contribute to its development and market implementation. Dave van Loon from Kennisland moderated the session. Read Noor’s recap article here.

Circular | Navigating eco-emotions: The impact of working in sustainability on your mental wellbeing| Marian Zandbergen (Hogeschool van Amsterdam)
This work session, led by Marian Zandbergen (CIRCOLLAB, HvA) and moderated by Mareille de Bloois (Royal HaskoningDHV), explored the challenges and opportunities associated with eco-emotions, both personally and within organizations. The key question addressed was: How can individuals and organisations constructively manage eco-emotions, and what implications does this have for organisations? Read Noor’s recap article here.

Pitches

To end this festive afternoon and the year 2023 as a whole, we invited project owners and -members to present their progress and next steps on topics brought in during our events and deep-dives throughout 2023. The following projects were presented. You can read more about these topics on their dedicated articles and project pages, linked below.

Local Energy Systems: Where we started, what we have achieved, and what are the next steps – Omar Shafqat (University of Applied Sciences Amsterdam)

Connecting the resource- and energy transition – Edwin Oskam (MRA)

ChatGPT and the government: Possibilities and impact on our work – Jeroen Silvis (Province of North Holland)

Floating urban districts: Future-proof living in the Metropolitan Region – Joke Dufourmont (AMS Institute)

Mobility Justice: Raising the topic of Mobility Poverty and the working group’s progress – Bas Gerbrandy (Province of North Holland)

Our next Demoday will take place in April. Do you have an inspiring story or project you want to pitch to the Amsterdam Smart City network? Let us know via sophie@amsterdamsmartcity.com

The Intelligent Cities Challenge (ICC) is one of the European Commission’s largest city support initiatives supporting European cities in their green and digital transitions. ICC delivers knowledge and support services to cities and their local economies to address two major challenges: making the transition to a net-zero economic model, while enabling social inclusion and sustainable development for every EU citizen.

Cities learn how to address these challenges through Local Green Deals: integrated, multi-disciplinary action plans to lead the green and digital transition across sectors from the built environment, urban mobility and renewable energy systems to tourism or small retailers. Cities become members of a vibrant network, gain access to advisory services, innovation and sustainability management techniques, cutting-edge technology and training and get inspiration and advice from peers and mentor cities.

Building on the success of the previous edition of the ICC programme (2020-22) and Digital Cities Challenge (2017-19), the ICC will now enter Phase 2!

Amsterdam as a Mentor City

Like previous years, Amsterdam has been selected to join the support programme as a mentor city. The city will play a leading support role by guiding the 64 core cities as they embark on their two year journey to create impactful strategies and develop innovative solutions that will place the cities at the forefront of the green and digital twin transition through Local Green Deals. A nice compliment, allowing the Amsterdam Region to share their experiences and learnings from setting up Local Green Deal initiatives over the past years.

The Intelligent Cities Challenge Strategy City Lab: Accelerating the Twin Transition (November 2023)

On 23 and 24 November 2023, over 200 people - a mix of Intelligent Cities Challenge (ICC) core and mentor cities, political leaders and representatives from European institutions gathered for the first time in-person to discuss the status quo of Twin Transition. Through examples and best practices, attendees had the honour to hear from over 30 speakers as they shared insights into collaboration methods, Local Green Deals, climate ambitions, digital transitions and more across the course of 20 sessions.

Amsterdam Smart CIty's Leonie van den Beuken travelled to this gathering in Brussels as one of the representatives of the Amsterdam Region. She summarized her trip as follows:

This EU program helps cities from north to south, east and west to connect, share and learn. A much needed interaction, as we all try to improve the quality of life of our citizens. We all struggle with the ever rising cost of living. And we all want to get our cities to become more sustainable.

None of this comes easy, but we all know that local collaboration plays a key role. Building local coalitions between government, businesses and citizens is one thing, but how do we make sure these so called coalitions of the willing actually become coalitions of the doing?

Some of the learnings we shared from the Amsterdam Region are; the need for political support and the importance of trust and respect.

• Local political leadership will inspire and guide society and entrepreneurs to invest and contribute. However, make sure pilotical support doesn’t evolve into political ownership. When that happens, societal parties and businesses tend to step out the coalition.

• Take the importance of trust and respect seriously. You need to show long term commitment, take time to create understanding between parties. Take competition between participating SME’s serious and define together how to handle this together. Create a workflow in which smaller parties are allowed to participate less intense but sill feel incorporated.

We'll keep you up to date on our participation in future gatherings and results from ICC Phase 2. Want to know more? Check https://www.intelligentcitieschallenge.eu/