The Urban and Rural Future Edition
The theme for the Amsterdam edition is “Cities, Regions & Climate: Leadership, Resilience, and the Future of Urban and Rural Life.” We will explore how European cities and regions can accelerate climate action, strengthen resilience, and drive innovation across energy, mobility, housing, water, food, and digital systems. Particular attention will be given to how stronger cooperation across cities, regions, and communities can deliver effective and scalable responses to the climate challenge.
The gathering is held at the Van Loon Museum, a 17th-century historical site in the heart of the city that has, since 2019, transformed from a monument to the past into an open and dynamic space for contemporary dialogue. Working with a range of partners and communities, the museum critically reflects on its own history, adding new layers to the stories it tells and ensuring they remain relevant and inclusive — curating exhibitions that engage with the more complex sides of Dutch heritage and reshape historical narratives for a contemporary audience.
The Evening Flow
1. RECEPTION
A cultural welcome sets the tone, introducing the evening's theme, Partners and a local impact initiative.
2. DIALOGUE
A keynote frames the theme, sparking group dialogue.
3. DINNER
A curated meal unfolds alongside facilitated discussion, closing in collective reflections.
Voices in the room
The evening brings together a small, select group of participants, city and regional leaders, senior European policymakers, family offices, scientists and CEOs of leading Dutch and European companies, — for an intimate discussion on the leadership and collaboration needed to navigate the climate transition.
Keynote and moderator James Breiding, author of "Swiss Made," the definitive account of Switzerland's economic success, and "Too Small to Fail," which examines how small nations are outperforming larger ones and reshaping global influence, brings a sharp lens on how small, well-coordinated systems compete and win — a perspective that speaks directly to the evening's theme, where cities and regions, like small nations, must out-coordinate and out-innovate rather than out-scale to lead on energy, mobility, housing, water, and digital systems.
