TEDxAmsterdam afterthoughts: 'extracting value' versus 'exchange of value'

Even without claiming to be the mayor of Amsterdam, I had the honour to take part in the extraordinary TEDxAmsterdam ‘09. I am still recovering from the overwhelming combination of inspiration (450 talented ‘parents of promising mind childen’) and location (the impressive Royal Tropical Institute).

What happened that day? I have been touched by passionate ‘game changers’- struggling to ’sell’ their sustainable solutions - and I empathized with their persistent drive to realize their ideas.

Every TEDxAmsterdam ‘coffee break’ meant energetic interaction with fascinating people, having three things in common:

1. A common sense of urgency: Things need to change in a fundamental way to transform from the era of extracting value to the era of genuine value exchange;
2. A common passionate attitude: Enough spirit, creativity, ideas and energy to ’reset’ our society; to create sustainable ‘eco systems’;
3. A common belief: The impossible is possible. "If you think you are too small to make a difference...try sleeping in a room with a mosquito"(African proverb).

Making the impossible possible can only happen if every individual acts. I would like to thank Jim Stolze, Marian Spier, Monique van Dusseldorp, Paul Rispens and the team of volunteers for acting; for realizing the TEDxAmsterdam idea.

Let it be a starting point for a new era; an era in which we exchange value instead of extract value. An era in which we have the ability, and should take the opportunity, to optimize our (eco) systems, technology and currency to humans, rather than optimizing humans to them.

David de Boer