In an age defined by social media and identity politics, ‘truth’ has become an increasingly shifty beast. As a result, ‘fear spreads faster than the infection’. So how can scientific experts and doctors better translate their knowledge around the coronavirus into public perception and more effective policies? And how does media support – or impede – these efforts?
The corona crisis hits Amsterdam amidships. The city is a virus hotspot, the economy and population are shrinking, the social consequences are enormous. Rabobank Amsterdam director Barbara Baarsma: 'We have to invest hard in this crisis.'
People around the globe are trying to fight COVID-19 for months now and progress is made in developing ways to do so. While medicines and vaccines are being developed and testing facilities scaled up, we try to get a grip on the spread of the virus by doing contact-tracing. Up until now, the Netherlands have done so by tracing interactions of people who tested positive and informing them. To help determine the people who should be warned, several contact-tracing apps have been developed and introduced around the world. One more successful than the other.
With every euro that you spend as an organization on products and services, you have the choice for the more sustainable, fairer or more innovative alternative. And the great thing is that everyone can participate with lunch sandwiches, office supplies, ICT, (home) workplaces, transport, you name it. Board members Yuri Sebregts, Barbara Baarsma, Robert Metzke, Mirjam van Praag, Hans Snijders, Geert ten Dam and Jeroen Verwoort have already started. Are you also participating?
With an increasing number of IT retrains as a direct result of the corona crisis, the need for training and career orientation in the IT sector is also increasing. To familiarize this group with the world of tech, TechConnect is introducing the career orientation program 'PathWays'. The helping hand in mapping out a personal IT learning and career path. The good news? There are still 20 places available for the new round of September 28!
With every euro that you spend as an organization on products and services, you have the choice for the more sustainable, fairer or more innovative alternative. This makes procurement an important driver for a smart, green and healthy future for the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area. Systems and habits are thus broken. Do you already have experience with high impact procurement and do you want to share your knowledge? Or are you still new in this field and would you like to learn more? We would like to get in touch with you.
We are seeing a revival of the Coronavirus and Amsterdam even has code orange. Many parties in the region have been forced to shift their priorities due to the corona crisis. At the same time, this period of reflection offers room to opt for sustainable choices in decisions that still have to be made to restore the economy and to work together on a climate-neutral and circular region. How can we use this disruption for structural change? How can the investments that are now being made quickly contribute to an inclusive and smart, green and healthy region?
Good cooperation between science and industry can give the energy transition a significant boost. A conversation between Board members Mirjam van Praag and Yuri Sebregts. "Without these kinds of collaborations we simply cannot get through such large files."
Tycho Onnasch is 24 years old and co-founder of Deedmob, which develops software to mobilize people to volunteer online. He recently became a member of Young on Board: "I hope that we can start a new impulse for innovation in Amsterdam."
The University of Amsterdam and Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences together have a gigantic procurement volume. Susanne Balm is working on making this more sustainable: by reducing delivery locations, changing procurement policy and behavior and bundling at the source. It is a transition with bumps in the road, but at the same time it is also making considerable progress.
