The webinar was opened by Waldemar Torenstra, Dutch actor and inhabitant of the Schoonschip community. Frans Verspeek, project coordinator of ATELIER from the City of Amsterdam, started the webinar by explaining the objectives of ATELIER in the Amsterdam context. Frans was followed by the City of Amsterdam’s deputy major and alderman for sustainability, Marieke van Doorninck. Marieke explained the importance of the ATELIER project in realising the challenging ambitions Amsterdam has in the area of sustainability. Next, Siti Boelen, inhabitant and member of the Schoonschip council, explained how Schoonschip managed to become an energy community where houses are connected via smart grids. Philip Gladek from Spectral further explained the technicalities of smart grids. Socrates Schouten from Waag then illustrated why citizen engagement is so important in these kind of projects. And finally, Jeroen Brouwer from TNO elaborated further on the Innovation Atelier concept. In the Innovation Atelier, actors from public authorities, industry, citizens and academia come together to discuss issues and provide solutions in realising a Positive Energy District.
It was an energetic session which marks the beginning of hopefully a successful future of the Innovation Ateliers!
You can re-watch the webinar on YouTube:
ATELIER Amsterdam Innovation Atelier Kick-off (live webinar) - YouTube
(Dutch language, but English subtitles can be activated)