
2016 Amsterdam
Working together to develop sustainable urban food systems - 27th May, 2016 (14:30 - 17:00)
Session
2015 was a landmark year with important international processes on climate change and sustainable development taking place that will influence public policies over the next decade. To reach these goals, policy and practice should follow a holistic approach integrating economic, social and environmental elements. This highly interactive session provided the space to explore in small […]
EFC Governing Council Meeting - 26th May, 2016 (08:30 - 11:15)
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Welcome reception - 25th May, 2016 (19:00 - 21:00)
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EFC Management Committee Meeting - 25th May, 2016 (16:00 - 18:00)
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NEF General Assembly - 25th May, 2016 (13:30 - 16:00)
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DAFNE Summer Meeting - 25th May, 2016 (09:00 - 18:00)
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Closing Plenary: The changing economy – new opportunities to cooperate and contribute - 28th May, 2016 (11:30 - 13:00)
Session
In a lively session that wrapped up this three-day event, conference participants gathered to hear a debate about “The changing economy – New opportunities to cooperate and contribute”. Peter Bakker, President of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development; and Teresa Ribera, Director of the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI), focused on […]
Foundation innovation – developing new capabilities to respond to new challenges - 27th May, 2016 (11:30 - 13:00)
Session
In a special plenary session today, innovation – along with its inherent challenges and risks – was on the agenda as delegates debated what true innovation means and what it entails for philanthropy. HRH Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands underlined in her keynote address philanthropy’s unique position and potential when it comes to innovation. Ruby […]
Opening Plenary: The refugee crisis – alleviating today’s needs while developing tomorrow’s solutions - 26th May, 2016 (12:00 - 13:30)
Session
Keynote speakers at the Opening Plenary of the 2016 EFC AGA and Conference stressed the pressing need for philanthropy to leverage its unique attributes to work in much closer partnership with other sectors to alleviate the refugee crisis, among other social challenges. Lyse Doucet OBE, the BBC’s Chief International Correspondent; Peter Bouckaert, Emergencies Director for […]
An evening at the Rijksmuseum; a feast for the eyes and mouth - 27th May, 2016 (18:00 - 22:30)
Evening networking
Join us for an exclusive visit to the Rijksmuseum, the most visited museum in the Netherlands and one of the leading art and history museums in the world. The museum is a national heritage site and was reopened in 2013 after a ten-year renovation. The museum is known for famous Dutch art and history from […]
An evening at the Van Gogh Museum about accessibility & museums - 26th May, 2016 (18:00 - 21:30)
Evening networking
The Van Gogh Museum, one of Amsterdam’s most visited sites, is opening its doors to conference delegates for an evening of networking and discussion on cultural heritage and educational projects, paying specific attention to the importance and challenges of accessibility within museums. After a welcome by the museum’s director and a short, informal presentation on […]
Anne Frank House: Children & young voices from Conflict areas - 26th May, 2016 (18:00 - 22:00)
Evening networking
“I want to go on living, even after my death!” Anne Frank wrote this ambitious sentence on 5 April 1944. Growing up as a Jewish girl in Amsterdam during World War II, though in hiding, Anne Frank still had the power to imagine and prepare for her future. When it comes to imagining the future, […]
Everything you always wanted to know about community foundations: play the quiz! - 26th May, 2016 (18:00 - 21:30)
Evening networking
Community foundations provide an effective model for philanthropy on a local scale. Even in an increasingly globalized and digital world, people remain committed to their own neighborhood. As governmental budgets shrink, community foundations in and outside Europe are proving of ever greater social value, caring for and promoting local facilities and activities. However, even after […]
Behind the Windows: Amsterdam’s Red Light District - 26th May, 2016 (18:00 - 21:30)
Evening networking
“If you care about gender equality, poverty, migration and public health, then sex workers rights matter to you!”— Toni Mac, Sex Worker Open University Amsterdam is famous for its Red Light District and its approach to sex work. Opinions and approaches to sex work vary greatly— but what is myth and what is reality? And […]
Migration & Asylum – creating opportunities - 26th May, 2016 (18:00 - 21:30)
Evening networking
Looking for creative solutions in the fields of migration and integration? Join this event-filled evening, which will feature a theatre performance and a “Talent Market” by New Dutch Connections, where a group of twenty young refugees, through their passion and talent, will persuade the public to be an investor in their future, creating added value […]
Green metropolitan solutions – Buiksloterham, a living lab for circular area development - 26th May, 2016 (18:00 - 21:30)
Evening networking
Since 2005, the industrial area of Buiksloterham, just across the Ij river, has become a leading example of smart urban planning. What was previously an abandoned and polluted district of Amsterdam North is being rejuvenated and transformed into a Living Lab for the circular economy where products and raw materials will be reused as much […]
400 years of Social Innovation and Adaption – an evening boat tour through Amsterdam’s canals - 26th May, 2016 (18:00 - 21:30)
Evening networking
Amsterdam’s beautiful canals are amongst its most iconic sites. What many people do not know is how Amsterdam’s canal ways have been managed so successfully for over 400 years in a governance model, that has lessons for how water resources can be managed in other cities. During the boat ride, participants will get an introduction […]
The Board Café – The role of local foundation boards in imagining the future of local communities - 27th May, 2016 (09:00 - 10:30)
Session
This session was designed as a board meeting with some key issues being presented with the aim of gaining a better understanding of how the boards of local and regional foundations identify those issues they believe are most relevant for their community, and how they discuss which role their foundation can or should play. A […]
Hands-on! Fostering talent in philanthropy – Help write a sector survival kit - 26th May, 2016 (14:30 - 16:00)
Session
Foundations are required to adapt and evolve quicker in an ever changing world. In this contexts, few foundations are set up to effectively integrate new people joining their team, despite the existing talent and resources available. The session wants to define the key issues foundations need to address in preparing new staff members for the […]
Black Heritage Amsterdam boat tour - 28th May, 2016 (13:30 - 16:00)
Site Visit
Join this site visit for an eye-opening boat journey that will reveal the ‘hidden history’ of Amsterdam from the 17th Century, Dutch Golden Age, forward. Delegates will explore the Amsterdam canals and view a range of famous city landmarks. What makes this tour a unique experience is that, unlike other city canal tours, delegates will […]
Oostvaardersplassen, the new wilderness - 28th May, 2016 (13:30 - 18:30)
Site Visit
Surrounded by cities and located in an area of the Netherlands that historically has been under water, Oostvaardersplassen is a spectacular nature reserve, home to a variety of wildlife and which functions in particular as a migration area for birds. Dubbed by the German newspaper Der Spiegel as “the Serengeti behind the dikes”, this area […]
Help us clean up our beaches! - 28th May, 2016 (13:30 - 18:00)
Site Visit
Roll up your sleeves and discover how we can all do our own part to guarantee a clean and healthy North Sea. Delegates are invited to explore the Dutch coastline and participate in a hands on beach clean-up activity. Guided by the North Sea Foundation, delegates will discover what is causing this plastic soup in […]
Inspiration dinner with 10 successful social entrepreneurs - 26th May, 2016 (18:00 - 21:30)
Evening networking
Meet the initiators of 10 successful Dutch social firms and get inspired by their passion and successes during a delicious and sustainable dinner. These firms, supported among others by the Dutch Postcode Lottery and DOEN are run by entrepreneurs who are achieving social and/or ecological impact by increasing the participation in the work force of […]
Is the internet transforming philanthropy? Should it? - 28th May, 2016 (09:00 - 10:30)
Session
This session aimed to better understand the impact of the internet on philanthropy, and how foundations are embracing, using or supporting it. Indeed, the internet is not only changing the way foundations communicate, it can also change the ways foundations and civil society organisations achieve their missions. Along with new opportunities, there are also concrete […]
Mapping your place in the “funding ecology” – a first step towards creating change? - 27th May, 2016 (14:30 - 16:00)
Session
In examining the potential for greater philanthropic collaboration, mapping has increasingly become a “first-step” tool used by foundations. This session, chaired by Liz McKeon, explored both the mapping technique and funding ecology concept as ways to help independent funders to be more aware of the wider context within which they operate. Andrew Barnett and Henry […]
Community philanthropy’s local impact in Europe – Considering the case of refugees and asylum seekers - 28th May, 2016 (09:00 - 10:30)
Session
For a report on this session, please click here
In YOUth we trust: Are we doing enough to invest in our future? Youth and philanthropy - 28th May, 2016 (09:00 - 10:30)
Session
A cohort of young, dynamic leaders from around the world, on the frontline of addressing the most challenging issues of our times such as climate change, migration, and poverty represent the groups and individuals foundations must engage with to create lasting positive change. This interactive session is designed to make participants ask themselves tough questions: […]
What’s gender got to do with it? - 27th May, 2016 (09:00 - 10:30)
Session
The purpose of the session was to highlight the importance of applying a gender lens in the specific realities and needs of everyone, including women, men, girls, boys and trans people. Gender issues are still too often misunderstood and considered relevant only for foundations working on issues specifically related to women and girls. This session […]
To divest or not to divest – What is the question? - 26th May, 2016 (14:30 - 16:00)
Session
This session tackled the fossil fuel divestment debate by exploring diverse viewpoints, up-to-date financial analysis and key governance questions based on the recent report on foundation endowment management “Intentional Investing”. Overarching question: How can foundations use their investments to tackle the big issue of climate change? Key points raised by speakers and during discussion Findings […]
Foundations tackling complex social issues through innovative finance - 28th May, 2016 (09:00 - 10:30)
Session
This participative workshop examined the role of philanthropic support for social innovation in “new” forms of funding from loans to other forms of social investment. Participants explored challenges, opportunities and barriers related to innovative funding across the “innovation cycle”. Implications of theory as well as cross-sector collaboration were considered. The workshop reflected on what works […]
Democracy in Europe, from utopia to dystopia – Where did we get lost? What went wrong? - 26th May, 2016 (14:30 - 16:00)
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Today there is an evident alienation and estrangement of European citizens regarding democratic institutions in general and the European project in particular. In a game of national interests, the utopia Europe’s founding fathers and political leaders started 60 years ago has turned into a dystopia threatening the democratic basis of our society. Many foundations share […]
The shrinking space for civil society – What can we do? - 27th May, 2016 (09:00 - 10:30)
Session
There have been more than 100 laws enacted over the past couple of years that have significantly closed down the space for civil society organisations in different parts of the world – including in some European countries. They include restrictions when creating a legal entity, burdensome reporting requirements, restrictions on foreign funding, anti-protest laws, attacks […]
Mind our future; mind our business - 27th May, 2016 (09:00 - 10:30)
Session
Rural areas around the word are seeing an outflux of young people, as they don’t see a future for themselves, and especially not in farming. The reasons for this may have different causes. In order to address the issue of migration, food and nutrition security, however, it is important that rural areas offer viable opportunities […]
The big lever – Foundations and their related businesses in for a common cause - 27th May, 2016 (14:30 - 16:00)
Session
There are reasons foundations and their related companies have been reluctant to regularly work together: Corporates have to be profitable, and their business strategies can ideally be independent of what foundations, serving as their shareholders, see as their goals. Foundations and corporates have different targets, and different ways to reach them. But what if they […]
Building a bridge between academia and foundations to enhance organisational learning - 27th May, 2016 (16:30 - 18:00)
Session
The session aimed at offering an opportunity of dialogue and exchange between the academia and the practitioners from the philanthropic world. A bridge needs to be built between the two world to translate needs and opportunities on both sides and bring the two together, to clarify mutual needs, to identify overlapping interests, to create research […]
Realising the potential of future-oriented governance – Now! - 27th May, 2016 (16:30 - 18:00)
Session
Good governance is fundamental to achieving effective and innovative solutions to societal issues. There is increasing interest in the sector to work with soft-law approaches or self-regulatory mechanisms to improve governance practice. Apart from the sector’s own interest in good governance and accountability to regulators, stakeholders and grantees, the aim to increase effectiveness of and […]
Philanthropy Engaged – Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals - 26th May, 2016 (14:30 - 16:30)
Session
In September 2015, the world’s governments adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. With its comparative advantages of patient, risk-tolerant, and nimble capital, philanthropy has an important role to play in influencing and shaping the implementation of the SDGs. What is the strategic opportunity presented by the SDGs and how is philanthropy contributing to bridging […]
Refugees welcome? Foundations’ response? - 27th May, 2016 (14:30 - 17:00)
Session
The arrival of hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants on the shores of Europe has been dubbed the “refugee crisis”. While a large proportion have fled from the conflict in Syria, the headline-grabbing figures and tragic images mask a more complex picture of displacement and changing demographics. Given the scale of human suffering and […]
Compiled on Friday, 22 February 10:40 CET