🎬 Multilingual subtitles
✍️ By: Team BC1.NL
A transition conversation about the Netherlands after corona
"I'm in the kitchen, at the kitchen table," is how the conversation about the impact of corona begins. Reality feels unreal, and many people are searching for new routines. Some say it takes around thirty days to settle into a new structure, which makes it all the more important to pause deliberately during this period and think about how we handle change.
DRIFT and the strength of working resiliently
Derk Loorbach, director of DRIFT (the Dutch Research Institute For Transitions), describes how the organisation is coping with the current situation. Despite the sudden shift, DRIFT has proven resilient. Much of its work already took place online, and staff were partly used to working from home. Even so, making a real connection online and encouraging co-creation remains a challenge.
From co-creation drinks to a transition conversation
What started as an experiment, online co-creation drinks, has grown into a weekly transition conversation. It's a space to explore questions like "What does this crisis actually mean?" and "What opportunities for positive change is it opening up?" Anyone who wants to contribute or share ideas is welcome. The sessions take place every Friday and are open to all.
Companies rethink their role in society
The corona crisis is prompting companies to look at their core values in a new light. More weight is being given to social value, collaboration, and sustainability. According to Loorbach, this is a movement that has been underway for some time, driven in part by consumers and policymakers. The crisis reinforces the trend and invites people to think beyond simply maximising profit.
Expected surprises show why system change is needed
In the world of transition thinking, people talk about "expected surprises." When a system is no longer sustainable, shocks are bound to follow, think of the earthquakes in Groningen or the air pollution from diesel cars. Events like these act as triggers that set system change in motion. The real question is how we can respond to them proactively rather than reactively.
Stumbling forward, a new way of looking at moments of crisis
Rather than returning to the old normal, Loorbach makes the case for "stumbling forward." A crisis is precisely the moment to embrace transformation. That takes trust, trust in alternatives, in entrepreneurs, in investors. As that trust grows, we really can start building new structures.
Tips for entrepreneurs, use this time to reflect and redesign
Loorbach urges entrepreneurs to make the most of this period of standstill. Look around you, have the conversation, and explore which alternative futures might be possible for your organisation. The old model of endless growth and efficiency has reached its limits. Now is the moment to begin your own transition.
See also:
At the kitchen table in conversation with Ilja Werkhoven
The new way of working 2020
