Stichting Rondom Baba received a personal invitation from Mrs. Jeanine Hennis, minister of defence and General Tom Middendorp, Chief of Defence Netherlands Armed Forces to participate in the Future Force conference 2017.
They wrote:
“It would be a great honour for us to welcome you to the World Forum in The Hague for the third Future Force Conference.
We firmly believe that your perspective and views should be heard at this conference, which is entitled ‘From partnerships to ecosystems: combining our efforts for a more secure world’. Together with you and up to a thousand other leaders and cutting-edge thinkers, we aim to come up with sustainable solutions to today’s security challenges.
The conference will therefore alternate between highly stimulating plenary sessions with renowned speakers, who will set out their vision on global security, and various breakout sessions on very relevant topics from which you can pick and choose.
We very much look forward to welcoming you as our esteemed guest in The Hague in February next year.”
More than a thousand people from 50 nations are present.
We, of Stichting Rondom Baba are very honoured to be invited although we don’t know how or who presented us.
So today and tomorrow Saskia ‘t Hart and myself are present in the extreme heavy secure World Forum in The Hague and listened today to different speakers ( Tom Middendorp, Frans Timmermans and Anna Saldarriaga ) and had interesting conversations with others during the coffee breaks.
At the end of the first day professor Jonathan Holtslag gave a reflection on the day in which he mentioned 5 conclusions:
1. European citizens have become much more concerned about their security.
2. The most important ecosystem is our society. We must make it more resilient.
3. Active citizenship is our first line of defence.
4. Walls don’t work. European countries must actively shape their external security environment.
5. defence equals engagement.
Keynote and closing of the day was Mrs Hennis. She spoke among other things about the indispensable role of the army in restore control in order to guarantee freedom, jobs, well-being and security. She ended up with the words: “we are together the eco-system”.
Being invited as an “cutting-edge thinker” I would like to complement with some words, not in the sense of an comment but more in the sense of a mind-set.
1. European citizens have to learn to live with insecurity. They have to learn to control less and to live more. How can we help each other to do so?
2. The most important ecosystem is the human-being, is me! I must make it more resilent.
They wrote:
“It would be a great honour for us to welcome you to the World Forum in The Hague for the third Future Force Conference.
We firmly believe that your perspective and views should be heard at this conference, which is entitled ‘From partnerships to ecosystems: combining our efforts for a more secure world’. Together with you and up to a thousand other leaders and cutting-edge thinkers, we aim to come up with sustainable solutions to today’s security challenges.
The conference will therefore alternate between highly stimulating plenary sessions with renowned speakers, who will set out their vision on global security, and various breakout sessions on very relevant topics from which you can pick and choose.
We very much look forward to welcoming you as our esteemed guest in The Hague in February next year.”
More than a thousand people from 50 nations are present.
We, of Stichting Rondom Baba are very honoured to be invited although we don’t know how or who presented us.
So today and tomorrow Saskia ‘t Hart and myself are present in the extreme heavy secure World Forum in The Hague and listened today to different speakers ( Tom Middendorp, Frans Timmermans and Anna Saldarriaga ) and had interesting conversations with others during the coffee breaks.
At the end of the first day professor Jonathan Holtslag gave a reflection on the day in which he mentioned 5 conclusions:
1. European citizens have become much more concerned about their security.
2. The most important ecosystem is our society. We must make it more resilient.
3. Active citizenship is our first line of defence.
4. Walls don’t work. European countries must actively shape their external security environment.
5. defence equals engagement.
Keynote and closing of the day was Mrs Hennis. She spoke among other things about the indispensable role of the army in restore control in order to guarantee freedom, jobs, well-being and security. She ended up with the words: “we are together the eco-system”.
Being invited as an “cutting-edge thinker” I would like to complement with some words, not in the sense of an comment but more in the sense of a mind-set.
1. European citizens have to learn to live with insecurity. They have to learn to control less and to live more. How can we help each other to do so?
2. The most important ecosystem is the human-being, is me! I must make it more resilent.
How can I do so and how can we help each other?
3. Active citizenship is not a defence, but it’s taking responsibility for what I think, for what I feel and for what I do in connection with the people around me, private and in my work.
What does that looks like?
4. No walls indeed but again: making connection. Saying: “I’m here, what can I do for you?”
5. Defence against what? And how do we see this “engagement”? If we are the “ecosystem” then IS is part of this system as well. We can try to cut it out as a tumor. Or start listening better to what the sick part of our body is telling us about how we operate. Perhaps we can find the right tools to cooperate better. Could this be the new role of our defence?
3. Active citizenship is not a defence, but it’s taking responsibility for what I think, for what I feel and for what I do in connection with the people around me, private and in my work.
What does that looks like?
4. No walls indeed but again: making connection. Saying: “I’m here, what can I do for you?”
5. Defence against what? And how do we see this “engagement”? If we are the “ecosystem” then IS is part of this system as well. We can try to cut it out as a tumor. Or start listening better to what the sick part of our body is telling us about how we operate. Perhaps we can find the right tools to cooperate better. Could this be the new role of our defence?
And to finish;
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them”, said Einstein.
I think it’s an interesting challenge of this conference to think different, to think with head, heart and hands, to create!
To be continued...
