Theme: TEDxAmsterdam Impact Program Final Event

The TEDxAmsterdam Impact Program Finale on March 18 is the result of an intense 5 month program with storytelling and business coaching. The seven selected "pioneers" have been working hard on bringing their impactful start up to the next phase and learn all about storytelling to make sure their important ideas are heard and spread.

Capital C
Weesperplein 4B
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, 1018 XA
Netherlands

Alexander Webb

Program Manager Klabu

Alexander Webb, key player and project manager at Klabu, graduated from university looking to work in something young, fearless, grassroots and centered around positivity. He soon discovered KLABU, the perfect company that combined his love for sports with his immense joy at helping others. “I knew that in a small team, I could have a real impact and participate in the growth of an idea that has huge potential.” His idea of success, he says, would be to change the narrative around refugees and instead of focusing on the horror stories, the sadness or the fears, KLABU focuses on the incredible beauty of these people, their talents, their value and their quest for normalcy. The KLABU motto is the Unbeatable Spirit and they focus on the spirit of refugees that they believe is so strong and should be showcased to everyone.

Igor Curic

Auditor, entrepreneur and self-confessed finance geek.

gor Curic is an auditor, entrepreneur and self-confessed finance geek. After discussing finance with his niece and nephew he realized there was lack of fundamental education for teenagers around finances and managing their money, so he decided to set something up to change that. He created an app to teach young people about money in a fun way, how to manage their money and what the all the jargon means. His first goal is to use Nicky Card to eradicate financial illiteracy amongst teens. His second is to make sure that Nicky Card becomes synonymous for opening your first bank account at 10 years old.

Jan Jaap Folmer

Problem solver, Optimist and Change-maker

Jan Jaap Folmer describes himself as a problem solver, optimist but above all a change-maker. Born in Friesland in the Netherlands, he grew a taste to travel the world and it was during his time working across three different continents in oil and plastics that he truly realised the impact these industries were having on the planet. He saw firsthand how much plastic from the West was ending up in landfills and oceans in the Global South. Seeing the effect this was having not only on wildlife but also local communities, Jan Jaap decided to do something about it. He started his own company Upp! in 2017 with the goal to not only make upcycle plastics but make plastic waste a thing of the past.

Jos de Krieger

Architect / Partner at Superuse, Co-Founder Blade Made

Jos de Krieger studied architecture at TU Delft and now has over 12 years’ experience in architecture and sustainable design. His curious nature and imagination led him to innovative architecture and in particular designing with waste materials. Creating playgrounds from waste wind turbines is a perfect example of this. His dream is to see Blade Made appear in cities around the world, not only limited to playgrounds but to benches, large scale art pieces and bridges. Wind turbines are a fantastic way to harvest natural energy, but these vast machines are often difficult and expensive to fix, meaning we have huge amounts of valuable composite materials that would go to waste. Jos and his company, Blade Made created a solution for this.

Lelani Lewis

Co-Founder at Whisk Food Studio

Lelani Lewis, born and raised in London, works in a plethora of roles within the food industry including food photography and styling but most notably as a chef. Realizing Caribbean food was often omitted from the menu and not given an equal platform to other world cuisines, she set out to change this. Using authentic recipes and flavors, she has created supper clubs and workshops that use authentic Caribbean ingredients to feed the mind; educating her diners on the history around the regions rich history, in particular global trade, slavery and sustainability.

Steven de Lira

Founder, Author & Tech Entrepreneur

Steven de Lira, born and raised in Curacao, is a tech entrepreneur operating in the field of social emotional development. He developed a method, called Social Deep Learning which is used in his platform to make social emotional development scalable and measurable. He worked as a successful consultant and trainer within the corporate environment, when he realised could expand his help beyond the privileged few in society. He believes coaching, mentoring and training of social emotional development should be accessible for everyone.

Suzanne Jacobson

Co-founder & Student

Suzanne Jacobson co-founded Brigitt to bridge the gap between the creative industry and blockchain technology. She is currently studying Information Science in Amsterdam. Positive and passionate about meeting new people and fixing problems.