Rotterdam is the ideal city for developing talent. That’s why the Bernard Mandeville Foundation and the Municipality of Rotterdam have joined forces to organise the first edition of Rotterdam Talent Week in order to spotlight talent. This Talent Week, which will be held from 6 to 9 June, featuring various inspiring meetings, lectures, clinics and competitions with a number of celebrities including Ahmed Aboutaleb, Mayor of Rotterdam and Feyenoord trainer Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
Rotterdam is the city where talented people are given every opportunity to develop and use their talents to the full. The combination of expertise and entrepreneurship has made Rotterdam a very innovative city, one that always wants to be the first to try out something new. Scholars and entrepreneurs are also working together to resolve the challenges in the city.
In addition, the Rotterdam Talent Week programme provides room for other areas in which Rotterdam displays talent: sport and culture. And the programme obviously reflects the city’s international character as well. All the events will be held on campus at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
Programme
Feyenoord trainer Giovanni van Bronckhorst will be giving his views on talent and talent development during the Rotterdam Talent Week’s official kick-off on Monday 6 June. His SV Gio Foundation – an after-school sport and education course for children with learning difficulties – will also be present on that date. And Conny Janssen, artistic director at Conny Janssen Danst, will be discussing the theme of the Talent Week.
On Tuesday 7 June the focus will be on entrepreneurship. Highlights on this date include the linking of entrepreneurs and talent during the Business Meets Talent event and the final of the Rotterdam 100, a competition for the 100 most talented students in the Netherlands. Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb will also be giving a keynote speech on talent.
Young people can discover and display their own talents during the ‘Discover Your Talent Day’ on Wednesday 8 June, as well as admiring other people’s talents. There will be clinics and workshops relating to art, culture and sport on campus Woudestein featuring institutions and celebrities such as Codarts, former NBA basketballer Francisco Elson, hockey player Jeroen Hertzberger, boxer Nouchka Fontijn and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra.
The Rotterdam Talent Week will close on Thursday 9 June with the Mandeville Lecture, when a social honorary doctorate will be awarded to South African human rights advocate Navi Pillay. She has worked her way up to become a judge and High Commissioner at the United Nations.
Click here to view the full programme.
About the Rotterdam Talent Week
The Rotterdam Talent Week is an initiative of the Bernard Mandeville Foundation – a joint venture comprising Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Rotterdam business community (Rotterdam Business Club) and the Erasmus Trust Fund – and the Municipality of Rotterdam. The Talent Week is in line with the joint Make it Happen brand alliance between the city, the port and the university. Creating scope for talent, encouraging it and holding on to it is a major common denominator for these three partners.
- More information
For more information, please contact Jon de Ruijter, project manager for Rotterdam Talent Week, tel: email: rotterdamtalentweek@eur.nl.