Room For Discussion

Whoever thinks that investing is only to be done by means of buying and selling shares is wrong. Not only the rate of returns and stock prices are important when deciding what kind of shares to buy, but also the business that the company is actually doing is really important. How much do companies adhere to societal pressures and to what extent do they take their corporate social responsibility?More and more initiatives are launched by which this becomes an important factor when making investment decisions. Investing is more than making returns instead of putting your money on your savings account, it is also a way in which business is financed, and business decisions are being made. How can you steer business in a more desirable way?

Kandidaten van de acht grootste partijen bij de meest recente verkiezingen:De kandidaten zijn niemand minder dan Arnout Hoekstra (SP), Tineke Strik (GroenLinks), Paul Tang (PvdA), Felix Klos (D’66), Anil Kumar (ChristenUnie/SGP), Chantal Hakbijl (CDA) Liesje Schreinemacher (VVD) en Frederik Jansen (FvD).Opzet van het debat:Er zal gedebatteerd worden over vier onderwerpen aan de hand van vier stellingen.De Europese Unie gaat de komende jaren een ontzettend spannende periode tegemoet.Met de Franse hervormingsdrang, de aankomende Brexit, het naderende vertrek van Merkel als leider van Duitsland en het opkomende populisme in Hongarije, Polen en Italië is de koers van de EU allerminst zeker. Daarnaast lijkt Amerika als bondgenoot minder vanzelfsprekend dan de afgelopen decennia het geval was en timmeren opkomende wereldmachten als China en India flink aan de weg.Waar staat Nederland in dit veranderende speelveld en wat voor Europese koers willen de Nederlandse partijen de komende jaren gaan varen? Dit zijn vragen

De laatste Provinciale Statenverkiezingen hebben laten zien hoe versplinterd het Nederlandse politieke landschap is geworden. De gevestigde coalitiepartijen moeten nu een strategie bedenken – zo ook D66. Wordt het strijd – of wordt het polderen? Hoe zal de klimaatdrammer van D66 zich profileren tegenover de nieuwkomer in de Eerste Kamer en zijn anti-EU boodschap? Waar ligt de huidige ideologische prioriteit van de traditionele middenpartij en hoe dicht staat zij nog bij de democratische idealen van oprichter Van Mierlo? En hoe zal Rob Jetten het leiderschap van de partij de komende tijd op zich nemen?

They say two things are certain in life: death and taxes. In this session we shall be discussing the latter with the Dutch secretary of finance, Menno Snel. The fiscal regime in the Netherlands has been under large scrutiny lately, with the proposal for the abolishment of the dividend tax being scrapped and debate over the leniency towards multinational companies in the Netherlands. As well as tax evasion and avoidance, the interview will look at taxes in a broader sense, exploring what role they play in society, how public attitudes towards taxation are shaped and the ideas behind a fiscal union.

ome of you might know him as the author of your microeconomics textbook, others because of his position as chief economist at Google. As a microeconomist prof. Varian has specialized in the role of information in the economy. Starting consulting for Google in 2002 he has been key to Google’s auction design system and corporate strategy. Google has radically changed the way we receive our information, practically serving as the gatekeeper to the internet. However, in recent times there has been increased scrutiny towards superstar firms. During the interview we will discuss among others how information is transforming the economy and the role of Google in the modern economy.

Na tijden van bezuinigingen wordt er eindelijk weer meer geïnvesteerd in het Nederlandse leger; maar is het genoeg? Wat zijn de uitdagingen waar het Nederlandse leger voor staat de komende jaren? Zal door de bekoelde trans-Atlantische relatie de NAVO over een paar jaar nog bestaan? Moet er meer militaire samenwerking komen tussen EU landen?

How is climate change posing new challenges for our legal systems, policy-making, and how is it is being addressed in our courtrooms. We will discuss recent cases in the Netherlands such as Urgenda and Milieudefensie’s lawsuit against Royal Dutch Shell. To help us discuss this topics, we are joined by Prof. Dr. Joyeeta Gupta — co-chair of UN Environment’s Global Environmental Outlook-6 and Professor at the University of Amsterdam— and Freek Bersch — Spokesperson for Economy at Milieudefensie — will join us as we discuss these topics in a one-hour long interview, hosted on our stage at “Room for discussion”.

On paper, things have never looked better for female entrepreneurs. But statistical numbers only tell part of the story. Women-owned firms are still in the minority, and the hurdles faced by women who have embraced entrepreneurship are vast and often very different than those experienced by their male counterparts. To shed light on some of these disparities, Room for Discussion organizes a panel discussion with three inspiring business women who will discuss their experiences regarding female entrepreneurship and leadership.Our first guest is Dr. Cara Antoine. She joined Microsoft the Netherlands in January 2017 as Chief Marketing & Operations Officer. We will also be joined by Ms. Diana van Maasdijk, co-founder & CEO of Equileap, an organisation aiming to accelerate progress towards gender equality in the workplace. Our third and final guest is Ms. Carine de Meyere, Director of Partnerships & New Business Development for TEDxAmsterdamWomen.

On our first Brexit Session, we focused on the British perspective – the dire situation in parliament, the leadership challenges, and the political party splits. On this session, we will move onto Europe. What will be the economic impact of a No Deal Brexit? What should the way forward for European negotiators?

Pete Hoekstra serves as the United States Ambassador to the Netherlands but has formerly been a member of the U.S House of Representatives, and Chair of the House Intelligence Committee. In the interview, we will touch upon the relations between the Netherlands and The United States. We will try to understand the coherency or potential incoherency of American foreign policy in places such as Venezuela and Syria. Additionally, we will explore the current situation in US politics with the recent shutdown showing the potentially weakening power of the President

Space exploration has been a token of global leadership since the Cold War. However, private companies are increasingly seeing space as a new market outside of our planetary boundaries. With the emergence of astropreneurship, the market structure in the space industry has changed drastically. Companies such as SpaceX, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic have been able to cut costs through technological advancement and are challenging old space monopolies. However, this drive for privatisation has been largely led by US-based companies, with Europe falling behind.

Three years ago the united kingdom – in an extremely close referendum – voted to leave the European Union. Since then the country has gone through what experts have called the gravest political crisis in contemporary British history. With parties split on the issue, challenges to the current government and constant impasses over – until recently – generally unheard issues. The question many are asking is: what is going on? On our first of our two sessions on Brexit, we will focus on the United Kingdom’s perspective. In this one hour interview with two experts on the matter, we plan to bring you up to date with the most recent Brexit news (whatever that is at the moment), while discussing the current Conservative split and assess the role and responsibility of Labour. Finally, our experts will provide the audience with their predictions of how matters will evolve.

Feike Sijbesma is a Member of the Board of Royal DSM since July 2000, and CEO and Chairman since May 2007. Royal DSM is a Dutch multinational active in the fields of health, nutrition, and materials. Headquartered in Heerlen, at the end of 2017 DSM employed 21,054 people in around 50 countries and posted net sales of €8,632 million. Besides being the CEO of Royal DSM, Sijbesma is a member of the Supervisory Board of the Dutch Central Bank and a non-executive board member of Unilever, while also being a member of the Global CEO Council of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, advising the Chinese Premier.This impressive palette of influential functions resulted in De Volkskrant naming him as the third most influential person in The Netherlands and because of his efforts for a more sustainable planet, the World Bank Group named him a “Global Climate Leader”.

Tijdens dit interview zal gesproken worden over hoe het Nederlands zorgstelsel sinds 2006 drastisch is veranderd door de marktwerking in de zorg. De concurrentie tussen zorgverzekeraars en zorgaanbieders moet leiden tot lagere kosten in de zorg en betere kwaliteit om de stijgende zorgkosten behapbaar te houden. Functioneert de marktwerking zodanig goed dat dat ook wordt bereikt? Kunnen we spreken van een gezonde markt?Dit en meer bespreken we samen met Georgette Fijneman, directievoorzitter Zilveren Kruis, en Ernst van Koesveld, directeur Zorgverzekeringen bij het Ministerie van Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport.

Currently, there are multiple countries at risk of an economic crisis. Severe drops in the values of their domestic currencies are drastically altering and changing the country’s economic performance. On December 10th, Room for Discussion hosted an interview with Nora Neuteboom, an economist for ABN Amro, and Professor Sweder van Wijnbergen. The interview will cover “Crushed Currencies,” and the turmoil that is created in emerging markets.

There are many discrepancies between the member states within the eurozone about the direction this monetary union should take. With Germany and France trying to lead the ship towards a clear destination, and other member states struggling to catch up, the future of the eurozone seems unclear, and maybe even in danger. The coming years will be crucial for the future of this monetary union, but which hurdles should the block overcome to become the stable union all member states signed up for?During this one-hour interview we are eager to answer this question together with Daniel Gros (Director of the Centre for European Policy Studies) and Enrico Perotti (Professor of International Finance) In overview:What: Eurozone Reforms - The Future of the Single CurrencyWho: Daniel Gros (Director of the Centre for European Policy Studies) & Enrico Perotti (Professor of International Finance) Interviewers: Santiago Diaz Jaramillo and Linus Ax

During this interview we explore the most effective policies to make refugees well integrated, productive and profitable members of society in the most efficient way. The primary focus revolves around current policies within Europe, the best ways to integrate refugees into the workforce and the limits of integration policiesDuring this one-hour interview we are eager to answer these questions together with Leo Lucassen, Professor of Social History and author, and Eva Degler, Migration policy analyst at OECD.What: Refugee Integration Who: Leo Lucassen and Eva DeglerInterviewers: Saumya Joshi and Olaf Vrijmoet.

We are happy to receive Professor Robert Koopman, the Chief Economist of the World Trade Organisation in October for an interview on international trade. The interview falls into a time in which the liberal world trade order is shaken by the ongoing trade war between the two largest economies of the world, the United States and the Peoples Republic of China.

For our second lustrum interview, we have invited the former European Commissioner for Competition and Vice-president of the Commission for the Digital Agenda, Neelie Kroes.The interview focusses on several pressing topics in the European Union right know, such as the upcoming populist-nationalist political parties vs the cosmopolitan status quo parties.Furthermore, we will discuss with Ms. Kroes the challenge the EU is facing to keep up with the US and China in the field of high-end technology, for example Artificial Intelligence and Robotisation.Considering this, which institutional reforms are needed within the EU to keep it competitive with regard to other big geopolitical forces and to maintain the wellbeing of its citizen?

We are honored to have Carles Puigdemont, former President of Catalonia, at Room for Discussion.A year ago on October 1st, 2017, Carles Puigdemont appeared in the headlines of international newspapers after having organized the unofficial referendum for secession of Spain.Not only was this referendum considered controversial as it was declared illegal by the Constitutional Court of Spain, but also because of the involvement of the Spanish National Police Corps who actively engaged in attempting to prevent the referendum from happening, which resulted in more than 200 injuries and images of the police trying to stop people to vote, which reached the homes of citizens all over Europe. While 92% of the Catalan voters voted in favor of independence, only 43% of the total Catalan population carried out their vote. Nevertheless, two weeks later, Puigdemont declared the independence of Catalonia.The referendum resulted in the Spanish government taking over the rule in Catalonia, ministers who participated in organiz