Making a positive impact. That was on the agenda in the first week of April in Jaarbeurs. During the second edition of the Impact Fair, impact became tangible. Literally. No endless talk about sustainability. No doom and gloom. But three days of doing, discovering and meeting. The Impact Fair showed that sustainability is not only urgent. It is inspiring, concrete and energising.
The Impact Fair is an initiative of Jaarbeurs and Better Together Agency. It was created to make faster progress together, create collaborations and inspire each other. To be a meeting place for everyone who wants to get started. To contribute together in a positive way to the world of tomorrow. And we succeeded. For three days, Jaarbeurs was a living laboratory for change.
Making an impact, festival-style
Founder Micha van Hoorn, creative director at Better Together Agency, explains: “Making an impact starts with imagination. By showing that things can be done differently. Not just by talking about it, but by actually doing it. By tasting, feeling and experiencing it.” The Impact Fair encouraged visitors to take action: in a festival-like setting, visitors were invited to get involved. For example, by stepping into a VR world. Or by taking a look at a fair fashion workshop. By testing their mental resilience in an 8D cabin and donating money to a charity during a live radio programme. Even the car park became interactive thanks to a tyre programme. Under-inflated car tyres were pumped up on the spot to reduce unnecessary CO₂ emissions.
Engaging in inspiring conversations
There were also speakers. And once again: no endless monologues through the microphone, but inspiring conversations. For example, Countess Eloise van Oranje-Nassau van Amsberg engaged in conversation with the audience, something that is often merely moderated. Micha: “But this was a genuine encounter. A meet-up. It turned into an inspiring dialogue with young people about social entrepreneurship. And that’s why we do this. We’re not just inspiring the visitors, but each other too! Even Eloise can walk out and think: yes, now I have a clearer idea of where I want to go.”
Bringing the very best together
New this year was the ‘Leaders Exchange’, where leaders with an impact mandate engaged in discussion with one another in a private setting. No keynote speeches or panel discussions, just genuine conversations. In a greenhouse, sitting in a circle and without screens. Micha: “Last year we saw that bottom-up communication worked well. But it won’t work without top-down support; impact needs a mandate. That’s why we decided to bring the top brass together this time. And it worked: the CEO of Nespresso, the managing director of NS, the CFO of Auping – everyone was there. Not to deliver a speech, but to engage in conversation with one another or to help each other with difficult issues. It was incredibly valuable to witness.”
Photographer: Samuel Wagner
All 17 Sustainable Development Goals
What makes the Impact Fair unique is how the SDGs – the Sustainable Development Goals – are woven into the fair. It is the largest impact event in the Netherlands that brings together all seventeen goals. Micha: “There are many events that explore a single SDG domain in depth. We cover them all. This takes various forms, such as pavilions with specific themes, different exhibitors and also our own partnerships that highlight the goal. Ideally, we’d like to group them by goal, but that’s tricky because many organisations focus on multiple SDGs. We do, however, try to organise them thematically.”
Together, we can achieve more
Mathijs de Vries, account manager at Jaarbeurs, agrees with Micha and adds: “Take Goal 17, for example: ‘Partnerships for the Goals.’ Jaarbeurs aims to be the most sustainable events venue in Europe. A vision alone isn’t enough; you have to show that you mean it. We do this by literally making space for the Impact Fair. What’s more, it ties in perfectly with our ambitions. And we’re already seeing it bear fruit: we can learn a great deal from one another. That’s how we came into contact with i-did, Peukenzee and Stichting Stimular. All wonderful organisations that are helping us to advance our sustainability ambitions.”
On to more
It was clear that the Impact Fair had made an impact. Now it’s time to break out of the ‘bubble’. Micha: “We want to reach everyone. Not just the pioneers. We need to step outside our own bubble. We need to appeal to those who do want to contribute, but don’t yet know how. It’s a large group, because according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), that’s the majority of the Dutch population. And what’s more: if we can persuade 25 per cent to get involved, then ‘doing good’ will become the norm. That’s where our opportunity lies. Doing good must become mainstream. And that’s what we’ll be building on with the third edition.”
