The Spinoza Group: A city-wide network that makes room for Innovation
- Mar 18
- 1 min read
The Spinoza Group connects people from across the city – with knowledge, impact, and reach – to enable new steps.
In January 2024, the second joint meeting of the Spinoza Group took place in Amsterdam Southeast. Organized by the Socratic Design Academy and the Digitalization & Innovation Directorate of the Municipality of Amsterdam, administrators, civil servants, entrepreneurs, and unique individuals from Amsterdam came together to build a different way of 'thinking and doing'.
That means: breaking free from our addictions to the system. From blocking rules and procedures. And collaborating based on what is truly good for the people of Amsterdam. Not operating from one's own span of control or individual responsibility, but jointly formulating major goals and fully committing to them.
Many of those present explicitly expressed their desire to commit to the FutureLab/Jongeren.Wonen.Holendrecht project, which was still in a very early stage at the time.
The central theme was: breaking free from our armor, creating space for change, and standing up for what you believe in.
By truly listening to each other, carefully investigating case studies, and scrutinizing the normal course of events, we can prevent potential immune reactions from various angles.
That is an important element for the success of a project that deviates in many respects from the standard working method and is fully aimed at shaping a Vital Democracy.
