Thirteen people received a special invitation to spend a few hours with the participants of VU Amsterdam’s Sustainability University Assembly. The invitation was from the Assembly participants themselves: they were keen for some new knowledge and information. Or, as we like to put it, for some extra inspiration.
This is why the Assembly’s guests were presented as ‘Inspirators’. These 13 people came to share information about their topic of expertise. Not by giving a lecture, but by joining the Assembly participants at their tables, having in-depth conversations mostly guided by what participants wanted to know. This was the Inspiration Carrousel, that took place on Tuesday 6 May at the university main building’s Foyer. Some 90 participants were there, a mix of VU Amsterdam students and staff, all of whom had participated in the first Assembly meeting, the Summit.
How the Inspirators were picked
At the 15 April Summit, after having formed their initial Working Groups, the participants started developing ideas around the theme that they had chosen to work on. As part of that, they considered what sort of knowledge or information they would need to firm up their ideas, to turn them into proposals for a sustainable VU Amsterdam. After all, the central question for the Assembly is: How do we become a sustainable university?
Participants indicated on what topics or questions they wanted to consult Inspirators, by filling out a form. Some options were given, but everyone was free to add their own suggestions. The organisers then went away and contacted people who could share insights or experiences on the topics that participants most wanted to hear about. The result was a line-up of 13 people from VU Amsterdam and beyond, representing a wide variety of topics and perspectives. They were:
- John Robinson, University of Toronto – Governance of sustainability
- Victoria Smith, ISCN – Vision on sustainability in universities
- Paul van Lange, VU Amsterdam – Behavioural change
- Rooske Gaal, VU Amsterdam – Campus energy transition & sense of sustainability
- Darren Axe, SOS Earth, Student and staff initiatives
- Mathieu Blondeel, VU Amsterdam – Sustainable research collaborations
- Philipp Pattberg, VU Amsterdam – Sustainability in research
- Davide Ianuzzi, VU Amsterdam – Alternative income streams
- Elsa van der Rijken, VU Amsterdam – Metrics and legal aspects
- Jorim Tielbeek, VU Amsterdam – Sustainability education
- Koen Wessels, UvA – Pedagogies for sustainability
- Mariam Sugijanto, VU Amsterdam – Communications and media
- Frank Kupper, VU Amsterdam – Science communication.
Inspirators pitching their topics to the SUA participants
Three rounds of inspiration
Each of the Inspirators then sat at a table of their own with space for some eight participants to join. Two Inspirators were joining online and could be joined in breakout rooms. Participants individually decided which table (or breakout room) they joined for round one. After that there were two more rounds, so each participant could speak to three Inspirators. At their tables, the Inspirators gave a short intro and then the dialogue got going with participants sharing their questions and ideas with each other and the Inspirator.
After roughly 90 minutes, the Inspiration Carrousel finished and the Inspirators came to the front once more. Moderator Mirjam de Pagter (G1000.nu) asked them to share what they had heard and what they would take away from their conversations. One of them said: “It’s funny that you call me an Inspirator. It seems the wrong way around. I’m going away feeling very inspired by the participants I’ve been talking to.”
Putting inspiration to good use
After dinner the participants reconvened in the Working Groups they had formed at their first meeting. They brought together their different insights from the carrousel and used these to develop their ideas. A few of the Working Groups decided to join forces. All in all, there was dedicated team work going on at 14 tables.
The moderation team interrupted just once, so that they could brief the participants on the next steps for the Assembly. In two weeks’ time, participants will meet again. This time, rather than absorbing input from outside their Assembly, they will cross-pollinate. What awaits is another carrousel, now with Working Groups presenting their initial ideas and members of other groups making visits to ask questions, give suggestions, and possibly discover useful connections.
The Working Group Carrousel takes place on Tuesday 20 May from 4pm. After that, the Assembly will have two further meetings to finalise its Sustainability Agreement for VU Amsterdam.
