Tiny House TEDx talk

Monday January 21^st was the day, finally. After months of preparations, the very first TEDx event of Alkmaar took place in a sold-out Grote Sint-Laurenskerk. The crowd listened carefully to no less than 18 inspiring speakers, including yours truly, alternated with music and theater. It was an incredible day! The talks are now online on the TEDx Alkmaar website and the TEDx YouTube channel. You should really view one or more in the near future. They are worth your attention!

Design your future

As the theme for this first edition of TEDx Alkmaar, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) of the United Nations were chosen. These 17 goals were set to end poverty, inequality and climate change in 2030. A very current issue! We need to work hard to achieve these goals, but what can we do to make a contribution? The speakers of TEDx Alkmaar have each followed their own path related to these SGD’s and share their experiences and insights passionately.

My Tiny House talk

In October I auditioned, and together with Jan Gunneweg I got picked out of 16 contestants to participate in TEDx Alkmaar. I was so happy I got chosen; I wanted to spread my message so bad and took the opportunity with both hands! In 2016 I did a TEDx talk at TEDx Schiphol, but 2 years later I have so many more experiences to share. I wanted to give a talk that would inspire and move people, and give the audience lightbulb moments. So, as usual, I didn’t set the bar too high for myself *cough*.

I’ve spent months working on my talk, with the support of the coach who was assigned to me by TEDx Alkmaar, Maaike Koerhuis. Your support was so great, Maaike, thank you so much! You’re a really kind-hearted woman and you managed to trigger exactly what was needed in me to bring my talk to the next level.

After the first rehearsal it turned out that the talk could only last 14 minutes instead of 18. So I had to kill my darlings all over again. A lot of writing and rewriting later, I finally had a talk I was happy with. I was the second speaker of the day and I really enjoyed giving my talk to the big crowd in the church. I would do it again in a heartbeat; I had a blast! Now I can finally share it with you and I hope you will want to share it in your network as well. It’s an idea worth spreading:

Arranged to the last detail

I want to take this occasion to compliment the organization of  TEDx Alkmaar. They have arranged it so well. From the auditions to the big day itself, everything was planned and organized perfectly. They arranged rehearsals and coaches. The church was a breathtaking setting for this event and the decorations were impressive. It was so great to be able to connect with the other speakers during a storytelling workshop, the rehearsal day and a delicious speakers’ dinner. All organized by the TEDx Alkmaar team: people who have spent an enormous amount of free time to deliver us this event. You’re the best! Do it again next year? I’m up for it!

Also a big thanks to all the speakers for the pleasant cooperation and your inspiring talks! It takes a lot of time to prepare and give a TEDx talk. And it’s kind of a big deal, sharing your story in front of so many people. I bow to each and every one of you, for your guts to share your story and inspire people with ideas that make the world a better place. To close with the words of our fantastic host Salmaan Sana, who quoted Marianne Williamson:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It’s time to use our power to make a better world for every living creature on it. <3

The stunning photos in this blog are made by Mike Bink Photography and made available by TEDx Alkmaar. #tedxalkmaar