Most notable responses from attendees

Was very inspiring, really got me thinking. I passed on the message “Doing the right thing even when no one is looking” to my oldest adolescent son. It’s not about being better or the best, but about doing the right thing.

Very strong presentation, you know that presenting and getting the audience along is something you do well. Interaction with the audience was strong, except for the nuclear energy point. Although good in content, it became a debate between a well-informed speaker/philosopher who wants to improve the world and someone who has a political bias about nuclear power. I found that a bit time consuming, time where I would have preferred to hear more of your knowledge.

I am again very surprised at the way of making people think, excite.

I listened to your lecture with interest and without one moment of boredom, but also learned new things. I like how you highlight issues without expressing a direct opinion on them, but still leave a strong impression that certain things should and will be done differently.

Veltenaar knows how to captivate the audience like no other.

The following topics really resonated/ stimulated me:

1) Broader perspective, how we deal with the world. Not just climate change.
2) The tension between what you think/feel, and what you actually do (especially if you have to ‘sacrifice’ in the process). Since I started for myself, I realize much more what a narrow pattern you end up in with a regular employer. Now I have more room to do something. And now actually do something!
3) The discussion: do all moderately well-founded opinions have to be continuously shared by everyone and have to be taken into account (for me a confirmation bias, but still…) ?
4) Holding up the mirror. The question I regularly ask people who judge something from the past or how something is in other parts of the world: how do you think people will look at our way of life a hundred years from now? How we use up a huge part of our natural resources in a few generations ? And how we ‘cultivate’ animals as if they were plants. I found the “phone conversations” with people from the future a nice confrontational way to address that.

Thank you for this evening. It gave me another boost!

A presentation laced with facts that will blow your mind. To be considered a wake-up call, if not already known.
Nice tips to make life more pleasant for yourself and your environment.
Reminded me of the well-known slogan ‘Improve the world and start with yourself’.

A story that touches deeply, awakens the mind and leaves a lasting impression on your thinking. Compliments.

I’ve heard Ruud in podcasts before, so I had a bit of an idea of what to expect. Ruud is certainly very passionate about a more sustainable world and explains this very energetically! And yes, that is quite challenging for some, and he deals with that very politely. But you can never un-know all that he shared….

Factual, fast, little text in the slides, Ruud takes you away by being inspired, bold, quick and authentic. Ruud has walked his own path in life and that inspires.

In one word: extremely inspirational

A very inspiring session. Although the message really touched me, it was also brought with humor and tools to work with it.

I found it an inspiring and confronting session. It gave me much food for thought.

Motivating and sharp. Both on content and connecting to the group and current events.

Incredibly laughed and enjoyed and learned

Huge impactful story, decided to stop eating meat.

Inspiring and thought-provoking. In response to this presentation, I have decided to start a philosophy course at the Open University immediately after my retirement (in 5 years) and hopefully be able to make a modest contribution to a better world.

I enjoyed the presentation immensely, thank you very much! Besides some great information and interesting topics, there was also a lot of time for interaction with the audience, which made the talk lively and extremely entertaining. It also definitely gave food for thought, and was in line with the theme of our day where Ruud came to give a presentation. Definitely highly recommended!

Ruud Veltenaar, a future thinker and inspirational speaker, offers a perspective on trends and social changes during his presentations. With stimulating insights, he motivates organizations and individuals to think future-oriented. He connects technological innovation with sustainability and incites to action by making complex themes accessible and relevant.

From the first to the last minute, it was an inspiring story which also provoked reflection.

It was also great how they responded to the questions/input from the audience. All in all, reason enough to highly recommend a lecture by Ruud.