Second edition festival WeMakeThe.City: better cities for and by everyone.

The second edition of the international urban innovation festival WeMakeThe.City will take place from Monday 17 June, up and until Sunday 23 June in the Metropolitan Region of Amsterdam. It will address key questions such as: how do we improve our cities and region for all, given the growing divide in societies? How can we make all citizens benefit from the current booming economy? How do we ensure access for all to housing, jobs, and education in the city of the future? How do we make cities more liveable, accessible, thriving and caring for all of us?

For almost a week, citizens and policymakers, scientists, designers, artists, educational and health care professionals, entrepreneurs, and local and (inter)national administrators will join in a conversation to find solutions for both specific Amsterdam issues and complex, urgent international urban challenges. The first part of the programme will be available from May 9, which also marks the start of the tickets sale. Check the programme here to find Metropolitan and Urban Conferences, Urban Movies, Talks, and Urban Expeditions.

OPENING NIGHT

Imagine a Thriving, Sustainable and Inclusive City for All of Us.

Monday June 17, the State of the Region and the Opening Night will take place at Theater Amsterdam. Key questions are: How do we create a liveable, inclusive and sustainable city and metropolitan region for all? How do we create equal opportunities? How do we design the principles for a better, inclusive city, together with societal organisations, out-of-the-box thinkers, companies, and governments?

A programme with the Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema and (inter)national keynote speakers. Special guest Indy Johar (Good Growth by Design at the City of Londen) addresses the issues of redesigning our democracy, rethinking our economy and the importance of social innovation. Other speakers will be:

• Miguel Gamiño (Head of Global Cities at Mastercard / former CTO New York City);
• Bianca Wylie (Founder of Open Data Institute Toronto);
• Joe Minicozzi (data-driven Storyteller at Urban3);
• Philomena Essed (Leadership and Change Professor at the Antioch University);
• Henk Ovink (Dutch Special Envoy for international water affairs);
• Animato Cairo (Lector Inclusive Education at The Hague University of Applied Sciences);
• Giorgio de Finis (Anthropologist and Museum Director in Rome)

URBAN CONFERENCES, DESIGN SPRINTS & EXPEDITIONS

On weekdays WeMakeThe.City will focus on urban innovation. 

The Urban Conference Minority Report – About social justice, diversity and inclusion in the city, will start on Tuesday June 18. With national and international examples of how super diverse cities work on inclusivenes and equality. The Metropolitan Conference Climate Proofing the Region will also take place; Special Envoy for International Water Affairs Henk Ovink will talk about the future and consequences of too much and too little water in the Metropolitan Region of Amsterdam. During the Urban Conference Werk in Uitvoering (Work in Progress) scenario’s are drawn for an inclusive job market of the future. And in the special programma Guest City Antwerpen, the Flemish civil activist Manu Claeys will outline the successful practice of democratic. He will also take the stage on Wednesday June 19, at the Conference Common Ground, on co-creation and participation. The Conference Gezond leven in een miljoenenstad (Healthy Living in a metropolis) takes place on Thursday June 20, focusing on how making radical choices for a caring neighbourhood can improve inclusiveness. 

Three conferences on mobility take place from Tuesday, June 18 up and until Thursday, June 20. Three themes are: how do data and technology affect mobility, how do we access the city when cars are increasingly banned and how can we redesign the logistic success of the MRA in a more sustainable way? Every conference will be followed by expeditions in the city areas, design sprints, hackathons, and tours.

WeMakeThe.City is not just about talking and thinking, but about doing and making. Check out the programme from Monday 17 up and until Saturday June 22 here.

WEEKEND: THE REGION OPENS ITS DOORS

Over the weekend, you can visit all kinds of local initiatives in the Metropolitan Region of Amsterdam: local breweries, the (fruit) Gardens in West, museums, music stages and Artis zoo, exhibitions such as Future Cities at the OBA and Streets of the World at the Zuidas. But also the Stadswildernis (City Jungle) and a newspaper for kids in Amsterdam North. Visitors can also venture outside of Amsterdam and join WeMakeThe.City in the Zaan Area, Almere and Haarlemmermeer. You can find more information and the complete programme here.