Your truth is not my truth — Design Thinking Conference 2020

I’d like to share a little of what you can expect from the Design Thinking Conference 2020.

But first let me share these thoughts with you…

I find it really hard to believe that this year we will organize the 4th edition of the Design Thinking Conference. It all started as an experiment, an attempt to practice what we preach, break the mold of conferences, blend it with improv and theatre and create something new and exciting. We took a big risk doing so, but we also listened to what the community was saying and ‘not saying’ and… we followed our gut feeling.

The first conference in 2017 felt like jumping into the deep end. We knew how to swim, but we didn’t know how cold the water was going to be. It turned out to be a warm bath.

I can not thank the team of DesignThinkers Academy enough. I’m so proud to work with such amazing people. Their professionalism and… specifically their patience with me have made it possible. (I must admit I’m not easy to work with… I sure couldn’t do it)

Also I want to thank all the participants, workshop leaders, keynote speakers and our MC‘s (and support) to have been so open minded and willing to experiment and be vulnerable. Thanks to you we were able to create a safe space to let the unexpected emerge, an environment where we can all have a beginners mindset and are all learners. The 4th editions, or iteration I should say, will be building on all the things we learned thanks to you.

The main topic of the DesignThinking Conference will always be empathy, or like we framed it seeing the world ‘Through different eyes’. This year we will have a special focus on culture. We will explore how the culture and context we live and work in affects our perception of reality, how it creates a version of the truth. And what is true to you might not be true to me. I’m sure that anyone who has been active in an international setting (or works within multidisciplinary teams) knows the frustration and misunderstandings this can cause. Together with you we will explore how to use this as a powerful source for inspiration, innovation and change.

We are currently scouting for speakers and workshop leaders and we will share more details and announcements soon… And something else I’m very excited about: this year we will work in close partnership with our friends from the Ghana Design Thinking Conference.

And just a heads up: There is a limited amount of tickets available and they are being sold right now. So if you want to join the conference and don’t want to miss out you can sign up at https://www.designthinkingconference.com/register/

Hope to see you at the Design Thinking Conference 8 — 9 October 2020 in Amsterdam!