"One of the most sustainable banks in the world" is how the Triodos bank advertises itself. How did they achieve this role? And will they be able to keep this role in the future? We will be answering these questions and many more in our interview with Triodos CEO Jeroen Rijpkema, the seasoned banker making the switch from the corporate big fish ABN Amro to the green Triodos. Why does a private banking CEO move to an idealistic niche bank in Zeist? And how did his background in compliance and risk assessment prepare him for this move?To learn if you should consider switching to Triodos, please enjoy this conversation from Room for Discussion!

Room for Discussion

Jeroen Rijpkema (CEO Triodos Bank) : Perseverence of Idealism

The temperature rises in the Arctic as prehistoric ice sheets melt and nations edge ever closer to the brink of war. On the 7th of February 2022, the Dutch Ambassador to the Arctic Council, Rene van Hell, joined Room for Discussion to explore the current climate of the frozen far north.Van Hell discussed how the Arctic has emerged as Ground 0 for Climate Change, as raging Siberian wildfires and the loss of 33% of sea ice disproportionately jeopardizes the region’s four million inhabitants. Simultaneously, environmental devastation has exposed vast riches, with a fifth of the world’s undiscovered oil hidden underneath a rapidly shrinking ice sheet and new trade routes promise to forever alter global shipping.But opportunity brings competition, as the Arctic Council, a forum of Scandinavia, Canada, and the United States must cooperate with Russia to balance a commitment to saving the earth with unprecedented economic opportunity. 2022 will see Russia expand their military presence to more than 13 airfields and 16 deepwater ports, while the US has announced new arms deals and military exercises with the Scandinavian States. The Arctic has never been on thinner ice. Enjoy the conversation!

René van Hell: The Arctic Ambassador & The Polar Power Play

Coby van der Linde has been the director of the Clingendael International Energy Programme since 2001. Clingendael is one of the major research institutes on the international developments of the energy sector. She is also a professor in Groningen, specialised in energy and geopolitics. She has followed the developments in the natural gas market for decades. From a time where the Netherlands was a big transporter of natural gas, to the closure of the Groningen gas fields. From geopolitical tensions with Russia to the recent rise in gas prices. We speak to Van der Linde about the current situation on the Gas Market. What effect do the geopolitical tensions have on the price of gas? What can we expect the coming years? What role does natural gas play in the green energy transition?

Coby van der Linde: The Gas Market from Groningen to Russia

Dr. Sergei Guriev is a famous Russian economist from North Ossetia. Until 2013, he was the rector of the New Economic School in Moscow. At the same time, he was also an economic advisor to Prime minister Medvedev. However, in 2013 his world was turned upside down: he had to flee Russia after being investigated by the government about cases concerning oil tycoon Mr. Khodorkovsky and opposition leader Mr. Navalny.Dr. Sergei Guriev then went to Paris to become a professor at Sciences Po. Furthermore, between 2016 and 2019, he was the chief economist of the European Bank of Development and Reconstruction (EBRD). This bank invests in countries to facilitate their transition into open and democratic market economies. Previously, it was most active in Eastern Europe but now it particularly invests in countries around central Eurasia and little Asia.In this interview, we would like to look at the eventful year 2020 for Russia: it suffered from the oil crisis and the COVID crisis, the opposition leader Navalny was poisoned, elections are coming up and there are riots in neighboring Belarus. How did Russia handle these crises according to Dr. Guriev? Do we, as the West, have an inaccurate view of Russia? What will the future look like for Vladimir Putin?

Sergei Guriev on the Political and Economic Future of Russia

On the 5th of November at 13:00 Room for Discussion interviewed former leader of the PvdA and nowadays one of the architects of the European Green Deal; Diederik Samsom. We talked with him for one hour at the central hall of the E-building and in that time we will touch upon several topics within the Green Deal. First of all, together with Samsom, we discuss the package of measures the European Union has made as a response to the climate change. Thereafter the discussion continues towards potential failures within the Green Deal and the European Member States. Last but not least, during the interview you there were of course possibilities for the audience to ask Diederik Samsom some pressing questions!

Diederik Samsom: The European Plan to Save the Climate and the Younger Generations

Laura van Geest is bestuursvoorzitter van de Autoriteit Financiële Markten (AFM). We bespreken wat de AFM precies doet en hoe hun toezicht eruit ziet. We gaan het veelvuldig hebben over de aandelenmarkten en beleggen. Hoe staat de beurs er voor op het moment? Wat voor impact hebben bijvoorbeeld de coronacrisis, digitalisering, fintech en crypto’s en wat zijn de bijbehorende risico’s? Wat is de rol van ‘execution only’ beleggen? Is DUO investeren verstandig? En hoe beïnvloedt dit allemaal het toekomstige beurslandschap?

Laura van Geest: de (Autoriteit) Financiële Markten

Op dinsdag 23 november om 13:00 uur interviewde Room for Discussion de Amsterdamse internist en huidig directeur van de Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk onderzoek: Marcel Levi! In de afgelopen jaren was hij directeur van maar liefst 5 gefuseerde ziekenhuizen in Londen en is de laatste jaren ook actief in de media waar hij graag aanschuift bij verschillende praatprogramma’s zoals OP1 en wekelijks columns schrijft voor het Parool. Tijdens het interview vragen wij dan ook om zijn mening vragen wat betreft het huidige Corona-beleid van de Nederlandse regering én komen wij erachter of de Nederlandse samenleving daadwerkelijk lessen heeft getrokken uit de pandemie. Daarnaast wordt ook de toekomst en de kwaliteit van de zorg behandeld, want de samenleving is aan het vergrijzen dus wat voor effect zal dat gaan hebben op de gezondheidszorg?

Marcel Levi: Sociale vraagstukken in de zorg

The era of Angela Merkel has come to an end. In all probability, Germany will have a new government before Christmas. And one of the key negotiators at the current coalition table is Otto Fricke. He has been a member of the Bundestag for the better part of two decades, serving as the FDP’s finance wizard. Not only has he been the chair of the Bundestag’s important budget committee for many years, he has also assumed the role of parliamentary leader for the liberal party. At this point, he is one of the party’s most trusted leaders.In the recent federal election, the FDP has emerged as the “kingmaker”: without the FDP, there will be no new government. In our conversation with Fricke, we will discuss the potential of the traffic light coalition between the Social Democrats, the Greens, and the Liberals, and focus on the FDP’s role as the indispensable junior partner. Will the three parties be able to put their heads together and lead Europe’s biggest country into a post-Merkel era of innovation, sustainability and prosperity? Or will they get caught up in four years of stalemate, because their differences are simply too large?The Greens want to fight climate change by raising taxes and spending huge amounts of money, whereas the FDP insists they will not increase public spending and actually want to lower taxes. They prefer to let the magic of the market and advances in technology solve climate change.Other topics we will discuss are: why is the FDP so popular with young voters? What can the German liberals learn from the Dutch and vice versa? Will we come to miss Merkel?

Otto Fricke (FDP MP): Germany after Merkel

Herman Tjeenk Willink (1942) is sinds 2012 minister van staat. Hij verwierf een positie boven de partijen door een lange carrière als onder meer voorzitter van de Eerste Kamer en vicepresident van de Raad van State. Tjeenk Willink was zes keer informateur bij kabinetsformaties en daarom is dit de uitgelezen kans om te reflecteren over de huidge staat van de nederlandse politiek.In zijn boek ‘Kan de overheid crises aan?’ betoogd Herman Tjeenk Willink dat de wijze waarop de Nederlandse overheid functioneert, de democratische rechtsorde heeft uitgehold. De coronacrisis legt dit probleem onder een vergrootglas. Na verschillende overheid crises, zoals de toeslagenaffaire, is het duidelijk dat er anders over de taak en positie van de overheid moet worden gedacht, maar hoe? Voor Tjeenk Willink is de opdracht duidelijk: kleiner denken, groter doen.In dit interview bespreken we het verval van de Nederlandse overheid, de toeslagenaffaire, de formatie en bovenal mogelijke oplossingen voor de huidige problemen binnen de Nederlandse politiek.

Herman Tjeenk Willink: Het verval van de staat

Listen to our new interview with the Ambassador of the United States to the Netherlands. Firstly, we will be addressing the uprising in the aftermath of the brutal killing of George Floyd, while then moving on to focus on domestic and foreign policy during and after this pandemic. For most people, it seems worrisome and obvious that the tensions between China and The United States are, and will continue to be, record high. Although we have little impact on the foreign and domestic policy of the world’s biggest super powers from our homes, we can offer the opportunity to listen in and engage with with these super power’s international representatives.Please submit your own questions that you would like answered, and we will provide a nuanced, albeit critical, discussion on the foreseeable political order that will emerge from this pandemic. MAX GAAT DIT NOG AANPASSEN

Pete Hoekstra: The New Cold War

We welcomed Olivier Blanchard to Room for Discussion. Described by the Washington Post as 'The Smartest Economist You've Never Heard Of', Dr. Blanchard is as serious an economist as they come. He served as Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund during the financial crisis and euro debt crises, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, one of the top think tanks in the world regarding macroeconomic policy.As the economical consequences of the Corona-crisis were unfolding gradually, there was no better time to have a discussion with one of the leading macroeconomists, who has spent seven years in Washington as chief economist at the IMF, starting at the heights of the 2008 financial crisis. During this period at the Fund, Blanchard is known for his pro-Keynesian approaches and influences at the IMF, and as being responsible for ideological shifts in the field of macroeconomics. As Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz put it: “Olivier’s played an important role in opening up the Fund to a whole new set of ideas.”What exactly were these ideas, and how do we see their influence today? With Blanchard, one of the most cited economists in the world, we opened up the debate about ideological arguments within macroeconomics, the approach of the IMF towards the economic crisis resulting from the pandemic, and his book about combatting inequality. What should we, as students, know about the current crisis, and how do we put it into perspective with preceding crises?

Olivier Blanchard: Former Chief Economist of the IMF

Eindelijk is het zo ver! Na anderhalf jaar gaat Room for Discussion weer interviews houden op onze vertrouwde Chesterfieldbanken.Wiegel (1941) werd op 30-jarige leeftijd lijsttrekker van de VVD. Een partij die hij door zijn befaamde toespraken over 'de mensen in het land' voor het eerst meer dan 20 zetels liet halen tijdens de verkiezingen van een jaar later. Tijdens het kabinet-Den Uyl stond Wiegel bekend als gevat politicus en leidde hij de felle oppositie tegen het linkse beleid van de PvdA-premier. Tijdens het daaropvolgende kabinet-Van Agt I schopte Wiegel het tot jongste vicepremier die Nederland ooit gehad heeft en, naar eigen zeggen, beste premier die Nederland nooit gehad heeft. Tegenwoordig schrijft de gepensioneerde Wiegel columns in De Telegraaf en is hij regelmatig te gast als politiek analist bij omroep WNL.In 2010 was Wiegel ook al te gast om het te hebben over de turbulente politieke situatie waar Nederland zich toen in begaf. Elf jaar later beleeft diezelfde politiek opnieuw een dieptepunt en geven we de analyses van de heer Wiegel opnieuw een podium. Hoe duidt Wiegel de ongeëvenaarde impasse van deze kabinetsformatie? Welke parallellen trekt hij met zijn tijd in de politiek? Waarom voelen zo velen op rechts zich genoodzaakt een nieuwe partij te starten? Welke rol speelt premier Rutte hierin?

Hans Wiegel: De Metamorfose van Rechts Nederland

Listen to Room for Discussion’s interview with one of the current leading political economist and author of critically-acclaimed “Why Nations Fail”; Daron Acemoglu. The interview will be 45 minutes and in that time we will cover two main topics. First of all, we will discuss his view on the political and economic development of China. Thereafter the discussion continues towards the European Union and why he thinks that this ‘nation’ will not fail because of its inclusive institutions.

Daron Acemoglu on Why Nations Fail

Few academic books ever become bestsellers, and even fewer dramatically change global political discussions. Prof. Piketty’s Capital in the 21st Century (2013) did both. The book traced the history of income and wealth inequality in the developed world, arguing that inequality is an important feature – and not an accident- of capitalism. Most importantly, his work brought economic inequality back to the centre of political discussion.It was an honour to have Professor Piketty join us for the second time at Room for Discussion! This time the topic of the interview was his newest book: Capital and Ideology (2019). In this new work, he argues from a historical and global perspective that inequality is not economic or technological, it is ideological and political. As such, it is fundamentally founded in the battle of ideas. The interview discusses these views and more, offering a short but insightful summary of over 1000 pages of Piketty's craft.

Thomas Piketty - Capital and Ideology

2020 was a year of crisis and shock, and there is still much about how the pandemic will change our societies that we do not know. We're talking to Tom Standage, deputy editor at the Economist, to get an insight into how the repercussions of this past year could play out. Mr. Standage has a degree in computer science and engineering and he has been a science and technology writer for The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph. His role at The Economist focuses on the website, the application, and its digital platform. Given his areas of expertise, we'll be asking him some big picture questions about technological change over the past 30 years, the potential for a tech-led productivity boom in the near future, and how this might interact with our society and our politics. We'll also discuss the state of journalism and public debate today, and how these have been impacted by the pandemic.

Tom Standage - How Social Media & Technology is Revolutionising Our World

Room for Discussion is the interviewplatform of the University of Amsterdam. Every week we interview experts in the fields of politics and economics.

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