TEDxRotterdam — November 11, 2026

The Meaning of Acceleration

Where is all this speed taking us?

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Nieuwe Luxor Theater, Rotterdam

We live in a time where everything is moving faster. Faster decisions. Faster growth. Faster lives.

And before we realise it, we move along with it.

But rarely do we stop to ask:
what is this speed doing to us?

On 11 November, TEDxRotterdam creates a space to step out of that rhythm. Not to slow down for the sake of slowing down, but to become aware of the direction we are moving in.

Through talks, stories, art, and shared experiences, we explore what acceleration means for ourselves, for our relationships and for the city we are shaping together.

Because the most important question might not be where are we running to? But what are we becoming while we’re moving?

What to Expect

A day of ideas,
stories and connection.

Designed as an experience.

  • Short talks and personal stories that spark new perspectives
  • Art, live performances and unexpected moments throughout the day
  • Space to meet, connect and exchange ideas
  • An afterparty to continue the conversations beyond the stage
Programme

The day,
hour by hour.

November 11, 2026 — Nieuwe Luxor Theater, Rotterdam

  1. –

    Doors Open & Lunch

    Welcome, check-in and lunch.

  2. –

    Opening

    Music, opening performance and welcome remarks.

  3. –

    TEDx Talks & Performance – Part I

    Inspiring talks and a live performance.

  4. –

    Break

  5. –

    TEDx Talks & Performance – Part II

    Fresh perspectives, inspiring ideas and a musical performance.

  6. –

    Break

  7. –

    TEDx Talks – Part III & Closing

    Final talks and closing remarks.

  8. –

    Ideas & Impact Lounge

    Connect, exchange ideas and spark new collaborations.

  9. –

    Afterparty

    Food, drinks, music & networking.

Speakers

Meet the
speakers.

Our speakers will share what acceleration means to them, how they navigate the speed of life, and challenge you to reflect on your own journey. Curious who’s taking the stage? Meet the people behind the ideas.

  • Claire Boonstra

    Education innovator, founder, and entrepreneur.

    For more than 14 years, Claire Boonstra has been working with the Dutch education system, exploring what it takes to create real change. She believes we need to look beyond fixing what is not working and start questioning the ideas and assumptions behind the system itself. Why do we do things the way we do? And what happens when we stop saying “that’s just the way it is” and start asking what could be different?

  • Joshua van Eijndhoven

    Entrepreneur, founder, and CEO of Voja Travel.

    Joshua van Eijndhoven has travelled the world, sailed across oceans, and built a life around discovering what lies beyond the familiar. After six years of sailing around the world, he founded Voja Travel, creating meaningful travel experiences with a positive impact on people and places. His story explores what movement can teach us about direction, acceleration, and the choices we make along the way.

  • Indra Diallo

    Harpist, composer, and therapeutic practitioner.

    Indra Diallo is a Dutch Guinean harpist, composer and therapeutic practitioner who brings together West African traditions, neoclassical sounds and inner work. Through music, she explores the connections between heart and mind, love and loss, identity and the world around us. Her work invites us to slow down, reconnect within, and find our own rhythm.

  • Sharon Klaver

    Co-founder and Managing Director of Builders Studio.

    Sharon Klaver is the co-founder and Managing Director of Builders Studio, a Rotterdam-based enterprise AI venture studio. She wrote her first code at 13, started her first online business at 16 and has since founded, funded and led multiple software companies.

    Throughout her entrepreneurial journey, Sharon discovered that building technology is often not the hardest part. The real challenges lie in validating ideas, finding customers, building teams and earning trust. At TEDxRotterdam, she explores why the human side of innovation matters more than ever as AI accelerates the pace of technological change.

  • Samira Bouharrou

    Entrepreneur, author, and speaker.

    Samira Bouharrou is an entrepreneur, author and speaker passionate about the journey of first-generation entrepreneurs, people building their own path without family capital, networks or examples to follow. As the founder of a childcare organisation and Teenage Bestie, she knows what it means to build from the ground up. Her upcoming book, “Succes zonder Erfenis”, explores a simple idea: everything you need to succeed starts within you. For Samira, the acceleration that matters is not about having more, but about discovering what is already inside you.

  • Barbara Poot van den Bosch

    Education innovator, principal and founder of Vivere, Your School of Life.

    Barbara is an education innovator, author and founder of Vivere, Your School of Life. Ten years ago, she challenged traditional ideas about education by creating a school that prepares children for life, not just exams. At TEDxRotterdam, she shares what a decade of experimenting, learning and challenging the system has taught her about creating meaningful change in education.

  • Michel Jansen

    Programme developer, trainer and speaker.

    Michel Jansen is a programme developer, trainer and speaker. For over twenty years, he has worked at the intersection of education, organisations and talent development. Through LoopbaanLounge, he helps students and professionals not only discover their abilities, but more importantly, put them into practice.

    Michel believes that learning should be enjoyable and that experience is valuable, as long as it doesn’t stand in the way of curiosity. In his work, he brings together the wisdom of experience and the fresh perspectives of a new generation.

Before November 11

Pre-event
Moments.

The conversation starts before the event.

In the months leading up to 11 November, we host smaller community moments in Rotterdam; designed to bring people together around the theme before the main event.

Be part of it from the start.

Join the Community
Tickets

Get your ticket.

DateNovember 11, 2026
VenueNieuwe Luxor Theater, Rotterdam
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A previous TEDxRotterdam audience moment
The Venue

Nieuwe Luxor Theater.

Posthumalaan 1
3072 AG Rotterdam
The Netherlands

One of Rotterdam's most iconic cultural venues, accessible by tram, metro, and rail from Rotterdam Centraal (8 min walk).

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Partners

Ideas move further when people move together.

TEDxRotterdam is made possible together with partners who share our belief in the power of ideas, connection and new perspectives. Their expertise and support help bring TEDxRotterdam 2026 to life.

Event Partners

  • S.V.P. Sfeerbeheer

    SVP Sfeerbeheer is a creative event design and production company that brings people, ideas and experiences together. Through collaboration, storytelling and innovative concepts, they create memorable events that inspire, connect and engage audiences.

  • Dispatch

    Dispatch builds large-scale battery parks that store solar and wind energy, and balance the energy grid. We’re a small, passionate team that believes you can make a real change if you fully commit, for a long enough period, to solving a problem.

    Led by Eiso, our CEO, who has been a longtime contributor to TEDx. We’re eager to build the future together.

  • Rabobank

    Een ondernemersidee of een vraag over de volgende stap in jouw onderneming? Tijdens de Ideas & Impact Lounge denkt Rabobank met je mee over ondernemen, groei, netwerken en bankproducten zoals financiering. Bespreek je vraag en ontdek wat jou verder kan helpen.

  • Dynamic Activities

    Dynamic Activities is TEDxRotterdam’s educational partner. They think along on how the event connects to learning, and bring visitors an experience of what acceleration looks like for young people: how a student goes from first spark to real momentum. For 18 years, Dynamic Activities has worked with schools in Rotterdam to help students discover their talents and build confidence. At TEDxRotterdam 2026, that experience meets the theme of acceleration.

AV/IT Experience Partner

  • Econocom

    Econocom specialises in four areas: Workplace, Infrastructure, Audiovisual and Financing. As TEDxRotterdam’s AudioVisual & IT Experience Partner, they provide technology and production expertise, from digital experiences and interaction to visual signing, and help bring the event experience to life.

Supporting Partners

  • PopIT

    PopIT helps power the connection between our visitors through NFC technology, the event platform and check-in experience. With one tap, attendees can check in, connect and interact throughout the day.

  • iKapitein

    iKapitein is a Rotterdam-based social enterprise that brings together water recreation, sustainability and innovation. Through boat tours, unique experiences on the water and educational initiatives, iKapitein connects people, inspires new perspectives and contributes to a more sustainable city.

Web partner

rudi. is our Web Partner, the Rotterdam technology studio that designed and built this website. From first sketch to launch, they gave TEDxRotterdam 2026 its digital home, where the ideas can be found before and after the event.

Become a Partner

Help us create an unforgettable TEDx experience in Rotterdam, built around our 2026 theme: The Meaning of Acceleration. Share your details and our team will get back to you.

Join the Community

Be the first to know.

Speaker announcements, pre-event community moments, and the latest updates, straight to your inbox.

Join the Community
Privacy Policy

Your privacy.

TEDxRotterdam 2026 · Last updated: 22 September 2026

This website has no analytics, no advertising tracking and no user accounts. We receive personal data when you choose to contact us, buy or register for a ticket, join our community, or use services connected to the event.

Who we are

TEDxRotterdam 2026 is organised by Stichting B3LEAFMEDIA as an independent TEDx event operated under license from TED. Stichting B3LEAFMEDIA is responsible for the personal data we use for TEDxRotterdam. Questions about privacy or your personal data can be sent to info@tedxrotterdam.com.

Cookies and Google Maps

We do not use analytics or advertising cookies. The venue map uses Google Maps and only loads after you choose “Accept” or “Load map”. When it loads, Google may receive technical information such as your IP address and may place cookies according to Google’s privacy policy. You can change your cookie choice at any time.

We also save your light/dark theme and cookie preference in your browser’s local storage. This remains on your device and is not sent to us.

Contacting us

The partner form on this website does not submit information to the website itself. It opens your own email application with a prefilled email to info@tedxrotterdam.com. If you contact us, we use the information you provide to answer your message, manage our relationship with you and, where relevant, discuss a possible partnership. Our email is managed using Zoho Mail. We keep correspondence only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was received or where we need to retain it for administrative or legal reasons.

Tickets

Tickets are sold through Ticket Tailor. When you purchase or register for a ticket, we may receive the information you provide during registration, such as your:

We do not receive your full payment card details. We use this information to process and administer tickets, communicate important event information, manage attendance and operate TEDxRotterdam.

The primary legal basis for this processing is that it is necessary to provide the ticket and event services you requested. Some information may also need to be retained to meet legal or administrative obligations. Ticket Tailor processes attendee data on our behalf as our ticketing provider.

Community and future events

People can choose to join the TEDxRotterdam community, including through our community signup form, which currently uses Google Forms. We may use the information provided to share community information, invitations and information about future TEDxRotterdam events. Where required, we ask for your consent before sending promotional or community communications.

Ticket buyers may also receive information about similar future TEDxRotterdam events where permitted by law. You can unsubscribe from promotional or community emails at any time. Unsubscribing from marketing does not prevent us from sending messages that are necessary in relation to a ticket, registration or event you are attending.

Pop It, check-in and networking

TEDxRotterdam may use Pop It for event check-in, NFC badges and optional networking features. To prepare the event, we may transfer relevant attendee information from Ticket Tailor to Pop It, such as your name, email address, registration information and attendance status. Pop It may also process technical or interaction information necessary for its event functionality, such as check-ins, badge taps or scans. Pop It acts as a data processor for TEDxRotterdam when we use its event services.

Digital business cards and contact sharing are optional. You decide whether you want to activate these features and whether you want to share your contact information with another attendee.

Pop It event participant data used by TEDxRotterdam will be kept for approximately three months after the event and then removed from Pop It, subject to any technical backup cycles or legal requirements. Relevant ticket records may remain in Ticket Tailor according to the retention periods described below.

Photography and video

Photography and video recording may take place during TEDxRotterdam. We may use event imagery to document TEDxRotterdam and communicate or promote TEDxRotterdam through our website, social media and other event communications. Where we rely on our legitimate interests, we take the privacy of attendees into account and aim to use event imagery in a reasonable and proportionate way. For situations where consent is required or appropriate, we will ask for it.

If you do not want to be prominently photographed or filmed, you can tell a member of the TEDxRotterdam team during the event or contact info@tedxrotterdam.com. You can also contact us afterwards if you have concerns about identifiable imagery in which you appear.

Sharing your information

We do not sell attendee data. We do not provide attendee contact lists to sponsors or partners. We only share personal information where necessary to organise and operate TEDxRotterdam, for example with service providers such as:

Partners may receive anonymous or aggregated information about the event, but not identifiable attendee data unless there is a separate lawful reason and you have been informed.

Hosting

This website is hosted using Cloudflare. Like other website infrastructure providers, Cloudflare may process technical information such as IP addresses and request data in order to deliver the website, maintain security and protect against abuse.

How long we keep information

We do not keep personal information longer than necessary for the purpose for which it was collected. In general:

Some administrative or transaction information may need to be kept longer where required by law.

Legal bases

Depending on how you interact with TEDxRotterdam, we process personal data because:

Your rights

Under the GDPR, depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:

You can exercise these rights by contacting info@tedxrotterdam.com. You can also file a complaint with the Dutch data protection authority, Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens.

Changes

We may update this privacy policy when our event, website or service providers change. When we make changes, we will update this page and change the date at the top.

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