“I recently completed a two-week Experteering adventure at The Impact Hub Amsterdam. To “experteer” is to donate one’s expertise according to MovingWorlds.org – a social venture based in Seattle and the matchmaker behind my experience. Contributing to Impact Hub Amsterdam was incredibly rewarding. With the guidance of Rutger, I worked to create materials and resources for corporate partnership opportunities in the Netherlands and beyond. I was able to provide tangible value to the Impact Hub and in return I was generously and graciously welcomed into their community. The experience provided me an intense learning opportunity – the opportunity to establish myself and apply my expertise quickly and effectively. It also connected me to a whole new network of entrepreneurs with great ideas. I absorbed the most through the people. Ruben told me about saving lives by producing and distributing clean cook stoves in Africa. Robin reiterated the importance of meeting a “local” for more meaningful travel. Harmen shared his passion for ecological villages in developing countries, while Michel took the time to tell me about how to get more “Konnektid” to my neighbors. I eagerly shared my ideas and feedback with my new colleagues as well as boasted all about the Impact Hub Seattle. We all shared a mutual passion for social change – and a mutual interest in supporting each other. In just a couple short weeks, I became a part of a new family.
On my last day I walked in to familiar faces and friendly smiles. I didn’t want to leave. But I left with new friends, a new perspective and a fresh set of ideas and personal goals. It seems to me that newness inspires creativity – it creates that space in your routine that you need to truly think outside the box. The new city, new people, new culture, new opportunities and new challenges all helped me to think more creatively – and I hope the novelty of my perspective inspired some members of Impact Hub Amsterdam as well. The innovative Experteering opportunity provided by MovingWorlds.org is going to have a big impact on social enterprises around the globe – and on the professionals who chose to follow this path. As an international network of high-impact innovators, an Impact Hub exchange program could provide tremendous value to its members, and produce some world-changing ideas and partnerships in the process.”
“Jamie’s experteering assignment contributed strongly to the further development of my role as Partnerships lead at Impact Hub Amsterdam. My conversations with her provided me with the necessary reflection to prepare well for meetings with corporates that are interested in social innovation and entrepreneurship.” shared Rutger Bults, Partnerships Manager for Impact Hub Amsterdam.
Jamie Van Horne is currently Experteering at Thammasat University’s School of Global Studies in Thailand where she’s helping to create an ecosystem of entrepreneurship and to develop a Social Innovation Square. She came to Amsterdam from The Impact Hub Seattle where she was Director of Partnerships for SeeYourImpact.org. Next stop: Impact Hub Madrid
