Design for Transition

Rudy van Belkom (MA) is a researcher, innovator, speaker and author in the field of Technology & Democracy. He is the Executive Director of The Netherlands Study Centre for Technology Trends (STT). Based on his social involvement, he started an initiative for the exploration of a new political electoral system; The New Vote.

Recommendation by Marcus Fairs, Founder and editor-in-chief, Dezeen: As an ambassador for the Dutch Design Week I approached Rudy to join the politics talk as part of the ‘Good Design for a Bad World’ series. Rudy is a visionary thinker and has a unique view of the future of democracy and the role that design can play in it. He has a lot of knowledge, switches quickly and knows how to make complex matters understandable to the public. That makes him a great speaker and panel member.

Check out a selection of Rudy’s achievements and media appearances below:

List of achievements

Event
About
Date + Location
TEDx Eindhoven - Chasing Footprints
How can we stop politics from dividing us?
DOMUSDELA
Designing Cities for All
Design is everywhere, and everything is designed. What is design and what does it comprehend? In what way does design influence our daily life?
Pakhuis de Zwijger - Amsterdam
The Future of (in)equality
Paneldiscussion about the influence, threats and benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) on equality and inequality.
Brave New World conference
Global Game Changers: Delivering AI Ethically and Equitably
Ethics by Design: How can we design ethically responsible AI systems?
Inspired AI Series - World AI Summit
I COMPUTE THEREFORE I AM… Ethical AI with and for the people
A debate around the emerging field of Artificial Intelligence Ethics Research, and the needs and requirements desired to build people-centric AI systems.
ESOF (EuroScience Open Forum) - Trieste
Good Design for a Bad World (Dezeen)
Can designers influence politics at a time of rising populism and global challenges such as population movements and climate change?
Dutch Design Week - Eindhoven
Designing Democracy
What is the role of design in democratic innovation?
Pakhuis de Zwijger - Amsterdam
TEDx Maastricht
The future of elections.
Theater aan het Vrijthof - Maastricht

In the media

Title
About
Media
Where is our long-term vision?
Climate change, increasing inequality and rising tensions in society. Much is at stake for our future. But it is precisely in times of crisis that long-term thinking is crucial, argues Rudy van Belkom, director of The Netherlands Study Centre for Technology Trends (STT)
De Ingenieur
Alive and Clicking - Make young voices heard
Democracy is in crisis’, it is often said. Experts even fear that democracy will not survive the digital age. But what if democracy is much more alive than we think?
Teach the Future
Technologie Kieswijzer tells voters where parties stand on key tech issues
The 'Technologie Kieswijzer': a new voting tool that shows voters where different political parties stand on important technology-related issues, and which parties' views align most closely with their own.
Dutch Startup Association
An interview with Netherlands Study Centre for Technology Trends, Futures Researcher, Rudy van Belkom
We spoke to Rudy van Belkom, Futures Researcher at the Netherlands Study Centre for Technology Trends, ahead of his presentation at Inspired AI.
World Summit AI
The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Activities of a Futurist
This article focuses on the impact of AI on the activities of a futurist.
World Futures Review
Make it easier for citizens to make the right choices (Dutch)
It seems that our common sense has also been infected by the corona virus. But instead of seeing good behavior as a moral imperative, we need to facilitate it.
Trouw
The future of AI: Computers shouldn't think like people
Can AI approach or even transcend human intelligence?
UNIVERSAL-SCI
In Search of Democracy 3.0
Young Dutch changemakers are working on sollutions for the polarised political climate.
New Heroes
Can Demagogues be Designed out of Democracy?
Dutch transition designer Rudy van Belkom and Irish digital design agency FrontEnd are leading the charge to combat democratic dissatisfaction.
Design Observer
Democracy needs a redesign, says Rudy van Belkom
Dutch designer Rudy van Belkom has envisioned a radical new electoral system that would allow voters to pick and choose policies from different political parties.
Dezeen