Anyone who attended NOM's anniversary celebration Wednesday must have remembered those three terms. They refer to the state of the Northern Netherlands economy and its future, and are implicitly a mandate to NOM.
Queen Máxima is sure to return home in good spirits after her visit to De Nieuwe Kolk theater in Assen. There she attends the fiftieth anniversary of the Noordelijke Ontwikkelingsmaatschappij (NOM). This way she sees how NOM receives congratulations from the shareholders, the three northern provinces and the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Lecture Marijn Molema
Very interesting, without a doubt, is the lecture by Extraordinary Professor of Regional Vitality & Dynamics Marijn Molema. He explains how the region's economic history has been shaped by various turning points and adds a warning: all is not going to happen by itself. ''We have to change, find new turning points. And for that, more ambition is required.''
Molema is referring to the challenges ahead: the climate crisis, the aging population, international uncertainties and political crises. What should we do then? Collaborate even more. Entrepreneurs among themselves, but also entrepreneurs, governments and knowledge institutions together. That is also where the NOM has an important role to play, as the spider in the web of all networks and facilitator of collaborations.
Panel discussion
Forewarned is forearmed. A proud man gets more done. We should not forget how good we already have it in the North, says Sandor Gaastra, among others. He is Secretary General of Economic Affairs/Climate and Green Growth. ,,Look at what you are already good at. That's where the opportunities lie. Dare to choose your pearls and focus your collaborations on them.''
Gaastra says it as a member of a discussion panel, set up on the stage of the great hall. That's where all the audience sits, by the way, in reference to the idea that we shouldn't watch the future take shape from an easy chair, but should work on it ourselves. From the chair next to Gaastra, Pauline Rengers, co-owner of Relay Corporate Finance, explains that the North can also reflect on all the wonderful things that are already happening. ''The North needs to hold on to what is good and move into the future together on the same path.''
We are no longer lagging behind, as we were in the founding year of NOM, 1974. In fact, we are now leading the way in several areas, says Innovation and Internationalization Manager of NOM, Anne Wil Lucas. ,,We already have broad prosperity here, the happiest people in the Netherlands live here. We should cherish that and see it as an important strength.''
Innovations over the years
THAT much is and was already going well, Máxima could meanwhile see for herself in another part of the building. The foyer was converted into a museum of the economic Northern Netherlands for this holiday. Along beautiful images are described how our part of the country developed in important areas, such as the smart manufacturing industry, water technology, green chemistry, food, health and energy.
The queen shows great interest and is clearly already read in. And that is certainly not surprising. Because what has been done in the Northern Netherlands in these areas is quite something. The people of the Northern Netherlands themselves should be more aware of this. Because this anniversary also tells us that we need to better communicate that we do and make extraordinary things. Away with modesty! Perhaps the royal visit made that clear once again.
Future scenarios
On to the next fifty years, on to more cooperation, more innovation and more pearls. The question is: how do we prepare for that future? In order to do so, students of the Rijksuniversiteit, led by Professor Aleid Brouwer, made several future scenarios. ''Not to predict the future, but to imagine the future.''
Suppose the government takes the economic reins more firmly in its hands or, on the contrary, lets up, how should the North act? Or what if digitization speeds up tremendously or, on the contrary, stalls. What is the best thing to do then? Based on these two "shifts," Brouwer and her students developed four future scenarios. All with their own advantages and disadvantages. In any case, the invited audience sees much in taking matters into their own hands as much as possible. This scenario is called opportunistic sustainability. Characteristics: cluster formation, warm networks, broad cooperation. Less dependence on government, too. If things go that way, NOM will in any case have an important role to play in the next half century.