Bart van Opzeeland

I've been living in Amsterdam for more than 30 years now and I am one of the guardians of the earth. I take care of people, the environment, and myself. In my professional life, I've worked mainly for environmental NGOs like Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth. I see myself as a sustainability ambassador and I work in sustainable diplomacy.

In my work, I try to overcome contradictions by focusing on what people share instead of what they disagree on. Why? Because this is usually much more than the parts they don't agree on. On top of that, people do like to cooperate on issues where there is positive energy and cooperation.

Leadership is being there when you are needed and retreating when the team is doing fine by themselves and creating a safe environment in which experimenting is possible and failure isn't a bad thing because it is experienced as being part of the learning curve to improve.

I like to cook for big groups, play board games, and visit concerts. Being at the sea means charging my battery!