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The Apeldoorn Conference 2009 was held in Belfast between 4 and 6 October 2009. The central theme of the Apeldoorn Conference 2009 was "Trust, social cohesion, citizenship and the state in an economic down turn"
The third Young Apeldoorn Conference took place from 12-14 October 2008 at the Grand Opera House, in Belfast. The theme of Citizenship and Communities: Identity and State in the 21st Century was discussed by 48 delegates from the UK and the Netherlands, drawn mainly from politics, business, government and the media.
On 1 and 2 June 2007, the Apeldoorn Conference took place in The Hague. The central theme of the Apeldoorn Conference 2007 was ‘Sustainability’ and the title Facing up to Reality: Choices for a Sustainable World. The conference attracted 50 participants from the UK and 50 from the Netherlands, drawn mainly from the fields of politics, business, government and the media. Participants were divided into 4 workshop groups. Each group analysed a different but related set of problems; to identify possible choices and solutions and to produce a set of recommendations which they defended in the closing debate titled ‘Choices for a Sustainable World’.
The second Young Apeldoorn Conference took place on 6-7 April 2006 at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Hague. The central theme was ‘Sustainability’ and the title was 'Facing up to reality: Choices for a sustainable world'. The conference attracted 25 participants from the UK and 25 from the Netherlands, drawn mainly from the fields of politics; business; government and the media. Participants divided into 4 workshop groups and analysed a different but related set of problems, identified possible choices and solutions and produced a set of recommendations which they defended in the closing debate titled ‘Choices for a sustainable world’. Michiel van Hulten was the facilitator of this closing debate.
On 6 and 7 March 2005, the Apeldoorn Conference took place in Norwich at Dunston Hall to talk about 'How Can Europe Compete?'. The Conference Moderators were John Peet and Paul Schnabel and the themes of the Conference were Competitiveness and the EU Lisbon Agenda. The format of the conference was based on a mixture of plenary sessions and workshops. The workshop sessions, chaired by eminent experts namely Baroness Blackstone, Evan Davis, Michiel Bicker Caarten and Grace Boldewijn, encouraged open and lively discussion by all participants.
On 18-19 March 2004, the first Young Apeldoorn Conference was held at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, chaired by Nick Clegg and Michiel van Hulten. The title of this first conference was Can Europe Compete? and the central theme was 'Competitiveness'. The 30 participants were drawn mainly from the worlds of politics, business, government and the media.
The title of Apeldoorn 2003 was Building Bridges in Society, and the overarching theme was 'Democracy: Narrowing the gap between the political class and the public at national and European levels'. The conference was opened by Job Cohen, the Mayor of Amsterdam on Sunday 29 June 2003. In the evening Director John Leighton hosted a drinks reception before the opening conference dinner at the Van Gogh Museum. The conference venue was the beautifully restored Koepelkerk, a 17th century former Lutheran church in the centre of Amsterdam. Conference participants were accommodated in the adjoining Renaissance Hotel.
The second conference was held in Edinburgh on 4-5 November 2001. The themes discussed, under the title, The Future of Europe: Visions and Reality, reflected developments in the international field, including the EU's response to the 11 September terrorist attacks, prospects for the European economy, education and the governance of Europe. Participants heard speeches by Dick Benschop and Peter Hain, the Dutch and British Ministers for Europe, focusing on the strength of the bilateral relationship and how to build the Europe needed for the future. The 90 or so participants represented many different sectors of society, including the young and not so young, regional and central government, multicultural groups, business and trades unions, religious groups and others.
The first conference was held in the town of Apeldoorn on 19-21 May 2000. More than 70 participants discussed issues ranging from information technology and science and ethics, to the multicultural society and EU/US relations under the conference title of Meeting the challenges for Society in the Twenty First Century. The Dutch and British Foreign Ministers, Jozias van Aartsen and Robin Cook, addressed the participants, who were drawn from business, politics, academia, civil service, journalism, NGOs, think tanks, local and regional governments, science and the arts. Those who attended were unanimous that the first conference had been a success and that the initiative should be established on a continuing basis.
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