Check out everything from the Urban Summit 2023 edition below!

Urban Summit 2023

LOCATION:

Pier 15 Skatepark, Breda

DATE:

October 12th 2023

Program

A diverse program covering all facets related to urban. Lessons learned, insights and sharing of knowledge from the field, the policy side and the scene. Speakers have been invited who will talk about sports, culture, youth and public space.

Matthias Hoogewys

Kapow - Ghent

Matthias is a true youth ambassador and has established Kapow from that passion; a street culture collective that focuses on skateboarding, arts, music, and everything surrounding them. It serves as a home base and platform located in Ghent. Kapow is a catalyst for a way of life that deeply resonates with young people, catching the city's attention quickly. Ghent embraces Kapow, aligns with it, and collaborates closely, resulting in many positive developments.

The marriage between Kapow and the city of Ghent demonstrates that urban culture, when properly embraced, yields a means of understanding young people and making strides towards social integration. Besides offering creative and physical activities, Kapow also heavily invests in socio-educational projects that cater to the needs of young people, all while maintaining its own identity and that of the scene. This successful formula, supported by the city of Ghent, even reaches to Africa!

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Joris Holter & Simon Mamahit

De Nijmeegse Hiphop Alliantie - DNHA

The Nijmegen Hip Hop Alliance is a collaboration between four entities: De Basis (talent hub), Doornroosje (music venue), De Lindenberg (music school), and Beatwise (hip-hop hotspot). The Nijmegen Hip Hop Alliance (DNHA) focuses on empowering talents in the Nijmegen hip-hop music scene and speaks with a unified voice. Additionally, the Alliance coordinates projects and activities, shares ideas, and provides resources, infrastructure, and personnel whenever possible.

The Nijmegen Hip Hop Alliance played a crucial role in the inception of various successful projects such as Loev, Studio Workshops, On The Block, and more. Joris Holter (Doornroosje) and Simon Mamahit (Beatwise) will provide a brief overview of past, present, and future initiatives and are eager to engage in discussions about this illustrious urban theme.

Stijn Luyten

Breaking Vlaanderen

The breaking branch of Danssport Vlaanderen was able to adapt its own structure within the federation to the needs of the target group at a rapid pace. The breaking dna was introduced almost immediately, creating a federation form unlike anything we are used to in traditional sports. The introduction of breaking at the 2024 Olympics marks the beginning of a unique Flemish Olympic breaking trajectory, focusing on the 'arthlete'; artists and athletes.

Stanny takes you further into the story. About the best practices, the obstacles and what the difference is between traditional management in a bond versus an "urban bond." Also, Breaking Flanders has just finished organizing the official WK Breaking in Leuven, something that will definitely be discussed because of the great cooperation between union and city.

Onur Eren

Rush World

Onur Eren has been active in freerunning for more than 20 years and has witnessed the growth of the sport up close. He started with workshops, shows, parks design and own clubs and now he has his own construction company for urban parks. From history to trends and developments, Onur is up to date! Onur is perhaps the entity in the freerun field in the Netherlands.

Urban sports is also seen by him as the filler between the gray area of sports and games, in which development is extra stimulated. This is also what he is focusing on with the construction of the Rush World parks. These parks blend into the environment, encourage multiple disciplines, promote inclusion and so on.

Dennis Elbers

Blind Walls Gallery

Creating an open-air museum with more than 120 street art murals created by local and international artists. As Director of Blind Walls Gallery (originated from Graphic Matters), Dennis Elbers knows how to turn Breda into an artistic stage which emerges in the public space in 8 years. With this he stimulates sustainable youth culture, always with a higher goal.

Currently, Dennis is working on a new initiative; 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘁! A green environment where (urban) sports and art come together. Making contemporary art accessible and creating an attractive living environment for everyone is his motivation. In this Dennis is always looking for co-creation. Be it with the municipality, various artists and creatives, area development, cultural institutions or entrepreneurs from, for example, the skate scene. This will give Breda color, a positive image and a stronger sector connected to art. This with positive effects for every type of resident.

Nanja van Rijsse

Noord Skatepark Amsterdam

That urban can serve as a tool is proven by Nanja van Rijsse with her initiative Women Skate the World: a global platform that uses skateboarding to empower youth, women, queers, children and others. Something that is still desperately needed to this day to make everyone feel safe to be an equal part of society.

Nanja and her platform work day in and day out to make the world a more beautiful and inclusive place. A connecting role that is right up her alley and wins well-deserved support. Many skate parks are already hooked up to Women Skate the World activities. There is also their own park in Amsterdam Zuidoost and Nanja herself is the director of NOORD skatepark Amsterdam. So she is going to tell us what is happening on the streets and in parks on this subject, what contributes to a nice environment and what can still be achieved.

Wannes Stevens

Stad Leuven

Leuven, a real student city with many active urban communities. A huge potential to put urban sports on the map. Wannes Stevens is doing this together with the city of Leuven. Urban sports & culture are deployed from a broader vision and strategy, in order to make the city environment and public domain more movement-friendly. Leuven does this through different strategies. Infrastructure is realized to enable sports to be practiced in a qualitative manner. Local communities are supported in various forms (financial, logistical, etc.). Activation is also used, with the World Cup Breaking as the high-profile event.

In addition, Wannes and the sports domain will seize as many opportunities as possible to accelerate urban in Leuven. The LUS project is an example of this. Within this project, knowledge is shared on an international level with experts in urban. It also looks at urban sports and athletes in Leuven from a scientific point of view. Finally, Wannes focuses on the reciprocal learning process between the traditional club life and the unattached urban athlete.

Johan van Herpen

Gemeente Rotterdam

Policy officer for sports and at the same time the initiator of urban sports & culture within the City of Rotterdam. The port city has sky-high ambitions and dares to color outside the lines to make them come true.

After all, Rotterdam practices participatory policy-making. Here the scene is allowed to shape the urban sports agenda through its own input and necessities. A new interface between municipality and city, which symbolizes a unique working method, is bottom up and can be called innovative.

In short: during the Urban Summit on October 12, Johan will tell all about Rotterdam's approach; surely the urban capital of the Netherlands.

Location

Submerging and gathering in urban culture could hardly be better than at Pier 15 Skatepark in Breda. A previously empty shed, which has been taken in hand by the local scene and has now become one of the most prominent skate and culture temples in the world. Not only sports, but also culture, events, catering and social initiatives find their home at Pier 15 day in, day out. A very unique place which we will use to its full potential for the very first congress.