Hans Konst is member of the Fryslân (Friesland) Provincial Executive. He is involved with a number of portfolios including Spatial Development, Rural Areas, Rural Regeneration and coordination of the Sustainability programme. Mr Konst is committed to help turn Fryslân into a sustainable province that is ready for the future and a good place to live, learn, work and relax – now and for generations to come.

The provincial authorities of Fryslân want to make their province an area where economic, socio-cultural and ecological developments go hand in hand. Where sustainable development is coupled with the application of sustainable innovations. The unique qualities of Fryslân and the entrepreneurial spirit in Fryslân provide ample opportunities for accelerating Fryslân’s sustainable development in terms of environmental, socio-cultural and economic aspects.

The provincial authorities of Fryslân want to create a climate that is more attractive to research and educational institutes and to innovative entrepreneurs as well. This way, Fryslân wants to attract talent and keep it. At the same time, this approach will enhance the qualities that make Fryslân so unique. This can be achieved not only by creating sustainable innovations the world needs, but also by providing room and facilities for testing and demonstrating these innovations.

Her Royal Highness Princess Irene - the younger sister of Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands – is a the mother of four children. She is the founder and President of NatuurCollege and has committed herself actively for a sustainable and peaceful world. The fundamental idea is: a sustainable future is only possible if we aim as a society and at the well-being of all life.
Princess Irene has a special focuses the Projects `Natuur-Wijs’ and `Spirit of the Wild’. The Natuur-Wijs Project has the objective to get children into contact with nature. The Spirit of the Wild Project in South Africa has been aimed at a traineeship fore park guides to take the tourists along into a deeper meeting with nature.
Princess Irene is the Ambassadress of the Dolphin Fund and has committed herself for the 100.000 dolphins which according to reporting of the United Nations Environmental Programme annually die in the plastic soup.

For further information:
www.natuurcollege.nl
www.dolphinfund.nl

David Osborn began his career as a Seaman Officer with the Royal Australian Navy, gaining firsthand an appreciation of the problems associated with marine litter and coastal pollution. This experience, coupled with qualifications in environmental science and law, launched a career dedicated to protecting and conserving coastal and marine environments. His appointments include Director of Coastal Policy and Water Quality with the Australian Government’s Department of the Environment and Water Resources; Advisor to the Hon Senator Ian Campbell, Federal Minister for Environment; and Director of Community Partnerships with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. David joined the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 2008 as the Coordinator for the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (GPA). Developed by governments in 1995, the GPA is the only global intergovernmental initiative addressing the direct link between terrestrial and marine environments

During a sailing trip, oceanographer Charles Moore discovered one of the biggest monsters of our time.
Captain Moore got acquainted with the sea at an early age. When he was a young boy, his father often took him along on sailing trips over the world’s oceans. Having obtained a degree in Spanish and Chemistry, Mr Moore founded the Algalita Marine Research Foundation in 1994, its mission being to protect marine life. However, Moore found his true vocation after a sailing race in the Pacific Ocean in 1997. When he steered his ship away from the conventional route he happened to discover something that would change his life.

Michael Braungart is a founder of EPEA International Umweltforschung GmbH, Hamburg, Germany
and co-founder of MBDC McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry in Charlottesville, Virginia. Michael
Braungart’s work has been published in numerous journals on science, public affairs, design and
environment in Europe and the US.

Studied architectural design at the school of art ST. Joost Breda The Netherlands and worked and studied at the SAR / Technical University Eindhoven (TUE). His main occupation is in product development for building systems, automotive, medical, consumer products etc.
He worked with Prof. John Habraken on the applications of the Heineken Wobo Bottles and developed cardboard ( waste = food) housing infill systems.
In the 1970’s and 80’s he was working for DSM Building division and involved in international Low Cost Housing projects where the use of local materials was a design incentive.
Since 1984 he is director of 4D Design, a small design consultancy, in Maastricht
Currently he is part time teacher industrial design at the Technical University Eindhoven. (Faculty of Architecture Building and Planning) He is still daily active in plastic product development for DSM customers. With a design experience of >30 years based on working for clients like Coca-Cola, VW, Mercedes Benz, Renault, Herman Miller, Philips, Oce .etc.
DSM is world wide active in materials sciences & life sciences.( www.dsm.com)

Albert de Hoop gained prominence as mayor of the Dutch isle of Ameland by opting for sustainability.
This Wadden island is well on its way to becoming self-sufficient under Mr De Hoop’s administration. It will become one of the so-called ‘Substainable Islands’, named after the eponymous European project Ameland participates in. The island aims to be self-sufficient in terms of water and energy by the year 2020. Moreover, Ameland’s pristine beach attracted media attention when the Keep Holland Foundation labelled it the cleanest Dutch beach in 2007.

Jesse Goossens (Hilversum, 1969) is a writer. Her diverse oeuvre comprises travel novels, a detective novel, works on theatre, a young-adult novel and several interview collections on topics of social justice. She also worked for a considerable time as a radio host and cultural journalist, and acted and sang for ten years in a small theatre production.

Her work is characterized by a fervent search for what moves people–their passions, their motivations, their lives…

For her book, Plastic Soup, Jesse traveled to the United States and several European countries to interview people who are involved with the issue of plastic waste; from Captain Moore–the discoverer of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch–to recyclers, from representatives of the plastic industry to delegates of environmental organizations, and from the Dutch Secretary for Environment to the director of UNEP New York.

During her travels Jesse kept a blog (www.plasticsoep.nl and www.plasticsoup.org), entries of which are in Plastic Soup.

www.jessegoossens.nl