Connekt celebrates 25 years of progress: looking back at an inspiring anniversary symposium

Published on December 11, 2025

On Wednesday, December 3, we concluded our 25th anniversary year with a wonderful conference. Marc Verhage, Chairman of the Board: “I am very proud that Director General of Mobility Kees van de Burg opened the conference via a live connection and that Secretary General Jan Hendrik Dronkers of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management took the time to record a beautiful speech for us. We maintain regular contact with Kees van de Burg regarding the ministry's Mobility Vision (MOVI2050), which we as the Connekt Network are eager to support.”

Opening by Kees van de Burg, Director General of Mobility at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management

In his opening speech, Kees introduced a compelling formula regarding the meaning of Mobility. In a nutshell: B = RO + VB + MOB, MOB = G + I and I = n ^x + m^x. In other words, Mobility is the result of Spatial Planning, facilities policy, and Mobility. Mobility is the result of behavior and infrastructure, and infrastructure is the result of national government and regional/local authorities. In our advice regarding MOVI2050, which we recently presented to Kees, this is also what we advocate: Mobility is not limited to just infrastructure and transport, but is much more. Therefore, cooperation across departments is essential. He also proposed Connekt's new anthem: “Collaboration” by George Benson and Earl Klugh. We will certainly take that on board!

Video message from Jan Hendrik Dronkers, Secretary General of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management

Jan Hendrik has been very involved with Connekt since its early years and still recognizes the importance of our wonderful network. This is thanks to the excellent results we have achieved over the past years. And, of course, it is also certainly thanks to Nico Anten MSc, who has been involved with Connekt for exactly 25 years this year and has built this organization together with all his colleagues.

Marc Verhage, our Chairman for the past two years, served as the moderator and presented the new board, which includes Marc, Rex Toornvliet as CFO, and, as of January 1, Veronique Meines as Program Director.

New Connekt logo and presentation of the anniversary magazine

Together with Franka van Eijndhoven, our communications manager, Connekt's refreshed logo and a new website were unveiled. These changes align with the start of the next 25 years of Connekt. In recent years, hard work has gone into various innovations and further professionalization. With a new board and many new colleagues, Connekt enters the future with confidence. And that includes a new positioning.

They also presented the anniversary magazine. The first copies, signed by all Connekters (now a collector's item!), were presented to three people who are important to us. To Adriaan Zeillemaker, on behalf of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management as our most important client, partner, and strategic member of Connekt. To Jos van Kleef, chairman of our Advisory Board, in which all our members are represented by the premium members. And to Jan Willemsen, chairman of our Supervisory Board.

After the break, the floor was given to colleagues and members. Marcel Michon (member for 25 years) and Joost van Gils (involved for 20 years as a member and ambassador of Connekt) engaged in an interactive discussion with the audience by asking questions about the past, present, and future. They honored our colleague Herman Wagter with the saying: “One day you realize, you can't do without Herman Wagter,” after which Herman spontaneously shared some anecdotes from the audience. They also had a new meaning for the acronym CONNEKT, which we are happy to adopt from them.

C – Community: learning together, helping each other, bond of trust.
O – Ownership: showing courage, trying new things.
N – Networking: unexpected encounters, cross-pollination.
N – Neutral: no interest, no judgment, pre-competitive
E – Energy: why people keep coming back.
K – Knowledge: knowledge sharing that connects policy and practice.
T – Transition: working together on societal change.

YNOT Presentation

Next, colleague Sybe Angringa took the floor and spoke about the Young Network of Treasures, or YNOT, the Young Professionals network. A group of them has been asked to contribute their ideas to Connekt within the Young Advisory Board. Three of them engaged with the audience based on three statements: “Shared mobility will always remain a niche and will not be used on a large scale,” “Without radical system change, climate goals and accessibility wishes for mobility are unattainable, because every step in the right direction is offset by growing travel demand,” and “The Netherlands cannot solve grid congestion and will therefore become a logistics laggard in Europe, resulting in economic weakening...” This led to insightful discussions and perspectives from the audience.

Keynote by Peter Ros

Finally, keynote speaker Peter Ros took us on a journey through our brains to explain how collaboration and networking actually work. He presented many recognizable situations in the office, during meetings, and in how we interact with one another. Many learning points were delivered with humor. Truly something to reflect on and change.

After the closing, there was ample time to do what Connekt is all about: networking, making connections, and sharing knowledge. We look back on a very successful afternoon! On to the next 25 years!