drs. Adjiedj Bakas
Biography of drs. Adjiedj Bakas
”Times of crisis are the best times!”
Trendwatcher Adjiedj Bakas is a much sought-after speaker at conferences, strategy sessions and other gatherings. Bakas is provocative and always positive, even in these times of economic decline. His motto is therefore: 'A kite rises highest when it flies against the wind'. In his book Beyond the Crisis he describes the opportunities created by the economic global crisis for real entrepreneurship and for a real transformation of the economy. “Difficulties are actually just opportunities with spikes", says Bakas. “For example, a lower exchange rate for the Euro means cheaper and expanding export opportunities for European exporters.”
Bakas is a born optimist. “When my grandma was young, housekeeping was a full-time job, without a refrigerator, freezer, vacuum cleaner, toilet, washing machine or supermarket. Now it’s possible to do the housekeeping in just a fraction of the time. That is a terrific advance isn’t it?” Bakas again hammers home the fact that the human race is continually making advancements and that every crisis again becomes an advancement, even if this throws some people off course. “Look at the facts: there is less hunger in the world than ever before, there are fewer wars. The human race is richer than ever and there is a better distribution of wealth. The human being is a fantastically inventive creature!”
Despite his infectious optimism, Bakas also hammers home 'the reverse side of advancement'. In his book The Future of Love he states that 1 in 4 Dutch people are lonely, that 30% of Americans have fewer friends than 20 years ago, that 20% of Americans even have absolutely no intimate friends. According to Bakas, loneliness will become one of the hottest topics of future years. “In a time with more means of communication than ever before, more people feel lonely than has ever been the case in the past.” According to Bakas, happiness can be created; it is a question of making sensible choices. “Unhappy people get just as many chances of happiness as happy people. But unhappy people often don’t see them”.
Something unique about Bakas is that, in an energetic manner, he is also able to link up economic and spiritual themes. In his book The Future of Faith he says that economic trends run parallel to spiritual trends. He predicts the emergence of the 'Personal God', an image of God created personally by every individual, which fits in with peoples’ growing awareness. He calls the environmental movement the 'Green Church' and predicts that in the 21st century this will become the largest church in the world.
Bakas has written various bestsellers about the future which have been published in the Netherlands, the US, China, Brazil, England and other countries. A few of his successful English language titles are: The Future of Faith, Beyond the Crisis, World Megatrends and Living without Oil (the latter book was co-authored with Rob Creemers). Successful Dutch language titles are: The Future of Work (co-author Martijn van der Woude), The Future of Love and Microtrends The Netherlands. He is currently working on the book The Future of Health.
Bakas was elected 'Trendwatcher of the Year 2009' and 'Black Businessman of the Year 2008'. Bakas is a captivating, stimulating, visionary, humorous and inspirational speaker. With around 200 lectures every year he inspires more than 200,000 people in different countries. He links research information about trends and the future to entertainment. His lectures are serious, non-specialist, stimulating, challenging and humorous.
The lectures touch on different topics. He can speak to entrepreneurs about future-oriented entrepreneurship, to bankers about banking of the future, to IT professionals about the role of IT in peoples’ lifestyles and he can speak to builders and developers about construction in the future. However, he can also speak about trends in the labour market, in the healthcare sector and about the future of public administration.
Bakas is in the top 10 list of most frequently booked speakers in the Netherlands. Trade journal Management Team recently voted him one of the 25 most creative Dutch people and innovation magazine Sprout voted him one of the 50 most influential Dutch people under 50 years of age. The Dutch Marketers Association elected him as the most influential trendwatcher amongst the marketers in the country. Unorthodox, optimistic, inspirational and animated. That is Adjiedj Bakas as a speaker at your conference, seminar or other gathering. He is one of the most appealing speakers currently available.
The press is full of praise about him. He is considered to be ‘eminent’ (Dutch TV show - De Wereld Draait Door – The World’s Going Crazy), ‘approachable’ (De Telegraaf newspaper), ‘unorthodox’ (Het Financieele Dagblad newspaper), ‘Europe’s best trendwatcher’ (Story), ‘prominent’ (De Volkskrant newspaper), ‘well-founded' (NRC Handelsblad newspaper), ‘the personification of advancement’ (Elsevier), ‘not commonplace’ (Intermediair magazine), ‘original’ (Elle magazine), ‘unusual’ (Linda magazine), ‘exciting’ (Esta magazine) ‘optimistic’ (CNN), ‘inspirational’ (BBC), ‘provocative’ (TV2 Newscast Denmark), ‘festive’ (Quote), ‘a real world citizen’ (Times of India), 'major trendwatcher' ( China Daily) and 'an oracle' (Zero Hora, Brazil).
Topics
- Demographic revolution
- The rising economy of the BRIC-landen
- Ethical and femine entrepreneurship
- The obsolescence
- Innovation
- Megatrends in Europe and the world
Photos of drs. Adjiedj Bakas
Books of drs. Adjiedj Bakas
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The Chinese phrase for crisis consists of two words danger and opportunity. In Beyond the Crisis, renowned futurologist, Adjiedj Bakas, leads you through, and then out of, the New Great Depression of the 21st century. Bakas explains the natural flow of the economy with ups and downs, with dangers and opportunities. He envisions Boom after Doom, yet a totally different kind of Boom than we've known before. This insightful, inspiring book really helps you through the most severe crisis of our lifetime.
The current economic crisis marks the end of an era, and the start of a new one. It is the 5th major crisis in 200 years' time. All of them occurred at the transition from one era to the next. The 1930s may have been a time of deep economic crisis and mass unemployment, yet in those days the Kennedys made their fortunes, art deco was born and the radio, car, and telephone grew to be so much in demand that great new industries emerged out of the ashes of the crisis. During the major economic crisis of the 1980s the personal computer, mobile phone and Internet were born and developed into major new industries.
During the current crisis we finally say goodbye to the 20th century and transit into the new, post-material economy with new economic pillars and the mixture with digital collaboration powered by ''cloud computing,'' the next generation Internet. We say hello to a new era, with China as the new global powerhouse instead of the U.S., with globalization turning into slowbalization, with less wealth and more focus on the Economy of Happiness. This transition period offers tremendous opportunities for you! -
The price of oil is currently six times as high as five years ago, and will double within the next two years. We're all aware of the negative aspects of being so dependent on oil and you can't ignore the affects on our planet from its abundant use. Even with the more advance western nations taking a stance on alternative energy sources and curbing emissions, it's the emerging markets, such as China and India, which in just a few years will cause a gigantic rise in demand. After nearly a century of an oil-fueled economy, we simply must switch to a new economic model. Our thirst for this, one of our most valuable resources, looks like it simply cannot be quenched. But is it possible to live without oil? Which best practices are available now? What trends and developments are to be expected? Two expert futurologists join forces to give us the answers in Living Without Oil. Adjiedj Bakas and Rob Creemers reveal seven megatrends in this stirring book sure to inspire readers.
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World Megatrends focuses on the way we will be living in twenty years time. Will we all live together or will we shut ourselves away in ethnic ghettos? Why will Western Europe become known as Eurabia? Who are our future political leaders and why must we all learn Mandarin Chinese? In World Megatrends, world renowned futurologist, Adjiedj Bakas, focuses on the future of a drastically changed world that has new superpowers and an ongoing struggle between the west and Muslim fundamentalists. Visionary, lively, powerful and full of insights, World Megatrends offers ideas and inspiration for individuals, businesses and other organisations on ways in which they need to adapt their lives, their mindsets and work for the coming times.
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'Money makes the World go 'round''. The financial sector faces big challenges. Technology makes many things feasible, such as different types of contact free payment methods. Credit cards and pin numbers will disappear, these methods will become available via mobile phones. Cash will not disappear immediately (there will still be the need for black market money), but it will become less important. The power of knowledge, expertise and creativity will become more widespread, also among parties outside the sector. Co-creation will lead to more innovative forms of payment transactions. Collaboration between banks and telecommunication companies will lead to the creation of new products and services. The sector will have to deal with more and more demographic and geopolitical issues (increasing energy and food prices, climate change). New power relations will also influence financial service providers considerably over the coming decades.
This book is an original overview of the full range of megatrends from different fields of activity. It is accessible, not full of jargon and not just about hypes and the flavor of the month.
References of drs. Adjiedj Bakas
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Fernand Grulms, Chief Executive Officer
"Adjiedj Bakas participated at our request as a Forum-member in the Luxemburg Financial Forum 2009. We very much appreciated his interventions and his thoughts."
Luxembourg for Finance
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Gita Kapoor
“Adjiedj Bakas has a great way of communicating with audiences. His message about the future is very appealing, and he makes you feel hopeful about tomorrow.”
World Bank
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Klara Sandor, member
“Adjiedj Bakas gave some very inspiring lectures and workshops for groups of Hungarian politicians. I loved his optimism and his visions for the future of eastern and western Europe are very inspiring. Warmly recommended.”
Hungarian Parliament
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Hans Strohmaier, CEO
“Adjiedj Bakas gave a very thorough, solid and inspiring lecture at our annual conference in Berlin. It was the second time I heard a lecture of him. Both times great lectures!”
Sweets Global Network
Publications of drs. Adjiedj Bakas
Video's of' drs. Adjiedj Bakas
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drs. Adjiedj Bakas Promo video 2010
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drs. Adjiedj Bakas Luxembourg lecture
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drs. Adjiedj Bakas Cologne
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drs. Adjiedj Bakas Presentation CNN
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drs. Adjiedj Bakas Presentation BBC
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