Wassup?

Jan. 4th, 2016 Well, this was quite a year! We here at the John Adams Institute have a lot to look back on and even more to look forward to. Let me bring you up to speed. We hosted twenty-one of the best and brightest from the United States in 2015, including such luminaries as …



Jan. 4th, 2016

metz wassupWell, this was quite a year! We here at the John Adams Institute have a lot to look back on and even more to look forward to. Let me bring you up to speed.

We hosted twenty-one of the best and brightest from the United States in 2015, including such luminaries as George Packer of the New Yorker, T.C. Boyle (with the first-ever rock band at a John Adams event!), Harvard sociologist Robert Putnam, Kissinger-biographer Niall Ferguson and writer Jonathan Franzen. And we were inordinately proud when, ten days after speaking at the John Adams, Anthony Doerr won the Pulitzer Prize.

Some of these 2015 events were already geared to the big event of 2016: the elections in November. Professor of government at American University Jennifer Lawless and Buffy Wicks recounted their experiences on the campaign trail. Senator George Mitchell, Democratic figurehead, shared his rich political experience with us at Sociëteit De Witte and later at the residence of Ambassador Broas. And Robert Putnam’s theme, the increasing inequality in both income and opportunity, is already one of the upcoming electoral themes.

We invested a lot of time and effort this year in creating a more solid financial base for the John Adams Institute. As you know, we receive no subsidy and depend on contributions from our sponsors and from private individuals. For the first time in many years, we are raising the prices for members and patrons – all within the bounds of reason.

Moreover, in collaboration with bank Insinger De Beaufort, we are launching a club of private donors, the John Adams Family. Many of our ‘Family members’ have been loyal supporters of our institute for years; now they will have an opportunity not only to interact more closely with our speakers, but also with each other. We would like to thank Wolters Kluwer for doubling its contribution. And in addition to our existing main sponsors – Aegon, the American Embassy and the Holland-America Friendship Foundation – we are very happy to welcome Getronics as a new main sponsor.

2015 brought us exciting new collaborations with other cultural institutions in Amsterdam, including SPUI25, Pakhuis De Zwijger and BKB Campaign Bureau. We welcomed a number of new moderators, among them Maarten Westerveen (with Laird Hunt), Pieter van den Blink (Jonathan Franzen), Hollis Kurman (Jerome Karabel and Alexander Rinnooy Kan) and Pieter van Os (Noah Charney). We are also very happy to welcome former NOS-correspondent in the US Eelco Bosch van Rosenthal as a member of our board.

We continue to expand our presence on social media – follow us on Facebook and Twitter at @JohnadamsNL – and are also working hard to expand both the audio and video content on our website.

Like what you see? I hope so. Feel free to shoot me an email and tell me what you think. Become a member, a patron, a Friend, a sponsor or a Family member –and sign up for our newsletter to stay abreast of what we’re up to. We’re worth it.

Tracy Metz,

Director John Adams Institute
metz@john-adams.nl

Also read the first ‘Wassup?’ blog post by Tracy Metz.