Open data: get to know our ant hill: Ton Zijlstra at TEDxZwolle

Ton Zijlstra (1970) is a self-employed change management consultant fascinated by changing the way we work, learn and organize in a fully networked and therefore more complex society. He has a background in technology and philosophy.

Working on networked learning, managing complexity, and being resilient in the face of digital disruption, he has a keen interest in creating new affordances for individuals in the context of their (professional) communities and groups. Over the past 15+ years, he has built up a great deal of experience building Communities of Practice, especially around newly emerging topics, such as social media, open digital manufacturing (FabLabs), open government, and open data. Since 2008, he has been a key connector and enabler of open data across Europe, working for local, national and international government bodies, as well as a citizen activist. He is a regular keynote speaker across Europe (http://slideshare.net/tonzijlstra/pre..., and has been blogging at http://zylstra.org/blog about his various professional interests since 2002. http://www.tedxzwolle.nl

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)