Andrew Makkinga

Thinking along the same lines, moderator Andrew Makkinga fears the leading group of people who want to cut back on development aid spending and leave it all to the market. “We’re living in a turning point era when it comes to development aid. Tonight it’s real, it is very practical and lying underneath there is this idealistic perspective.” Andrew actively involves youngsters with politics as a presenter, moderator and role model. Aged 27, his resume wouldn’t fit on a wall sized poster. What made him choose TEDxChange? “This is all good stuff going on. As a presenter, you usually work for somebody and try to reach another organization’s goals. You cannot really blend in your own opinion. What we are doing tonight though, really hits my heart.” He describes the evening as a huge milkshake, mixing up people that want to help intensely with those needing some sort of help.

Before wrapping up the event, Andrew surprised the participants interviewing Sjim Hendrix from REST Catering Services. Discussing sustainable food chains and kitchens designed to reuse the energy they create by composting their waste, Sjim explained what was being served: “Y’all ate leftovers!” His left-over catering initiative hauls food from a few luxury hotels and big catering companies and cooks it. This way, they contribute to a smaller environmental impact and wasting less food that is still suitable for consumption.