The Name Change Initiative Forums are focused and moderated sessions that directly impact our institutional transformation and the choice of a new name. Our big questions are; How can our institution transform? How is this connected with social transformation? And what name can help to make this happen?

The Forums have three focus areas:

Legacies and Futures

Saturday 29 August 2020: 11am – 1pm (NL), 3 – 5pm (EN)

These two forums are held in Rotterdam and focus on how historical awareness is part of our name change. When we remove the name “Witte de With”, how do we continue to be historically aware and how does historical awareness inform our transformation?

Moderated (in NL) by Marjolijn Kok, who is a practicing archaeologist and archivist at FKA Witte de With; and (in EN) by Rolando Vázquez Melken, associate professor and diversity fellow at University College Roosevelt and affiliated researcher University of Utrecht.

Naming and Communication

Friday 11 September 2020: 7 – 9pm (EN)

This forum focuses on how the choice of name connects with institutional identity. What has the institutional identity looked like in the past, and what can perform in the future? How might a visual identity be part of social transformation and re-evaluation? This forum will involve small break-out groups and will be held on Zoom.

Moderated (in EN) by Prem Krishnamurthy, a designer, curator, writer and teacher, and partner in the multidisciplinary design studio Wkshps in New York and Berlin.

Engaging and Changing

Saturday 19 September 2020: 11am – 1pm (NL), 3 – 5pm (EN)

These two forums are held in Rotterdam and focus on how our institutional transformation is connected with social engagement and social change. Who have we engaged in the past, who can we engage in the future, and how is our name part of this change?

Moderated by Quincy Mahangi from Guestwise, a consultancy that guides companies towards the creation of audience/guest experience through a people-driven mindset.

*NB: In the event that in-person Forums are not possible due to Covid19 restrictions, these will take place online.