Abdul Salam (Servant of Peace): Two of the radicals and terrorists involved in the recent violence in Paris carried this name. And it was exactly on the same day that I invited a guest from Syria with the same name to the premises of my employer, EP-NUffic, with a message of hope. Earlier in the week I attended the conference #SparkIgnite in Amsterdam, staging the importance of investment in higher education in fragile states, confirmed by the presence of Queen Maxima. And given the cruelties that would unfold in Paris I realize with hindsight that the tight security surrounding her presence served a good purpose.

G20
Earlier this year I attended a panel discussion preparing Turkey’s presidency of the G20 at the Finance for Development conference in Addis Ababa. The events of the past week only shows how well the priorities of inclusive growth and sustainable development were chosen. However, the terrorist attacks in Paris gave the gathering in Antalya a twist and convergence around security. Obama and Putin managed to find each other, at least physically in the lobby of a hotel. I cannot imagine they were sorting out their differences, nor talked about inclusive growth. Against the outright hatred demonstrated by Islamist Radicals there was a common answer to be formulated. Already President Hollande made his choice. His answer fell much in line with the answer President Bush formulated following the events of 11th of September resulting in a War on Terror with severe consequences for peace and stability in the world. The call is on other nations to join the war. History repeats itself, this time with Europe in the lead.

Je Suis Ali
Yesterday at one of the Dutch television talk shows it was Ali B. who expressed his doubts about the response of Hollande. “I have a sense that war rhetoric is exactly what these radicals are after.”  He did an attempt to talk with a former radical about the religious nonsense that motivates extremism and about violence only being allowed by the prophet in response to violence. Hence, murdering innocent civilians could never have been Mohamed’s philosophy argued Ali who will soon start his show Je Suis Ali.

Hatred and love
In the meantime another response is formulated in the Notre Dame, where “Pray for Paris” is put in practice. A supposedly 13th century prayer attributed to Fransiscus of Assissi (according to Wikipedia drafted in 1912 in Paris) is prayed.

The last sentence in this prayer resonates with the victims of the attacks but ironically also echoes the inspiration and motives of those committing the atrocities, or at earlier times, may have inspired the crusaders in their strive to besiege Jerusalem. Hence, many conclude neither the State nor the Church has an appropriate answer to the type of extremism facing our societies today, resulting in society organizing its own rituals to deal with the grief and agony.

Trying to reflect on the situation I must refrain from judging any of the above responses. Without my education and the experience of living in Hindu, Muslim and Orthodox societies I would not have developed the attitude to question my own prejudices, whether it concerns relationships at work or in society. Having been raised in a conservative family I was very much aware of the enemy outside and much less aware of the enemy residing within. Loving my enemy may as well mean learning to love my self, despite shortcomings both in understanding and action.

Peace dividend
By chance I was given the opportunity for my personal response, unaware of the tragedy that would unfold the same day, in bringing a Syrian scholar in contact with some Dutch knowledge institutions. I belief this Abdul Salam was a real servant of peace in soliciting support for agricultural education inside Syria. Knowing the agricultural research system, of which he is a member, I recognized his genuine intention to further agricultural education and research and support farmers as a means to support early recovery. For him both the Assad regime and IS do not provide the right ecology, causing him to opt for operating from Turkey, from where he is managing the program inside ‘liberated areas’ in Syria. Donors like GIZ and DFID and also NGOs like SPARK have already joined hands with him. Hence the financial support may not be the most pressing issue. Nevertheless, the moral support is. We exchanged a star that is already hanging in his house in Turkey and at my house in The Netherlands as a symbol of connectivity between both our faiths and our societies. It would be a great signal if the Dutch 3D approach of Defense, Diplomacy and Development could regain momentum as war without investment in peace dividend will not provide a solution. It will only change the players.

Several events in the previous week illustrate the transition time we are in. I met doom prophets and prosperity gospel preachers. It all came together in the Max Havelaar lecture at Rotterdam School of Management on Wednesday where two ladies (a young Cameroonian staff member of the Netherlands Africa Business Council and a senior staff member of the Trade Union FNV) a kind of represented the two eras we are in.

The world of associations, unions and collectivism organized along trade industries versus a movement oriented globally networked woman exerting her individual influence. One using the current institutional arrangements like the ILO international labor standards. The other co-creating innovative solutions to world problems. We are currently experiencing a heavy presence of both worlds, which probably means we are in the middle of this transition.

Exponential organizations
The prosperity gospel I heard at Nyenrode University earlier that week pointed to a future with a world of plenty, where there are no limits to human potential and death being conquered by 2045. It concerned a lecture about exponential organizations at the launch of a new course named ‘Business Innovation and Service Delivery’. Nyenrode had invited two entrepreneurs that were drawing the picture of a world mastered by computers, codes and algorithms. Yuri van Geest showed us a world where 3D printing takes on proportions where we print our meals and where both cancer and Alzheimer have been sorted. China already is in the lead in science and technology while the Gulf and Russia are running out of fossil fuels to sustain their economies long-term. He introduced a new type of organization with a so called Massive Transformation Purpose. Using two acronyms IDEAS and SCALE he pointed to the soft skills that will make the difference in integrating new technologies with our current world.

Fyra
Finally in the past week also a report was published about a successive array of State Ministers of Infrastructure who failed to manage a public-private partnership arrangement that should have provided the Netherlands with a fast-track connection to Brussels. Public-Private Partnerships have gradually become a quite normal animal in the government circles. However, limited consideration is given to role confusion and potential hick-ups due to the sheer size of contracts. It will be a challenge to provide the type of leadership that will bring solutions to this world where the trust in institutional arrangements is rapidly shrinking and people make their own arrangements to take care of their own health, safety and security and social entrepreneurs venture out to start movements from bottom-up to protect public goods and take care of the disadvantaged.
​
Social entrepreneurs and the King
Many good initiatives have started linked to the arrival of refugees, following the reports and listening to their stories. Not everyone is on the same page though. Angry citizens potentially see their jobs being taken and fear a shortage in the housing market, while governments are seeking solutions to the refugee crises that has been in the world for ages but finally also arrived at European shores. This disparity even led to violent incidents causing our King to address the nation (while being on a State visit to China) calling for dialogue, reminding Dutch citizens of the ‘poldermodel’ for which the Netherlands was once most famous. While promoting Dutch business interests he did not refrain from sharing his concerns about human rights violations to his hosts. I really like our King, connecting business and human rights and the local with the global, modeling today's Changing Leaders behavior. The Netherlands would be wise to keep this 400 year old institution for a while as some more disruption is to be expected both in the physical as well as digital infrastructure. This will require modern leadership skills, from both governments and business leaders.