New year – #NewZaanstad: The executive Program for the Knowledge of Space, successfully run for the past four years with hundreds of participants, has been upgraded! With its new name ‘#NewZaanstad there is new content, too: #NewZaanstad will be part of the implementation of both, the Spatial and the Social Vision of the municipality towards 2040 and beyond. We focus on learning how to practically integrate these visions in the daily work in this rapidly growing city. While we continue to promote multidisciplinary collaboration and sharing knowledge across departments, there is more: The program is now also open for strategic partners who want to co-create the future of Zaanstad with us. This week #NewZaanstad was launched at the festive New Year’s reception. It includes master classes, workshops, excursions, trainings and much more. We start off with a session by Tim ‘S Jongers on ‘explaining poverty to people with money’ at Zaantheater. This year’s wonderful editorial team includes Koert-Jan Van Hees, Rianne Kleine Koerkamp, Lennart Graaff next to Lisa Schouten, Meike Westers and Hilde Bloemers. The original Program for the Knowledge of Space was set up together with Marc den Hertog, Frits Palmboom, Bregt Balk and others in 2021 when I joined Gemeente Zaanstad. Looking for forward to great learnings and collaborations in 2025!