The slogan for the 2017 Accenture Innovation Awards was ‘To lead in the new, you must innovate in the now’. This was the eleventh edition of the leading event for innovative players to come together, making it the place to be for companies, influencers, and innovators.
The visual, auditory spectacle during the opening ceremony heralded a day full of surprises and created expectations upon which Accenture and DeFabrique delivered and then some. The energy levels were high all day at all of the domes, pitch arenas, round table sessions, breakfast sessions, workshops and lectures.
Surrounded by the blue and white company colours and wearing innovative KLIK badges around their necks, the visitors took a peek into the future. Ranging from the inspiring Innovation Playground featuring pitch arenas and domes to the Junior Innovation Challenge presided over by Princess Laurentien and the now famed Awards Ceremony on multiple stages, this eleventh edition of the Accenture Innovation Awards was full of surprises!
To be able to receive over 2,000 guests on time, AIA and DeFabrique entered into a partnership with Dutch railway operator NS, who deployed additional trains, reserved dedicated Innovation Cars, and allowed free travel from particular Innovation Stations. The final mile from the train station to DeFabrique was covered by public transport bicycles, motorised rickshaws, electric cars or electric scooters, segways, and freight bicycles. NS and AIA staff members guided those guests travelling from the station by foot to the Innovation Mekka that had been created..
DeFabrique is the perfect venue for a day full of innovation. The team is open to anything, is incredibly flexible, and continues to surprise us with out-of-the-box ideas. Our motto, 'Collaboration accelerates innovation', proved to be true once again!
DeFabrique likes to challenge itself, especially when hosting the cream of the crop of the Dutch innovation scene. This time around, we created a near limitless trade floor, even clearing out the go-kart track to achieve our aim. We also installed self-service bars where guests could mix their own drinks using the Roze Bunker‘s range of fruit syrups. Last but not least, we challenged our visitors to turn off their devices in the Offline Bar, because the only way to come up with truly innovative ideas is to stop thinking about work for a while.
