What better way to celebrate 60 years of success than a multi-day celebration throughout the city of Amsterdam? This client approached us with the goal of bringing their internationally based company together to the home of their Amsterdam branch, and make the journey worth it with an incredible team-building program. We collaborated with the company’s project and management support team to best understand the company objectives and core values. This company is a ship vessel trading and operation business. Some of their main focuses to include in this event program were history, environmental impact and sustainability, collaboration, etc. Their internal team handled the early stages of the planning process, and brought us in for guidance, supplier collaboration, and day-of-coordination.

Members of the company from Germany, Cyprus, Singapore traveled to meet their colleagues in Amsterdam where they arrived at their lovely hotel. As a certified travel agent, we were able to do all hotel bookings making it easier on the client and providing them additional security and flexibility. The first evening, guests were welcomed to the lovely Mati Hari restaurant in the historical center of Amsterdam. The energy was lively and bright thanks to amazing live music from a jazz band. For a more casual vibe on night one, it was a standing dinner with bites brought around to them. This included snacks like bitterballen and shrimp canapé, main dishes like ribeye and cod, and of course ended with a lovely dessert! This first evening was a nice welcome for everyone, a good introduction for those who haven’t met, and set a nice tone for the following day.

To start off day two, everyone was welcomed to the local comedy club Boom Chicago. The guests were split into teams based on department, which allowed them to mingle with their colleagues from the other branches. They completed four workshop activities, which we created with their internal team that focuses on the company strategic objectives and core values.

Workshop one took place in the main theater at the venue. Here they did an improv session, where they worked in pairs, small groups, and as a whole. This exercise focused on their company value of collaboration and also creative problem solving.

Workshop two was in the bar area, where they got to relax with coffee and sandwiches and complete a classic pub quiz. The questions varied from pop culture, math and science, music, etc. However, the underlying theme to these questions was they all took place 60 years ago, since this company is celebrating their 60th anniversary! 

Workshop three was short walk down the street to typical Dutch cafe Broodje Mokum. Here, they got to learn a bit about Dutch history through a trading card game and also eat traditional poffertjes – which they got to make themselves!

Workshop four took place on the top floor theater and was hosted by a pair of local artists from Upcycle. Here, the guests created 3D artwork inspired by their own ship fleet using all recycled materials that were once trash. In fact, this trash was taken out of the sea and canals. This aligns with the companies mission of reducing environmental impact and investing in sustainability.

After their workshops, they were invited on two gorgeous canal boats, which they got to enjoy for two hours. The boats were decorated with fresh florals and company flags. They had nice charcuterie platters, typical Dutch snacks, and plenty of drinks. To make their time on the boat even more memorable, there were tour guides to inform them on the iconic scenery. To top it all off, there was live Dutch accordion players!

After the boat tour and a nice break, guests were welcomed at the gorgeous Helling7. This venue was the perfect place as it is located on the IJ surrounded by many boats similar to their own. This venue has a rustic feel, with an open concept as the walls are entirely glass, and sliding doors that create an indoor-outdoor space with the large patio. The tables and venue were beautifully decorated with florals, company flags, a photo wall, and other small details.

When guests arrived, they enjoyed apéritifs and hors d’oeuvres, which included oysters that were shucked a la minute. There was an amazing DJ, who played the violin live to accompany some of the songs. The dinner was a cozy but high-end vibe, with dinner being cooked in an open kitchen, and in between courses the owners and other staff members made some incredible speeches. After dinner concluded, guests enjoyed an incredible dessert, and celebrated the night away with a surprise saxophone player.

This weekend was an incredible celebration for this company, that successfully represented their values ​​and mission and brought together team members from around the world. We are overjoyed with how this event came together, and hope we get to celebrate their next milestone with them!

“Annelies was recommended by a business contact, and I couldn’t have been happier to have her on my side, not only during the planning but especially also during the execution of our 2 day company anniversary event. With her extended experience, her wide network and business contacts as well as her calm, friendly and welcoming manner she was able to help me keep track of the timeline and also calm down my thoughts in stressful moments. I can highly recommend working with her and her assistant Ashley, they are professional, kind and very well organized.”