A warm and deserved tribute in Drachten
On Thursday, Nov. 20, the Innovatiecluster Drachten bid farewell to Binne Visser as chairman. Binne makes the move to the robotic housing factory of Van Wijnen. This ends a period of seven years in which he was privileged to wield the gavel with dedication and vision.
A festive start
The afternoon began with a speech by mayor Fred Veenstra of the municipality of Smallingerland. He mentioned Binne's great commitment and surprised him with the title of honorary citizen of the municipality.
In appreciation, Binne received a certificate and a statuette of a deer, the symbol of Drachten.
Appreciation from the region
This was followed by two video messages.
First spoke Jouke de Vries, president of the Executive Board of the University of Groningen. He emphasized the important role Binne played in the cooperation between education and industry.
Then spoke Friso Douwstra, representative of the province of Fryslân. He too praised Binne's commitment and significance for technological development in the Northern Netherlands.
A personal word from the ICD
Speaking on behalf of the ICD were Joost Krebbekx and Herman Roose. They dwelt on Binne's unique qualities. Not as an autonomous system, but rather as a human being with vision, humor and commitment. The presentation was supported by AI-generated portraits, which made the audience smile. In addition, Binne received a 3D printed medal and a check for a weekend getaway with his wife Corry.
A surprising musical moment
The speeches were followed by a special ‘surprise’. The ICD team had their own song made via OpenAI. Complete with lyrics, music, vocals and karaoke playback.
The song was well sung along, a unique new earworm!
The Closure
The meeting was captured with a group photo in the SKILL building. This was followed by drinks and snacks. Around 5:45 p.m. the program ended and those present could look back on a warm and personal farewell.
