ADE Green, the pioneering conference on sustainability, innovation and social change is once again part of ADE, with the DeLaMar as its new home base.
This week Amsterdam finds itselve in the middle of Pride Amsterdam, a city-wide festival held annually in the first week of August that celebrates personal freedom and diversity. With the Canal Parade on Saturday as the cherry on the cake, the festival attracts hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world.
Given the fact that Absolut has long championed diversity, tolerance and mutual understanding, also shown in its latest ‘kiss and pride’ campaign, we couldn’t be more proud to announce the brand as a presenting partner for ADE Green. Together we can champion equal love for all and celebrate the right of individuals to love whoever they choose, wherever they come from, and create more opportunities to create awareness, especially during the times when Pride is not happening and not front of mind.
ADE attracts a highly diverse, international crowd, with people from an average 75 countries gathering in Amsterdam for the event. In the middle of all this, on the 18th October ADE Green will be covering a range of important topics including sustainability, innovation and social change in the DeLaMar Theater. For ADE Green it’s important to share the passion for electronic music and sustainability, to celebrate the connective and collective power of music and to recount personal stories that show what we stand for.
Diversity in nighlife and festival culture
One of the major themes of this years’ program will be diversity in nightlife and festival culture. And what better place to do so than Amsterdam? A truly progressive city, not only due to its nightlife, but also thanks to it's liberal character and the right of everyone to express gender and sexual identity. Although Amsterdam used to be seen as the Gay Capital of Europe with the first gay marriage in 2001, more and more gay bars are closing their doors every year, and there has also an increase in violence and intolerance towards gays and lesbians. But that doesn’t stop the LGBTQ+ community which has adapted and flourishes at many different events, from drag races to open-minded clubs and festivals that reinforce this identity by giving people a safe haven to celebrate who they are and who they love throughout the year.
ADE Green talked with Peter van Vught, a creative thinker and founder of many open-minded productions and events including Club Nyx, Milkshake festival, the Rainbow Awards for outstanding initiatives alongside Superball, a contest for the top Drag Houses in Amsterdam. He is also the producer of Amsterdam Pride and last years Europride. And on top of all that, he’s also one of DJ duo The G-Team.
“There is a big difference between people that come for a techno club night and a gay party. At the techno club night, people come for that one favourite or upcoming DJ, whereas If you go to a gay party, people come for the community spirit. They know they’ll be surrounded by people with whom they identify, whether that be gay, queer or just plain open-minded, They know they’re safe and amongst people they share a connection with. Of course I, as an organiser, have to contribute to the night by booking sympathetic artists and by creating a great atmosphere. But it’s all about being there together, and being able to live, to love who you are, and just dance.”
We in The Netherlands, have the freedom to organise such events. Therefore ADE Green finds it important that we all pause for a moment, and realise what we’ve accomplished. Peter sums it up like this: “My motto is: treat others the way you want to be treated”. And that’s what’s equality for ADE Green too, Peter. Happy Pride everyone!
If you want to know more about how nightlife contributed to the LGBTQ+ community and vice versa throughout history, come and join us on Wednesday October 18 at DeLaMar. Tickets for ADE Green (35,-) are available here. The event is also accessible for ADE Pass & ADE Conference Pass holders.
ADE Green is presented by ADE and Absolut (official partner ADE), and supported by our many partners.
In 2015 ADE published Luis Manual Garcia's essay 'An alternate history of sexuality in club culture' in the ADE Book. The article can be found here.
Additional info: