With a heavy heart, we woke up on Thursday the 17th of March. This was the beginning of the end of an awesome week. The end of our four day boot camp D.A.T.E. was near. We weren't going to let the harsh reality trump our day, though. The Antwerp 13 made the most out of it. But hey, what did you expect?
After breakfast, the Antwerp 13 visisted . This non-profit association has one mission: to develop and create affordable working space for artists and creative entrepreneurs in the city. A mission out D.A.T.E. guests really related to.
But Studio Start does more than just creat working spaces. The Studio also helps young entrepreneurs get started and delivers advice to those starters, collectives, real estate agents and governments.
The Antwerp 13 already were mind blown by the creative scene and the amount of entrepreneurs in the city. But the fast there are also non-profit associations that help these people get around, really did it for them.
Much too soon, the sun started going down and the main event of the week could take off. It was time for D.A.T.E.Lab at Cinema Zuid, one of the movie theaters of .
D.A.T.E.Lab was the public event during which This Is Antwerp introduced the local scene to the Antwerp 13, invited young, starting entrepreneurs and two keynote speakers: and .
It turned out to be an evening filled with inspiring talks about creative entrepreneurship, some top level networking, taco's and the beers of the Antwerp City Brewery .
We honestly couldn't imagine a better apotheosis of D.A.T.E. 2.0. The Antwerp locals got to know the Antwerp 13, people mingled on an international scale and - just like during the rest of the week - everybody made a ton of new friends.
As far as last days go, this probably was the Best Last Day Ever.
From here on, it's all about keeping in touch with each other and starting new collaborations. But we have faith in the Antwerp 13. Such a great team, with such a great vibe, is bound to take over the world some day.
And when that day comes, we'll be proud to say: we were there.
We lived D.A.T.E. 2.0.
We are #TheAntwerp13.
Follow the Antwerp 13 on Instagram via and
Find their tweets using
And check out the pics of their adventures on .
Text and pics by This Is Antwerp