Rebel Café
In 2025, we launched Rebel Café, a recurring concept where we transform one of our office floors, or an inspiring external venue, into a lively café designed for meaningful conversations and valuable connections.
Rebel Café takes many forms – from lectures and debates to art performances. The goal is always to spotlight socially relevant themes and spark meaningful dialogue. Our pop-up café appears wherever it matters most: in Rotterdam, where our headquarters are located, as well as in other countries where we have offices.
On this page, you can stay up to date with upcoming editions and explore highlights from past events.
Friday, October 31 | WORM, Rotterdam
On Friday, October 31, we organised a very special edition of Rebel Café at WORM in Rotterdam – an evening where ideas, inspiration, and creativity came together in true Rebel style.
The program started with the thought-provoking talk “Samenwerken Natuurlijk!” (“Working Together, Naturally!”) by Koos Biesmeijer, Scientific Director at Naturalis and professor at Leiden University. Afterwards, people immersed themselves in Nocturnal Garden — an electronic music concert with live VJ visuals by Well, oh boy and Elsbeth van Noppen, revealing the hidden nightlife of plants and flowers. This experimental and immersive performance showed how nature and technology can beautifully merge.
Monday October 13 | Jeugdtheater Hofplein, Rotterdam
On Monday, 13 October, we hosted a special edition of Rebel Café in collaboration with MVO Nederland. The event took place at Jeugdtheater Hofplein in Rotterdam, a vibrant, creative venue.
Students from De Theaterhavo/vwo performed their one-act play Scarlet Dream, which powerfully depicts, from a young person’s perspective, the stark contrast between the two sides of the fast fashion industry: production and consumption.
The evening opened with a keynote speech on the environmental impact of fashion and our buying behaviour. After the performance, an open mic discussion with panel members followed, and we concluded the event with informal drinks.
March 11, 2025 | 14:30-18:30 | Het Wijkpaleis, Rotterdam
On Tuesday 11 March, during Rebel Café, we delved into the world of repair: the opportunities, challenges and practical tools for making repair a serious part of the circular economy.
Part of this event were:
Our table guests were Nico Werkman (Decathlon), Sema Acar (Fietsbank), Marieke Hillen (Het Wijkpaleis) and Sieds Wijnja (Jafix).
January 24, 2025 | 13:30-19:00 | Kantoor Rebel, Rotterdam
The first edition, held on Friday, 24 January, took the form of a debate exploring the future of a sustainable energy system in the Netherlands – with a focus on nuclear energy and offshore wind. Key topics included the role and costs of nuclear power, the roadmap for offshore wind energy, and recent developments in energy storage.
Guest speakers were Wim Turkenburg (Professor Emeritus, Utrecht University) and Jan Vos (former politician and Chair of the Dutch Wind Energy Association). The debate was moderated by Floor Hooijman from Rebel’s energy team.
