The 11th annual meeting of the Open World network was recently held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Partners from all over the world flew in to the Dutch capital to meet at a hotel in the city centre. This hotel consists of 25 historic canal houses from the 17th and 18th centuries. The buildings have been combined but their original details have been retained, furnished with numerous paintings and other works of art.
The Open World partners not only met to discuss on-going collaboration and use of the network’s unique research methods and specialisms, but to strengthen personal working relationships. Helping clients achieve reliable market research results all over the world is enhanced with strong communication between partners and it helps to not only have frequent contact by phone or mail but also, for example, by being able to talk in person about cultural differences between countries.
The Dutch Open World partner shared interesting inside information about the history of the country and typical Dutch behavior. It seems that there is more to the Netherlands than just tulips and Rembrandt!
The French partner, also chairman of the board, provided an interesting review of the first 10 years of Open World: 10 years of Efficient and Friendly Cooperation in International Market Research Studies.
Partners from other countries such as Russia, Italy and China presented interesting case studies that prompted detailed discussion amongst partners. At the end of the meeting, the partners enjoyed a trip in a beautiful boat around some of Amsterdam’s canals and the Amstel and IJ rivers. Having then enjoyed a delicious meal, all partners agreed that it had been a productive day of sharing experiences and getting to know each other.