Ruben van Zwieten
About the Initiator
Ruben van Zwieten started his career as ‘The Reverend of the Zuidas’ and gained national renown for his project ‘Zingeving Zuidas’ (Bringing meaning to the Zuidas) in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.
Van Zwieten established The New Port, his first home for encounter and inspiration, located centrally in Amsterdam’s famous business district, the Zuidas. Four years later, in 2016, he opened a second home in Rotterdam. His mission is to find modern ways to engage people in tradition. He has been described as an innovator of the Church. Representing the Netherlands, he has held a seat in the European Young Leaders Class of 2019 of European think-tank Friends of Europe and was in the ‘Volskrant’ list of the top 200 most influential Dutch people of 2020.
Learning, Serving, Celebrating
In 2013, Ruben van Zwieten was named “Theologist of the Nation”, for his influential work as an innovative Reverend. Creating new ideas for Churches, both physically and conceptually, is what drives him to be better everyday. Learning, serving and celebrating are the key themes that connect all his work. In 2019, he collaborated with Sander Schimmelpenninck to write “Elite Wanted”. An influential book on the inner workings of today’s societal and economic elites. Additionally, he has gained acclaim for his work as a keynote speaker on conferences, such as the Bilderbergconference.
Learning
The New Port is a safe haven for anyone who seeks reflect, learn and grow. The New University offers programmes that challenge everyone to find their personal anchors.
Serving
When we grow, along with it grows our desire to share what we have. We actively seek out opportunities to help others achieve their goals
Celebrating
Important moments should be celebrated. The world can be a grim place, but stimulating one another to enjoy the small victories helps us all thrive in the modern world