Learn more about my journey to Dubai by train
A new sustainable adventure
In January 2022, I travelled by train to Dubai because I had been invited to give a presentation at the Expo 2020. It didn't make sense for me to fly to Dubai to speak about a trip I had made to promote sustainable mobility. Since my 'Blue Bandit' had become a museum piece, the only logical way to get to the Emirates was to take the train.
When I got this idea, I didn't even know if this was possible at all. But the idea inspired me enormously: what will I see? What people will I meet? What will it be like to spend hours, even days, on a train? I discovered that planning an intercontinental train journey is not easy, I had to use different websites and blogs to map out my route and finally, I discovered that you can get all the way from Amsterdam to the Persian Gulf by train and from there you can take a ferry to Dubai.
Travelling by train changes your life
It wouldn't be an adventure if things didn't go wrong, at one point I couldn't continue the journey as planned and had to improvise with an alternative plan. This 'Plan B' turned out to be better than Plan A. In the end, six trains, six buses and one inevitable flight brought me via Europe, Turkey, Iraq, Jordan and Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates.
In this presentation, I will talk about how to plan a sustainable adventure, how to reach goals that seem impossible, how I dealt with challenges, funny, interesting and life-changing encounters with locals and how this overland journey helped me to reduce my emissions.
The message of this presentation is: "Travelling by plane changes your day, travelling by train changes your life."
Presentation info
Goal: inspire, motivate, inform, stimulate thinking.
Duration: 20 minutes or longer in combination with Inspiration Session.
Audience: Wiebe adjusts his presentation to the level of his audience. From management teams & board to employees.
Visual material: breathtaking photos, interactive routes and film footage of his adventure.
Online and webinars: Wiebe has his own studio for online presentations with impact.
Watch the compilation of my journey
As seen on
Wiebe's inspiring story shows that reaching your goal does not only depend on a solid plan, a healthy dose of guts and a lot of perseverance.
Flexibility in dealing with unforeseen circumstances and plenty of humour are just as important - and this is reflected in Wiebe's inspiring and entertaining presentation.
The insights Wiebe gained on his journey contain valuable lessons many organisations can benefit from in realising their goals. Highly recommended!
Wiebe's ability to convey his journey engagingly and authentically made a profound impact on all attendees, captivated the audience and left us inspired. His genuine passion for a sustainable future was evident throughout his talk, as he shared the challenges and triumphs he experienced during his long journey. His anecdotes and visuals brought his adventure to life and encouraged us to consider the importance of embracing eco-friendly solutions in our everyday lives.
Not only was Wiebe an exceptional storyteller, but he also demonstrated a deep understanding of the current issues surrounding sustainability. His vast knowledge in these areas allowed him to present complex topics in an approachable and relatable way, which resonated with the audience on a personal level.
As a speaker, Wiebe is incredibly personable and approachable. He has a unique ability to connect with a diverse audience, and his enthusiasm for his subject matter is contagious. His presentation left us all with a renewed sense of purpose and determination to take action towards a more sustainable future.
Recently, Wiebe Wakker gave an inspiring presentation for the Young Alfen organization in Almere about his journey to the other side of the world in an electric car. His presentation took us through his road trip from start to finish.
Wiebe knows how to look back on his journey in an engaging way and take the listener along with him. Thus, you become part of the journey and accompanying cultural experiences and unexpected challenges that came his way.
The presentation provides food for thought on topics such as personal development, perseverance and multicultural cooperation. Range anxiety will have taken on a different meaning for many after Wiebe's presentation.
Wiebe recently told his amazing story at the municipality of Amsterdam at the Department of Space and Sustainability. It is a boy's book full of adventure and challenges that seem insuperable.
You could captivate the audience with just the pictures, but during your story you discuss topics such as sustainability, collaboration and dealing with setbacks.
My colleagues left the meeting inspired. Highly recommended!
As an innovation centre in the creative industry, we are always looking for inspiration: Wiebe certainly gave us that.
With his story about his world trip in an electric car, he managed to enthuse the companies in the room and, not unimportantly, make them laugh. Wiebe speaks in a down-to-earth and spontaneous way and really stands as himself on the stage.
He makes you think, not only about sustainability but especially about jumping in at the deep end and going on an adventure.
I can heartily recommend Wiebe as a speaker in the business industry.
At 'Impact Event Sustainable Zeist', Wiebe gave a fantastic presentation about his journey in an electric car from the Netherlands to Australia.
During his lively talk, interspersed with anecdotes, self-mockery and humour, everyone was hanging on his every word. Many beautiful photos and videos made his story and the challenges he faced understandable. This can inspire everyone in the field of sustainable mobility, the goodness of people and problem-solving!
What an inspiring story! During our first physical meeting after a long time, we asked Wiebe to take us along on his journey.
Wiebe stood on the stage as himself. Open and honest, with humour and lots of visuals, he makes you think. Wiebe taught us that you don't have to be afraid of the unknown. A little courage to take the deep dive helps. He gives striking examples that make you realise again that you are always judging, where this is often wrong. By trusting in the goodness of people, beautiful collaborations spontaneously arise.
Are you looking for an example where the goal is clear, but the journey is unknown? Do you want to be made to think simultaneously about following your dreams where sustainability is an important theme? I can recommend Wiebe to you.
Innovation, sustainability, inspiration, adventure, humour, life lessons and so on and so forth. I enjoyed Wiebe's presentation at Hoogheemraadschap Delfland about his trip to Australia and all the life lessons he learned from it.
It was very inspiring to hear Wiebe talk about the ups and downs and even though I will never make such a journey myself, the 'journey' and development of the person Wiebe is very recognisable.
Wiebe takes you completely along in his car in just under 50 minutes and the joy of crossing the finish line was tangible even for me because I was so carried along.
Wiebe, thank you for your beautiful story, I wish and hope that you may inspire many more people and I and many of my colleagues are eagerly awaiting your book!
DB Breweries/HEINEKEN was lucky to host Wiebe on the last leg of his around-the-world trip in New Zealand. Wiebe’s authentic, easy-going style presentation style was well-received by our staff and his talk was both entertaining and informative.
Our staff came away more informed about EVs and inspired to live a little more sustainably in their own lives.
Wiebe is an inspiring and enthusiastic speaker! The very same week he concluded his world tour in an electric vehicle, he took the time to come into the LinkedIn Sydney office to tell his story. He inspired many of my colleagues on the possibilities of EVs!
I would highly recommend Wiebe as a public speaker.
Visitors to Ecomobiel were very enthusiastic about Wiebe's presentation. Wiebe's journey is unique and so is his story. Wiebe inspires, makes people think and provides a comic note.
After you have heard his story, you know that you can achieve your goals, even if they seem totally unattainable.
What a beautiful story and presentation! Wiebe told us how he travelled through 34 countries with an electric car and without financial means.
His journey was not an easy one, one with many obstacles and challenges. In an energetic and funny way he told his story. Especially his message about sustainability came across strongly, a theme we work on every day within our organisation.
Wiebe met a lot of people and was able to share the purpose of his journey with the people met, which inspired and convinced a lot of people to start thinking more about sustainability.
He also inspired our team. I would highly recommend him as a speaker!
On 24 October we organised a so-called pressure cooker session. With the business community, young people, government and education, to come up with smart solutions for the changes in education and the labour market in relation to the energy transition.
To show how fast the world is changing and what is possible, we needed inspiration. We asked Wiebe for that. And this turned out to be great; the success of the day, for young and old. Afterwards, everyone wanted a photo with Wiebe and his signature.
Wiebe, your story inspires!
We really enjoyed Wiebe's stories about his bizarre trip to Australia in an electric car. It was very inspiring to hear him talk about the more than 95,000 kilometres and 33 countries of the longest journey ever in an electric car.
With his down-to-earth humorous reflections on the visual spectacle, Wiebe knows how to captivate to the end.
You get the urge to travel and it helps almost therapeutically against "range anxiety"!
Contact
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