AIDC’s 2015 event, NET-WORK-PLAY, will be the last for Executive Director Joost den Hartog, who will step down from the role he has held for a decade in March.
At the official opening of the 2015 Conference last night, co-chair Karena Slaninka paid tribute to den Hartog, whose next role will see him as Digital Content Manager for RiAus, Australia’s only dedicated on-demand science channel.
“Joost has been the longest serving Executive Director of the AIDC. Under his leadership the conference, market and screening program has grown into a key annual event on the international screen industry calendar. Joost has been a dedicated and enthusiastic leader of the organisation and we acknowledge his invaluable contribution to the Australian documentary industry,” she said, before presenting him with a gift and “a bottle of South Australian red wine, which he has grown to love.”
Said den Hartog: “It’s been an amazing ride, and it’s been a great privilege to run this organisation. It’s given me a lot. I now have an Australian passport, an Australian wife, an Australian daughter, and I think two 30-year running Australian mortgages.”
His jokes aside, den Hartog has worked tirelessly over his tenure, and expressed thanks to the AIDC board as well as the numerous people he has worked with over the years.
The development of his last event, NET-WORK-PLAY, was led by den Hartog out of a need to recognise the changing landscape in factual entertainment as well as the rise of the digital age. As noted by a statement released to the media, “He created a conference environment which recognises and embraces online media convergence.”
The AIDC Board will commence recruitment for this executive leadership position in the coming weeks.
Den Hartog will commence his new role on March 7, 2015.
NET-WORK-PLAY is being held in Adelaide from 23-25 February.