EAGxAmsterdam Speaker Announcements (12-14 December)

By James Herbert @ 2025-10-28T14:56 (+14)

EAGxAmsterdam (December 12-14) is bringing together ~400 people from across Europe. Here's a sneak preview of our lineup. 

Applications close 23 November. Tickets are free with an optional donation. We're particularly keen to host more participants from the UK this year. Money shouldn't be a barrier to attending, so we have limited travel support. 

Michael Plant: The Happier Lives Institute

In 2018, Plant gave a talk at an EA Netherlands event arguing for wellbeing-based cost-effectiveness analysis. The audience told him to be more ambitious — there was no reason his methods couldn't form the basis of an entirely new research field. He founded HLI shortly afterwards with support from AIM's incubator.

Since then, HLI has produced the first global comparison of charities using wellbeing measures, and their research now appears in the World Happiness Report. Plant will return to Amsterdam to share how it started and where the research has led.

Ben Todd: AI Safety and Preparing for Advanced AI

Hopefully, the co-founder of 80,000 Hours doesn't need an introduction on the EA Forum. We're super excited to be hosting him at EAGxAmsterdam. He'll be speaking about AI safety and what it means to prepare for a world with advanced AI.

Stien van der Ploeg: The State of Animal Welfare in 2025

Van der Ploeg is Executive Director of Animal Charity Evaluators. With nearly two decades of experience across advocacy, philanthropy, and organisational strategy, she'll deliver insights grounded in data and spotlight where the movement must evolve.

Bob Fischer: "Bugs? Seriously?" (Sentience in Insects: Evidence and Implications)

Fischer is a Professor of Philosophy at Texas State University, a Senior Researcher at Rethink Priorities, and director of the Society for the Study of Ethics and Animals. He led Rethink Priorities' Moral Weight Project — which Peter Singer called "the most philosophically and empirically daring project" he's seen in fifty years of writing about ethics and animals.

50-minute talk: Insects are the most-farmed animals. But are they sentient? This talk lays out the evidence for insect sentience and its limitations, then discusses the implications for cause prioritisation, exploring the tensions between being committed to making a difference, maximising expected utility, and real-world decision-making.

Alex Mayers: The Next 5 Years for Alternative Proteins in Europe

Mayers oversees GFI Europe's strategy, working to build a sustainable, secure and just food system. With a background spanning education, sustainable development and peacebuilding, he's worked towards animal welfare for the last 12 years, including running working donkey welfare projects spanning 40 countries.

25-minute talk: This session makes the case for why alternative proteins in Europe need sustained attention and support from those committed to ending factory farming, highlighting the importance of strategic, longer-term thinking in the animal welfare space.

Charbel-Raphael Segerie: International Red Lines — How to Get International Agreements Before 2026

Segerie is the executive director of CeSIA (the French Centre for AI Safety) and an OECD AI expert. He initiated and co-led the Global Call for AI Red Lines, which was presented at the UN General Assembly. He previously founded ML4Good, an AI safety bootcamp for researchers, which has now been reproduced 15 times worldwide.

25-minute workshop: Following the Global Call's success, this session outlines a concrete strategy to secure international agreements before 2026, including plans to mobilise a global coalition of experts and leverage the UN to establish a formal negotiation process for a treaty on unacceptable AI risks.

Who Should Attend EAGxAmsterdam?

EAGxAmsterdam is designed to serve the effective altruism community across the Netherlands and broader Europe. We're particularly excited to welcome:

Priority attendees:

• Netherlands & BeNeLux countries - Our core local community across the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg
• United Kingdom - With no EAGx conference in the UK, we recognise that Amsterdam is your most accessible regional option and strongly encourage UK-based EAs to apply. Amsterdam is well-connected from London via direct flights and Eurostar connections
• Experienced EAs from global hubs - We encourage applications from established community members in London, Oxford, the Bay Area, Boston, and Washington DC who are excited to strengthen ties with the growing continental European EA ecosystem
• North-West European countries without regional coverage - Including France, Ireland, and other nearby regions

Also welcome:

• Germany - While EAGxBerlin serves the German community, we welcome German attendees who prefer Amsterdam's timing or focus
• Nordic & Baltic regions - Though EAGxNordics serves these areas, we're happy to receive applications from attendees seeking additional connection opportunities
• Southern Europe - Spain, Italy, Portugal, and Greece lack multi-day regional EAGx conferences, and Amsterdam is very well-connected
• Turkey - There are strong ties between the Netherlands and Turkey, and while EA Summit Istanbul offers a one-day event, Amsterdam provides a multi-day conference opportunity, with Amsterdam being well-connected via direct flights

Whether you're new to EA or a seasoned professional, if you're based in or can easily travel to Europe and want to make meaningful connections while deepening your impact, we'd love to see your application.

Application Process

Applications close midnight 23 November

1. Apply (~10 minutes): Create a free account on effectivealtruism.org if you don't already have one, then provide basic details about your background and interests in EA. Acceptance rates are high.
2. Review (within 10 business days): We review all applications and respond regardless of outcome.
3. Register (~5 minutes): If accepted (don't worry, you probably will be), you'll receive a registration link to confirm your place, express interest in volunteering, and make an (optional) donation

Unsure whether to apply? Apply anyway. The worst outcome is that you'll hear it's not the right fit this time.