In this episode of The Intelligent Community, ICF Co-Founder Lou Zacharilla has a conversation with Mr. Stephan Satijn, Regional Minister for Economy, Finance & Business Operations, Province of Limburg

(4 June 2025 – New York City, NY, USA & Limburg, The Netherlands) – The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) announced today that the Brightlands-Limburg Region will host the 2026 Top7 Conference and Announcement, the second phase of ICF’s annual Awards Program. The event will bring together thought leaders from the global Intelligent Community movement for workshops, panel discussions, and keynote addresses, and will provide regional and international attendees with the opportunity to tour the Limburg Region, which exemplifies Intelligent Community development.

The conference will also feature the announcement of the Top7 Communities of 2026, finalists in ICF’s annual Intelligent Community Awards Program. The Top7 Communities are seven leading examples of excellence in Intelligent Community development in line with ICF’s Community Accelerator Strategy.

In 1884 Van Gogh depicted the potato farmers of the southern Netherlands turning soil by hand.

Today, things are different. Dutch farmers are still growing potatoes, and there is still open land. But the people in and around the small city of Eersel are creating a new kind of rural – the modern countryside.

Dutch farmers add sustainability to their enviable productivity

AT THE entrance to Hoeve Rosa farm, in the southern Dutch province of Limburg, a sign gives a warning that unmanned machines might zoom past. This farm is run by robots. They feed 180 cows, monitor their health, clean their stables and milk them whenever the cows choose. Fons Kersten, who runs the place, just needs to keep an eye on his phone. An app alerts him if a cow needs human attention.