I'm a giant.

I like to have fun and party, as well as to discuss politics, religion and philosophy.

I'm a bit of a dreamer and idealist, and at the same time a devoted scientist.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Well, I believe, as most people here on CS, that this is the most interesting way of traveling. It's not always the easiest though, but it is definitely worth it. I've had loads of great experiences in the past. Although I do not surf that regular anymore, I tend to in the future.

Interests

Apart from all the regular stuff (traveling, music, long walks on the beach...) I am involved in city 2.0 and citizen-participation projects. I'm interested in improving citizens well-being in cities through the use of technology and trying to facilitate people in creating an atmosphere that increases social coherence.

I'm co-curator of TEDxGhent. TEDxGhent is a local independent TEDx organization.

(TEDx has the mission of sharing "ideas worth spreading", by giving these people a place on their stages and promoting them through different channels. Best known for their YouTube channels).

Now, without the big words, I'm interested in loads of stuff. I'm always up for some debates or mind twists. I'm interested in philosophy as well, although I'm not a pro.

During the day (and during the night), I am a researcher at two universities. I work mainly on image and video compression combined with machine learning (artifical intelligence), but don't worry, after my hours I don't tend to talk extreme lengths about my work.

• chocolate
• partying
• politics
• technology
• traveling
• music
• backpacking
• religion
• science
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

I like books that express an idea, especially I like dystopians (1984, A brave new world, Margaret Atwoord's trilogy, the circle, ...) but I also like broader stuff. Like mentioned before, I like books that can tell an idea or a concept in simple words, like for example, Alain de Botton.

Music wise I'm a big fan of jazz and (chill) hiphop (and every possible mix of those two) and it shows in my vinyl collection. Depending on my mood, I also like alternative electronic music.

I'm pretty bad at watching movies for some reason. I enjoy them, but I just never seem to come around watching any.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Well, I feel like I've had the luck of being part of a lot amazing things. Being part of the TEDx community has especially been great for loads of reasons.

I believe some of my travels were most memorable. Roadtripping through Scandinavia, backpacking through Australia, hanging around in Congo.

I've had a t-shirt label once with a friend, it didn't last that long, and failed. But I believe I learned an extreme amount of things back then. It was good to fail. Otherwise, moving to Berlin was quite a challenge, but it has had a huge impact on my whole personality and is still probably the best decision I have ever made. Although things were not always easy.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm too young to claim that I have more to teach than others. but I'm very open towards engaging conversations and I'm really patient in long discussions. Even if I don't agree, you can learn a lot of things from unexpected corners. My grandmother always said, "best thing to learn, is to keep your ears open at all time".

What I Can Share with Hosts

Well, everything I experienced, and learned. And chocolate

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Belgium, Germany

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