Unbreakable Spirit Gala: the biggest event in 2017 was the Unbreakable Spirit Gala. We organised it for the very first time and involved all our networks and resources. Hosted in the romantic surroundings of Kasteel Oud Wassenaar, the evening featured a mix of entertainment, networking opportunities, and info-tainment in relation to OI. The TV-presenter Sandra Schuurhof (a.o. Hart van Nederland) facilitated the evening and connected the various components: Guests were welcomed with drinks served in laboratory glasses, two live bands gave a swinging feel to the evening, the dinner was composed by star-cook Pierre Wind who surprised everyone with a creative 4 course meal composed of “ingredients that support strong bones”. One of the most loved parts of the evening was a magic show of Hans Kazan, who appeared together with his son and amazed everyone with his show about “how to make the impossible possible”… just like what our researchers are aiming to do for OI! The scientific context was excellently described by Dr Ralph Sakkers of the Wilhelmina Kinderziekenhuis in Utrecht, National Expertise Center for children with OI. More than 80 sponsors enabled the evening to be organized virtually “at zero cost”, which allowed the proceeds of the evening, a whopping €70.000, to go straight into research.
