Simon Henk Luimstra
Board Co-Chair
‘Talking about us without us is against us.’ The ramifications of this sentence have often occurred to me from the moment I became a wheelchair user, 30 years ago. As a convinced public professional, I work as a sports team leader at the municipality of Emmen and as an educational innovator at Drenthecollege. As an intellectually and socially driven balancing idealist, I try to make the future more beautiful for ‘not obvious target groups’. This is why I am honored to have been elected as duo-chairman. Living in Southeast Drenthe, I try to influence and enrich the dialogue through raising, often surprising, questions from alternative perspectives. The world is largely designed (both physically and in processes) without involving its users with disabilities. That can be handled differently, and I am happy to commit myself to that change. Challenging designers at all levels to think inclusive gives me energy. The result should contribute to discover the added value of the perspective of people with disabilities for the future and make this visible.
Simon Henk Luimstra