How do development processes work, and how can they be nurtured, in organizations, individuals, and societies? This question is a red thread running through Remko´s professional journey through the world of international development, social innovation and human rights, that has taken him from his native Rotterdam to Bangladesh, Southern Africa to Austria where he currently resides with his partner Barbara and their ´three little blond men´. 

Remko works as a companion to organizations and coalitions aspiring deep systemic change. He feels most alive in high stake, high leverage situations, when the air is thick with complexity, ambiguity and complexity.  A calling for more depth and rigour in his work, led Remko to the IF programme in 2017. He considers his current portfolio of work since a kind of ´dissertation in action´…

Remko limits his support –  a blend of consultancy, facilitation and mediation – to a select group of international NGOs, academic partners and local groups working on topics such as democratic innovation, urban development and issues of social and environmental justice. A special area of expertise is the development of social innovation labs, a topic on which he has published regularly. 

Remko combines his international work with local engagement as a board member and initiator of several urban development initiatives in and around Graz. His love for flyfishing, music and slow classic novels, offer sanity in a life full of travel, diversity and inspiring chaos of family life.