Bertine Lahuis: “Are we asking the right questions about our future?”

As a mother of two, I see my children searching for meaning. And that’s not surprising because, in our constantly evolving world, new social issues are arising every single day. If we wish to see which technological developments are helpful and necessary in healthcare, we need to clarify the fundamental questions in our society. It can be very useful to take a moment to stop and think before we move forward. We need to take responsibility and ask ourselves: What are the fundamental questions in our society?

The advent of the Comprehensive Care Agreement has created a clear agenda for healthcare. Many social issues transcend our healthcare system. On the one hand, this involves individual problems. Think about lifestyle and prevention, for example. How do we prevent sickness? How do we keep our stress levels under control? What about vaccine developments for preventing new diseases?

"What are the fundamental questions in our society?"

On the other hand, there are more extensive, collective issues. For instance, what about the accessibility and affordability of healthcare? There are huge social disparities in our society. Of course, climate issues also have large-scale implications for many sectors, including the health & high-tech sectors. After all, all of these factors can affect our health.

As Chair of the Executive Board at one of Europe’s leading healthcare and innovation institutes, I want to show people and make them believe that we can make a change. Through storytelling and the power of imagination, I’d like to take them on a journey into the change that our society needs. Through stories, we can highlight challenges, solutions and opportunities. They help us engage in conversations about important topics. There is a major need for facts, knowledge and different perspectives. Stories about what people need or what they do, stories that people share and write together – stories that connect. You don’t learn how to walk without falling down. You don’t learn how to talk without making a slip of the tongue. This is what I try to teach my children and what I try to show them as well. Sometimes we think we have all the answers, but most of the time, we don’t even know what the real question is. Acknowledging this, taking responsibility and acting upon what we’ve learned from it could be the first small step to paving the way for future generations. And as long as we’re doing it together, we will decide how we write the story of our future.