Embassy conference: Taking time as a recipe for a healthy society

“It’s a challenge to be healthy nowadays,” says Marleen van Bergeijk, social designer and creative director of the Embassy of Health. In today’s fast-paced world, we wake up and go to bed with our phones, exercise less, and eat unhealthy food from supermarkets. Healthcare, as we know, is under pressure from an ageing population, staff shortages, rising mental health issues, chronic illnesses, and an increasing demand for care. It’s not something we can take for granted.”

The audience sits in Natlab’s auditorium, which serves as a metaphorical waiting room: it’s about taking the time to view health and care through a lens different from the traditional economic approach, where efficiency and numbers reign supreme. “Consider financial terms like ‘investing in relationships within healthcare’ or the practice of acting only in response to illness because it’s measurable and manageable. We treat people once they’re unwell, measure outcomes, document, record, invoice, and claim,” Van Bergeijk explains.

“If health is our greatest asset, this economic approach to healthcare hinders softer values. This waiting room invites us to pause and delve into how we can employ design power across domains, working in new collaborations that focus on soft, unmeasurable values to discover creative solutions for health.”

Inspiring cases

The narrative Health as Currency, developed by Van Bergeijk, spans a three-year programme where the Embassy of Health collaborates with healthcare organisations and designers, bringing them together. The conference marks the lead-up to the third year, 2025.

In Natlab, eleven round tables have been set up, each with a diverse group led by a designer as host, who presents a practical, inspiring case for discussion. The tablecloths mimic tree rings, encouraging participants to view things differently, using a magnifying glass to “look with a red lens” at what they write in blue on the “tree rings,” helping them to engage with softer values. The outer ring shows the word “resistance,” followed by “space”: how can we make room, what’s needed, and what if we start tomorrow? Eventually, they arrive at the core: defining experimental space.

At Productivity » Pausing, host and social designer Joost van Wijmen of Studio Encounter asks, how can we create room for reflection and experimentation in a healthcare environment focused on speed and productivity? Astrid Wolters, site manager at De Wollewei and complex manager at ZZG, who collaborated with Van Wijmen on Building Community, a project connecting neighbourhood residents with dementia patients, notes, “I need a sparring partner amid the day’s hustle. Joost gave me room to pause and reflect, which allows me to observe more closely and improve quality.” Wolters describes a unique approach to client discussions in her work that centres on reciprocity, focusing on understanding patients’ needs and how the team addresses them. “By working according to guiding principles rather than strict procedures, we’ve nearly eliminated challenging behaviour,” she says.

The taboo on pausing

“People find doing nothing uncomfortable,” notes Justine Kontou. Kontou, a sensory designer, curator, and art director, believes there is a taboo in our society against pausing. “If you’re busy, you’re seen as important and successful. If you’re not busy, people wonder if you have anything better to do. Many see pausing as useless. In an increasingly digital society, we operate from the mind, but we’re only truly healthy when we’re balanced with our bodies. How you get out of your head is your choice, whether by exercising or meditating.”

They wrap up by focusing on a disc in the centre of the table, which reads on the back: “This deserves experimental space.” For the Production » Pausing team, the conclusion is to flip the concept: Pausing = Productivity!

Morgenmakers is now working on the theme Caring For » Caring With. As part of the What if Lab: Caring Neighbourhoods, the design studio explores the necessary transition in elder care. In the coming years, the demand for elder care is set to double, while the number of care workers will barely increase. Host Fiona Jongejans from Morgenmakers, alongside several care organisations, envisions a future with caring communities and a changing role for care professionals within them. “Society used to be more focused on meeting others, having a chat, and helping each other. It’s become colder and more individualistic,” shared one participant, who had previously lived in South America, where it was customary to invite the whole village to your birthday party. “Why do we put up high fences around our gardens and mark out our space with them?”

Janna Alberts, a researcher in alternative approaches to care at Vilans, also considers technology’s role in elder care. “Not because it’s available or funded, but because it meets a genuine need.”

To prioritise softer values, they envision multi-generational housing communities, spaces for meeting each other, and suggest inviting people over to eat together more often, as this builds connection.

A broader health family

The theme Trust » Mistrust links with speculative designer Hendrik-Jan Grievink as host. Working with Máxima MC and Fontys Centre of Expertise Health, Grievink explores the narrative project Caring is Sharing: Dilemmas in Care, presented at DDW24.

“At our table discussions,” he shares, “we looked at using information technology to restore trust in the healthcare system. This led to an idea to strengthen care networks by establishing a local health community: an app connects users with nearby healthcare actors—from doctors and community centres to public health and local shops, forming an extended health family. Preventive care through such a network, preventive care embodies healthcare’s softer values: people feel seen, receive attention, and experience connection. We can build this app now!”

At Control » Trust, national programme lead Hannah De Greef presents an encouraging case with the Bouwdepot initiative. It offers financial support to young people in vulnerable positions, allowing them a year of municipal support without conditions. “The results are promising,” De Greef explains. “Young people make their own choices, learn from mistakes, gain self-esteem and independence, and improve both mentally and physically with reduced financial stress.”

The round-table participants discuss the shift needed to create space for trust and personal development in supporting young people rather than prioritising control and restrictions. “Training local government officials, doctors, healthcare professionals, and citizens in trust, empathy, and listening without judgement fosters an adaptive approach that centres on softer values, creating room for responsive methods.”

A playground for all generations

All eleven teams present their ideas for future experimental spaces on stage. Caring for » Caring with adapts the phrase “It takes a village to raise a child” to “It takes a village to care for the elderly.” They envision an app with 100 participating seniors, GPs, healthcare professionals, partners, and volunteers, plus a physically designed playground where all generations can meet, play, and care for one another. And at Traditional » Reciprocal, the participants propose The Ordinary Street on Funda, an informal care community where neighbours look out for each other, and formal care joins in as needed.

In 2025, Marleen van Bergeijk plans to bring these experimental spaces to life with designers and healthcare professionals. “We’re showing how Health as Currency can offer fresh perspectives on health, extending from policy discussions to the kitchen table.”

The uplifting day ends with spoken word by Ine Mols, who incorporates health as currency, her own experiences with illness, and participants’ thoughts into a poignant piece that concludes: “The system wanted to get better and started by listening.”