A conversation with the Ministry of Health, Wellfare and Sports
Eva de Hoog is senior policy officer at the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS). As such, she is part of its Onbeperkt meedoen! (Unhindered Participation!) team, which works on the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. As of this year, she has also been tasked with collaboration with the Embassy of Inclusive Society. “In our opinion, we still don’t collaborate enough with designers. We certainly want to make progress in this regard.” The Ministry already made good on this intent last June by extending its partnership with the Embassy for as much as three years.
How does the Ministry collaborate with designers?
“A recent example is the Spiegeltje, Spiegeltje aan de wand, kan iedereen meedoen in dit land (Mirror, Mirror on the wall, can everyone participate in this country?) workshop, which was held during Dutch Design Week 2023 (DDW23). Designer Lotte de Haan from social design agency Afdeling Buitengewone Zaken and our own Spiegelgroep (Mirroring Group) designed the workshop. The Spiegelgroep consists of eight hands-on experts and brings the world in which people with disabilities live closer to the system world of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport. The members of the Spiegelgroep use their everyday experience with societal barriers to advise our team. Lotte has very cleverly managed to integrate all of the Spiegelgroep’s different ideas and opinions into a fantastic programme. By focusing on the applicability of ideas and solutions, she has continued to emphasise how we should put abstract concepts, such as inclusion and accessibility, into practice.”
During the workshop, participants – including policy makers, council members and relatives of people with disabilities – engaged with the members of the Spiegelgroep. They listened to their experiences and learned what can be done to make participation straightforward for everyone. Together, they reflected on an inclusive future.
So, what was gained from the workshop?
“Workshop participants gained new insights, such as that those without disabilities are often unaware of what it’s like to go through life with a disability. Unwittingly or otherwise, this creates barriers in our society for people with disabilities. Or, the realisation that somewhere accessible isn’t an inclusive location quite yet; for example, you might also need to be able to put on your make-up in a disabled toilet. And that the burden of proof regarding reassessment is very limiting and energy consuming for many individuals with disabilities.”
Hoe is het om te werken met ontwerpers?
“Ontwerpers kijken weer op een andere manier naar complexe vraagstukken dan wij als beleidsmakers. Ze komen met andere verfrissende inzichten en ideeën waar wij misschien nog niet aan hadden gedacht. Dat is voor ons zeer waardevol. Een voorbeeld hiervan is onze samenwerking in het What if Lab ‘Onbeperkt meedoen’ van Dutch Design Foundation (DDF). Binnen dit What if lab onderzochten vijf ontwerpstudio’s hoe we zichtbare en onzichtbare drempels bij winkelbezoek kunnen wegnemen voor mensen met een beperking. De oplossingen moesten bijdragen aan een positieve winkelervaring voor iedereen. Dat deden we samen met de Hema, Ieder(in), INretail en MKB Nederland. Uiteindelijk zijn er twee ontwerpbureaus geselecteerd.
What’s it like to work with designers?
“Designers look at complex issues in a different way than us policymakers do. They come up with other refreshing insights and ideas that we might not have thought of yet. This is extremely valuable to us. An example of this is our collaboration in the ‘Onbeperkt meedoen’ What if Lab. As part of this What if lab, five design studios investigated how we can remove visible and invisible barriers to shopping for people with disabilities. The solutions were required to contribute to a positive shopping experience for all. We did this in conjunction with Dutch department store Hema, Ieder(in) (the Dutch umbrella organisation for persons with disabilities and chronic illnesses), INretail (the largest Dutch trade association in retail non-food) and MKB Nederland (the largest entrepreneurs’ organisation in the Netherlands). Ultimately, two design agencies were selected.
Studio Corvers designed the Drempelloos (Barrier-free) concept, which consists of various modules that retailers and shop assistants can use for assessment of how accessible their shop is. For example, using glasses with limited vision, so that a shop assistant can experience what it’s like to have restricted vision. Is it easy to find the entrance or your way around the shop? Another module consists of a measuring rod with which you can measure the height and slope of the barrier. There is also a game about behaviour; how do you act around people with disabilities?
Design bureau (ink). came up with the concept of the Mensenkenners (People Experts), which is about such behaviour. The designers noticed how often things go wrong when people with and without disabilities interact. Hands-on experts informed them that the non-disabled have often no idea of how to act around people with disabilities. The designers made the point that we, as a society, have forgotten how to have people with disabilities among us. Which is why we need to train our inclusivity muscle.”
How does the Embassy support the Ministry in its collaboration with designers?
“We recently extended our partnership with the Embassy for another three years. Precisely to seek out this collaboration with designers. In conjunction with the Embassy, its other partners and designers, we hope to work towards an inclusive society. By articulating complex social issues, as well as looking at how we can find solutions for them.”
What does the collaboration with the Embassy mean to the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport?
“This partnership provides us with the opportunity of highlighting people with disabilities among designers. It is important that designers also pay attention to them. After all, designers are at the heart of product design. This was an important consideration for us when entering into the partnership.
In addition, the partnership is important when it comes to viewing complex issues, such as working towards an inclusive society, in a different way. As mentioned, this alternative view is of extreme value to us. There is still much room for improvement in this regard, and we hope to be able to do this much more often in the future. That’s why we’re looking forward to our collaboration with the Embassy over the next three years.”
What are your hopes for the future?
“These mainly concern breaking existing patterns of how we interact with each other as a society. We want to make a difference by seeking out collaboration. What I like about it is that designers are increasingly focusing on behavioural change. This is an interesting development from our point of view. Our communication strategy currently focuses on making people aware of the contribution they can make to an accessible society and encouraging them to take action.
We recently launched Vraagje?! (Question)?!, the online conversation starter when it comes to accessibility. We hope that this initiative will lead to as many people as possible in the Netherlands engaging in conversation about accessibility and looking at people with disabilities in a different way: that instead of people, society is limited.”