Jorn Wemmenhove

When I was a young boy I wanted to become a garbageman, because Dutch garbage trucks have this cool steps at the back of the truck to transport the trash collectors. Never made it to the trash truck. Later on I decided I wanted to become a tightrope walker, but I’m still looking for balance.

I did study classical piano at the Rotterdam Conservatory with the great Michael Davidson during my secondary school years; a period of my life I will never forget. I received a bachelor’s degree in ‘Communication and Information Science’ and a master’s degree in ‘New Media and Digital Culture’, both from Utrecht University in The Netherlands.

After this academic period I decided to go for a career in advertising and gained experience at digital agency Pool Worldwide and also Saatchi & Saatchi | Leo Burnett in Amsterdam where I was involved in seeding, strategy and creation. The advertising world still attracts me and it’s not that I said goodbye to it all, but I found a bigger creative challenge.

At the age of 20, I co-founded NGO El Desafío Foundation, creating a better future for children and their families living in poverty in Argentina. And the more I saw the unhuman situations still many people in the world are forced to live in the more I had problems to see the need of creating advertisements for luxury cars and shampoo.

I did see how the incredible power of creativity can help to create smiles and even whole futures. So at El Desafío, I am creative director, not because I never made it to that position in an agency, but because we believe that only with creativity it’s possible to make a positive change. 

Besides my work at El Desafío, I have my own communications network De La Lora, in which I work together with Argentinean creatives. And together with my non-profit colleagues we started Evolution Factory; a for-profit company with the objective of changing the world through innovation and encouraging responsibility in business. We give workshops on innovation and diversity, advice companies how to implement ‘doing good’ to the core of there business model and develop social businesses. More news about this very soon.

So well, I am still dreaming of garbage trucks, and still looking for balance, but I am on my way…