Wiebe Van Steenis

We are the system that holds us back

For years, Wiebe has been struck by the gap between people’s lived experience and the systems around them. Too few people realise that they help shape those system and then allow themselves to be constrained by them.

Alongside his work for S&L, Wiebe is co-founder and director of Transformers in de Jeugdzorg. He practises what he preaches: he supports young people with first-hand experience of youth care to drive fundamental change in the sector. Each does so in their own way, with one aim: improving youth care for the children who rely on it today. Wiebe also produces podcasts and works as a conference chair and keynote speaker, drawing on experience across the sector—from strategy and management to frontline practice.

He uses his experience in youth care as a blueprint across the wider public and social sectors. Wiebe supports leaders and teams to move beyond their own rules and rediscover what genuinely works for the people they serve.