Björn Stenvers, currently executive director at the ‘Fonds de Dotation de L’ICOM’, will change his position at the International Council of Museums in Paris to become executive director at the Eye Care Foundation. The Eye Care Foundation (ECF) is an NGO helping to prevent and cure avoidable blindness and vision impairment in developing countries. The Eye Care Foundation has eye care projects in e.g. the Himalayan region (Nepal), Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos) and Africa (Tanzania, Zambia and Rwanda). Björn Stenvers succeeds Ruud Wiedijk, who retired from his position at the Eye Care Foundation earlier this year.
“Looking at delivery and environmental impact, new strategies and cross-roads are needed to answer to needs. The SDGs defined by the UN can only be met if we work together. Both the WHO and UNESCO aim to become more impact-focused. If issues are not being addressed collectively it automatically results in underperformance. Museums as well as eye care face complexity on inclusiveness regarding cure, treatment and survival in a marketdrivenglobalsociety.”
Stenvers has been working at ICOM since 2012, operating since the beginning of 2017 for the ICOM secretariat (at UNESCO), Paris. He will combine his new role as CEO at ECF with his ICOM/ Museum activities. Using his international network, Stenvers will also focus on education. Last year he and Roos Wattel published their research regarding deaf and hard of hearing audiences in museums. In the context of inclusiveness, a research publication with regards to the blind and visual impaired audiences will be added to this. Stenvers is a lecturer at the Università Roma Tre and at RANEPA in the Presidential program for ministers.
Björn Stenvers
From 2013 till 2017 Stenvers (46) was director of the foundation Samenwerkende Amsterdamse Musea (SAM), which he established himself. From 2008 till 2012 Stenvers served at the Amsterdam Heritage Museums (Amsterdam Museum, Museum Willet-Holthuysen, Bijbels Museum and Museum Ons’ Lieve Heer op Solder) as marketing director. Stenvers studied Marketing, History of Art and Communication. Before this, from 2003 onwards till 2007 he was responsible for putting the OBA (the Amsterdam Public Library) on the map. During 2010-2011 he followed the Cultural Leadership International program from the British Council, with internships amongst others at the head office of the National Trust. In 2012 and 2013 he served as coordinator of the Unesco world heritage area for the Amsterdam Canals, in cooperation with Amsterdam Marketing. Stenvers is a member of several international boards at a variety of museums (e.g. Norilsk Museums, Komi Museums, Sarian Museum and the Russian Art Museum, Armenia) as well as a trustee at the museums in Altai and the Brest Fortress in Belarus. Furthermore, he is the initiator of the Museum Academies for museum professionals in Amsterdam, Rostov, Aruba and Altai and the Moscow Zoo Academy. Since 2016 Stenvers is a board member of the section Marketing & PR at ICOM.
The Eye Care Foundation
The Eye Care Foundation was born out of the need to help provide and establish good and affordable eye care in developing countries while being based in the Netherlands. With support from its partners and donors (among which 30.000 Dutch private donors), the Eye Care Foundation focusses on the poorest eye patients for whom quality medical care is inaccessible or unaffordable. 2019 will see the 35th anniversary of the Eye Care Foundation.
ICOM
ICOM (International Council of Museums), established in 1946, is an NGO with a formal relationship with UNESCO. It is the only international professional and network organisation on the field of museums and museum professionals for the promotion and protection of natural and cultural heritage, contemporary and for the future, tangible and non-tangible. ICOM has over 37.000 private members and 20.000 institutional members, across 137 countries.
For more information please contact: Björn Stenvers: bjorn@stenvers.org / +31 (0)6 5181 5916 / Eye Care Foundation: +31 (0)20 6473 879