“Don’t judge a book by its cover”
In November 2010 the second TEDxAmsterdam brought together a selection of wonderful speakers, and we wanted to know what they are doing now. Lieke Voermans got in touch with Irene Mathijssen about her projects, TEDxAmsterdam and ideas worth spreading.
Now Irene is not only an Associate Professor at Erasmus University Rotterdam and a plastic surgeon at the Department of Plastic, Reconstructive Surgery and Hand Surgery of the Erasmus Medical Centre, but she’s also the President of the Dutch Society for Plastic Surgery. A true heavy weight, she is specialised in surgery for congenital craniofacial malformations – between you and me, that means malformations of the head and face. During her talk, Irene took us through the development in plastic surgery: from World War I, to US plastic surgery in the ’60s right up until the world’s first complete face transplant in 2005.
Speaking during TEDxAmsterdam can be intimidating, but Irene seems to have enjoyed it: “For me, the talk was very interesting since I was talking to a whole different audience than I’m used to. Normally I present for a medical audience and I am I focusing on the medical part of plastic surgery. TEDxAmsterdam was a great opportunity to show some of my expertise and field to a broader and very interested audience.”
“The positive buzz and the high level of enthusiasm is something that I remember mostly of that day. From the speakers, Peter Westerveld’s story on a water supply system in the deserts in Africa was very inspiring because it was a very simple solution to a very relevant issue. It’s good learning there are basic ideas and solutions, not too high tech to apply locally”, said Irene.
Asking her about activities next to her job she answers: “Through the Carolien Bijl Foundation I try to raise money for scientific research on congenital craniofacial anomalies so we can create more awareness for this patient group. It’s not just the foundation that could use more awareness, but especially the patients would benefit by more awareness and a better understanding of looking differently. This is a group of people who usually have a lesser chance to succeed when it comes to work, schooling and social life because of their appearance. It is often assumed that they have a reduced intelligence purely based on how they look. It would be nice if that bias could be removed.”
Ending with the question who Irene would like to see on stage during TEDxAmsterdam 2011, she mentions Rineke Dijkstra. “She is an internationally acclaimed successful photographer who makes beautiful portraits. These portraits really bring out the character of the person. She goes much deeper than just taking a beautiful picture.”
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