Arjan Paans, our beloved editor-in-chief, is no longer here. For that reason, this newsletter - conceived and designed by him - looks a bit different than you are used to from us. No overview of last week's top articles, but a final tribute to the man who has led the Innovation Origins’ editorial course over the past five years.
That my name has been at the bottom of this newsletter instead of his for the last few months had a reason. Since he was diagnosed with lung cancer and brain tumors about eight months ago, Arjan has had to let go of his normal activities step by step - and very much against his will. The fighting spirit he still had in the first few months gradually gave way to disappointment and - finally - resignation. Until last Tuesday, when the inevitable happened: at the age of 53, he sought the cloud on which his father, another gifted journalist, had also taken a seat more than a year ago.
We imagine the two of them continuing to view the world from there, each giving their life's work an extension from their own perspective. As for Arjan, that will happen through the editors of Innovation Origins. After all, in recent years, Arjan has made his mark on our work so intensely that we can almost naturally continue the work in his line and in his spirit.
With all his journalistic experience and achievements, we are proud that Arjan wanted to join our team in 2018. We are grateful for everything he has meant to our readers and us. But above all, we are incredibly sad about losing the man we loved and admired.
Thank you for everything, Arjan, and goodbye. We cherish your journalistic legacy and will continue to build upon it in your spirit.
In the name of the whole team,
Bart Brouwers
From a USA reader, I share your appreciation for Arjan Paans and your grief over his passing.
So sad news, it makes everything else not important at all and reminds us that life is what matters the most. I hope to read more about how innovation can actually lead us to a better society were cancer is something from the past, where we dimish hunger, unequality, and make the world a better place to live in.