Mission Statement
Transforming critical perspectives into opportunities for responsible, equitable, and sustainable paths forward.
Biography
Marcel Schouwenaar is a designer, researcher, and inventor dedicated to advancing responsible and human-centered technology. In 2024, he founded ScrollScrollScroll, a design collective focused on helping young people regain control over their time and attention. His work combines scientific insight, technological expertise, and strategic design to develop solutions that strengthen digital autonomy and wellbeing.
As an advocate for the ethical use of technology, Marcel co-founded several initiatives that shape public and professional discourse, including the ThingsCon conferences and the Just Things Foundation. He has served on advisory boards such as ClickNL and the Creative Industries Fund NL, and has been a visiting lecturer at various universities and design academies.
He has worked with organizations including LEGO, LEGO Education, Festool, the City of Amsterdam, and the MIT Media Lab. Before founding ScrollScrollScroll, Marcel spent twelve years as co-founder and creative director of the design studio The Incredible Machine.
Questionnaire
Where do you want to foster change and why?
Demystifying emerging technology so organizations can harness it responsibly and steer progress toward more sustainable and equitable futures.
What or who influenced you during your professional career?
The ThingsCon community profoundly shaped my thinking on responsible technology, blending theory, practice, and policy. Their influence stays with me, and I’m dedicated to paying it forward.
We all have those significant moments or situations (success or failure); which one was yours, and what did you learn from it?
The early web of the late ’90s and early ’00s shaped me deeply: a space where everything felt possible and nothing was fixed. That era taught me to experiment boldly and question assumptions. I still strive to bring that pioneering energy and optimism into today’s more consolidated technological landscape.