who is this?
I'm Erik Kemp, a fellow human on this planet.
I currently live in Enschede, in Twente, in the Netherlands, in Europe, on planet earth. I usually summarise my interests with “privacy, plants & politics”. I enjoy learning about the world, mostly through reading and listening. I enjoy meeting new people, as everyone has a story worth listening to. I think we all share the goal of making the world a better place, step by step.
When I started studying at the University of Twente, I was encouraged to look around to see what could be improved. And then, if I really cared, to become involved in actually realising my ideas for improvement. I hope that is still what I am doing these days :–)
I look up to nerds (domain experts), human rights defenders, journalists, soldiers, first responders and some politicians who are contributing to making the world a better place. I would also like to thank farmers for cultivating our food, construction workers for building our houses and all other people with similar jobs that actually do useful work for running our society.
Because I believe in the credo ‘be the change you want to see in the world’ I have altered my technology-diet drastically over the past years. In the process of this change of diet, I have discovered delicious dishes when I suddenly started setting requirements for what I did and did not want to eat.
I am a logophile (I don’t make time instead of I don’t have time, because time is ‘prioritime’), a long-distance runner (marathons, trail- and obstacle-runs), hiker (Pieterpad, GR20) and you can always wake him up for a dialogue on philosophy, culture or politics. I feel like an explorer in a world full of extraordinary humans, languages, cultures, with a special role for nature, which provides inspiration, slow living and a deep sense of connectedness.
Conversations with strangers and sincere feedback are for me the two most wonderful presents that life has to offer :–)
Furthermore, Erik is an eternal student (Cyber Security at the University of Twente), an active member of the political movement Volt Europa and since march 2022 an elected representative in the municipal council of Enschede.
If you want to know more about me, you can check my transparency page. Or feel free to contact me!