Harry Mertens was born in 1954 in Nijmegen in the east of the Netherlands. He has lived for more than 30 years in Amsterdam and has worked in several knowledge centers in the field of care, welfare and social cohesion. His last position was senior advisor at MOVISIE, the Netherlands Centre for social development, which aims to contribute to a society in which people are empowered to the maximum of their capability.

He is a project manager for community development, improving the social cohesion in a multicultural context, ageing and ethnicity, use of ICT in social policy, use of art and culture to empower people and improve living conditions in neighbourhoods.

He is the founder of the international online art and culture for your neighbourhood festival and initiator of the website and travelling exhibition, 'Colourful Welfare', that displayed professionals who make a difference in multicultural neighbourhoods.