Esmah Lahlah has been a Member of Parliament since 2023 for GroenLinks-PvdA. She’s responsible for the portfolio of justice and security. She was formerly a very popular alderwoman (wethouder) in Tilburg focusing on livelihood security and equal opportunities. Her roots lie in both The Netherlands and Morocco. We are looking forward to hear Esmah’s political and personal view on identity and roots.

Frank Candel is chairman of the board of directors of Vluchtelingenwerk Nederland. He has a broad and extensive background in the public sector. During the Rooted Festival he will explore with us how we can support dignified integration and the home-coming of people.

Naaz is an artist, born in The Netherlands with Kurdish roots. She has won numerous awards, including two Edison awards for her music. She just released her album Never Have I Ever as an independent artist. Naaz has got stories to tell and we cannot wait to hear them at the Rooted Festival.

Saman Amini is an actor, singer, comedian and producer, born in Iran and raised in the Netherlands. With his production company ‘Black Sheep Can Fly’ Saman produces stories that give a face and name to the unknown and ‘the other’. Stories that help us to better understand one another. At the Rooted Festival, Saman will entertain, challenge and confront us.

Anna Drijver is a Dutch actress and writer. Anna draws attention to numerous social issues and since 2021 she is ambassador of the United Nations Refugee Agency. Anna feels a strong responsibility to listen to the stories of people and foster understanding in our joint humanity. At the Rooted Festival, Anna will be moderating a panel discussion on home-coming and belonging.

Andrea Vonkeman has been working with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) since 1995 in numerous countries, including Rwanda, Benin, Sri Lanka, Burundi and Lebanon. Andrea is currently Head of Office for UNHCR in the Netherlands. As co-host of the Rooted Festival, she will be welcoming us at the Rooted Festival and setting the stage for a day of inspiration and celebration.

Leila Prnjavorac is an experienced presenter, moderator and storyteller. She has the power to connect people and stories across the world. Her own roots lie in Bosnia-Herzegovina, from where she fled as a child. As our chairwoman, she will be guiding us through the entire Rooted Festival program, interweaving her own stories and experiences.

Noor Cornelissen is the founder of Rooted. Noor has lived in more than fifteen countries throughout her life and is curious to explore how we, as individuals and societies, can strengthen our embodied sense of belonging to ourselves, our communities, and nature – regardless of the geographical location. Noor also works part-time for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as coordinator on international migration policy. At the Rooted Festival, she will be sharing her vision for a rooted society.

Hanna Verboom is the founder and creative director of Cinetree. She holds a strong belief in the power of storytelling. Hanna has also been committed to social and sustainability projects through her foundation Get It Done. Her roots lie in The Netherlands and East Africa. As co-host of the Rooted Festival, Hanna will take us along in the power of film and storytelling to inspire us to connect with both our own authentic voices as well as each other.

Soraya Shawki is a researcher, playwright, and interdisciplinary poet. She made her debut with her spoken word as the winner of the MLK Spoken Word Competition in 2022 and as a finalist in the Dutch National Poetry Slam in 2023. With her work imbued with hope, intimacy and political insight, she aspires to do more than craft verses; she seeks to construct bridges—bridges that span the chasms of self-discovery and societal discourse fostering reconciliation within herself and in the world that surrounds her. We cannot wait to hear her slam at the Rooted Festival.

Elena Ponzoni works as an Assistant Professor at the Sociology Department of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Part of her work has revolved around the position of refugees and forced migrants in Dutch society, through the co-creative platform Refugee Academy. Refugee Academy has engaged a large group of (refugee-led) organisations, civic initiatives, NGO’s and policymakers in mutual learning and research about conditions for inclusive societal structures. At the Rooted Festival, Elena will reflect on newcomers’ own views on dignified and wholesome integration.

Alejandra Ortiz is a renowned writer, who fled violence and transphobia in Mexico. In The Netherlands she has established a language center, organized symposiums and co-authored research reports, all to improve the position of trans refugees. Alejandra wrote her autobiography The Truth Will Free Me about her youth, her life as a transgender woman, her quest for a safe place to be herself, and her asylum application process in The Netherlands. At the Rooted Festival, Alejandra will share an inspirational reading.

“To belong is to be fully embraced. To be accepted as an integral part of a family, a group, a belief, an ideal, a land. In the hegemonic hetero-patriarchal society in which we live, carving a place for one to exist with all of our intersecting identities, but especially to belong, is not easy. There is always resistance to what deviates from the norm. There are barriers put in place to stop or block what does not fit within the current parameters of acceptability. But as history shows us, these parameters keep on changing.” – Alejandra Ortiz

Dilan Yurdakul is an actress, writer and theater producer with roots in both the Netherlands and Turkey. Her work, such as the renowned production ‘Door de schaduw heen’ (‘through the shadows’) or her book ‘Maskerziel’, touches on themes such as identity, belonging and community. At the Rooted Festival she will take us along on a musical journey, exploring roots and homes.

Weini Woldu is a transcultural system therapist and also works with cognitive behavioral therapies. As advisor on refugee affairs, she advises all sorts of professionals on culturally sensitive approaches in working with people who have fled.

Her expertise is rooted in her own journey and life experiences, having fled her home country Eritrea to the Netherlands when she was younger. At the Rooted Festival, she will engage in a panel discussion on roots and identity, drawing on her vast experience in working with clients from all over the world.

In the touching short film ‘Children of the Labyrinth,’ nine parents who have fled their countries – all stranded in Greece – have written personal letters to their child traveling with them. In these letters they share how they feel, what kind of future they wish for their children, but above all, how much they love them. In their adult lives, these letters will give the children a better understanding of what happened then. In 10 or 15 years, this project will have a follow-up in which the children will write a letter to their parents, reflecting on their own experience. In this workshop, the makers of the short film, Philip and Marieke, will share fragments of the film as well as insights on the project and how the parents and children are doing now. They will also invite you to have a first go at writing a short letter yourself. What is your story?

Tapestry of Memories

Olexandra Prenko is the head of the Kirovohrad District Unity of Folklore Art in Ukraine. She specializes in tapestry making and teaching. Currently, she lives in the Netherlands due to the war. Together with Alina (Road to Hope) and Nadiia (WelcomeApp), Olexandra will take you along in a workshop inspired by the Ukrainian traditional summer celebration ‘Ivana Kupala’, where plants are believed to have protective powers. You will be making personal plant tapestries, capturing the day’s memories with local plants. 

Makers Unite is a social enterprise that strives to change the fashion industry by re-purposing and repairing products with a story that matters. Their mission is to promote social inclusion through the act of making. In this workshop, Makers Unite will share about their work and you will discover first-hand some essential tips and tricks to master the basic skills needed to repair your wardrobe and extend the life of your favourite items. Change is possible, person by person, stitch by stitch. You may bring an clothing item you are emotionally attached to and that needs care or repair. If you don’t, there will be plenty of material for you to learn the basic skills.

Platform for Migration and Integration is a dynamic collaboration between

Migration Inc. and RBD, founded by Yordi Lassooy-Tekle and Rahel Boon-Dejene. They are dedicated to fostering cultural harmony and empowering diaspora communities. This workshop explores the power of cultural mediation to break down barriers.. How do we transcend boundaries and engage in a meaningful dialogue across cultures? How can cultural mediators become social entrepreneurs and professionally contribute to community cohesion? Experts Yordi and Rahel will show you the way!

Connecting with others in real life is not always easy. In this creative workshop, participants are invited to show their true selves and bring themselves into this world with confidence. Through photography and writing, this workshop brings you a positive boost for your self-image. Because you are beautiful and you have a lot to offer to this world. You will leave with a lot more than a poster of yourself!

Sandra Nauta- van der Rijst is a systemic coach and NLP practitioner for individuals, teams and organizations. Her aim is to inspire people to find and recognize their roots and make them their strength to build up on. “To know who you are, you may have to return to those roots to retrieve what you have forgotten.” With her Surinamese-Dutch roots, Sandra knows this journey of discovery. In this workshop, Sandra invites you to remember your cultural and biological roots. By (re)connecting with stories and rituals from the past, you can grow more firmly present in the here and now. In this workshop you will give shape to these cultural and biological roots in a mini-booklet.

Wick Lichtveld is co-owner of Veldsterkte, a center for personal development. His activities as trainer and development-coach are based on positive psychology, the principles of Zen and Non-Duality as well as Buddhist psychology. In this workshop, Wick will share about wholeness and being rooted based on insights from Advaita and Buddhism. 

“Our roots make who we are. They are the connection to our ancestors, family and friends, as they feed us with wisdom and a sense of wholeness. For me, the pain of the colonization past, the war and being a refugee, still echoes on in my family and therefore, in myself. It is a privilege to be part of the Rooted community. We are all as one.” – Wick Lichtveld

Hester Dam is an experienced voice liberator, inner singing facilitator and workshop leader. Originally a musician and singing teacher, she knows how to listen and open up people’s voices and hearts. For many years she has dedicated herself to work with people, using the singing voice as a way to understand and express oneself better, and therefore become a rooted human being. In this creative workshop, Hester invites your inner voice to be sung and heard.

Charo Durán is a singer, singing teacher, voice liberation facilitator and breathwork coach. As a child of two worlds, with a Bolivian father and a Dutch mother, she is continuously exploring: what does it mean to be home? Through her lived experience and with her expertise of the voice, breath and music, her mission is to create a space where you experience a sense of belonging – in the world and in yourself. In this workshop, Charo invites you to an interactive performance about “belonging”, where you will meet yourself and the other in a playful and musical way. You will experience diversity ánd connection, consciously contributing to social interconnectedness. This interactive workshop is a mix between a mini concert, a conversation and a workshop. 

“Being both Dutch and Bolivian, I know the suffering of feeling ‘half’. Of uprootedness. But I now know, feeling whole and at home is being rooted in unity. As a conscious practice inside myself and an active outreach to others.” – Charo Durán

In a time when the refugee shelters are strained and the housing market is at a standstill, the municipality of Vlaardingen (the Netherlands) is quickly building a new neighborhood for a thousand Ukrainian displaced persons. Can this place become a home for people who have fled war, and can they expect a warm welcome? The neighborhood has been named Mrija, which is Ukrainian for dream. And this pilot project sounds like a dream project too. If successful, the formula can be applied elsewhere. But is it really feasible to house a thousand refugees in one place? How do local housing seekers view this situation? And what will happen to all the residents of Mrija after July 2026, when the neighborhood is scheduled to be dismantled for the construction of a water purification plant? In this workshop, the makers of a brand new documentary film about this ‘Ukrainian village’ will take you along in some fragments of the film, followed by a discussion with filmmakers Jack Westerlaken, Lennart Rooijakkers and Turkawi Muhammad, moderated by writer Chris Keulemans.

I have been practicing Taichi and Qigong since 2016 in Kyiv Ukraine. And with it I got benefits for my health and peace of mind. And I would love to share this experience with the Rooted tribe.

Ba Duan Jin is an ancient Chinese Qigong exercise consisting of eight sections, each designed to improve physical health and mental clarity. It is a form of gentle, rhythmic movement combined with breathing techniques.

The first mention of QiGong was around 1000 years ago, and within the centuries its flow had developed and adapted. And we are going to practice the version approved by National the Qigong Association.

Sacha Post is a wilderness guide, facilitator, and philosopher who facilitates wilderness journeys, retreats, and courses that enable an authentic and embodied connection with nature and the wilderness. He aims to inspire people to live deeply rooted, aligned with the cyclical flow of nature. In this workshop you discover how to tune into nature’s seasonal flow and cultivate new roots aligned with your natural rhythms. Join Sacha in the forest!