Activiteit: Plenary

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.