Hanna Verboom
Sunday, April 12th | Breakout: Why social cohesion is so important; how to strengthen and invest in it with media as a tool
Hanna Verboom is a social entrepreneur, filmmaker, speaker, and actress dedicated to using storytelling as a catalyst for social change. Through her work, she explores how media can help address societal challenges and strengthen connections within communities.
She is the creator of the documentary series Out of the Shadows (Uit de schaduw), in which she investigates the stigma surrounding mental health in the Netherlands. In the series, Hanna speaks openly about her own diagnosis and, together with experts and people with lived experience, calls for greater openness and systemic change.
Hanna is also the founder of the film platform Cinetree and the social impact organisation Get It Done, both of which are aimed at mobilising audiences and communities around urgent social and environmental themes.
Raised partly in East Africa as the daughter of a nurse and an agricultural expert, and drawing on her long career as an actress and filmmaker, Hanna increasingly focuses on impact media: using powerful stories to spark awareness, dialogue, and long-term change.
During the breakout session "Why Social Cohesion Matters — and How Media Can Help Strengthen It," Hanna Verboom and Ralf Roex explore the role of storytelling and media in strengthening social cohesion and inspiring collective action.