Community-Built Media & Real-World Connection

Community Action

Jun 19, 2025

16:00

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17:30

VU Forum 2

Sliding scale starting at €5 and education events are free, if you do not have means to purchase a ticket please email us.
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This 90-minute session invites everyone — refugees, allies, and local community members — into an open and participatory conversation about community building.

1. Welcome & Framing
How do we build spaces where people feel seen — and heard? What role does media play in creating real-world community?
2. Presentations
RefugeeHelp Arabic and LUNA Project will share their stories: how building online platforms helped them create belonging, voice, and offline connection.
3. Breakouts
We break into small groups or circles to reflect together: How do you use media or stories to feel connected? What kind of space helps you feel like you belong? What can we create or imagine together right now?
4. Closing Reflections
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Dzhamal Statsenko (community manager RefugeeHelp Ukraine): Dzhamal leads a fantastic team of volunteers who create content for the RefugeeHelp platform. They talk about real issues that matter and show how teamwork and trust can build something powerful — by the community, for the community.
Alexandra Mitina (project lead LUNA Project): Alexandra runs a creative platform made by and for Ukrainian teenagers and young adults. Through Instagram, YouTube and Telegram, they create videos, posts and challenges — and it’s all about giving young people a space to speak up, connect and create.
Sorour Bouchaire (RefugeeHelp): Arabic media professional with over 15 years of experience in journalism, radio, and television. She worked as a newsreader and presenter, delivering in-depth and accurate coverage of regional and international events. In addition, she hosted radio programs and was active as a voice actor for drama series and commercials, which added a creative dimension to her media work. Today, she focuses on creating informative content in Arabic to support non-Dutch-speaking communities.
Mona Boutros is an editor and communications consultant with a focus on digital content. She holds a Master’s in Communication Sciences (UvA), specializing in entertainment media and investigative journalism, and a Bachelor’s in Business Administration (VU), with a focus on management consulting. She also studied architecture in Syria..
Femke Noordink is the co-owner of Moving Stories (moving-stories.nl). She works as a freelance journalist, podcast maker, videographer and documentary maker for different media outlets and ngo's, and as editor in chief for RFG Media. She has worked for several international organisations and was stationed in Brussels, the Middle East and (currently) in the Netherlands. Femke holds two Master degrees, in Film and television studies and in Literature.