Ilja Schuurbiers

Carefluencer

Ilja Schuurbiers is a nurse, care influencer, and social connector. Through her social media channel "Ilja in de Wijk", she offers an honest glimpse into life behind closed doors and makes themes like ageing, loneliness, and the pressure on healthcare tangible. With her personal stories, she inspires people to look out for each other more. According to Ilja, a better society starts with genuine attention for one another.

Employability:: Keynote speaker
Languages:: Dutch
Categories:: Arts Culture & Lifestyle

Generations

Health and Care

Influencers

Leadership

Social Media

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About Ilja Schuurbiers

Some speakers talk about social developments. Ilja Schuurbiers is right in the thick of it. As a nurse and care influencer, she takes thousands of followers daily behind the scenes in the Netherlands. Through her authentic stories, she shows what ageing, loneliness and the increasing pressure on healthcare mean in practice. At the same time, she delivers a powerful and hopeful message: care is not only the responsibility of professionals but of all of us.

Ilja quickly built a large online reach with her social media channel Ilja in de Wijk. Her videos provide an honest, human and sometimes confrontational insight into the daily lives of the elderly and vulnerable people. She strikes a chord with a wide audience. Hundreds of thousands of people have watched her videos, which focus not only on care but especially on the person behind the need for care. Through her open and sincere communication style, she makes complex social issues accessible and recognisable to a wide audience.

What sets Ilja apart is her ability to translate major developments into personal stories. In her daily practice, she witnesses how loneliness grows, how the pressure on care professionals increases, and how the once obvious bond between people seems to become less obvious. Her message is clear: as a society, we need to look out for each other more. A simple visit, a conversation, or a small helping hand can make a world of difference.

For Ilja, social engagement is not just something she talks about, but also a personal mission that guides her choices. She actively promotes a caring society where people look out for each other and take responsibility for their surroundings. From this conviction, she champions themes such as social connection, civic participation, community spirit, and reducing loneliness. Through her social media channels, lectures, and social initiatives, she inspires people not to turn away but to be aware of one another.

This mission also underpins a significant choice she recently made in her career. After years of working as a district nurse, Ilja consciously chose to continue as a community nurse. Not because she wanted to distance herself from healthcare, but to stay closer to people. This choice gives her more space to further develop as a speaker, care influencer and social connector, while at the same time being more often involved in direct care and visiting people at home more frequently. This keeps her story rooted in the daily reality of clients and their environment. What she shares on stage is not theory, but a direct reflection of what she sees, experiences and goes through every day.

Her presentation style is open, energetic, warm and authentic. Ilja doesn’t speak from reports or policy papers but from practice. With engaging examples, personal experiences and relatable anecdotes, she knows how to reach and motivate her audience. She combines the warmth of a healthcare professional with the passion of a social innovator. Her lectures are inspiring, confrontational when needed, but always hopeful and connecting.

Organisations invite Ilja because she makes some of the most pressing social challenges of our time tangible. In a period where ageing, staff shortages, individualisation and social polarisation are high on the agenda, she offers a refreshing and human perspective. Her story is not just about care but about how we can create a society together where people look out for one another and take responsibility for each other.

Ilja Schuurbiers inspires her audience to view care differently. Not as a sector or a system, but as something that concerns us all. From her personal mission to contribute to a more engaged society, she shows how small gestures can have a big impact. Her lectures raise awareness, spark conversation and, most importantly, prompt action. Because according to Ilja, a better society often begins with something very simple: genuine attention for each other.

Topics

1. The future of healthcare

How do we keep healthcare human and accessible in a time of ageing populations, staff shortages, and increasing demand for care? Ilja shares insights from her daily practice into the challenges and opportunities for the healthcare of tomorrow.
2. Ageing and its impact on society

Ageing affects us all. Ilja highlights the consequences for the elderly, informal caregivers, healthcare professionals, and society, and explains why we need to think now about how we can continue to care for each other.
3. Loneliness and social connectedness

Behind many front doors lies loneliness that is not always visible. Through personal stories, Ilja highlights the importance of genuine attention and human contact, and how small gestures can make a big difference.
4. Informal care and civic participation

Care is not just a task for professionals. Ilja shows how family members, neighbours, volunteers, and other involved parties can contribute to a society where people look out for each other more and share responsibility together.
5. How do you stay human in the current healthcare system?

In a healthcare system where pressure is high and time is often limited, there is a risk that the person behind the care request fades into the background. Drawing from her experiences as a nurse, Ilja demonstrates why personal attention, empathy, and truly listening remain indispensable.
6. Generational differences and social responsibility

How do we connect generations and ensure that the elderly continue to feel seen and involved? Ilja invites her audience to reflect on mutual responsibility, mutual understanding, and the role everyone can play in this.
7. The power of social media for awareness

With her channel Ilja in de Wijk, Ilja makes social issues visible to a wide audience. She shows how personal stories shared through social media can contribute to awareness, recognition, and a broader societal conversation.
8. Engaged citizenship and neighbourliness

An engaged society begins close to home. Ilja explains how neighbours, communities, and citizens can start to look after each other more and how the power of neighbourliness can help reduce loneliness and strengthen mutual connection.
9. Leadership from Compassion and Humanity

Humanity requires more than good intentions: it calls for choices and actions. Ilja demonstrates how empathy, genuine attention, and involvement can guide leadership, collaboration, and the way we treat vulnerable people.
10. Meaning, resilience, and social connection

What can we do for others, especially when life becomes fragile? Through relatable stories, Ilja shows how meaningful contact, looking out for one another, and small initiatives contribute to resilience, a sense of purpose, and a stronger society.