Leila Prnjavorac

About Leila Prnjavorac

Leila Prnjavorac studied Communication (graduating with honors) and has been an entrepreneur for 14 years. She has worked for 17 years as an all-round presenter, moderator, speaker, program creator, project coordinator, and trainer. In 2017, Leila was named Citizen of The Hague of the Year and in 2020 she was appointed The Hague’s Ambassador of Freedom in the context of 75 years of freedom.

The themes she works with include peace and justice, equality, diversity and inclusion in the broadest sense of the word, coping with major life-changing events, (mental) health and resilience, healthy lifestyle, transgressive behavior and sexting, gender equality, emancipation, refugee issues, (youth) entrepreneurship, public speaking, (social) media, and media literacy.

Leila effortlessly connects theory with practice, transforming knowledge into understanding. She presents and moderates with a smooth flow, a touch of humor, punctuality, and a wealth of substantive knowledge. She knows how to make complex events and issues accessible, and works from the personal to the universal. A powerful woman who holds vulnerability and authenticity in the highest regard.

You can’t cage me—I turn every situation into a personal journey full of love and adventure.

In both her personal and professional life, Leila has experienced much, which she seamlessly transforms into insight and expertise. This allows theory and lived experience to go hand in hand—making knowledge something you can feel.

Since the age of 21, Leila has been active in the media, including as a radio presenter and talk show host at FunX, and as a co-developer and youth advisor for NOS Headlines, the precursor to NOS op 3. She frequently appears on radio and television talk shows such as De Wereld Draait Door, Met Het Oog op Morgen, and De NieuwsBV. She also appears in Canon van Nederland in the Het Klokhuis episode Veelkleurig Nederland. In (online) newspapers and magazines, she regularly shares her stories to bring attention to important issues and life events, including in de Volkskrant, NRC, AD, Elsevier, Linda.nl, Flair, The Optimist, and through the national and The Hague 4 & 5 May Committees.

Currently, she is working with Stagehuis Schilderswijk and young people to create the podcast School des Levens—about the lives of youth in The Hague, focusing on resilience, life lessons, and inspiration.

Leila is committed to raising awareness of children’s and human rights, equality, and the SDGs both nationally and internationally—as an Ambassador of Freedom, goodwill ambassador for the Netherlands United Nations Association (NVVN), speaker, and guest lecturer in education (primary, secondary, MBO, HBO, and university levels). She works weekly with children, youth (of all levels and ages), and adults to create dialogue around these themes—encouraging them to place these issues ‘top of mind and top to do’ when making conscious decisions and forming policies.

In 2018, Leila addressed a United Nations delegation during the UN General Assembly (UNGA 73) and UNFPA in New York, where she shared her life story to advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), equality, and the rights of children and people affected by war and displacement. She also highlighted the impact of war on the overall health of children and youth—drawing from her own childhood experiences fleeing the war in former Yugoslavia, now Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Due to exposure to nuclear waste and radiation from weaponry during her childhood, Leila developed cancer as an adult. The effects of war have a lasting impact on people, animals, nature, and the environment worldwide—and must be taken very seriously. She also raised awareness about this in the same year, calling for collaboration during the major youth conference The One Young World, held in The Hague, where she co-hosted an important segment with Jan Peter Balkenende.

In 2019, invited by the Ministry of Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, she spoke and contributed to the Youth for BiH conference, where she once again emphasized the need for collaboration and collective action on the issues mentioned above.

At her core, Leila believes in love. She believes that love and peace are concepts that grow when shared. Sharing is multiplying—and in life, everything begins and ends with that.