Heleen Rouw
Heleen is an experienced leader in media and entertainment — a generalist who applies her expertise within audience-focused organizations, ranging from film companies and broadcasters to museums, festivals and thrives innovation in content development.
As director of Cinekid from 2020 to 2025, Heleen played a key role in developing a hybrid festival experience in collaboration with IDFA, IFFR, and NFF during the pandemic. Under her leadership, the renowned immersive MediaLab evolved into a fully integrated, interactive experience, featuring installations, workshops, and games focused on themes relevant to young audiences. Through Cinekid, she also contributed to advancing collaboration within the Digital Culture sector.
Since January 2025, Heleen has been Programme Director of the Creative Industries Immersive Impact Coalition (CIIIC) — an innovation initiative supported by the Dutch National Growth Fund. With a €200 million budget, the program aims to boost the development of immersive experiences within the creative industries, driving both social impact and economic growth.
CIIIC
Session
Three Growth Fund programs – each with their own focus on XR, immersive technology and simulation content – are joining forces. In this panel discussion, we will explore how we can make XR technology and content more accessible, inclusive and scalable.
After a brief introduction to the programs, we will discuss public and private collaboration, sustainable implementation, awareness of public values and opportunities for mutual reinforcement of the various programs. We will also share examples of concrete collaboration, such as the SimuLearn platform.