Stephanie Bakker is an award-winning Dutch journalist and researcher working on long-term documentary projects on contemporary social issues such as urbanization, climate change and mental health. She collaborates closely with photographers, filmmakers and designers and works in a variety of media, including audio and film documentaries, interactive projects, exhibitions and books. Stephanie is a firm believer in the power of personal stories to address wider issues, and a committed practitioner of constructive journalism, always on the lookout for fresh perspectives, hope and solutions rather than just exposing problems.
Book cover of Future Cities, a project Stephanie worked on for five years – Jap Sam Publishers.
It was this fascination for solution focused stories that sparked the idea for Future Cities, a cross-media project for which she travelled the world in search for the soul of the world’s fastest growing global cities. Not Mumbai or Shanghai, but the up-and-coming cultural, creative and economic hubs of tomorrow. Stories of the Future Cities project have appeared across a wide range of international media. An exhibition was commissioned by the UN for the Habitat III urban summit in Ecuador. The interactive documentary won a World Press Photo Award for Digital Storytelling.
Since 2021, Stephanie has been working with photographer Cynthia Boll on Sinking Cities, also a multimedia project with an international scope and impact. Combining their respective backgrounds in photograpy and narrative journalism, and in collaboration with scientists and affected communities, Cynthia and Stephanie investigate the impact of land subsidence and climate change on urban life. At Xposure they present the first three episodes of the project: Jakarta, Gouda and Venice.
Exhibition Sinking Cities – ‘Gouda and the sinking land’- Watersnoodmuseum – Zeeland, the Netherlands
Stephanie’s work appeared in a wide variety of publications, including National Geographic, de Volkskrant, Le Monde and El País. Her multimedia projects have been exhibited worldwide at musea and international venues such as Dubai World Expo and the United Nations Habitat3 City Summit. Stephanie also works as a guest lecturer and story coach on narrative and constructive journalism.
Selected projects, publications and exhibitions
2022 Exhibition – Sinking Cities, Gouda and the sinking land – Watersnoodmuseum – Zeeland, the Netherlands
2022 Book – Future Cities, stories behind the statistics of urbanization and growth – Jap Sam Books
2021 Web doc – The Dyke, social impact of a Dutch icon – Dubai World Expo and online www.the-dyke.com
2019 Exhibition – Future Cities – We Make the City Festival – Amsterdam, the Netherlands
2017 Exhibition – Future Cities, Kinshasa, Lima and Medellín – Habitat III – Quito, Ecuador