Verena Thomas is the facilitator of the YUMI PIKSA WORKSHOP . She is originally from Germany , but has lived in Australia for about 7 years .

Verena’s introduction to Papua New Guinea was when she went to retrace the footsteps of her missionary great-uncle Fr. John Nilles in the Chimbu province. She made the film ‘Papa Bilong Chimbu’, a documentary about the shared history between Fr. Nilles and the Chimbu people.

The idea for the Yumi Piksa workshop emerged when Verena screen ‘Papa Bilong Chimbu’ in Highlands communities and received very positive responses from people, who were interested in having more films about their own local stories.

The Yumi Piksa project is also part of Verena’s doctoral research at the University of Technology in Sydney in which she examines the use of video for social change and for visual research. Verena enjoys being in PNG and likes sharing creative ideas with the Yumi Piksa participants.

VERENA

THOMAS