PLACE accelerates and leverages the innovation newcomers bring to Europe
European societies need more and stronger voices with a recent history of migration to bring their perspectives and make their contributions to key economic sectors

We accelerate talent and match it with opportunities for new talent in 4 sectors. Find out what role you can play!

Business

Upskilling for meaningful employment
in a shifting economy

PLACE creates a pipeline that is win-win for both newcomers and the private sector: newcomers master new skills and opportunities to access meaningful work and companies get matched with the diverse talent they seek.

Entrepreneurship

From a choice by default to a self-defined life project, entrepreneurship can be a way to find a place in a new society. 

PLACE offers a pathway to start and test entrepreneurial projects which takes newcomers further on their empowerment journey: successfully integrating a business incubator or starting their own business.

Public
Leadership

We need new voices of influence on the complex challenges our societies are facing. We need newcomer voices in the public sphere.

PLACE runs the first of its kind public leadership incubator, to create capacity and room for new voices on key topics and invent new leadership models. We create the conditions for eye-level interactions for emerging leaders, and provide new talent to established leadership networks for new conversations that need to happen.

Media &
the Arts

Our complex societies need new conversations and forms of dialogue that only new voices can catalyze. 

PLACE develops bold proposals with diverse voices who speak for themselves, to challenge mainstream views of migration, leadership and other conversations wanting to be born.

By unlocking this new talent and matching it with organisations looking for new players in the areas of business, entrepreneurship, public leadership, and media & arts, we are shifting the perspective of migration from a burden to a unique asset for the development and growth of Europe.

PLACE champions migrant-led innovation: since 2016, we offer transformative and innovative learning experiences to newcomers and host societies, while also giving newcomers space for self-determination to find their version of power.

We do this through designing and running programs and events, from our flagship pop-up innovation labs in European capitals to 9-month fellowships online, from public events to retreats, hackathons, training of trainers, exhibitions and more. Our formats are migrant-led, apply next-generation learning methodologies and ed-tech, and involve groups from 10 to 100 people. They all share one aim: create the link in practice between migration and innovation in the sectors concerned.

Facilitation services

Knowing how to facilitate a group and lead collaboration online and offline, is a form of power. PLACE trains past learners of its programs to be Facilitators for online and offline learning, experiences and events. All PLACE events are migrant-led, and we also facilitate external events.

Interested in facilitation services?

Become a coach or an expert

PLACE monitors all learning outcomes through external experts, who assess the participants’ learning journey. We also provide a personal coach to all our participants, to help them to reach their goals.

Interested in being a PLACE expert or coach?

%

of PLACE program participants are refugees or asylum seekers

%

of learners have gained innovation skills exceeding industry standards for the future of work

learners in PLACE programs since 2017

%

of learners receive training-of-trainers and train on average 30 more people through PLACE

PLACE is working towards 5 Sustainable Development Goals

The place team

 

8 nationalities, 4 continents and 14 languages… we come from all walks of life, but here are a few points we have in common:

We care above all about people

We are perfectionists, self-motivated and relentless until we get results

We communicate openly and honestly

We need playfulness and challenges

We breathe through feedback

We put results and the team first

We excel at working across locations and cultures

The place team

 

8 nationalities, 4 continents and 14 languages… we come from all walks of life, but here are a few points we have in common:

 

We care above all about people

We are perfectionists, self-motivated and relentless until we get results

We communicate openly and honestly

We need playfulness and challenges

We breathe through feedback

We put results and the team first

We excel at working across locations and cultures

Sedera Ranaivoarinosy

Program Host & Facilitator

Shawgi Ahmed

Director

Said Hadni

Admin & Finance Manager

Catherine Raad

Designer & Producer

Karla Tijero

Program Manager

Michele Caleffi

Co-founder & Head of Design

Selma Rassoul

Program Manager

Ismail Alkhateeb

Operations Manager

Charlotte Hochman

Founder & Board Member

Sophie Gholami

Communications Manager

Imtinen Abidi

Program Manager

Gabriel Waked

Co-founder

Josephine Coadou

Communications Assistant

Chiara Anderson

Parnerships Assistant

PARTNER WITH US

 PLACE gets its strength and impact from the power of community. Our work is heightened by the collaborative efforts of our partners: forward-thinking actors from different sectors and countries, who push the boundaries so new embodiments of power can arise. Together, we’re changing the narrative of migration and transforming it into a vision of innovation. Join us today: work with us to change the game on a sector-level as a strategic partner.

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PLACE
PLACE4 days ago
🌍 Opportunities Digest – July 2025
Each month, PLACE shares handpicked opportunities. Whether you're an artist, entrepreneur, storyteller, or change maker, these opportunities are designed to elevate diverse voices and support your journey.
👇 Discover what’s happening this month:

📢 Cross-Border Ambassadors 2025 Mandate
Are you aged 18-30 and connected to a European border region? The @europeancommission Border Focal Point Network is looking for 10 Cross-Border Ambassadors to bring fresh voices into cross-border policymaking and storytelling.
📍Based in a EU Member State
📝 Deadline to apply: August 31st
✅ Who can apply: people aged 18-30
🔗 Application link
https://futurium.ec.europa.eu/en/border-focal-point-network/news/call-applications-cross-border-ambassadors-2025-mandate

📸 Patterns in the Wild Online Exhibition
Decagon Gallery @decagonggallery invites photographers invites photographers worldwide to submit to its upcoming online exhibition, "Patterns in the Wild", a visual exploration of the rhythm and repetition that surrounds us in both natural and urban environments.
📍Open to all, anywhere in the world
📝 Deadline to apply: July 31st
💰 3 cash prizes from $200 to $500
✨ Online solo exhibition opportunity for first place
🔗 Application link
https://www.decagongallery.com/patterns-in-the-wild-entry

🎥 Poetry Africa Film Festival
If you are a film maker and you like to blend poetry into your work, the @poetryafrica Film Festival is made for you! Curated by the Center for Creative Arts @ukzncca, this event offers a great opportunity to get exposure and recognition within the film community.
📍Open to all, anywhere in the world
✅ To qualify, movies must be shorter than 10 minutes and have English subtitles
📝 Deadline to apply: August 20th
🔗 Application link
https://filmfreeway.com/PoetryAfricaFilmFestival

🎤@singa_paris Talent Show
To celebrate the 29th class of its pre-incubation program, SINGA Paris is throwing a festive event to display the many talents and passions of the participants. The program includes fashion shows, dance, live music, an exhibition and many other surprises!
📍 Maison des réfugiés, Paris 19e
⏰ 18:30 CEST
📅 July 17th
PLACE
PLACE5 days ago
PLACE a récemment participé au workshop transnational ParticipAction à Vérone, en Italie 🍕
🌍 Des jeunes de toute l'Europe se sont réunis pour partager leurs expériences, discuter des obstacles à la participation politique et co-créer des recommandations pour un engagement des jeunes plus inclusif et plus actif.
💬 Pendant deux jours, les participants ont exploré des enjeux clés comme l'éducation, la culture, la migration ou encore l'État de droit, à travers des présentations, des échanges thématiques et des partages d'expérience.
L'occasion également, d'entrer en contact avec de jeunes acteurs de changement venus de différents pays.

🙏 Un grand merci aux participants de PLACE, Lilia Zitouni, Raphael Orlikowski, Alexandru Vaserstein, Hager Chaabane, Talia Merad et Khoulssoum Coulibaly.

📸 Crédits photo : Tessa Piccinin - International Rescue Committee Italy

PLACE recently took part in the ParticipAction transnational workshop in Verona, Italy 🍕
🌍 Young people from across Europe came together to share their experiences, discuss barriers to political participation and co-create recommendations for more inclusive and active youth engagement.
💬 For two days, participants explored key issues such as education, culture, migration and the rule of law, through presentations, thematic exchanges and sharing experiences.
It was also an opportunity to get in touch with young agents of change from different countries.

🙏 Many thanks to PLACE participants Lilia Zitouni, Raphael Orlikowski, Alexandru Vaserstein, Hager Chaabane, Talia Merad and Khoulssoum Coulibaly.

📸 Photo credits: Tessa Piccinin - International Rescue Committee Italy
PLACE
PLACE1 week ago
PLACE recommends 🎨"L'art brut d'Iran", an exhibition at @hallesaintpierre in Paris, 24 artists are displaying their various creations, inspired by Iranian ancestral myths. Mixing drawings, paintings, wooden sculpture and textile art, this exhibition is as invigorating as it is colorful - a world first, still open until July 31st.

Get more information using the link in bio/using this link:

https://www.hallesaintpierre.org/lart-brut-diran/

#ArtExhibition #LartBrut #IranianArt #ContemporaryArt #OutsiderArt #ArtBrut #CulturalHeritage
PLACE
PLACE1 week ago
Artivism - where creativity becomes a power and experiences turn into leadership 👊
📝 Applications for the newest edition of the Emerging Leaders Artivism Alliance are now open!
🎨 This program empowers individuals with a migration background to transform resilience into leadership and drive societal change through creative activism.
Who should apply?
Artists or individuals who are actively engaged in creating change through art, and who:
➡️ Have experience with forced displacement or migration
➡️ Currently residing in Europe or Africa
➡️ Seeking to strengthen leadership skills
➡️ Eager to join an alliance and connect with other emerging leaders around the world
➡️ Available for 6 hours/month (Dec 2025 – June 2026)
➡️ Proficient in English (A2-B1) and can participate online

🔗 Apply today using this link: https://form.typeform.com/to/iDwYEuSa
PLACE
PLACE2 weeks ago
🔍 ZOOM ON 2024 - PLACE Annual Impact Report
What happens when communities lead the way?
In 2024, PLACE supported ideas, nurtured new voices, and moved systems from the inside out.
This wasn’t just growth, it was regeneration.
Swipe for a closer look.
Dive into the full annual report: place-network.org/3d-flip-book/zoom-on-2024
#ZoomOnPLACE #MigrationLeadership #CollectiveAction #InclusiveFutures #AnnualReport
PLACE
PLACE2 weeks ago
🌍 Each day, more people are forced to trade familiarity for uncertainty. At the end of 2024, 123.2 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced - that's about 1 in 67 people who have been uprooted due to conflict, persecution or crisis. A statistic that nearly doubled during the last decade.
At PLACE, we believe in a future where every person has the right not just to survive, but to belong and to thrive💫
📖 If you want to know more, you can check out the full report using this link: https://www.unhcr.org/global-trends

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