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
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.
Facebook feed
For World Refugee Day, @La Maison des Réfugiés in Paris prepared a whole series of events, including conferences, readings, but also food tastings and concerts! A perfect occasion to come together and celebrate different cultures and journeys ✨
📍 Maison des réfugiés, Paris 19e
⏰ 14h-21h CEST
📅 20th June, 2025
This month, the Refugee Food Festival comes back for its 10th edition in 12 French cities, where you will get to taste many kinds of food prepared by refugee cooks in collaboration with local restaurants, a great way to support refugees' professional insertion while sharing an amazing meal 🍽
📍 Bordeaux, Dijon, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Nice, Paris, Rennes, Rouen, Toulouse, Tours
📅 8-29th June, 2025
🔗 Find out more using this link #grille-evenements" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">https://festival.refugee-food.org/#grille-evenements
#Aveclesréfugiés #Journéemondialedesréfugiés #refugeefoodfestival
This award-winning drama tells the story of Basem, a Palestinian schoolteacher who finds himself caught between his commitment to political resistance and the possibility of a new relationship with a British social worker. Set in the occupied Palestinian territories, "The Teacher" offers a moving and intimate exploration of life in occupied Palestine.
🎞 available on Apple TV+ and MUBI
Omar Mahdy (Emerging Leaders Artivism Alliance 2025, Performing Artist) uses movement and story to amplify silenced voices and inspire action.
🗣️ Read Omar’s full interview and witness how performance becomes resistance.
Your journey from ballet to activism and theater has been shaped by resilience. How has this path influenced your approach to art and social change?
It was not a choice to clash with reality. I began studying ballet at the age of 9, navigating a world shaped by the pressures of gender norms and social class. The mainstream culture of my generation taught us that violence was acceptable only from certain classes. These factors converged, igniting profound questions at 14 when the Arab Spring Revolutions erupted in 2011. Since then, the quest for answers continues, and the drive for change remains alive.
In what ways could your artistic practice amplify unheard stories and inspire collective action as part of our next Artivism Alliance cohort?
By raising their voices, highlighting their stories, and gathering their fiction altogether.
What role does storytelling play in your performances, and how do you use it to inspire action?
For me, everything is a story, even the universe we are living in is an unfinished story, still unfolding, just like the stories I get inspired from. These stories are not over; they demand intervention, a collective effort to create a historical or social plot twist, so that one day they can be told with a happy ending. In my performances (to be), storytelling is not just about narrating the past or reflecting on the present. It is about shaping the future. I use movement, text, and image to embody the struggles, dreams, and resistance of those whose voices are often silenced.
Applications are now open for the next cohort of the Emerging Leaders Artivism Alliance. We are looking for visionary artists and artivists who want to harness their practice for community, equity, and change.
Apply now:
https://form.typeform.com/to/iDwYEuSa?typeform-source=place-network.org
#Artivism #EmergingLeaders #ArtAsResistance #VoicesUnheard #SocialJustice #StorytellingMatters #ApplyNow #JoinTheMovement
Discover our new series about the Resilient Cities program and its solutions for making local democracy more inclusive and welcoming 🙏
🌍 This unique space broke down borders: creating room for diverse voices to connect, exchange feedback, and support one another’s early-stage ideas.
🎤 The workshop supported entrepreneurs in improving their pitches, trying out their ideas, and exchanging helpful feedback with others who are passionate about making a difference through entrepreneurship.
📘 We’ll be releasing a manual this summer, capturing tools and insights from this journey. If you're building inclusive entrepreneurship spaces, this is for you! Stay tuned.
#AMBITIOUSproject #PLACENetwork #MigrantLedInnovation #InclusiveEntrepreneurship #Leadership #StartupRefugees #ForwardInc #EUfunded #CommunityOfPractice #SocialInnovation
At PLACE, we believe that migration makes for a thriving economy and business ecosystem by bringing innovation and fresh perspectives ✨
📖 If you want to know more, you can check out the full report using this link: https://www.gemconsortium.org/report/gem-germany-20232023-national-report-2
