PLACE

They're here! 🎉 Meet the first portion of the two cohorts of young artivists from Uganda and France who make up Artivism Without Borders.

On September 26th, we're officially kicking off the program: getting to know each other, forming creative groups, and beginning to research the challenges that will shape their projects.

This is where it all starts.

Follow along as their journey unfolds, all the way to the showcase in May (and stay tuned to meet the rest of the cohort!) ✨



Exauce Bigue Koviko / KOVICOS — Contemporary Artist & Writer

Hiba Bachiri — Artist & Illustrator

Asmaa Mohamed — Visual Artist & Architect

Alexandre Lactive / RotosArt — Multidisciplinary Artist

Joyce Alimu — Filmmaker, Cinephile & Visual Artist

Ahlam Jarban — Artist & Illustrator

Henry Kiyingi — Multidisciplinary Artist

Artivism Without Borders is a collaboration between PLACE Network & KQ Hub Africa and is co-funded by the AU-EU Youth Lab.

📢 Comment transformer les obstacles à la représentation politique en véritables leviers de changement ?
Après une première table ronde consacrée aux défis rencontrés par les minorités dans l'accès aux fonctions électives, PLACE ouvre maintenant un nouvel espace de réflexion collective. Le 21 septembre, notre Policy Lab PACT réunira personnes concernées, acteur·rices de terrain et décideur·ses autour d’un objectif commun : imaginer ensemble des réponses concrètes pour une démocratie plus inclusive.

Parce qu'identifier les obstacles est une première étape. Les transformer en solutions en est une autre. 🤝

📅 6 octobre 2026
🕡 À partir de 18h30
📍 11 bis rue Faidherbe, 75011 Paris
🔗 https://forms.gle/ZeuDPnvphTQ9ZgC88

ALDA - European Association for Local Democracy ADL a Zavidovici Società Cooperativa Sociale KMOP Center for Intercultural Dialogue Fons Català de Cooperació al Desenvolupament Konkáv Közösségi Tér

As AI transforms the workplace, the human skills you bring to the table matter more than ever ✨
Creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration will remain essential to solving problems and navigating tomorrow’s professional world. But how can we learn to combine these strengths with the opportunities AI creates?
On September 23rd, Fast Forward welcomes Samuel Opoku for the second masterclass of our 2026 Business & Career Booster program: Collaboration & Problem Solving in the Age of AI.
Samuel Opoku is a BMW Foundation Responsible Leader who migrated from Ghana to Germany, where he expanded a market-entry consulting business. This experience shaped his conviction that cross-border movement is a source of insight and advantage, not just a challenge.
Today he is Co-Founder of Kutana Technologies, where over the past 2.5 years he has led fundraising, growth, and market expansion across Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Canada and the UK, advancing access to finance for B2B cross-border trade and have raised over $600K in funding for Kutana.
Having built businesses across Africa and Europe over the past 10 years, he understands first-hand how migrants and diaspora entrepreneurs bridge markets, connecting emerging economies with the global north, forging strategic partnerships, and turning lived experience of two worlds into stronger value propositions and shared economic prosperity. His work directly expresses the migrant advantage: using cross-border experience, collaboration, and now blockchain+AI to help businesses overcome financial barriers and build economic connectivity across borders.
He has spent his career turning connections between people, markets and ideas into opportunities. Now he’s coming to show you how to do the same in the age of AI. 🚀


📅 September 23rd
🕒 18:00-19:30 CEST
💻 Online
🔗 Get the link to the session by filling out this typeform: https://form.typeform.com/to/OSrFSso4

Fast Forward 2026 runs from September to October, bringing together migrants and forcibly displaced professionals in France for four expert-led masterclasses. This is just the beginning. Stay tuned for the next sessions!
Forward·Inc

Retour sur la conférence finale de ParticipAction à Bruxelles ✨
Pendant deux ans, PLACE Network a convié des jeunes initalement éloignés des institutions européennes à différents types d'évènements ... Résulat : ils maîtrisent désormais l'art du plaidoyer, s'expriment avec confiance sur différents sujets et un de nos participants a même présenté des propositions politiques directements aux décideurs de l'UE sur des des thématiques clés (désinformation, éducation civique et accès aux services publics).
De l'animation d'un débat à des visites de lieux clés à Bruxelles, cette escale belge nous a permis de finir en beauté ce travail collectif et n'a fait que réaffirmer notre engagement : rapprocher la jeunesse des centres de décisions 💼

Un immense merci à tous les participants du programme, notamment à Michel, qui était présent à nos côtés pendant ce séjour, et aux partenaires de ParticipAction.

A Look Back at the ParticipAction Final Conference in Brussels ✨
For two years, PLACE Network invited young people who were initially disconnected from European institutions to participate in various types of events... The result: they have now mastered the art of advocacy, speak confidently on a range of topics, and one of our participants even presented policy proposals directly to EU decision-makers on key issues (misinformation, civic education, and access to public services).
From facilitating a debate to visiting key locations in Brussels, this stop in Belgium allowed us to bring this collective effort to a successful close and only reaffirmed our commitment: to bring young people closer to decision-making centers 💼

A huge thank you to all the program participants, especially Michel, who was by our side throughout this trip, and to ParticipAction’s partners International Rescue Committee Italy Glocal Factory Generation for Change CY and Mano Europa

Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

🌍 Opportunities Digest – September 2026
Each month, PLACE shares handpicked opportunities. Whether you're an artist, entrepreneur, storyteller, or changemaker, these opportunities are designed to elevate diverse voices and support your journey.
👉 Keep scrolling to discover what’s happening this month!

💬 “Parle m’en ! La démocratie est un jeu” event
La maison de la Conversation
https://www.paris.fr/evenements/parle-m-en-la-democratie-est-un-jeu-117731

💼 Fast Forward Masterclass with Samuel Opoku
Forward·Inc
https://form.typeform.com/to/OSrFSso4?typeform-source=place-network.org

🎨 Camargo Foundation Fellowship 2027–2028
The Camargo Foundation
https://camargofoundation.org/en/camargo-fellowship-2026-2027

🌍 Tech Policy Press Fellowship 2027
https://airtable.com/appfRgsTRubbZBBPq/pagINFzaysYPJ2qJ3/form

With the warm colors of his Flemish Renaissance buildings, Lille is the perfect fall destination... if you know where to look 🗺️
We've mapped out a few spots and events worth your time this season: a feminist bookshop, a cooperative café, reclaimed industrial buildings... all with something meaningful behind them. Swipe to discover our Inclusive Autumn Map!

L'Affranchie librairie el MARKET Café-Citoyen Lille Gare Saint Sauveur Maison Folie Wazemmes, Lille Maison Folie Moulins, Lille Lille ma ville Hello Lille Ville de Lille

Le 1er septembre, ParticipACTION a réuni de jeunes acteurs du changement âgés de 16 à 23 ans pour un atelier de plaidoyer organisé en collaboration avec Ben & Jerry’s. 🍦
Sous la houlette de Marie Cohuet, responsable de l’activisme chez Ben & Jerry’s, les participants ont transformé les causes qui leur tiennent à cœur en stratégies de plaidoyer concrètes, allant du soutien aux migrants à la lutte contre les mutilations génitales féminines (MGF) en passant par la question des frais d’inscription des étudiants étrangers.
Et grâce à Youssra Mahdi, qui a donné vie à leurs idées par le biais d’illustrations en direct, cette soirée a été placée sous le signe de la créativité, de la stratégie et de l’action. 🎨
Merci à Ben & Jerry's France pour son soutien indéfectible et pour avoir collaboré avec nous à cet événement formidable !
Car croire au changement est une chose. Apprendre à le concrétiser en est une autre. 🌍✨

Cet atelier s'inscrit dans le cadre du projet ParticipAction, qui vise à soutenir les jeunes (16 à 23 ans) en Italie, France, Lituanie et Chypre, issus de milieux divers (avec une attention particulière aux ressortissant·e·s de pays tiers), notamment les filles et les femmes, en approfondissant leurs connaissances des politiques et institutions de l’Union européenne.
🌍 Le programme ParticipACTION est cofinancé par l'Union européenne et mis en œuvre en collaboration avec International Rescue Committee Glocal Factory Generation for Change CY et Mano Europa

On September 1st, ParticipACTION brought together young changemakers aged 16 to 23 for an advocacy workshop in collaboration with Ben & Jerry’s. 🍦
With guidance from Marie Cohuet, Ben & Jerry’s Activism Manager, participants turned the causes they care about into concrete advocacy strategies from supporting migrants to tackling FGM and international student fees.
And with Youssra Mahdi bringing their ideas to life through live illustration, it was an evening of creativity, strategy and action. 🎨
Thank you Ben & Jerry's France for your continued support and for collaborating with us on this wonderful event!
Because believing in change is one thing. Learning how to make it happen is another. 🌍✨

This workshop is part of the ParticipAction project, which aims to support young people (ages 16 to 23) in Italy, France, Lithuania, and Cyprus from diverse backgrounds (with a particular focus on third-country nationals), especially girls and women, by deepening their understanding of European Union policies and institutions.

Your story is not a gap in your CV. It's your greatest asset. ✨
Migration builds adaptability, resilience, creativity and cross-cultural intelligence. But knowing how to recognize those strengths and communicate them with confidence is a skill in itself.
On September 9th, Fast Forward welcomes Aïda Aïcha Bodian for the first masterclass of our 2026 Business & Career Booster program: The Migrant Advantage: Turning Your Story into Professional Value.
Aïda Aïcha Bodian is a Senegal-born, Italy-raised, France-based project manager, author, and social entrepreneur operating at the intersection of culture, digital innovation, and social impact. Driven by convictions in gender equity, community, and human-centered technology, she is the founder of Maison Bodian (intercultural community and Teranga), Wor(l)ds of Humanity(language and civic engagement ecosystem), and Keraida (a lab dedicated to living heritage). Supported by top innovation networks including HEC Paris, SINGA, PLACE Network, and Station F, Aïda creates human-centered spaces, narratives, and tools that connect diverse worlds and amplify unheard voices.
She turned her own experience into impact. Now she's coming back to show you how.

📅 September 9th
🕒 18:00-19:30 CEST
💻 Online
🔗 Join the meeting directly here on Wednesday: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89480167481

Fast Forward 2026 runs from September to October, bringing together migrants and forcibly displaced professionals in France for four expert-led masterclasses. This is just the beginning. Stay tuned for the next sessions! Forward·Inc

Full disclosure before you hit that follow button… 🚨
If you’re looking for a quiet, traditional NGO page, you might be in the wrong PLACE. But if you’re here for bold ideas, creative action, and real human-centric stories, welcome to the network.