When the Techfugees movement started in London late 2015, techies in Berlin raised their hands up among pioneers cities around the world like Sydney, Oslo, Paris… Lead by Ernesta then Tom, the local team of volunteers took part in two hackathons in partnership with The Factory (Google for Startups’ partner!) in June 2016 and with RediSchool and the NRC last year.
We would like to deeply thank our former Berlin chapter’s leads for their great work in building a strong local community. Today, a new team lead by Marco is picking up the torch and inspiring a fresh boost ✨
Please meet our very Italian Techfugees Berlin’ ambassador 🎙
Techfugees: Could you please introduce yourself and your team to the Techfugees community?
Marco: My name is Marco, and I am an Italian economic migrant. I am a social entrepreneur passionate about integration, policy making and new citizenship. For the past decade, I have attempted to apply technology to solve migration related issues, such as access to censorship free information, legal support and financial inclusion. I believe that inclusion and integration carry great benefits at every level of any society, and that technology alone can be a great ally but not the sole answer to these problems. A joint effort needs to be pushed forward in order to accomplish real impact. Therefore stakeholders, diasporas, tech communities and civil society shall be encouraged to interact in a more proactive fashion to understand, address and find effective solutions to the real issues migrants face today. At that point, yes, technology can truly become the sandbox where the magic happens.
But enough about me, Techfugees Berlin is fuelled by the passion, energy and talent of Alex, Andreea, Emma and Susan at the moment. They are making this fresh start possible, bringing their diverse background and expertise into the cause. Our amazing chapter keeps growing so stay tuned because the family is expanding…
👉 Marco took part in a panel discussion on financial inclusion at last year’s Summit. Have a look at the video!
How did you hear about Techfugees?
I have been following Techfugees since its very early days, being a big fan of Josephine Goube (Techfugees’ CEO) endeavours and a passionate supporter of initiatives thriving to empower refugees, migrants and new citizens.
What are your projects for the next days, weeks and months?
We will thrive to bring under the same roof refugees, brave techpreneurs and stakeholders from both the venture capital and policy making world, to identify first and then design those much needed solutions to help refugees become integrated members of this society, and those members to become new citizens of a -better- world.
How can the Techfugees community help you? What are you looking for now?
Having the chance to access its legacy database, learning from its experiences to focus our efforts where it’s needed the most. Understanding what failed in the past and why, which are the best practices, what is achievable and what is beyond scope. Then, tapping into existing networks, being connected to activists, hacktivists, enthusiasts, fans and early supporters to build the Berlin chapter on a solid foundation.
👉 Have you heard about Integreat, the largest local information app for newcomers in Germany?
Do you want to join Marco’s team of volunteers?
Volunteer your skills!
Don’t miss any events nor updates!
Follow @TechfugeesBerl1 on Twitter and join their Facebook group!
📇 Marco Muccini, Berlin – Germany
Marco is CEO and co-Founder at Topos Network, a decentralized financial platform for an inherently decentralized population: migrants. By leveraging blockchain technology, Topos aims at catering a robust framework for financial inclusion. One which is borderless, transparent and moves grey markets into the white. Prior to Topos, He co-founded Migreat.com, a venture backed US-based leading global platform for immigration, where he served as Ceo and Chairman. Migreat applied AI legal systems to map the immigration laws of 6 different countries. Marco was part of ISI Group, an international fintech conglomerate catering financial services to migrants. The group broadened its activities becoming a conglomerate active in banking, insurance, telecommunications, media and advisory. In 2010, the company was acquired by Western Union. Marco held lectures on topics entrepreneurship, social and financial dynamics within multicultural societies at LSE, LBS, ESMT and LUISS. He sat on public committees and advised institutions across Europe on integration and new citizenship policies. He is also a Techstars Mentor for Artificial Intelligence since 2017.
Get in touch with him on Telegram and Twitter!
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