A while ago we told you about the project First Contact – an information platform for migrants newly arrived on the island of Samos. The initiative was set up by young entrepreneurs on the so-called Startup Boat, and now the same crew has opened the “Migration Hub” in Berlin in order to be able to continue working together on developing new social projects.
Floating in a boat off the coast of Greece, the 25-year-old Berliner Paula Schwarz, along with colleagues, co-workers and advisers, set about working on ideas to tackle the refugee crisis head on and offer people help. The first result of this combined head-scratching was First Contact, which also became our Favourite Project of the Month.
Joining forces to tackle the crisis


After meeting so many people on their journey on the Startup Boat, the crew decided to drop anchor in Berlin – a city now synonymous with the word “startup” – and provide a physical space for people to develop new initatives, exchange ideas and set up a base for future collaborations. And so, ever since it opened in mid-September, Berlin’s Migration Hub has offered founders, inventors and creative minds a place to come together and work on effective solutions for social challenges like the refugee crisis. Different events are also planned to take place in the coworking space, and there will be the opportunity for different projects to be presented. There are 20 to 30 work stations, a kitchen and three meeting rooms.
The Migration Hub is a popup workspace and can be found in Potsdamer Strasse 144, 10783 Berlin until the end of December.
“In general the Migration Hub has an open door policy. That means: all projects, companies and initiatives that want to use the space should have an easily comprehensible connection to the topic of migration or the refugee crisis in Europe. We can’t promise to be open around the clock, but we’ll do everything we can to find a way to make the space available for those committed people who want to use it,” said Paula in an interview with German startup website gründerszene.de.
If you want to start working with them, the best way to contact the crew is by visiting the Startup Boat website and clicking on the tab labelled Migration Hub. And for up-to-date news about the latest goings-on of the Startup Boat and their crew, visit their Facebook page.
Translated from an article written by Hanadi originally published on our German platform.