After re-migrating back to Germany she studied Law at the Freie Universität in Berlin and then moved to the Netherlands where she raised her two children while working with refugees and migrant women. There she helped bring the Stolpersteine Project to the Netherlands and researched the biographies of the 280 Jewish Holocaust victims of Eindhoven, resulting in the book “Ze waren onze buren” (They were our Neighbors).

Back in Berlin since 2014, she has been involved with GSBTB since 2015, teaching English as a volunteer. She works as a project manager for the NGO Sozialhelden, a disability rights organization in Berlin.

annamaria.olsson@gsbtb.org

Annamaria completed a degree in the History of Ideas and Gender, Middle Eastern and Holocaust Studies at Humboldt and Uppsala University. In 2012, she started working on the idea for Give Something Back To Berlin, which was officially founded and established in 2013.

Prior to founding GSBTB, she has over 10 years of NGO experience from Sweden, where she was Director at SECO, one of the biggest Swedish NGOs. She has also worked as a freelance correspondent from Berlin, Germany and Brazil, writing for well-known Swedish magazines and newspapers; in 2014, she published her first book.

Besides working with GSBTB, Annamaria is on a scholarship writing a creative non-fiction book about people whose destinies have been shaped by borders, exile and migration, aiming to interweave the history of Germany and Berlin with currents event, including migration from the Middle East (and beyond), demonstrating interesting similarities and historical overlap. Her short stories have been published in both Swedish and English publications.

Wilma has studied cooking in Sweden for 3 years. Afterwards, she worked in Spain and in the US where she learned about food and culture. She moved to Berlin in 2019 to explore the diversity of cultures and communities present in the city. She got in touch with the Open Kitchen shortly after her arrival and became a regular participant and volunteer.

Not only does she follow sustainable and ethical standards in her cooking but also in her choice of everyday products.

Having studied Business Informatics back in Syria, he is now enrolled in a Master’s program, studying Information Systems Management at TU Berlin. Alongside this, he also works as a research assistant in the Weizenbaum Institute.

He has lived in Refugio since it was founded in 2015, and actively volunteers his time and efforts in different facets of the project. He also resides as an advisory board member of Give Something Back to Berlin, and is a member of the Ambassadors program of the ReDi School of Digital Integration.

She studied at The University of Edinburgh and has a Master of Arts in Psychology. She has always had a keen interest in social issues and people’s wellbeing. Over the last decade she has been finding ways to support people through difficulties, either by volunteering at refugee centers or by offering assistance to children with disabilities. With extensive experience in the creative industry, from art and design to music, she’s adopted a keen interest in using creative means to build a supportive network where one feels safe and has a sense of care from people around. As the co-founder of the OML she hopes to offer a hub for music lovers to feel welcomed and help encourage each to reach their full potential.

After studying as an interpreter in Paris and Georgetown University, Washington DC, Annick worked for the EU in Brussels and Berlin before deciding to remain in Berlin. She has 30 years of experience as a freelance interpreter in the city. She is married and has two grown-up children. Annick joined GSBTB in 2015, and is one of the co-founders of the  Frauensprachcafé.

Ken has called Berlin home since 2016. He was born and raised in suburban Ottawa, Canada, which is located on the traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishnaabeg People.

He has worked as an educator and ESL teacher in Canada, the UK and Berlin. His pedagogical practice incorporates creativity, playfulness and meaningful conversations that open up possibilities to celebrate and normalize intentional practices of curiosity and critical self-reflection. Ken has been involved with GSBTB, and particularly, Open Hearts Space since the summer of 2019, spending time with children and youth, and partaking in various community workshops and events.

Ken has a Bachelor (Honours) of Journalism and Music History from the University of King’s College in Halifax, Canada (2013). In 2020, he completed a Master of Education in Adult Education and Community Development, focusing on queer migration and arts-based community organizing, from the University of Toronto.

He holds an MA in International Relations and Global Affairs with a focus on civil society in Syria. Majid has worked as an editor for a media project called “Syrnet- Syria Radio Network” established by MiCT (Media in Cooperation and Transition) and funded by the German Foreign Office which aimed to support alternative radios in Syria.

Moreover, Majid has worked as a media/social media editor and coordinator during the intra-Syrian talks in Geneva for the Syrian opposition SNC (Syria Negotiations Commission). Majid has worked as a “Project Intern” with IOM – UN Migration assisting in two projects; Resettlement, and Migrant Entrepreneurship. He has joined the VDSH team in Berlin as a project coordinator for the project (Networking / Knowledge Transfer for Syrian Civil Society actors in Europe) in February 2019.

The Welcoming International Initiative that David leads partners with entities across the world who want to build bottom-up movements for immigrant and refugee welcoming in their countries. It is currently working with partners in Germany, Australia, New Zealand and the U.K.

David is also the founder, and former Executive Director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) which he launched in 2002. A Wesleyan University graduate (Connecticut, USA), David received a master’s degree in public administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He is a recipient of several social entrepreneurship fellowships, including those from Ashoka, Draper Richards Kaplan and Harvard. He is also a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, and was named to the 2016 Chronicle of Philanthropy’s 40 under 40 list. In 2017, David was awarded The Charles Bronfman Prize, which recognizes young humanitarians whose work is inspired by their Jewish values and is of universal benefit to all people.