Integration: Fitting in or standing out?

By Anne Kjaer Riechert, ReDI CEO and cofounder

“Migration is here to stay,” the speaker from UNHCR declared at the “Science 4 Refugees“ conference at the European Commission. When I look around the room I am surrounded by what should have been the future of Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq. Young bright minds eager to engage, share, and learn. What a gift to Europe, but what a loss to the world that their career paths have been derailed, sometimes for years. Hopefully not for a lifetime. I am reminded of my “global family” back home in Berlin, and feel at home amongst these young pioneers.

Leaving your home country, friends, and sometimes family behind to seek a better future in a new culture, requires incredible human strength. It takes courage, vision, hard work, resilience, competence, communication, and networked thinking. Personality traits that all our students have. These human characteristics also happen to be the most commonly used adjectives to describe Nobel Prize Laureates. What a gift to the world if we can ignite this human potential for the common good. This is what ReDI School is all about — a mission above and beyond teaching our students to code.

The biggest encouragement and joy of working with ReDI School has been the outstanding people that are part of our community: from students and alumni to teachers, mentors, speakers, partners — and last but certainly not least, my extraordinary team taking care of the ReDI platform behind the scene. Within a year, we have grown to be a community of more than 300 people, from all around the world, connected through the common goal of using technology to connect human potential with opportunity, with respect and in dignity.

Together, we can break down borders and build a future that is unlimited. Thank you all for being part of the journey — and if you have not joined yet — a warm welcome on board!