Karla Varela, a professional youth worker from Chile living in Slovenia, facilitated creative entrepreneurship workshops for 14 young migrants and refugees in Ljubljana. Blending creative expression with business mindsets, she guided participants aged 17-30 from diverse backgrounds in activities focused on identifying their passions and developing ideas. Ranging from Colombia and Burundi to Ukraine, these young people gained exposure to design thinking techniques while making vision boards representing their “entrepreneurial capital.” Karla forged connections among migrant communities in Slovenia by leading collaborative exercises with an emphasis on group learning. Her innovative workshops allowed these youths wrestling with displacement to map out their ikigai or “reason for being” while planting metaphorical seeds for their empathetic business ventures of the future.
Photo 1 – 12: Photo by Nino Bektashashvili
