Yara Al-Adib founded the collective “From Syria With Love” in 2016 to empower newly arrived Syrian women to share their culture and background with others in Belgium. A Syrian herself, Al-Adib has studied in both Lebanon and Europe, and now works in service and experience design. She has also spoken about her experiences with migration and integration in Belgium at a TEDx event in Liege.

Jacques is a senior partner at McKinsey and a director of the McKinsey Global Institute, the firm’s business and economics research arm, and one of its three global co-leaders. Since joining the firm, he has worked with media, telecom, online services, healthcare, fin-tech, travel and logistics companies on a variety of issues. He is also the co-author of numerous reports on the Internet of Things, big data and social technologies, including “Digital Europe: Realizing the continent’s potential”. He is a fellow of the Aspen Institute, ECORE, and KUL University.

At the Refugee Talent Hub in Amsterdam, Paul Mbikayi builds and maintains partnerships with businesses, governments, academic institutions and NGOs, aiming to connect refugees with employment and training opportunities across the Netherlands. A refugee himself, Mbikayi also serves as Chairman of the Refugee Advisory Board at the Dutch Council for Refugees and is a member of the advisory board at the Knowledge Platform on Integration and Society.

Responsible for the City of Amsterdam’s economic affairs, Kajsa Ollongren has spent the last years actively working to improve the economic prospects of refugees. Within the framework of the European Union’s Urban Agenda, the city currently coordinates the Partnership on Inclusion of Migrants and Refugees, focusing on the themes of work, reception and community building, housing, education and vulnerable groups.

Belinda Pyke is responsible for legal migration and integration of third country nationals. Pyke joined the European Commission in 1986 and has since held a range of posts, including as Director for Equality between women and men, Action against discrimination, Civil Society. In her current role, Pyke has called for cities and regions to play a strong role in forming integration strategies for refugees and migrants.

Jürgen Siebel drives Siemen’s professional education projects outside of Germany. Representing the company on international and cross-industry bodies, he promotes the addition of work-based curriculum elements to all lines of education. Siemens has committed to helping refugees in Germany, including by offering internships to asylum-seekers, as well as specialised training courses.