Rolf Schrömgens, trivago
Rolf Schrömgens began his internet entrepreneurial career in 1999 as the founder of amiro.de. In 2005, he founded trivago and has seen the hotel metasearch company grow from a handful of German entrepreneurs to an international organization with more than 50 nationalities represented at their headquarters in Düsseldorf. Rolf has never shied away from sharing his political views and he joins Beyond Borders to offer his thoughts on how Germany’s influx of refugees can be a source of untapped talent.
“They are brave people who really want to take their destiny into their own hands.”
Gabriela Sonnleitner, magdas Hotel
As the CEO of magdas Hotel, Gabriela Sonnleitner has heard the stories of refugees from all over the world. Magdas, which is staffed by a diverse group of refugees, is considered Austria’s first social good hotel.
Gabriela shares how the idea for the hotel came about, how the Austrian people feel about refugees, and how she thrives in a team bustling with 23 different languages.
“We are all human beings and we have the same kind of wishes in life. “
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News
Forbes: “According to UNHCR data, the total number of refugees around the world has continued to increase sharply, fuelled by conflicts in Nigeria, Yemen, South Sudan and of course, Syria. By the middle of 2016, there were 16.5 million refugees worldwide, nearly 5 million more than seen in the middle of 2013. If the trend continues unabated, it’s only a matter of time until 1992’s historical high of 17.8 million refugees is surpassed.”
VICE: Nearly two years have passed since the image of a lifeless 2-year-old, Alan Kurdi, washed up on a Turkish shore horrified the world, waking it to a surging refugee crisis that had gone largely unnoticed. There’s been a litany of policy debates and elections since, but mostly just stifling inaction. In fact, the refugee crisis has hit record numbers and shows little sign of improvement or hope for the most vulnerable populations in the world.
Photo by Avi Richards