The Mentorship Programme of the Public Space Academy, promoted by City Space Architecture, is an open and free opportunity for professionalisation and cultivating expertise for emerging public space practitioners and researchers from around the world, especially, but not exclusively, those coming from the Global South!

Through the Mentorship Programme, mentees will be able to evaluate their own concepts and different ways of working, gather insights into emerging ideas in their field around the globe, and reflect on their projects and careers. They will benefit from the guidance of experienced professionals and the Public Space Academy network which brings together renowned and emerging public space professionals and enthusiasts from various cultural contexts. 

The Mentorship Programme of the Public Space Academy is generously supported by the Ove Arup Foundation.

PREREQUISITES

You must have completed at least two free courses on the Public Space Academy’s online platform!
You can enroll to courses at any time and finish them at your own pace. If you haven’t done that yet, just go to the platform, sign-up and start learning!

The mentorship programme is open to everyone passionate about public space.

ENROLLMENT 

You have to fill out this application form. We require to:

• present a motivational statement demonstrating your curiosity and eagerness to learn;
• define a specific learning goal related to your career or a project in a public space;
• prioritise which mentors better match your area of expertise and aims for this programme;
• share your education and work experience.

In case of a particularly competitive application process, you will be invited for a short Zoom interview (in English).

STRUCTURE AND ACTIVITIES

• The programme will involve 5 mentors on a volunteering basis and up to 20 carefully selected mentees;
• Participants will be grouped based on their interests and goals and assigned a mentor to develop innovative projects in collaboration with them and other peers;
• The programme will include group and individual meetings, special sessions from renowned and inspiring professionals, as well as skill-developing assignments;
• Activities will be held on the Public Space Academy e-learning platform.

KEY DATES

The first season is planned to run from November 2024 to February 2025. Applications received before the 12th of October will be considered for this first session. After that date, the application portal will remain open for candidates interested in the second season in 2025.

COSTS

The mentorship programme is free of charge.

MEET THE MENTORS

Sven Kohlschmidt is an Urban Planner and Project Manager at urbanista  in Hamburg. He studied urban planning at the Technical University of Dortmund with stopovers in Valencia and Barcelona focusing on urban design. His work is dedicated to co-creation strategies, participatory design and community engagement. Since 2022 he is co-leading the Spring Term Design Studio at the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape at the University of Calgary and was leading block seminars on the strategic activation of post-urban spaces at HafenCity University in Hamburg. He co-founded the Urban Living Lab ‘Simeri Laboratorio Urbano’ exploring a community-based regeneration process and placemaking strategy in Calabria, South Italy. Sven is officially registered as a planner at the Hamburg Chamber of Architects (AKHH).

Insaf Ben Othmane Hamrouni is a distinguished architect-urbanist, development strategist, and entrepreneur with a footprint in the Republic of Ireland, Tunisia, and Egypt. Her work revolves around sparking transformative change, utilizing innovative projects that intersect architecture and design to sculpt impactful possibilities. She’s a fervent advocate for sustainable methods in teaching, learning, and the hands-on practice of architecture.At the helm of her ventures is Œcumene Spaces For Dignity, a non-profit dedicated to curating sustainable and dignified living spaces for communities spanning the MENA and African regions. With a firm commitment to groundbreaking participatory design solutions and astute development strategies, she has made a remarkable impact, championing social empowerment, promoting good governance, ecological and aesthetic sophistication, and challenging conventional architectural frameworks.

Vija Viese is a PhD candidate at NTNU working on community-based adaptation to flooding in informal settlements through the lens of environmental and spatial justice. She holds a bachelor’s degree in architectural engineering from RTU (Latvia) and a master’s degree in architecture from ENSAN (France). She has demonstrated experience as an urban designer by managing various projects—ranging from innovative new developments and inclusive urban renewal plans to large-scale strategy consulting—all from the perspective of social and ecological sustainability. Her main topics of interest are flood-resilient neighbourhoods and communities, working with marginalised social groups, and conceiving vibrant and inclusive public spaces. She is also actively involved in City Space Architecture, where she is an Advisory Board member as well as the Communications Manager for the Public Space Academy. In collaboration with the urban think-tank UNICITI and the University of Strathclyde, she works on urban morphometrics and applications of such methods of analysis in the Global South.

Sarah Farwell is an urbanist and curator committed to enhancing public spaces and services through the intersection of art, design, and policy. With a career spanning government, non-profit, and private sectors, she brings experience in planning, public space, and the curation of public art and programs that tackle pressing social and environmental issues.
In San Antonio, Sarah led a nationally recognized community arts initiative in the Eastside Promise Zone and created a public art garden for the city. At the Van Alen Institute in New York, she worked with the National Park Service to inspire innovative design and enhance visitor experience in national parks. In Brooklyn, she managed preservation and streetscapes along Myrtle Avenue.
As an independent consultant in Geneva, Switzerland, Sarah continues to influence urban environments by creating place-based projects for public and private sector clients. She also serves as an Associate Cultural Strategist for the Place Bureau. Her recent work includes crafting forward-looking programs for Parma, Italy, and advising Kennedy Wilson real estate developers in Dublin, among others.
Driven by a mission to create inspiring, human-centred environments, Sarah strives to promote equity, enjoyment, and respect for diverse cultures and the environment. She holds a degree in geography from the University of Texas at Austin and studied at the Metropolis Program in Barcelona, Spain.

Federica Risi is an expert in urban sustainability transitions and nature-based solutions with 7 years of experience in project management, applied research, and policy consultancy.
Federica is a Senior Policy and Project Officer at the EUKN Secretariat in The Hague, NL, where she works at the interface between policy, research, and practice. At the EUKN, Federica is the go-to for green city topics and leads the organisation’s work on EU-funded projects on the co-creation of nature-based solutions in European and Latin American cities (CONEXUS), on the connection between human and ecosystem health (GoGreenNext), and inclusive governance of urban green spaces (NATURO). She is also an expert in the Greening Cities Partnership of the Urban Agenda for the EU and contributes to high-level policy exchanges among national ministries responsible for urban matters in the EU.
She has previously contributed to participatory action and cooperation initiatives in countries such as the United Kingdom, Portugal, Peru, Brazil, and South Africa both within academia and the non-governmental sector.
Federica holds an MSc in Environment and Sustainable Development from University College London’s Bartlett Development Planning Unit and a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from LUISS Guido Carli. She speaks native Italian, fluent English and Spanish, and intermediate Portuguese.

Would you like to be a mentor? Contact us at info@publicspaceacademy.org

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