The Welcome Card - a finalist in the What Design Can Do Competition

MISSION STATEMENTOur vision is to simplify the lives of asylum seekers and national authorities by delivering a single interface for information and services. The Welcome Card is a temporary identification card, paired to a digital platform that enables a clear flow of, and easy access to, information from national migration agencies and relevant public services.

OBJECTIVES• To simplify the lives of asylum seekers by delivering all relevant and

updated official information in one place;• To provide an official temporary identification card to all asylum seekers

upon registration of one’s asylum application;• To ease the process of integration by accessing public services donated

charitably by third-parties;

CONCEPTThe Welcome Card is a temporary identification card, paired to a digital platform that enables a clear flow of and easy access to information from national migration agencies to individual asylum seekers.

The card is issued to everyone that applies for asylum in a EU country. Radio-Frequency Identification Technology (RFID) enables asylum seekers to check their application status when the card is paired to a card-reader. It offers a way to display one’s asylum application status, while providing official information from relevant immigration agencies and related organizations.

The temporary identification card also provides details about language courses, transport and relevant events. Moreover, it gives the card holders peace of mind and dignity as they plan their lives.

Facilitating integration starts with giving asylum applicants the tools that help them to understand and navigate the societies of which they are now a part of.

Anders Forsberg + Anna Holm + Marie Lärka + Alaa Aldin Nasif + Veronica Polinedrio | 2THE WELCOME CARD | BASIC NEEDS + INTEGRATION & CULTURE


Country Specific

Physical + Digital

Safe & UniqueBuilding collaborations

ONE FOR ALLThe Welcome Card is both physical and digital. Whereas most asylum applicants do have access to a ‘smart phone’, some do not, and often the smart phone does not have access to the Internet.

Paired to a card reader and screen, the Welcome Card allows access from the refugee center, Immigration Office and web.

The concept of the Welcome Card is scalable. Each country in the EU zone accepting asylum seekers could adopt it and adjust it to its national characteristics.

Each Welcome Card is unique and individual. Users are given an access PIN code to use with the card reader, or to log-in on the web platform. Using RFID technology, the card cannot be exchanged and can be revoked at any time, including at the end of the asylum application process, when it is no longer needed.

The aim of the project is to provide each asylum seeker with a ‘Welcome Card’.

The Welcome Card, issued by the Immigration Office upon registration of the asylum application, is proposed as a collaboration among the major

agencies of a country.

Acting as a temporary ID, the Welcome Card is paired to an easy to use platform controlled by the

Immigration Office, which tailors the needed information regarding one’s asylum application during

the waiting process.

The Welcome Card is intended as a one piece item that contains valuable information for the asylum

application, as well as useful information that lead to integration within the society its users are now part of.

Issued by the Immigration Office in collaboration with the Tax Office (which oversees ID and taxation), the

Welcome Card allows partners to donate services in the cause. Designed for integration, collaborating

partners such as the transportation agency, culture office, language schools and soup kitchens can provide

their services as part of their donation programs.


1. The project proposes that all refugee centers (and additionally Immigration Offices) be equipped with a ‘Welcome Card’ reader that allows the center’s guests to monitor their asylum application process on the spot.

The screen + card reader combination is intended for all those refugees that cannot access the digital platform via a personal smart device. The project’s aim is to allow all refugees to monitor their asylum application, whether via the secure-login on-line platform, or physical card reader in the center.

2. After the card has been inserted in the card reader and the RFID chip registered, the user is prompted to enter his/her unique PIN code to access the platform.


2. After the card has been inserted in the card reader and the RFID chip registered, the user is prompted to enter his/her unique PIN code to access the platform.

4. The Welcome Card additionally allows partners to provide services to asylum seekers. Acting as a temporary ID card released by the Immigration and Tax Offices, the Welcome Card allows access to language courses, transportation, and cultural events for which an ID number is mandatory.

3. After the user has safely accessed the system via the PIN code, s/he will automatically land in the application status page. The screen is designed to provide the bare information needed to understand the status of one’s application, including the agent that has been assigned to the case.

Additionally, the page provides tailored information that pertain to the point in time for the individual application request, as well useful information to plan around the wait. The project believes that this is one way to allow asylum applicants the peace of mind to continue their lives, while understanding the progression within the application process and what to do to expedite it.

> MENU > COLLABORATIONS

WHO WE AREWe are a Swedish + Italian + Syrian multi-disciplinary team, who came together on May 20, 2016.

Anders Forsberg Migration Adviser

Anders has a background in crisis

management and human rights. His

professional interest is in the intersection

of human security and organizational

capacity-building. He is currently working as

a migration advisor for an international NGO.

Previously he has worked as a human rights

observer on the West Bank, as a consultant

within risk and crisis management, and as a

security policy analyst at a research center. He

has a Master’s degree in Political Science.

Anna Holm UX Designer

Anna is interested in thinking and psychology,

which led her towards a degree in Cognitive

Science at Linköping University. Studying

a semester abroad at Indiana University,

USA, introduced Anna to user-experience

design, which since then became the

focus of her studies. She has worked as an

assistant instructor, with quality assurance

from an end-user perspective, and now with

user experience, UX, as a consultant at an

international company.

Photo Courtesy of Transformator Design


WHO WE AREWe are a Swedish + Italian + Syrian multi-disciplinary team, who came together on May 20, 2016.

Marie Lärka IT & Business Development Consultant

Marie has long experience of project

management and leadership within a variety

of areas, including software development,

outsourcing/off-shoring, gaming, learning and

development. Marie thrives in international, fast-

growing (and rapidly changing) environments.

Currently, Marie is a consultant and helps

companies with project management, process-

and organizational development. Marie’s

passion is to create environments for teams and

individuals to be awesome.

Veronica Polinedrio Experience Designer

Veronica is an experience designer and design

researcher, who is passionate about working

with inter- and trans-disciplinary methods to

solve wicked problems. A graduate of the

University of Kentucky (BA Interior Design and

a BA Art History) and of Konstfack University

(MFA Experience Design), she works at the

intersection of design and philanthropy.

She has served as director and coordinator

for several community development

projects, non-profit organizations and start-

up companies between the United States,

Honduras and Sweden.

Alaa Aldin Nasif IT and Programming Entrepreneur

Alaa Aldin Nasif, is a 43 year-old asylum

seeker from Aleppo, Syria.

He entered the Faculty of Economy in Aleppo

University, graduating in 1999. He married his

wife the same year, whom with he has 4 sons.

His interest in new technologies and

computers sciences led him to open his own

business in 2000.

In the winter of 2012, the Syrian war arrived

to Aleppo, where he continued to live with his

family despite the unstable situation. In the

summer of 2014, he alone left Syria, arriving

in Greece and Sweden shortly after. He is

currently awaiting asylum, hoping to reunite

with his family soon.


What’s being saidA collection of articles on the challenge and project.

www.dezeen.com/2016/06/30/what-design-can-do-founder-richard-van-der-laken-interview

www.fastcoexist.com/3061335/world-changing-ideas/25-smart-designs-that-could-help-ease-the-refugee-crisis

www.vn.nl/what-design-can-do-for-refugees

qz.com/722187/what-can-designers-do-to-help-refugees

www.designindaba.com/articles/creative-work/what-design-can-do-unveils-refugee-challenge-winners

www.dezeen.com/2016/07/01/what-design-can-do-refugee-challenge-winners-2016

www.designmena.com/specify/winners-announced-for-what-design-can-do-refugee-challenge-that-aims-to-improve-lives


THE WELCOME CARD | BASIC NEEDS + INTEGRATION & CULTURE

About the ChallengeThe What Design Can Do Refugee Challenge is a joint initiative of design platform What Design Can Do, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and IKEA Foundation.

WHAT DESIGN CAN DOWhat Design Can Do (WDCD) is a design platform that advocates the social impact of design, centered around a two-day conference in Amsterdam, NL.

UNHCRThe Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide.

IKEA FoundationThe IKEA Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the IKEA Group of companies, and aims to improve opportunities for children and youth in some of the world’s poorest communities.

IKEA Foundation & UNHCR PartnershipSince 2010, IKEA Foundation has partnered with UNHCR to help create better lives for thousands of refugee families and children in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. In 2015, the UNHCR, IKEA Foundation and BetterShelter launched the so-called “flat-pack refugee shelter”, a safer, more durable emergency shelter for refugee families, which has received widespread attention for its innovative design.

The Welcome Card - a finalist in the What Design Can Do Competition

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