Karam House, located in Reyhanli and Istanbul, Turkey, is a community innovation workspace run by the Karam Foundation. Karam was our first NuVuX partner in the Middle East.
We began working with Karam in Fall 2017 to develop innovative studio-based programming for displaced Syrian teens. In 2018, Karam opened a second location in Istanbul. At both sites, Ramzi Naja, our Head of Innovation for NuVu-Karam, works in collaboration with Karam House Mentors to create and deliver studio courses for around 300 students each year.
The growth of the NuVuX program at Karam House over the last 3 years has been significant, as the program continues to reach more students across a wider geographical area. With more than 200 active students, a studio curriculum being offered in Arabic for the first time, and between 40 and 50 studios run per year, the NuVuX program at Karam House has been strategically designed to help refugee teens rebuild confidence and cultivate their dreams and passions. The cutting edge, design-based NuVu-Karam Program inspires youth to develop new skills, think critically, work collaboratively, and recognize their personal strengths to become productive and socially-healthy leaders actively contributing and giving back to the communities around them.