Select Work
I engage with my work from a place of care and passion. As a responsible and accountable professional, I combine my strategic mindset with a strong eye for details and prolific taste for aesthetics (inside and out). In essence, I own and execute to bring visions, projects, and teams to life. Find a select portfolio of my freelance work below.
o jardim Residencies and Retreats
As one of the co-founders of o jardim, I organize, design, and facilitate creative residencies and retreats that foster unique experiences for creative growth, care, and development, open to people from all walks of life. First iterations have taken place in Portugal and Tunisia. Connect with us if you know a place we should visit next!
Role: co-lead, experience design, facilitation, strategy & development, copywriting.
Soho Mentorship Program
The Routes In x Soho Mentorship Program in Berlin is empowering young creatives from diverse backgrounds to grow their connections, confidence, and experience – providing a route for them to access their chosen creative field, by matching them with Soho House members. As program lead and facilitator, I ensure the smooth running of the program, as well as facilitating at key events.
Role: program lead (Berlin), facilitation.
Beyond Global
Beyond is a highly curated membership community for exceptional female leaders across diverse cultures, careers, and geographies. With a purpose to connect women whose identities travel beyond systems, cultures, languages, politics, beliefs, professions, and realities they were born into, Beyond invites women who lead gracefully into a new world of values, beyond polarities.
Role: vision, mission & community strategy, research & development, copywriting.
“Liberating Partnerships”
Global Summit
As the summit’s Lead Facilitator, I helped CIFOR-ICRAF’s international team design the flow of the week’s sessions, as well as designing and leading several participatory workshops to encourage collaboration, shared understanding and to create opportunities for co-learning across global teams of integrated landscape managers.
Role: facilitation lead.
Somewhere Places Festival
For five days, 50+ participants from all over the globe came together in the Spanish Pyrenees to exchange, experience, and reflect on the transformational power of the arts and its potential for social transformation. Participants actively co-designed the program, transforming the spirit of the entire event. The artistic experience inspired a more genuine and diverse form of expression, helping participants to more deeply connect with themselves, their peers, and nature.
Role: experience design & engagement strategy, festival curation, facilitation.
Open Studios Berlin
Open Studios is a space for yoga, pilates, dance, sound and wellbeing in Berlin-Kreuzberg and Berlin-Friedrichshain. Open Studios embraces diversity in its fullest expression and celebrates individuals of all genders, sexual orientations, and skin tones, to create an environment where everyone feels valued and respected. Join me on the mat for one of my three weekly classes!
Role: studio management, yoga asana guidance.
Creative Work & Writing
“We Owe Tomorrow”
“We Owe Tomorrow” was an interactive installation at Karneval der Kulturen, one of Berlin's biggest annual cultural events in the public domain. The installation was centred around an olive tree, where visitors found refuge from the busy festival and shared a poem, prayer, or wish for Palestinians everywhere – writing it on a piece of cloth and tying it to an olive branch. The installation was part of “Zukunfts(T)raum” (en.: future dream/space), an addition to the the Karneval’s programming that invites actors from civil society and the arts to open a collective, experimental space.
Co-created with Louisa Mammeri.
“Opening Space For Jasmine”
“Opening Space for Jasmine,” in collaboration with Palestine Hosting Society, is a global dinner experience that offers moments of witnessing, grief, and solidarity. Iterations have taken place in Berlin, Bangkok, Tunis, NYC, Jakarta, Copenhagen and many more cities. Send me an email to receive the dinner hosting guideline, inc. menu.
Co-designed with Louisa Mammeri and Mirna Bamieh.
Impact Networks In Times Of Unparalleled Division
A long-read to offer a critical perspective on the increasingly popular relational approach that nonprofit and philanthropic organisations adopt in creating impact networks that drive just and sustainable solutions at scale: in times of heightened emotional activation and unparalleled division, what do international impact networks need; and/or how must they evolve to be able to lean into uncertainty and live up to the values they proclaim?
Co-authored with Louisa Mammeri.
“Creative Solidarity” –
Podcast Interview
Ana of Efecto Colibri interviewed Pelin and me ahead of our first residency, o jardim I, in Southern Portugal. We share our story, facilitation approach, the questions that keep us up at night, and speak about how to navigate the uncertainty of our times as creatives and seekers.
Listen in on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
“Shades of Blue”
“Shades of Blue,” a film by Gabriel Mokayed, emerged out of Somewhere Places Festival. We invited him to capture the essence of the festival’s experience with a carte blanche; he later approached me to co-write the voice-over with him.
Watch on YouTube.
Untitled documentary
(forthcoming)
As a co-producer and writer, I am working on a documentary about the stories we tell ourselves in the face of transient, cross-cultural identities and homes, currently in post-production.
Directed by Asligul Armagan, co-produced by Asligul Armagan, Louisa Mammeri and myself.
"We had the pleasure of working with Valerie during our recent global summit. Her leadership as our event facilitator with her unique and inclusive spirit, cultural sensitivity, and blending of innovative techniques left a lasting impact on our community of landscape practitioners.
Valerie created an atmosphere where everyone felt heard, valued, and included, fostering an environment that encouraged collaboration and shared understanding. Her cultural sensitivity and awareness ensured that every participant felt respected and acknowledged, transcending any potential barriers. It was impressive to wittness her seamless navigation through varying backgrounds.
Valerie employed novel methods of liberating structures that encouraged hyper participation, ensuring that every attendee actively contributed to the discussions. This interactive and hands-on approach not only kept the participants thoroughly engaged but also resulted in a more impactful learning experience. Working with Valerie was transformative, and added immense value to our event. We look forward to the opportunity to collaborate with her again in the future."
– Khalil Walji, Scientist and Coordinator at CIFOR-ICRAF