Jan Schierkolk

Mercator-IPC Fellow, Istanbul Policy Center, Sabancı University

Jan Schierkolk is an educator and social entrepreneur focusing on building international and intercultural bridges, and on empowering especially young people to become engaged local and transnational society members.

In his current position as Mercator-IPC Fellow at the Istanbul Policy Center (IPC), he examines and promotes the potential of international partnerships between EU and Turkish local governments to be spheres and catalysts for public participation, especially by young people, within the partnership activities themselves and beyond. Previously, Mr. Schierkolk worked on various inclusion and education-related projects for disadvantaged and mostly young beneficiaries, including migrants and refugees; with NGOs, schools and municipalities; in Turkey, Germany, and other countries. This included youth work, promotion of participation, volunteerism and social entrepreneurship, as well as international cooperation in all of these areas.

Born and raised in Frankfurt, Germany, Mr. Schierkolk studied and worked in various countries and contexts over the past 15 years. He holds an MA in International Affairs from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID) in Geneva, and a BA in Governance and Public Policy from the University of Passau, including short-term studies at Boğaziçi and Texas A&M universities.