Who are we?

INST is an international network of various organisations and providers of social tours. The two-hours tours in the cities are carried out by non-profit organizations or social companies. The INST founding members have informed around 90,000 participants on thousands of tours about the consequences of poverty. Together, the tour providers networked with over 100 social institutions and provided around 100 tour guides with a wage and new perspectives on life. The vision of INST is to expand the network of tour providers and to enable many tour guides to participate in society. A shared goal is to raise social awareness about the exclusion of people affected by poverty.

Founding Members

INST founding members are providers of social tours from Athens, Edinburgh, Basel, and Vienna:

Executive Board and Management

  • Paola Gallo: Founder INST, Chair of the Board
  • Jannice Vierkötter: Managing Director Surprise Basel
  • Zakia Moulaoui: Managing Director and Founder Invisible Cities Edinburgh, Manchester and Glasgow
  • Chris Alefantis: Founder of Invisible Tours and street paper Shedia, Athens
  • Jennifer Fielding: Managing Director querstadtein, Berlin
Paola Gallo
Paola Gallo Founder INST, Chair of the Board
“Be the change you want to see in the society. With the tours and the network we show the impact of poverty – and how changes are possible through new social visions.”
Jannice Vierkötter
Jannice VierkötterManaging Director Surprise Basel
“The empowerment of the tour guides is at the focus of INST’s work: Their knowledge, resources and experiences are recognized, supported and made visible and understandable for the society through the trainings and the exchange among each other.”
Zakia Moulaoui
Zakia MoulaouiCEO and founder of Invisible Cities in Edinburgh, Manchester and Glasgow
“Being able to share with other projects our experience as well as learn from them is the best thing we can do to grow and be better. Together we are a lot stronger.”
Chris Alefantis
Chris Alefantis Founder of Invisible Tours and street paper Shedia, Athens
“Working together, developing synergies, exchanging ideas, sharing our visions, our work, our challenges, our successes, our failures are all crucial in our common goal to end poverty and social exclusion, to make the world a fair place for all.”
Jennifer Fielding
Jennifer FieldingGeschäftsführerin querstadtein, Berlin
“The tours are the gateway to raising awareness on social issues by sharing the experiences of the disadvantaged; coming together this way allows us to communicate on relevant social topics and on our mission.”