IKEA co-workers design ‘Blue Dot’ safe spaces with UNHCR and UNICEF

Before the war in Ukraine began, Martyna Pater’s main task as an Interior Design Specialist working in Kraków for IKEA Poland was to help customers design great spaces in their homes. But that changed when UNICEF and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, reached out. They wondered if IKEA could support the work in helping to design safe spaces, called ‘Blue Dots’, to support refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine.“The work calls for a whole new set of skills because we’re designing spaces that can support people who are experiencing trauma,” Martyna says. Blue Dots are support hubs that bring