Elena Ponzoni

Elena Ponzoni is an Assistant Professor in the Sociology Department at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, affiliated with the Identities, Diversity and Inclusion (IDI) research group. She leads the Co-creation of Inclusive Knowledges Lab since 2023, focusing on innovative participatory research methodologies. Her work centers on refugee inclusion, forced migration, and participatory practices in urban contexts, co-founding the Refugee Academy (2017) to bridge academic and community knowledge. She also explores youth and parenting dynamics through qualitative and narrative approaches.

Her research emphasizes decolonial critique and epistemic justice, with projects like the Refugee Academy fostering collaborations between refugees, NGOs, policymakers, and academics. Recent work includes analyzing urban solidarities and radical cosmopolitanism in citizen-led initiatives. She holds a PhD in Sociology from VU Amsterdam (2016) titled *Creating Space: Enabling inclusion in social policy through participatory research*.

Key grants include the 2incING project (2022–2024) and Refugee Academy initiative (2019–2022). She teaches courses on qualitative research methods and diversity in democratic contexts. Her academic networks span global scholars and practitioners, reflecting her commitment to engaged scholarship addressing structural inequalities.