Worldspan, the full-service event management agency, has been honoured with the Project Management Institute (PMI) Social Impact Award 2025 for delivering Project Sunflower, a series of mass hiring events helping refugees into work across Europe. The award was presented at the PMI Awards 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona, attended by Worldspan’s Managing Director, Sophie Morris, alongside client, Indeed.
Project Sunflower was also named finalist for the prestigious PMI Project of the Year where Worldspan and Indeed were shortlisted to the top three projects out of more than 200 global entries.
In response to the war in Ukraine, Indeed asked Worldspan to help deliver a job fair initiative supporting displaced Ukrainian refugees. In just under eight weeks, Worldspan helped bring two pilot Project Sunflower events in Poland to life. The programme rapidly expanded to six European cities – Paris, Berlin, London, Amsterdam, Milan, and Dublin – supporting wider refugee communities.
The events placed candidates at the heart of every decision, offering face-to-face interviews, immediate job offers, CV and career coaching, translators, childcare, wellbeing support, and fully inclusive, accessible venues.
Across the six events:
- 6,939 refugees attended, with 4,274 interviews conducted
- 426 immediate job offers were made
- Over 1,100 CVs were written on-site
- Over 240 employers participated
Worldspan’s award-winning project management delivered seamless, high-impact events across multiple locations, combining a decentralised local team structure with a central PMO, ensuring precision, adaptability, and cultural sensitivity.
Sophie Morris, Managing Director at Worldspan, said:
“Receiving the PMI Social Impact Award for Project Sunflower is an incredible honour. Our team approached this initiative not just as events, but as opportunities to change lives. Working alongside Indeed, NGOs, and local partners, we were able to combine meticulous planning with compassion and creativity to make a real impact for thousands of refugees.”
A pioneering example of how events can drive tangible social change, Project Sunflower has helped nearly 7,000 refugees secure employment to date, with Indeed pledging to support 15,000 refugees over the next three years. “Project Sunflower is a beautiful illustration of how purpose-driven project management can shape the future at scale. At PMI, we love seeing our profession and principles leveraged to create meaningful impact around the world, and we are thrilled to champion the work of Worldspan, Indeed, and this truly inspiring initiative. Project Sunflower demonstrates the agility, adaptability, and rigor that project professionals bring to solving real-world challenges” Project Management Institute.
