The street paper zebra. is located in South Tyrol, a region in northern Italy close to the border with Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The project is uniquely placed, not only because it is published in two languages – German and Italian – but also because its cohort of vendors is made up people from ten different countries and four continents, many of whom have ended up in the region having fled from a situation of poverty, war or persecution. Ahead of World Refugee Day on 20 June, zebra.’s social work team – Alessio Giordano, Patrizia Insam, Francesca Parisi and Niklas Klinge – explain how the organisation has found itself in the centre of the refugee crisis and how the street paper’s assistance can be life changing for the people who pass through it.

Samuel Osaigbovo, 34, is originally from Edo State, Nigeria, and now calls Bolzano home. He tells zebra about what moved him to leave his native Nigeria, his journey to Europe and life in his adopted hometown of Bolzano, the capital city of Italy’s South Tyrol province. He is hopeful that his work as a vendor will help him to negotiate the path to secure employment.

We’ve rounded up the best of the street paper covers we’ve seen being sold on the streets this September.

Earlier this month, the Organisation for World Solidarity (OEW), publishers of INSP member zebra., celebrated the five-year anniversary – and 50th issue – of the street paper with a party in its home base of Brixen, in the South Tyrol region of northern Italy.

34-year-old zebra., vendor Palmer is originally from Nigeria. He spoke to the street paper about his childhood, looking for work and how much he enjoys talking to the elderly as he’s selling the street paper.

CEO selling events are a staple way for street papers to drum up interest and educate both high-flying business people and celebrities, as well as regular members of the public, on the work they do. South Tyrol’s zebra. held their first ever such event earlier this month, inviting sports brand mogul Heiner Oberrauch to sell the street paper with vendor David Charles for an afternoon. The magazine’s editor Lisa Frei reports back on how it went.

As vendors of South Tyrolean street paper zebra. congregated for their annual meeting, on this occasion celebrating the publication’s fifth birthday, some left with a bad taste in their mouths. This is due to the new controversial amendment to the asylum law by Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini which directly affects some zebra. vendors, leaving them in a concerning position.

This year we asked vendors: if you could give a song as a present this Christmas, what would you choose? The result was the INSP Vendor Playlist, which is now available for your listening pleasure. In the final instalment of this series, Zebra vendor Happy talks about his love of gospel music.

With the 2018 Global Street Paper Summit fast approaching, we’re pausing for a moment to look back on the street paper covers that have had us jumping for joy during July.

The decorations are packed away, resolutions have been made (and already broken!), and the dieting has begun. This can only mean one thing…a new year – and a new batch of street paper covers – is upon us!