Press & Media
Company background, founder information, coverage references, and approved assets for editorial use.
- Universal Expo 2020, Dubai
- Luxembourg
- iOS and Android
- Supported by the Youth for Peace: UNESCO Intercultural Leadership Programme (2025-2026).
About Emblem
Emblem: Digital Souvenirs
is a mobile app that transforms how people explore and remember places. Visitors collect GPS-verified digital souvenirs connected to real cultural locations.
The concept emerged after Expo 2020 Dubai, where founder Daniel Michels observed strong engagement with collectible passport stamps alongside limited visibility for Emblem creators and place-based stories.
Emblem reimagines souvenirs as collectible digital culture: portable, place-linked and designed to carry useful cultural context.
Daniel Michels
Daniel Michels is the founder and CEO of Emblem. A Brazilian-Luxembourgish, Daniel developed the concept for Emblem after attending the Universal Expo 2020 in Dubai, where he witnessed both the appeal of collectible passport stamps and the struggles of artists trying to reach visitors.
This project is implemented by Daniel Michels with support from the Youth for Peace: UNESCO Intercultural Leadership Programme (2025-2026).
100-word version
Emblem: Digital Souvenirs is a Luxembourg startup transforming travel memories into collectible digital souvenirs. The project began in 2021 under founder and CEO Daniel Michels; its Luxembourg operating company was incorporated on 14 March 2025. Users collect GPS-verified Emblems tied to real locations, with creator or partner attribution where applicable. Its cultural-passport model was shaped further by observations at Expo 2020 Dubai. The Luxembourg Passport · Youth for Peace is developed with support from the Youth for Peace: UNESCO Intercultural Leadership Programme (2025-2026).
250-word version
Emblem: Digital Souvenirs is a Luxembourg company that turns real places into collectible digital culture. In its iOS and Android app, visitors collect Emblems: GPS-verified digital souvenirs that are collected in person, at real places, with creator or partner attribution where it applies. Emblems are gathered in Passports, such as the Luxembourg Passport · Youth for Peace.
The project began in 2021 under founder and CEO Daniel Michels, and the idea was shaped at Expo 2020 Dubai. The Luxembourg operating company was incorporated on 14 March 2025 and is based at 19 Rue de l'Industrie, L-8069 Bertrange.
Daniel Michels was selected among 8,250 applicants for UNESCO's Youth for Peace Intercultural Leadership Programme (2025-2026), which supports the Luxembourg Passport · Youth for Peace. Emblem is listed as Luxembourg's national winner of the 2026 European Charlemagne Youth Prize and represented Luxembourg at the European prize.
Emblem has been featured by UNESCO, Contacto, Virgule, Luxembourg Times, Revue magazine and the University of Luxembourg.