VISEGRAD SUMMER SCHOOL - Key Persons
Before joining SAPIE, Adela worked as a consultant for public sector for KPMG Czech Republic and as an analyst in Prague based think tank European Values. She completed her Masters Degree in European integration at the University of Economics in Prague and her MSc. in public policies at KU Leuven. She focuses on innovative and social policy. She is passionate about bringing together private and public to create a universal value for society.
Senior specialist at the Department of Tourism in Polish Ministry of Economy, Labour and Social Policy. PhD in Tourism Economic (2002), trainer. Areas of interest include economy of tourism, rural tourism and market research.
Born in Prague. In 1984 graduated from School of Natural Sciences in Charles University and in 1985 earned the degree of Doctor of National Sciences from the same school. In 1980's participated in the activities of Czechoslovakia's democratic opposition. In retaliation for his organization of demonstrations in January 1989 and for the petition A New Sentences", he served a two-months sentence in prison. In November 1989 Co-founder and leading member of the Civic Forum movement. 1990-1992: Foreign Policy advisor to President Vaclav Havel. Former First Deputy Minster of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic. Former Ambassador to the United States. Awarded National Endowment for Democracy's Democracy Service Medal. The Czech Deputy Foreign Minister for Security. Governmental Commissioner of the Czech Republic for NATO Summit.
One of the most renowned Slovak contemporary photographers. Photography reporter for prestigious magazines Reflex and Mlady svet. Realized photography reportages from Kosovo, the Northern Ireland, Israel. Currently works as a freelance photographer and chairs the humanitarian organization People in Peril. He is the co-founder of the Slovak Documentary Photo civic association.
Graduated from VŠMU Bratislava. He participated in several international courses and competitions (e.g. under R. Wallfisch). Since 1999 Andrej Gál has performed several times the first cello in the Internationale Orchesterakademie in Germany and also within the festival orchestra at Summer Arts in Idyllwild in California. Since 2001 he has been a member of the Bohdan Warchal Slovak Chamber Music Orchestra and the Zwiebel Quartet. Andrej Gál performs chamber music and interprets contemporary Slovak and international music.
Historian, lawyer, a specialist for Northern American issues. He is a professor at the Jagiellonian University, Harvard University and other universities. Former advisor of the Polish Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki. He is a member of the Chair of the History of State and Law.
Holds MA in European Studies from the College of Europe in Warsaw. Since 2001 he has been working for the Institute for World Economics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Central-Eastern European research group.
Anikó Bakonyiis a human rights defender from Budapest, Hungary. For the past twelve years, she has been working for the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, the leading Hungarian NGO focused on refugee rights, where she is now Head of the Refugee Program. Her work focuses on protecting the rights of refugees through human rights monitoring, counselling, advocacy, and reporting.
Aslı Erdoğan born in Istanbul, studied Computer Engineering and Physics (MS in 1993) and worked as a high energy research physicist at CERN, Geneva where she completed her thesis in Higgs Physics there. After a 2-year stay in South America, she returned to Istanbul and started to live as a free lance writer. Aslı has written several books: novels, novellas, collections of short stories and poetic prose, and selections from her political essays. She has worked as a columnist and a journalist since 1998, mostly for RADİKAL, a left-wing intellectual newspaper and Özgür Gündem, a bilingual paper of Kurdish press, for which she is still writing. She has treated controversial topics as state violence, discrimination and human rights. Aslı's books have been translated into several languages, including English, French, German, Italian, Swedish, Norwegian, Arabic and Bosnian.
A journalist,literary translator and diplomat. After making his first trip to Poland by hitchhiking in 1968, he joined the Association of Polish-Hungarian Friendship, signing up in a course at the Centre of Polish Culture in Budapest, where he was a frequent visitor, and after two years of education he passed the state examination through the Polish language.In Poland, where he lived with his polish wife for 14 years (1976-1990) as both a writer and literary translator, he has worked mainly with titles such as Literatura na Świecie, Kontrasty and Słowo. In 1993 he joined the diplomatic service and several years worked as counsellor for culture and press of the Hungarian Embassy in Warsaw. In 2001-2005 he was director of the Hungarian Cultural Institute in Warsaw. After returning to Budapest to work with the Department of Communications and Public Diplomacy of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry. For his services received the Knight's Cross of the Polish Republic (2005). Currently counsellor for cultural and press affairs of the Embassy of Hungary in Warsaw.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor at the Institute of Journalism
Beata Klimkiewicz is Assistant Professor at the Institute of Journalism and Social Communication, Jagiellonian University, Kraków. Her research interests include media pluralism and diversity; media policy in Europe; media reform in Central Europe; media system structures and regulatory models; media representations of minorities and minority media. She received her PhD from the Institute of Political Sciences of the Jagiellonian University in 2000. She has studied and held fellowships at the University of Oxford; Columbia University; the Robert Schuman Centre of the European University Institute; and the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences. She has acted as an advisor to the European Commission, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, the European Parliament, the Council of Europe and has co-operated with the Open Society Institute in Budapest, the Media Diversity Institute in London and the Peace Institute in Ljubljana.
Ukrainian diplomat and politician, twice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine in five governments under two Presidents (1998-2000, 2005-2007), Vice-President of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly. Founder and Director (since 2001) of the Institute for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation and Chairman of the Board of the magazine "Euroatlantic". Leader of the political party "People's Movement of Ukraine" (2003-2012), Deputy Head of All-Ukraine Union "Bat'kivschyna" party (since 2013). Member of the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine (since 2002 till now), Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs (since 2014). Chair of Inter-factional Group "Ukraine in NATO". Head of the Parliamentary Committee for European Integration (2002-2005, 2006 and 2007-2012). Since 1975 he served at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Mission at the UN (1981-1986), member of Delegation to UN Security Council (1984-1985), Ambassador of Ukraine to the Benelux countries (1995-1998), Head of the Mission of Ukraine to NATO (1997-1998). Has the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (since 1992).
Convinced that if you want to go far, you need to go together, she dedicated her work to European and international cultural collaborations. As head of Culture at the Belgian Creative Europe Desk, she advised cultural and creative actors on the EU funding opportunities and on designing effective cooperation projects. She also worked at the Centre for Fine Arts - BOZAR as Sr Advisor in cultural cooperation and diplomacy. She is currently coordinating the European project United Fashion at MAD - Brussels platform for Fashion and Design. She regularly gives workshops on European perspectives and programmes for Culture.
Works in two areas: management and communication. She leads the New Europe 100 project supported by Res Publica Foundation, Google and Financial Times. The New Europe 100 list published each year is about individuals from the CEE region who are changing the world and improving people's lives with ideas that scale up in the digital world. NE100 seeks and brings together personalities whose actions drive them and societies to a better future. Previously Danuta has been working as a journalist - anchor of the main tv news programs, editor-in-chief of the Foreign news desk in Polish Public Television and reporter. She leads media trainings for students, managers, PR specialists.
One of the founders and presidents of the Polish Green Party (Zieloni 2004). Graduated in International Economic Relations from the Krakow University of Economics and in Economic Foundations of Environmental Policy from the Warsaw University, Poland. Began his cooperation with non-governmental organizations at the beginning of the 1990s as participant of the Green Federation; in 1996-1997 coordinator of an international campaign Menu for the Next Millenium as a result of which legal entries regarding genetically modified organisms (GMOs) were included in the Environmental Protection Act. In the years 1998-2004 he was Head of the Environmental Lobbying Support Office in the Polish Parliament; expert and adviser on the issues of environmental protection and sustainable development of numerous non-governmental organizations.
Dr Paul Gillespie is Foreign Policy Editor and a duty editor of The Irish Times. He works in the editor's office of the newspaper as an editorial writer and columnist on international affairs. He has special expertise and interest in European politics and political identities, British-Irish relations, transatlantic relations, Middle East affairs and East Asian affairs. He lectures at the School of Politics and International Relations, University College Dublin and is a member of the advisory council of the European Policy Centre, Brussels. He is the author of many articles and book chapters and edited Blair's Britain, England's Europe, Dublin: Institute of European, 2000.
Doc. PhDr. Michal Vašečka, PhD (1972) is sociologist by background and focuses his interests on issues of ethnicity, race, antisemitism, and migration studies. As an Associate Professor he operates at the Bratislava International School of Liberal Arts (BISLA) since 2015 and he is a director of Bratislava Policy Institute. He operated at the Faculty of Social Studies of Masaryk University in Brno in 2002-2017 and at the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences of the Comenius University in 2006-2009. As a visiting scholar he operated at the New School University in New York (1996-1997) and at the University of London (1998), in 2008-2009 he lectured at the Georgetown University in Washington, DC, in 2015 at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, in 2016 he was a scholar-in-residence in the ISGAP at Oxford University. Michal Vašečka is a founder of the Center for the Research of Ethnicity and Culture, he served a director of the CVEK (2006-2012). In 1998-2005 he operated at the Slovak think-tank Institute of Public Affairs as a program director on expert analysis of the Slovak transformation process with a focus on national minorities and the state of civil society in Slovakia. He has been a consultant for the World Bank in 2000-2008 and in 2011-2012. Since 2012 Michal Vašečka serves as a representative of the Slovak Republic in the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), human rights body of the Council of Europe. He is also as a vice-chairman of the governmental committee VRAX tackling extremism and racism in Slovakia. Michal Vašečka serves as a non-resident research associate at the European Centre for Minority Issues in Flensburg. In 2018 Michal became a laureate of the Award for special contribution in the field human rights of Minister of Justice of Slovakia.
Dr. Viera Žúborová (1984) is political scientist by background. She operated at the Faculty of Social Sciences of University of St. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava since 2008. During these years she operated at the faculty also as the vice-dean from research and strategic project, and leaded the Department of political science and European studies. She also works as managing editor of Slovak Journal of Political science. Since 2016 she operates as senior research fellow at the think- tank Centre for European and North Atlantic Affairs (CENAA). She focuses on issues of political communication, and migration discourse, tranzitology and question on post-communism. As a visiting PhD scholar, she operated at the The Université libre de Bruxelles (2010). Viera Žúborová is the co-founder of non-profit organization Trnavska alternativa, and also the co-founder of non- profit organization Mladá Archa, she served there as director from 2015. Both non-profit organization focus on organising the various educational and creative activities supporting critical thinking of the students and youth, including realization of project that are focusing on the development of public space and active participation at the local level. Viera Žúborová is also from 2015 regular columnist at the online newspapers Aktulity.sk.
International reporter for the Guardian and the Observer in London. Honoured with several British journalism awards for his coverage of the war in the former Yugoslavia, including the James Cameron Award in 1994. Named International Reporter of the Year 1993 and 1994. Gratuated from Oxford University and the University of Florence.
Holds a doctorate in history from the University of Vienna. Since 1982 he's served for the Foreign Service of the Republic Austria. 1986 - 1989 he worked for the Austrian Parliament and was the head of the Cabinet of the Austrian Minister of Science and Research. From 1990 to summer 1995 he was the Austrian Consul General in Krakow, Poland. From 1995 to 1999 Director of the Austrian Cultural Institute in London. Later on he was the head of the Department for Cultural Programming at the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Secretary General of the Austrian Research Association and a lecturer at the College of New Europe of the International Cultural Centre in Krakow.
Job Titles:
- Editor - in - Chief of a Liberally - Oriented Hungarian Weekly Magyar Narancs
Born in 1981, Kielce, Poland, lives and works in Krakow and Gdnask. An Art historian who works as a curator, art critic, editor. Interested in institutional critique (cycles of the artist-in-residence project in National Museum in Krakow, 2005-7, 2011) and curating as a method of art history (short sotry of Ładnie Group, 2008 - book; On the vulcano. Krzysztof Niemczyk, 2010, and Wyspa. Now is now,2012 - exhibitions). Cooperates as a curator with Wyspa Art Institute in Gdnask and National Museum in Krakow (where she is interested in building the program based on the legacy and its redefinition and exploration of the educational aspects of the permanent collection and social duties of the institution). Editor of Visual line book series in Korporacja Ha!art editing house. Currently working on her Phd on the beginnings of femininst art in Poland in 1970's at Jagiellonian UNiversity. Studied psychoanalysis at SUNY at Buffalo.
A French born journalist, she studied Political Science at the Institut d'Etudes politiques in Paris and read history at Cambridge University (UK). In 1990 she moved to Hungary where she became a permanent correspondent until 2003 for the French public radio, dailies La Croix & Libération and weekly l'Express. From Budapest she also covered other countries in the region. She is the author of "Sarajevo, my love" - a biography of General Divjak, one of the commanders of the Bosnian army. Today she still covers Hungary and shares her time between Paris and Budapest.
Born 1950 in Kitzbühel, Austria; studied philosophy and literature in Vienna; worked as a teacher, university lecturer and civil servant in the ministry of education. In the 1990s was a director of KulturKontakt Austria: cultural and educational cooperation with Central, Eastern and South-eastern Europe. From 2002 to 2009 Gottfried was director of the European Cultural Foundation in Amsterdam. Currently working in the ministry for education, arts and culture, Vienna: as a special envoy for international cultural-political projects. Gottfried acts as an advisor to the MORE EUROPE initiative http://www.moreeurope.org/
Deputy Executive Director of the International Visegrad fund. A translator (V. Havel, B. Hrabal, M. Kundera, I. Klíma and other authors) and literary historian dealing mainly with the Czech and Czechoslovakian literature. A close associate of the Czech opposition of the 1970s and 1980s. He became Budapest correspondent of the Czech Section of Radio Free Europe (1988-90). Following the change of the political regime he was appointed as Ambassador of Hungary in Prague (1990-95). Later he served as the head of the Central European Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary (1998-2000) and Consul General in Slovakia(2000-04), the Chief Counsellor at the Department of Cultural and Science Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary (2004-05) and the Director of the Hungarian Cultural Centre in Prague (2005-10), He was awarded by the I. Level Medal of Merit by President Havel the Knight of Cross of the Order of Merit of the Hungarian Republic by President Göncz.
He holds a PhD degree in Political Sciences. His doctoral thesis was awarded the prize by the Polish Institute of International Affairs. Worked, among others, as a head teacher and as a teacher in a school and in an infant school at the Institute of Children's Diseases in Cracow. In 1990 worked in the Special Schooling Centre at the University Children's Hospital. Recently he has taught at the Brother Albert Memorial College for Social Workers. Since January 2004 Deputy Mayor of the City of Cracow, exercises general supervision over education, culture activities and preservation of the City's historical monuments.
Opposition activist in the communist times, MP and former Deputy Minister of Agriculture. Currently he is the Presidential Adviser for Social Affairs. He organised and edited the underground newspaper "Worker" and was one of the founders of Free Trade Unions. In 1987-1988 he was a member, and from 1988 to 1990 the secretary of the Civic Committee of the President of the "Solidarity" Lech Wałęsa. In 1989 he took part in the Round Table Talks. He served as the Secretary of State in the Ministry of Agriculture in the Jerzy Buzek's Cabinet. He was awarded with the Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of the Rebirth of Poland by the Polish President Lech Kaczynski.
Irena Dawid-Olczykis a cultural studies scholar, trainer, and negotiator. She is also a Human rights activist. She co-founded the La Strada Foundation against Human Trafficking and Slavery (1995), and she coordinated the National Intervention and Consultation Centre for Victims of Human Trafficking (2009). She is the author of innovative training programs. She is the winner of the RPO Paweł Włodkowic Award.
In her free time, she reads.
Job Titles:
- Professional Fellow at St Antony 's College
Is Professor of European Studies in the University of Oxford, Isaiah Berlin Professional Fellow at St Antony's College, Oxford and a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He is the author of nine books of ‘history of the present', including The Polish Revolution: Solidarity, The Magic Lantern: The Revolution of '89 Witnessed in Warsaw, Budapest, Berlin and Prague, The File and, most recently, Facts are Subversive. His essays appear regularly in The New York Review of Books and he writes a column in The Guardian which is widely syndicated in Europe, Asia and the Americas including in Gazeta Wyborcza. He is currently leading a major Oxford University research project on global free speech norms in the internet age, which can be followed in 13 languages on www.freespeechdebate.com, and writing a book on free speech.
Director of City's Political Journalism MA of London University has an outstanding background in both practical political journalism and in academic research in this area. He has co-authored three books and numerous articles on political communications, and has served as a media consultant to a variety of organisations, governments and international bodies. His journalistic career has included senior editorial positions at the BBC, ITN, Channel Four and Sky News. He is an Independent Editorial Adviser to the BBC and a frequent contributor to radio and television networks in the UK and abroad.
Job Titles:
- Head of the Unit for Central Europe
Iwona Jakuszko-Dudka is Head of the Unit for Central Europe, European Policy Department, MFA RP. She studied at Warsaw School of Economics (International Political and Economic Relations), at the Georg-August University Goettingen and at the University of Warsaw (National Security Faculty, Postgraduate studies - Centre for Europe). In 2003 she graduated National School of Public Administration (KSAP). She worked for Siemens Poland and Fujitsu Siemens Computers Poland. In 2003 she worked in Ministry of Infrastructure (Department for Infrastructure Financing and European Funds) and next some years in Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Department for the European Union). Since 2008 till 2011 she was an employee of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in the Republic of Hungary (Second Secretary, European affairs). In years 2011-2017 she worked in Embassy of the Republic of Poland in the Federal Republic of Germany (First Secretary, European affairs, economic issues: energy and climate policy, digital agenda).
Jacek Wasilewski is a professor of sociology, he teaches at Polish and American Universities. His main field of interest is sociology of the elites. His recent publications include books and articles on political elites and consolidation of democracy in Poland and Central Europe.
Jakub Dürr (born 1976) is a Czech political scientist, Polish philologist and diplomat, in 2018-2020 he was the permanent representative of the Czech Republic to the EU, previously in 2008-2009 he was deputy minister of education, youth and physical education, and in 2016-2018 deputy minister of affairs foreign countries of the Czech Republic. He was also the vice-rector for foreign and external relations at the Palacky University in Olomouc. In December 2021, he was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Czech Republic to Poland.
Jean-Pierre Deru holds a PhD in Law from the University of Louvain, Belgium (U.C.L). He was teaching at the Faculté Ouverte de Politique Economique et Sociale at the U.C.L. Director of the Association Marcel Hicter pour la Démocratie Culturelle, director of the European Diploma in Cultural Project Management which trained more than 570 cultural operators from all over Europe and beyond in cultural cooperation projects management, and member of various European cultural networks; among others Oracle, the European Network of Cultural Administration Training Centres (ENCATC) and the European House for Culture.
Jeannette Bougrab is a French lawyer and politician. She served as the junior minister for Youth and Community Life from 2010 2012 and is a member of the UMP party. Prior to this, she was the Chair of the French Equal Opportunities and Anti-Discrimination Commission (HALDE) from 16 April 2010 to 14 November 2010. Jeannette Bougrab received a Masters (DEA) in Law from the University of Orléans and completed a PhD in Public Law from the Sorbonne in Paris as well as a Masters (Magistère) in Economics Law. She has been an associate Professor of Law at Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris and the Sorbonne. She served on the Board of Directors of the Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (UMP) until 2007. She has been a member of the Haut Conseil à l'Intégration, the Administrative Board of the Arab World Institute (AWI) and the diversity oversight of the Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel (CSA). In 2010, she also became Chair of the Administrative Board of the Agence pour la Cohésion Sociale et l'Egalité (ACSE). She has been a member of National Council of France. She is also a writer and film director.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Director in the Department of Europe in the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. National Coordinator for the Visegrad Group. Former Polish Ambassador in Zagreb, Croatia
Director of education initiatives and academic director of the International Study Programme at the Salzburg Seminar. Former director of the Universities Project of the Salzburg Seminar. Since 1998 head of programs at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna and senior officer in the secretariat of the German Science Council in Cologne, Germany. After receiving the PhD degree in German literature from the Düsseldorf University, in 1984, he was lecturer at the Cambridge University, and at the University of Ljubljana, under the auspices of the German Academic Exchange Service. Main area of professional interests are higher education and research policy. Expert for the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Science and Culture, member of the editorial board of the UNESCO-CEPES quarterly review Higher Education in Europe.
Served as the Consul General of the Czech Republic in Katowice until 2007. He graduated from the Law Faculty of the Charles University and the University of Economics in Prague. He worked for the Ministry of Economy and Development (advisor on international cooperation, director of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, director of the board, advisor to the Prime Minister), Chief Director of the Office of the Ministry of International Relations. Subsequently, he begun his career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic (Director of the Office).
In 1989 he was elected a member of Sejm (the Lower House of Polish Parliament) and held the position of a chairman of the Parliamentary Commission for Culture and Mass Media for the next 9 years. In 1990 he co-founded the Democratic Union Party. Later he was a member of the Union of Freedom Party. In 1999 he was appointed a member of the National Broadcasting Council by Sejm for a period of 6 years, until 2003 he served as the chairman of the Council. After that he started working as the general director of the Association of the Council for Advertising.
Graduated in Business Management at the University of Economics in Bratislava and the Ecole Nationale d'Administration Publique in Paris. Her professional career begun in 1998, working at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic. After working two years for Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic, she served four years (2005-2009) in Prague, as second secretary in Embassy of the Slovak Republic. Between 2010 and 2012 she worked as the Director of the Development Assistance and Humanitarian Aid Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bratislava. Since August 2012, she holds the position Executive Director of International Visegrad Fund, in Bratislava. Speaks five languages: English, French, Czech, Hungarian and Russian.
Job Titles:
- 4CF As a Foresight Consultant
Karol Wasilewski works at 4CF as a foresight consultant. Previously worked with the Polish Institute of International Affairs as head of the department of the Middle East department. His research interests include issues related to discontinuities in markets, new trends in international relations and foreign policy analysis foreign policy.
Among his achievements is the realization of scenarios of Poland's development for the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy, as well as participation in projects for corporate sector clients. He has taught introductory classes on foresight at, among others, PISM (study of international politics International Policy).
Job Titles:
- Researcher at the Institute of European Studies
PhD researcher at the Institute of European Studies, Jagiellonian University in Krakow. Her PhD research focus is on integration policies of (im)migrants in the EU countries, and specifically the issue of cultural and language testing of immigrants. She has a strong interest in the policies of multiculturalism (Canada & particular EU states), as well as national identity and citizenship. She finished her BA degree in International Relations in Calgary, Canada and went on to do a joint MA in Poland and Italy in the area of European Cultural Studies. She helps to coordinate an Erasmus Mundus Masters course, MA in Euroculture, which brings together 8 European universities and third-country students. She has studied and lived in Canada, France, Poland and Italy.
Karoline Gil studied cultural sciences, focusing on Central and East Europe and has extensive experience in intercultural dialogue and international relations. She is deputy head of the Dialogues department and head of the Integration and Media section at the Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations, Stuttgart. The institute is Germany's oldest intermediary organisation operating worldwide to promote peaceful artistic exchange and dialogue between civil societies through exhibitions, conferences and other forms of international cultural cooperation. It aims to promote art, learning and education to create better understanding amongst nations, and to provide information about foreign cultural policy.
Karoline is a published author and continues to publish regularly and create video content in the field of culture and history.
Deputy Head of Department/Head of Section at the IFA (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen) in Stuttgart, Germany. As a competence center for foreign cultural diplomacy, the IFA is connecting civil societies, cultural practices, art, media and science. She has a longstanding experience in intercultural dialogue and the creation of multinational networks with a profound interest for international relations. Since 2009, she has been an active member and regional coordinator of the Young German Council on Foreign Affairs. In current position, she is coordinating and supervising grant and support schemes in Central Eastern Europe and Russia. She has striven to complete her practical work by in-depth examination and academic exploration. That is why research and analysis are important parts of her professional track record. Studying European relations and socio-economic transformation, she co-edited books on the Treaty on good relations and neighborhood between Germany and Poland, on cross-border cooperation between both countries and on regional European Identities.
Katarzyna Dendys-Kosecka - actress, singer, culture manager. A graduate of the Vocal and Acting School of Danuta Baduszkowa in Gdynia, pedagogy at the University of Silesia and postgraduate studies in the field of culture manager at the University of Economics in Katowice. Organizational director of the International Theater Festival Without Borders in Cieszyn and Český Těąín. Professionally associated with the Banialuka Puppet Theater in Bielsko-Biała. She made guest appearances at the Musical Theater in Gdynia, the Musical Theater in Lublin, the Dramatic Theater in Koszalin and the Polish Theater in Bielsko-Biała. Piaf's original recital devoted to the work and life of the French singer has been presented at many festivals, theater stages and in prestigious cultural centers.
Mr. Bujakowski completed a Masters in Geodesy and Cartography, while he also holds a Ph.D. in Technical Sciences. During the period between 1997-2001 he finished Postgraduate studies in Business Administration at the Business and Management School of the Economic Academy in Krakow. Deputy Mayor of the City of Krakow since 2004, he is currently in charge of spatial development of the city.
Kholoud Charaf is a poet, art critic and social activist from Al Mjemr, Southern Syria. Her debut poetry collection entitled "The Remains of a Butterfly" (2016) received significant critical acclaim among critics, who appreciated the originality of the literary images and metaphors and also the author's capacity to transform the difficult events of war into beautiful imaginary worlds generated from her childhood memories of her home village. Her poems are widely published in Syrian and pan-Arabic magazines and have been translated into English, French, Italian and Polish. Charaf became a guest writer in Krakow City of Refuge in March 2018 as part of the International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN). For the book "Return to the Mountains. A Journal in the Shadow of War" she received the Ibn Battuta Prize in 2019. Her poems were translated into English, French, Italian and Polish. Her book "Reversed Sky" was published in June 2019 in ZNAK publishing house.
Executive Director of the International Visegrad Fund from 2006. In 1982 graduated from the University of Economics in Budapest. In 1989 he obtained his second Master of International Affairs at Colombia University, New York, USA. He joined the Foreign Service after the collapse of the totalitarian regime as First Secretary on the Embassy of Hungary in Washington, D.C. (1990-1993). 1993 - 1997 he worked as Head of Department for the Government Office for Hungarian Minorities Abroad. In 1998 he became Head of the Department for Regional Cooperation in the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and at the same time Hungarian representative at the Danube Commission. Before being nominated V4 National Coordinator during the Hungarian Presidency (2005-2006) he worked for four years as Ambassador at the Hungarian Embassy in Prague.
Is the President of Unia & Polska, a pro-European organisation. He worked with the Financial Times as its Warsaw Correspondent from 1976 to 2000 and later published Unia & Polska, a magazine devoted to EU issues. He writes for openDemocracy and is associate editor on the Europe section of Europe's World. He is a co-chair of Steering Committee of Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum. He studied modern history at Magdalen College, Oxford. He is a Commander (II class) of the Stella della Solidarieta' Italiana.
Professor of social sciences, university lecturer, director of the Diplomatic Academy of the Foreign Ministry, former director of the National School of Public Administration, andcivil servant. In the 1970s and 1980s, Jacek Czaputowicz was active in the democratic opposition (Workers' Defence Committee). He was also one of the leaders of the Independent Students' Association and the Movement "Freedom and Peace." In 1987-1990 he was an adviser to Lech Walesa and a member of the Civic Committee to the Chairman of the "Solidarity". Professor at the Institute of European Studies of Warsaw, Head of the European Research Methodology Department. Jacek Czaputowicz completed postgraduate studies at foreign universities (including the University of Oxford). Author of publications on international issues, including "Sovereignty", "International Security. Modern concepts", "Theories of international relations. Criticism and systematization". Awarded the Officer's Cross of the Order of the Rebirth of Polish, Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary and the Cross of Freedom and Solidarity. He is a member of the Association of Free Speech.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Education Committee
Enrolled at the Karl-Franzens-University (KFU) Graz in October 1985 and graduated from Stanford Law School (J.S.M) in 1995 and from KFU Graz as Dr. iur. in 1997. Then he joined the office of the Austrian Federal Minister for Education and Cultural Affairs as personal adviser responsible for international relations, adult education and cultural affairs. In 09/2000 he became head of the educational division in 09/2001 director of KulturKontakt Austria, an NGO working with reform countries in East and South East Europe in die fields of education and culture.
Born in Paris. Studied Russian and Polish Philology at the Eastern Languages Institute in Paris and then Polish Philology at the Sorbonne. She taught Polish language in France. For many years, she has been translating Polish prose into French. Member of the French Association of Literary Translators (Stanisław Lem, Czesław Miłosz, Sławomir Mrożek, Jerzy Pilch, Mariusz Wilk, Adam Zagajewski). Currently the vice-director of the French Institute in Krakow.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Director of the Jan Nowak - Jezioranski College of Eastern Europe
Laurynas Vaičiūnas is the deputy director of the Jan Nowak-Jezioranski College of Eastern Europe in Wroclaw, an NGO working to stimulate intellectual exchange between Eastern Europe and the rest of the world. Its main publications include bimonthlies New Eastern Europe and Nowa Europa Wschodnia. Laurynas is responsible for publishing, international contacts and the organisation's headquarters in Wojnowice Castle. Laurynas has a background in history, politics and international relations with degrees from the University of Bath and the School of Slavonic and East European Studies UCL.
Belarusian philologist, translator, writer, poet and politician, in 1990-1995, Member of the Supreme Council of the Byelorussian SSR / the Parliament of Belarus, 12th legislature; member of the BNF opposition, with anti-Communist and pro-independence origins. In 1996-99, 2007-2009 he acted as the Chairman of the BPF Party; PhD since 1989. In 1980 he graduated from the Minsk University of Foreign Languages. He taught at the Polatsk State University in 1981-1990. From 1991 he was deputy director at the Belarusian Lyceum of Humanities. He was arrested many times for his oppositional activities against the regime of Alexander Lukashenka. His lyceum was forced to become an underground school in 2003.His first publications appeared in print in 1985 in the Byelorussian SSR . Since 1989 he belongs to the Union of Belarusian Writers. He has translated works from Latin, Ancient Greek, German, English , French, Polish, Czech and other languages. In 2003 he was elected chairman of the Belarusian PEN Club and he held this position until October 2005. In total, his name was signed by more than 200 publications. His scientific achievements include the development of the methodology of language and literature , linguistics and literary studies.
Job Titles:
- President of the Belarusian PEN - Club, One of the Leaders of the Opposition Belarusian National Front
President of the Belarusian PEN-Club, one of the leaders of the opposition Belarusian National Front.
Experienced expert and manager in Public Affairs and Corporate Communication. He specializes in corporate affairs, lobbying, internal and external communication, CSR, fuel sector, road safety and sustainable development promotion and solutions. M.A. (Moscow State University of International Affairs), diploma in Administration (University of Warsaw). Expert in external affairs & communication, experience of studying, working and living in different countries and diversified cultural environment. 1984-99 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland (incl. such posts like Deputy Head of Mission in Islamabad, Deputy Director of Personnel, Consul General of Poland in Edinburgh). Between 1999 and 2006 Government Affairs Manager at BP Polska, responsible for lobbing, external affairs and relationship management. Worked as Government Affairs Manager at BP Polska sp. Z o. o., Public Affairs Consultant at Lemawi Consultant and City Director Warsaw, Clinton Climate Initiative at Clinton Foundation. Currently Director General at POPiHN (Polish Oil Trade and Industry Organisation).
Lloyd Dakin is the Regional Representative of UNHCR based in Budapest. Since 2005, he has been responsible for UNHCR's operations in Hungary, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia. In 2008, the region for which he is responsible expanded to include Bulgaria and Romania. Mr. Dakin joined UNHCR in 1980 in Thailand. He has previously served with UNHCR in Pakistan, Tanzania and twice at its Headquarters in Geneva. Prior to his current assignment, Mr. Dakin was as UNHCR's Representative in Armenia from 2001 to 2004. He has an MA in International Administration.
Was born in 1984. He received his diploma and later his doctoral degree at the Liszt Academy of Budapest, where now he is teaching 20th Century and contemporary Music for Piano at the Piano Faculty. He participated in several international festivals such Collegium Musicum Pommersfelden, Encuentro de Música y Academia de Santander (Spain), International Holland Music Sessions (The Netherlands), TCU/Cliburn Institute (USA, Fort Worth), Grottammare Liszt Festival (Italy), Raiding Liszt Festival (Austria), and won numerous prizes at national and international competitions. In 2002, he won the Yamaha Scholarship Award and also the 2nd prize and the special prize of the American Liszt Society at the Los Angeles International Liszt Competition. In 2005 he won the "Educational Award" at the London International Piano Competition and he was the 2nd prize-winner at the International Liszt-Bartók Piano Competition in Budapest where he also got the special prize of Budapest City in 2006. He got the Annie Fischer Performers' Scholarship three times (in 2008, 2009 and 2010) and the prestigious "Junior Prima Prize" in 2009. He has had recitals in Europe, in the USA and in Japan. Since 2012 he has been the member of the "Qaartsiluni Ensemble".
Undersecretary of State for legal and treaty affairs. Born in 1971 in Kraków. Graduated from the University of Silesia in Katowice, the Faculty of Law and Administration. In 1996 completed post-graduate studies at the Law Department of the College of Europe in Bruges, followed by Ph.D. studies at the Faculty of Law and Administration of the Silesia University in Katowice. Bar traineeship completed in 2001 with an exam and listing at the Bar Register in Katowice. In 2009 obtained a habilitation in Legal Science (specialization: Law of the EU and private international law). From 1996 on, an associate lecturer and professor at the Chair of Civil Law and Private International Law of the Silesia University in Katowice. 2001-2004: an associate in a legal partnership. 2008-2009: an Undersecretary of State in the Office of the Committee for European Integration. Scolar in such institutions as e.g. the Centre of European Legal Studies at the University of Cambridge, the Institute of European Legal Studies "Fernand Dehousse" and the European University Institute in Florence. A Member of the Editorial Board of such periodicals as the "Problems of Private International Law", the "European Judicial Review" and the "New Europe - Natolin Review". Active in social associations and organisations: ex. a Member of the Board of "Polish Association for European Law" (FIDE). An author of many publications in the field of European law, civil law, international commercial law and international private law. Free time interests: history; free time activities: sailing, skiing and volleyball. In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mr. Maciej Szpunar is responsible for representing the Polish government before judicial bodies of the EU and the EFTA Court. Fluent in both English and French.
Born in Poland. Journalist. Emigrated to Sweden in 1969 and became Swedish citizen in 1978. Cultural editor at Dagens Nyheter, Stockholm, the largest daily newspaper in Sweden. In 1997 revealed the scandal of forced sterilisation of more than 60.000 people by Swedish government between 1935 and 1976.
A member of the National Council of the Slovak Republic. Chairwoman of the oldest Slovak women's association "Živena" and chairwoman of the Institute for cultural policies. In the past she served as a State Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic. Ambassador of the Slovak Republic to Poland (2000 - 2005), between 1990 - 1993 Czechoslovak Ambassador to Austria. Founder and in years 1993 - 2000 the director of the Slovak Foreign Policy Association - SFPA (today honorary chair). Lectured at the Institute of International Relationships and Law Harmonization at the Faculty of Law of the Comenius University in Bratislava, and currently she is lecturer at the CEVRO Institute (Prague). In 2010 she was awarded with a Gold Medal for Meritorious for Culture - Gloria Artis. An author of several books and articles in domestic and international press.
Social skills and diversity trainer, specializing on public speaking and presentation skills. During last six years she conducted over 2000 training hours on creating and delivering presentation for public, private and NGO sectors. She also delivers training on leadership skills, diversity management and anti-discrimination workshops. Until September 2006 she was In "Partners" Foundation where she was leading programme: Gender quality". She is also an author of training programme "Zarządzanie Firmą Równych Szans". She graduated from Warsaw University - Journalism and Political Science Faculty.
At presence she is running her own training and consultancy business. She lives in Warsaw, Poland.
Chechnyan living in Poland. Vice-Deputy of the Board of the Rescue (Ocalenie) Foundation acting in a field of assistance for refugees and immigrants.
Specializes in sustainable development. He holds a Phd in political studies, from the UNiversity of Gdnask, Poland. He is a co-founder of Sopocka Inicjatywa Rozwojowa - an informal group of citizens from Sopot, Poland, working for participatory democracy and sustainable development. He is the author of ''Food and Democracy'' (written in Polish) and the editor of the book about food sovereignty in English with the same title.
Marek Brzózka - born in 1983 in Segedynia. From 2002-2003 he studied at the István Tomörkény Art Gymnasium, where he specialized in decorative sculpture. In January 2003, he was on scholarship at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow. From 2003 to 2008, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest in the figurative sculpture studio. In 2006, as part of the Erasmus program, he had a study stay at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. Since 2013, he has continued his doctoral studies at Magyar Képzömüvészeti Egyetem in Budapest. He lives and creates in Segedin, works in monumental and chamber sculpture and drawing, and works as a teacher. He has had numerous
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor ( Ph.D. Hab. ), Head of Eurasian Studies at the Faculty of Political Science and International Relations, the University of Warsaw.
His research and teaching mainly focus on the contemporary Western Balkans' region - geopolitical position, state building processes, ethnic conflicts including such determinants as history, religion, civilizations (axiology/culture). His further research covers political philosophy, cultural anthropology and sociology in their theoretical and normative dimensions.
Was one of the first signatories of Charter 77, a document criticizing the Communist government of Czechoslovakia for not respecting human rights and later served as the group's spokesman. He is also a founding member of CivicFORUM, a dissident movement that helped to overthrow the Communist government in Czechoslovakia. He was elected to the Federal Assembly where he joined the Foreign Affairs Committee and later became deputy minister of Foreign Affairs. In 2002, he was appointed Ambassador for the Czech Republic to the United States, and in 2006, became the ambassador of the Czech Republic to the United Nations. Currently Mr. Palouš is the Director of the Vaclav Havel Program for Human Rights and Diplomacy at the Florida International University. The Program studies and explores the politics of human rights, the processes of democratization in societies that were once under autocratic governments, and the experiences of societies currently in transition around the world. Mr. Palouš focuses on the process of negotiation of a new bilateral treaty between the European Union and Cuba, and campaigns and advocates human rights requiring the participation of representatives of independent Cuban civil society in all the stages of this process. As a Senior Fellow at School of International and Public Affairs at FIU, he teaches classes on democratization, human rights, Europe, and the European Union.
Professor of sociology and president emeritus of the University of Oldenburg, Germany. Since 2003 he has served on an advisory mission to the Minister of Higher Education in Afghanistan. From 2000 to 2002, he served as the principal international officer for the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology for the Provisional Self-Government in Kosovo, and in 2002 became special counselor to the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) office in Belgrade. He first started working with UNMIK as head of the Department of Education and Science while he was an international administrator of the University of Prishtina. He served as a German delegate to the Council of Europe Committee on Higher Education and Research in 1994 and on the board of the European University Association from 1998 to 2001.
He is an assistant professor at Metropolitan University Prague. Michal graduated in European studies at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic where he obtained his doctorate in 2017. Previously he was associated with the Institute for European Policy (IEP) in Berlin. His research focuses on the process of national identities forming of political parties in Central-East Europe. He underwent research fellowships at the University of Konstanz and the University of Vienna. Currently runs web portal ceeidentity.eu.
Michał M. Bukowski (PhD) works in the Institute of Journalism, Media and Social Communication at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. He specializes in political communication with particular emphasis on political economy of local communication in a world-systems perspective. Books he has authored and co-authored several books include "The ruling and the opposition parties in 2014 local elections in Małopolska" (2016), "Keywords in governmental political communication: an international perspective" (2015), "A party or a person?: party-based politics versus personalization in municipal elections" (2011). He is a member of the Polish Political Science Association (PTNP) and the Polish Communication Science Association (PTKS).
Former NATO's Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation. He holds the ran), Multinational Division Central-South in Iraq. Besides and was assigned as a Special Envoy of the SACEUR in Afghanistan. He served as a senior military advisor to the k of the four-star General. So far it was the highest position, taken by Polish general in NATO Command Structure. He served as Commanding Officer of the Polish Contingent in the UN Mission - UNDOF; as Chief Logistics Officer in UN Mission - MINURSO. He commanded Nordic-Polish Brigade Command in SFOR, 3 rd Corps NRDC (Turkey Polish Minister of Defense. General Bieniek was appointed as the Polish Military Representative to the NATO and European Union Military Committees in Brussels. His education includes the Polish Army Academy, Polish Armed Forces General Staff Academy and Royal College of Defense Studies in London. Also, he holds PhD in International Security from Polish NDU. Author of many articles and books about International security and strategy as well as cyber and energy security.
Director of the Department of Constitutional and International Law in Commissioner of Human Rights Office. Legal counsel, appointed civil servant, certified internal auditor in public finance sector units. A graduate of law and political studies (specialization - international relations). He is an author of nearly 50 articles and scientific publications in the field of constitutional, international, European and human rights law. In recent years, he has often prepared or co-operated in the preparation of the positions of the Ombudsman and represented the Commissioner in court proceedings and in front of the Constitutional Tribunal. Member of the Management Board of the European Union Fundamental Rights Agency for the term 2012-2017. In December 2012 elected as the chairman of the Agency's Budget Committee. In December 2014, elected by the management board to the 4-member Executive Committee of the Agency. He was the coordinator of the Ombudsmen Cooperation Program of the EU Eastern Partnership countries initiated by the Ombudsman in 2009-2010. He was an expert at the invitation of international institutions (including the Council of Europe, ECRI, the European Commission, the United Nations High Representative for Human Rights) and national (in Europe and Asia). A member of the Polish Association of European Law, the Polish Constitutional Society and the Association of prof. Zbigniew Hołda.
Obtained a Master degree in Culture and Society from University of Stanford and a Master degree in African General History from UCLA. He is researching the Nilotic and Abyssynian prescence in the Tuareg civilization for his PhD. He currently works as a technical adviser to the Peace Building High Authority (Niger Republic Presidency) During the armed civil conflict in Niger, he formed part of the forces that demanded an independent state in the Western Sahara. Later, he became one of founding members of the Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee and since February 2017 he serves as the Vice President of the organization. Since 2006, he has worked on research project on the history of of Indigenous peoples, notably the keltamachakh (Touareg), in the Sahelo-Saharan region of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
A psychologist and sociologist by education, she is a communication and leadership trainer, with a training certificate from Thames Valley University (Great Britain) and experience of over 1500 training days. She's worked in sixteen countries, including Ukraine, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Hungary. She's also served as a political strategist in campaigns European Council, Donald Tusk 2005 presidential campaign. She is a columnist for a leading weekly "Wysokie Obcasy" (High Heels). Her passions outside work are poetry and yoga.
A freelance photographer, founder of the Machina Fotografika Foundation, she promotes people who work in photography, supports the creative development of women and performs educational activities in visual arts. A graduate of Cultural Studies at the Adam Mickiewicz University of Poznań and Creative Photography in Opava (Czech Republic), with a diploma in Dita Pepe's seminar. She exhibits both in Poland and abroad. She publishes in newspapers: Polityka weekly, Wysokie Obcasy magazine, Tygodnik Powszechny weekly, as well as in books. She strives to make fashion a tool for the promotion of important social, artistic and cultural events and she attains this goal in "artfashion" photo sessions. She has also completed coach training organized by NGO Trainers' Association STOP, currently participant in the Leaders Program of The Polish-American Freedom Foundation. She works on project "440 km", which aims to support women's development with physical disabilities and make them more visible in public space.
Polish professor at Oslo University and Oxford University. After graduating with a degree in linguistics from Wrocław University, in 1988 Witoszek received a doctorate in comparative cultural history from the University of Stockholm. At the beginning of 2005 she was included among the top 10 most outstanding Norwegian intellectuals in a ranking published by Dagbladet magazine. Witoszek is also a novelist and screenwriter. The collection of short stories entitled Fables of the Irish Intelligentsia and published under her pseudonym garnered a prestigious literary award in Ireland and the story The Loves of Faustyna (translated into polish) have created a sensation on the British literary market. In 2005 she was awarded the prestigious Freedom of Expression Prize for "bringing novel, Eastern European perspectives into the Scandinavian public debate". She donated part of the award to establishing the Solidarity Europe Association. Her recent books include Culture and Crisis (Oxford, New York, 2003) and Daimons (New York, 2003).
A British-Polish historian noted for his publications on the history of Europe, Poland and the United Kingdom. Davies published a book God's Playground, a comprehensive overview of Polish history; Heart of Europe, a briefer history of Poland; Europe: A History and The Isles: A History, about Europe and the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, respectively; Microcosm: Portrait of a Central European City, a history ofWrocław / Breslau, a Silesian city; Rising '44. The Battle for Warsaw, which describes the Warsaw Uprising etc. He has worked for the BBC as well as British and American magazines and newspapers, such as The Times, The New York Review of Books and The Independent. In Poland, his articles appeared in the liberal Catholic weekly Tygodnik Powszechny. Davies was awarded the Order of the White Eagle, Poland's highest civilian award. Norman Davies has been appointed to the Advisory Board of the European Association of History Educators - EUROCLIO.
Diplomat and government official. In 2008, he started working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the Department of the United Nations and Human Rights, and then at the Department of European Policy. In 2017-2018 he was the head of the Political Department of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Paris. From 2019, deputy director in the Department of European Policy. From October 2020, he also serves as the National Coordinator of Visegrad Cooperation.
Pavel Fischer served as senior political advisor to the late President Vaclav Havel and the Director of the Political Department of President Havel's Presidential Office. Subsequently he was appointed as the Ambassador of the Czech Republic to France and Monaco. After his 7-year ambassadorial mission, he served as the Political Director General in charge of defence, security and strategic issues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2013, he stepped down for family reasons, and worked with governmental and non-governmental partners. He worked as Director of empirical studies institute STEM. Mr. Fischer has been generally acknowledged as one of the leading supporters of strong Trans-Atlantic ties, as well as of an active membership of the Czech republic in the NATO and EU among the politically active figures. In 2018 Presidential election, he lost and was 3rd with 10% of votes. Member of Jacques Delors Institute (Paris), of SIRIRI (Prague based NGO promoting educational programs in Central African Republic), and of Forum 2000 Foundation (Prague).
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor at the Institute of European Studies
Paweł Filipek, Ph.D., Assistant Professor at the Institute of European Studies, Jagiellonian University, Ph.D. in Legal Sciences with specialization in Public International Law. Previously worked at the Chair of Public International Law (1997-2007) and coordinated the Jagiellonian University Human Rights Centre (2003-2007) and the Human Rights Clinic (2003-2006). Scholarship holder of the Max-Planck Society (2002-2003). Earlier, Ph.D. candidate at the European Graduate College Heidelberg-Krakow-Mainz (2001-2008), trainee at the Council of Europe on Strasburg (2000) and the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Warsaw (1997). Academic interests in Public International Law, Human Rights Protection, Law and practice of the European Convention on Human Rights, Law of International Organizations, international control.
Graduated from the Department of Philosophy and History of the Charles University in Prague. Worked in the Czechoslovak and later the Czech Academy of Science and conducted research in history of science. He worked in Embassy of the Czech Republic in Moscow (1995-1999), , Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic in Department of Central Europe (1999-2005) and Embassy of the Czech Republic in Kyiv (2005-2009). Currently executive director of the Visegrad Fund.
Secretary of State for European affairs in the MFA and Prime Minister's Plenipotentiary for European Council meetings since 2014. Studied journalism and political sciences, English philology, and security in Poland, Great Britain (Oxford), France, USA and Australia. Holds a doctorate in political science and is a university lecturer on European affairs. Former member of the European Parliament (2009-2013) where he dealt with the implementation of EU Treaties, EU budget, the protection of privacy and the European Digital Agenda. In 2004 received a Ph.D. from the University of Warsaw's Institute of International Relations in the Department of Journalism and Political Science. Former advisor to the Secretary of the Committee for European Integration, working for the head of the Office of the Committee for European Integration. Between 2004-2009 an advisor to the Chair of the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs and to the Delegation of the Civic Platform to the European Parliament. In the years 2013-2014 Minister of Administration and Digitalization in Prime Minister Donald Tusk's Cabinet.
Associated Professor at the International Economics Department of Cracow University of Economics. Scientific interests: international economic and political relations, geopolitics, mathematical aided decision ‑ making, science marketing and adventure tourism. Business consultant in the fields of strategic and multicultural management, psychological factors in management and geopolitical functioning of international enterprises. Besides scientific and didactical activity he has acquired experience in international enterprises (i.e. ISP Modzelewski i Wspólnicy Sp. z o.o., Compact S.A., Electricité de France). NGO associate (i.e. Villa Decius), consultant in European Union's Framework Programmes (various tasks in frames of Operational Programme Human Capital), guest lecturer at foreign Universities (Germany, Netherlands, Turkey, USA). Alumnus of Cracow University of Economics (International Relations, International Management). Scholar of Polish Government at the College of Europe, Natolin / Brugge (Poland / Belgium, European Interdisciplinary Studies) and Hanns - Seidel - Stiftung at the Georg - Simon - Ohm Fachhochschule Nürnberg (Germany, Betriebswirtschaft). Hobbies: adventure tourism, construction of motorcycles, lead guitarist in doom - metal band Lacrima.
Job Titles:
- Journalist, Director of the Radiocompania LUX, Lviv
Rosalind Franklin Fellow and Senior Lecturer at the University of Groningen (Netherlands). She completed her undergraduate studies in History and Literature and Linguistics at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest and was awarded her doctorate in Modern History by the University of Oxford in 2002. She subsequently held positions at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin and the University of Essex. Her research focuses on modern historiography, cultural history and the history of political thought. Her recent book, Historians and Nationalism: East-Central Europe in the Nineteenth Century was published by Oxford University Press (February, 2010). She is participant of the research programme History of Political Thought in East-Central Europe (2008-2013), which is hosted by the Centre for Advanced Study, Sofia.
Supporter of diversity, sustainability, activation of women in science and economy (esp. in technological sectors). Passionate about inclusive management, innovate work philosophy and CSR. Rose Anderson is Director for Protection Services at Scholars at Risk, where she oversees SAR's work assessing applications from threatened scholars and seeking placements within the SAR Network. Prior to joining the SAR team, Rose worked with the Human Rights Advocates Program at Columbia University, a capacity-building and training program for human rights activists from around the world. Rose also worked with WITNESS, where she trained activists in using video for human rights documentation and developed training materials. Rose received her M.A.
Sari Al Hassanat is a young poet and civil rights activist from Palestine. Directly affected by the unstable political situation in Gaza, he started writing and publishing poems and articles, tackling sensitive issues such as political corruption, human rights and terrorism. He merged his poetical talent with his civil rights activism, writing poems about peace for children, which have been published by Iraqi, Swedish Based Al Noor Centre for Culture and Media. He has also worked as a volunteer with the Peace and Friendship International Organization, the Al-Najada Charity for Palestinian Children, as well as the Youth Culture Forum Association (YCFA). Currently Al Hassanat is an ICORN resident in Gdańsk, Poland.
Job Titles:
- Project Controller at the International Visegrad Fund.
He holds PhD in Informatics from the Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Automatisation Faculty. In 1989 - 1990 he served as the Minister of Industry. Since 1991 he has been a professional politician - a deputy to the Polish Parliament (Sejm); in 1997-1998 he was the Chairman of the Freedom Union's Parliamentary Club. In 1992-1993 he was the Chief of the Prime Minister's team of advisors with the cabinet rank of under-secretary of state.
Job Titles:
- Economic Officer for the United States Consulate General
Tom Zia serves as the Political and Economic Officer for the United States Consulate General in Krakow. Prior to coming to Krakow, he served on the staff of the Secretary of State as a Line Officer in the Executive Secretariat. Tom has also served as a Desk Officer covering the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi, as a Vice-Consul at the U.S. Consulate General in Guadalajara, Mexico, and as Vice-Consul at Embassy Warsaw. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from the Arizona State University and a juris doctorate from the University of Texas School of Law. Mr. Zia grew up in Oregon and California and worked as an attorney in Arizona and Washington, D.C., prior to joining the Foreign Service.
Umar Abdul- Nasser was born in Mosul, Iraq in 1985. He is a poet, writer and stage performer, creating in Arabic and English. Umar work has already been presented in various countries around the World, during many festivals and events (Poland, UK, Iraq, Turkey, Sweden and Finland). His best works, like in example "Declaration No.0" and "A Message of Peace" can also be seen on his YouTube channel . Umar's work focus on the aspects of humanity and peace, strongly opposing cruelty of war and conflict. The artist is currently on his International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN) scholarship in Wrocław, Poland.
Job Titles:
- Journalist, Editor - in - Chief of the Spektrum Polsko - Mołdawskie.
Ukrainian philosopher, essayist and political analyst. Author of numerous articles/interviews in Krytyka, Eurozine, Korydor, Ukrainskyi zhurnal, LitAkcent, Historians.in.ua, Espreso.tv, Krayina, TV5Monde, Die Welt, EU Observer, MediaPart and others. Has PhD in political studies at Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS, Paris), teaches philosophy at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (Kyiv, Ukraine), foreign policy at education projects run by Internews Ukraine. Director of EU-related projects at Internews Ukraine, lecturer at EU Study Days (EU-funded education programme in Ukraine). Author of a book on Walter Benjamin ("Opovidach i philosoph. Walter Benjamin ta joho chas, Kyiv, Krytyka, 2011). In November 2013-May 2014 widely commented Ukrainian events in European media (Radio France, France Culture, Le Monde, TV5, TV1, Die Welt, DNES, Sueddeutsche Zeitung, etc).
Poet, translator and publicist. He works for the Tygodnik Powszechny weekly. He teaches Polish Studies at the University of Olomouc. Burian translated the poetry of Czesław Miłosz into Czech.
Project Coordinator in the Association for International Affairs where he started working in 2013. Previously, he worked as a Research Assistant at the Institute of International Relations (2013) and at the Foreign Affairs Department of the Office of the President of the Republic (2012). He currently finishes his International Relations studies and continues in Political Science at the Masaryk University. Vít is mainly focused on Central European politics.
Deputy Director of the Association for International Affairs (AMO) Research Center. He pursues his PhD in European Studies at the Faculty of Social Studies of the Masaryk University in Brno. He holds also MA in European Studies and BA in European Studies and International Relations from the Masaryk University. He completed study stay at Collegium Civitas in Warsaw and internships at the Czech Embassy in Poland and the South Moravian Region Representation to the EU. He has been cooperating with AMO since 2006. He covers the Polish internal and foreign policy, Central-European cooperation and Czech foreign and European policy.
Head of the Management Faculty at Tischner European University and General Director at TEUCES (Centre for Energy Studies; www.teuces.eu). A graduate of the Jagiellonian University and UNESCO Chair for Translation Studies and Intercultural Communication, he joined Tischner European University in May 2011. Prior to his current employment, Łukasz held four successive functions at ArcelorMittal Poland S.A. (last title: Director Corporate Responsibility & Communications, in charge of the company's CSR policy management, internal and external communications, company spokesperson and editor-in-chief of the monthly bulletin). His experience covers CSR management, stakeholder relations, project management and investments in education (infrastructure projects for schools and universities), health (projects in hospitals), culture (events, infrastructure), sports and sustainable development. In February 2011, Mr. Cioch completed a comprehensive news-coverage training exercise at TVN24. In April 2011, he provided live event-commentary for TVP1, during the royal wedding ceremony at Westminster Abbey. His other hobbies and interests include psychology, creative writing, photography, motor-sports and travelling.