CITIZENSLAB MEMBERS 2016 - 2017
Redon Skikuli (Albania): ‘I am a co-founder of the Open Labs
Hackerspace Albania, not for profit community that promotes
open knowledge and open data initiatives such as Wikipedia,
Linux, LibreOffice, Mozilla, OpenStreetMap and any free libre
open source platform that promotes the free software
manifesto. As a local community builder I would love to share
my personal and collective experiences of building from
scratch a community of hacktivists.’ For further information
check www.openlabs.cc.
Tamara Ehs (Austria): 'I am hosting Democracy Repair Cafés that I
have developed as part of IG Demokratie. Working in political
education in universities, schools or even public spaces I am
committed to a participatory, inclusive development of the
political process, trying to bring citizens and politicians together in
new conversational formats.' Find out more at http://igdemokratie.at.
Siegfried Korpan (Austria): ‘I am living in the village Gols am
Neusiedler See in the northeast of Austria. I am engaged in
European initiatives in the role of 'EU Gemeinderat' as the local
focal point for European matters. This includes information about
how the Europen Union works as well as clarifications of specific
decisions of the European Union.’ Further information at
https://www.bmeia.gv.at/europaaussenpolitik/europapolitik/oesterreich-in-der-eu/eugemeinderaete.
Tunde Adefioye (Belgium): I am a city dramaturg at KVS
(The BrusselsCity Theatre) and a founder of Urban
Woorden, a non-profit that uses poetry as a tool for youth
engagement. I am passionate about working with the
local community to create a space for the youth to
express and empower themselves, to feel inspired to be
the best version of themselves. Find out more at
http://www.woorden-schat.nl and www.kvs.be.
CitizensLab members 2016-17
1
Helen Titchen Beeth (Belgium): ‘I am an evolutionary entrepreneur
working inside the European Commission. I also work throughout
Europe with the community of practitioners of the Art of Hosting
Conversations that Matter, building capacity for critical collective
engagement with the highest potential for the future. I am based in
Brussels and the Flemish countryside.‘ Find out more about the
project at https://iyeshe.wordpress.com.
Jean-Paul Pinon (Belgium): 'WeCitizens is a Belgian citizens
platform contributing to better democracy and public governance
through increased transparency and citizenship education. We
develop transparency tools such as the Electoral GPS
(http://vote.wecitizens.be), a Political Atlas
(http://directory.wecitizens.be) and a Transparency Index of
Political Parties. We seek international partnerships.' Find out
more at www.wecitizens.be.
Pavlina Petrova (Bulgaria): ‘I am an economist, Bulgarian by place
of birth and citizen of the world by soul. Vibrant Village Foundation
/ Фондация "Живо село" - is my last initiative and excitement. We
develop what it meant to become a good practice of community
interaction, which can be easily transferred to other small
communities. We have the will to re-awake bulgarian village – the
‘sleeping beauty’ of sustainable development’. Check out:
www.zhivoselo.org
Yanina Taneva (Bulgaria): ‘I work as a ‘catalyst’ and
a ‘fuel’ for small ideas and imaginative people with
extraordinary potential for social change. A
strategic communicator by profession I am a cofounder of Ideas Factory and its director at the
moment as well as Changemakers Academy, Social
Innovation Challenge and Granny residence. Check
out: ideasfactorybg.org // Ideas Factory Association
/ Фабрика за Идеи // Резиденция Баба.
CitizensLab members 2016-17
2
Branko Stanic (Croatia): ‘I'm Branko from Croatia, a PhD student
and a researcher at the Institute of Public Finance in Zagreb. My
research field includes local budget transparency and
democratization of the budget process and giving citizens a say in
policy formulation and resource allocation. Am a singer, music-lover
who cares about freedom and equality and always hopes for a
better tomorrow’.
More at http://www.ijf.hr/eng/research/croatian-sciencefoundation-projects/1053/olbi/1064.
Linda Öhman (Finland): ‘My local community is my extended
family. It is the people I bump into regularly and the events filling
everyday life. It makes the framework for my life. I have a
background in world politics, peace and conflict research and
European civil society and I work for FutureLab Europe, a
programme that aims to give a voice to young Europeans and
encourages them to be active citizens.”
Check out: FutureLab Europe.
Emmanuel Pidoux (France): ‘As the manager of cultural affairs in Colomiers
my assignments particularly consist in developing international and
European connections and projects (especially through the EU education
and cultural programmes). This includes promoting and developing urban
forms of cultures, practices and art. We especially focus on finding new
ways to engage citizens and foster residents participation in a broaden
view of cultural field connected with social and urban issues.’
See more at http://www.ville-colomiers.fr.
François Schneider (France): ‘Since 2001, I have been active
at developing the degrowth concept, movement and debate
in France and Europe. Founding Research & Degrowth (2006),
I initiated and organised the first two degrowth conferences .
I now develop life-style innovation on the French-Spanish
border and work on developing degrowth narratives using
group-assembly processes’. Further information at
www.degrowth.org
CitizensLab members 2016-17
3
Marlene Haas (Germany): ‘I am a passionate urban change
maker. Actually, I worked as event manager for cultural and
social events until I got in touch with sustainable trade fairs. I
recognized that there is a huge gap between what citizens know
about sustainabilty, how small companies are supported in
sustainable development and how local economy, citizens and
NGOs unite for local empowerment. So I decided to build a local
community for sustainable development with tools and
programmes
to
support
a
better
life.’
Check out http://www.lustaufbesserleben.de.
Martin Pairet (Germany): ‘I have been working in
international non-profits for years, supporting first the
organic movement and later fundraising for campaigns on
climate and social justice. I am passionate about people
organizing at every level to fight for their fundamental rights
and to challenge systems that create inequalities, exclusion
and poverty. I am now working for European Alternatives, a
transnational network of activists and citizens fighting for
more democracy, equality and culture beyond nation
states.’ See more at European Alternatives.
Cicek Bacik (Germany): ‘I have established an open literature
platform Daughters and Sons of Gastarbeiters. In public readings
we perform our family histories that are accompanied by image
projections from the family album, film and music. The stories are
intended to stimulate a public debate about the relevance of
immigrants in German society. It is important to draw our
attention to the concrete reality of life of immigrants in order to
fight the populist alienation rhetoric and mechanisms of
exclusion.’ Check out www.gastarbeiters.de
Lilian Jüchtern (Germany): ‘I work for the European Forum for
Freedom in Education (EFFE) which promotes equity, freedom and
diversity of education across Europe. We aim to facilitate exchange of
ideas and the transfer of know-how amongst agents in education and
other stakeholders. We believe that education is a task of society as a
whole and encourage educational organisations to engage in transsectorial collaborations, to use community resources and to invite
people from different professions to work with children and young
people.’ See more at www.effe-eu.org.
CitizensLab members 2016-17
4
Sven Stegemann (Germany): ‘I am a co-founder of
Open State, an organization which pioneers, fosters,
and scales the tools for a livable society and thriving
economy beyond consumerism. I´ve been working as
an organizational developer, systemic process
consultant and communications expert in different
settings, until recently and over the course of four years
at the BMW Foundation. I am a philosopher and economist by education with a master
degree in sustainability science and social innovation.’ Check out: www.roc21.openstate.cc
// www.openstate.cc // Open State.
Marou Chatzopoulou (Greece): ‘I am the co-founder of COMM’ON, a
mullti-leveled space where people - leading new societal activities meet, learn from each other, exchange assets and co-create new
effective and sustainable solutions for city living, building a new
societal eco-system. I am a PhD candidate and I also work is in the
field of visual communication design’. Find out more at
www.common.city
Elina Makri (Greece): ‘I am a journalist based in Athens, but I
travel a lot in Europe because I do European journalism. I am a cofounder of Oikomedia, a professional social network for media
professionals created by journalists and techies in Greece (mainly)
and Italy. Oikomedia started out of the need for foreign
correspondents to understand the reality of "my" local
community and not report about it behind a computer screen in
Brussels.’ Check out: Oikomedia
Angeliki Tseliou (Greece): ‘I studied linguistics and modern
Greek literature in Athens and Paris, and I currently freelance,
providing content management services for print and electronic
publications. Since 2011, I have been an active member of
Kalliga Square Citizens Association, a group of committed
volunteers, working persistently to improve the quality of life in
a rather challenging district of Athens. The basic poles of our
action include social solidarity, urban environment and culture
in the public space.’ Check out Kalliga Square Citizens Association: Ένωση Πολιτών Πλατείας
Καλλιγά
CitizensLab members 2016-17
5
Eleni Zontirou (Greece): ‘I am an elected member and President
of the local board of the 6th Municipality of Athens where I have
lived all my life. I am interested in politics for the benefit of all
residents. Our district comprises of many cultures and I believe in
cooperation and collaboration together with all residents of my
district. My passion is to encourage and empower the residents
to understand each other, to participate and work on solutions
to their everyday problems.’ Check out what's going on in the
City of Athens: www.cityofathens.gr
Argyro Barata (Greece): ‘I hold a track record of planning and
coordinating cultural projects with national reach for
independent artists, institutions and major Greek festivals for
the last 15 years. I am passionate about upgrading the creative
class, transforming the Greek cultural ecosystem and looking
for new collaborative working methods. Shaping a new social
mentality towards citizens' active participation to support local
creativity is the reason why I founded FEAST Greece, a start-up
that fosters cultural entrepreneurship and the arts with offline
crowdfunding events.’ Check out: http://feastgreece.wix.com/feastgreece#!about-en/c295
Sandor Lederer (Hungary): ‘I am a co-founder and director of
K-Monitor, an anti-corruption NGO from Hungary. From the very
beginning I couldn’t stand when people misused their power or public
funds, our common assets. At K-Monitor we are passionate about
technology projects, engaging citizens and advocating for greater
transparency. We operate open data websites, conduct research and
advocate for legal reform. We aim to challenge and overcome the
social indifference to corruption, to raise awareness and disseminate
knowledge. See more at http://k-monitor.hu/
Ildikó Simon (Hungary): ‘In the past 12 years I have spent many days
with community organizing as well as community development and
my attention turned to social entrepreneurship as one of the only
exit for people living in poor rural area, very often they are Romas.
My organization Cromo Foundation was established in 2002 to
contribute to local, regional cooperation of non-governmental,
business and governmental actors to strengthen a participatory,
active, democratic society in Hungary.’ Check out Cromo Alapítvány Cromo Foundation
CitizensLab members 2016-17
6
Gaspar Horvath (Hungary): ‘I am a co-founder of
blocal.co, the first local online social network
platform in Hungary. I studied engineering and
business, I worked in different industries but all the
time I had the feeling that I have to make something
more valuable. In 2014 we started to build up a social
network for neighbors to support them building local
communities with trust and help them reducing
waste by sharing. I believe in the power of the communities and I know we can change our
word with proactive attitude.’ Check out Miutcánk.hu and Blocal.
Margherita Mugnai (Italy): As a Sociolab facilitator, trainer and codesign enthusiast, I feel accomplished when the people I work with
express their full potential, by fruitfully exchanging ideas and building
collaborative projects, by exiting isolation through the creation of
dense networks and by using their talents and skills to develop their
own solutions to complex problems. I am a member of Sociolab
(www.sociolab.it), a multidisciplinary research centre in the fields of
participatory processes, social research, training and communication’.
Stephen Ogbonna (Italy): ‘I am a student of International Relation and
European Studies at the University of Bari. Mama Africa is an
association empowers immigrants and refugees to build new lives and
become self-sufficient by providing specific social services from
employment, vocational training and Italian language, to community
development, sport, theatre and legal services. ‘
Levente Polyák (Italy): "I am Co-founder of Eutropian, work on
urban regeneration processes that use existing resources and
connect community groups with public administrations and
innovative businesses. Passionate for cities and the people who
form them, I share my time between Rome, Vienna and Budapest,
combining the best of these worlds, and trying to change the
worst."
Check out: Eutropian.
CitizensLab members 2016-17
7
Michela Sechi (Italy): ‘I work at Radio Popolare, Milano, the most
important journalists-owned Italian radio network. My boss is the
public: 16.000 listeners who donate 90 euros/year to support
"their" radio station. The secret of the long life of Radio Popolare
is that it is giving a sense of belonging to a community to the
listeners. NGOs and the civil society can always rely on Radio
Popolare to get a space to speak about their projects.’
Check out Radio Popolare.
Chiara Organtini (Italy): ‘I love question marks rather than
fullstops, I believe in if rather then simple present, I am intrigued
by thresholds and collect doorsteps: love irony but hate ironing
as a personal fight against flatness: for this future facing attitude
of making unforeseenable connections and meanings, provoking
short-circuits sometimes, I committed my work to arts and
creative production. At CAOS and Ternifestival we produce arts
and experiences able of engage people emotionally, create new
understanding and make transformations happen.’
See more at CAOS - Centro arti opificio siri.
Francesco Saija (Italy): ‘I'm a PhD in Political Philosophy. I am part of a
group, named Parliament Watch Italia that aims to spread the culture
of transparency and openness in local governments. The volunteers of
Parliament Watch Italia, live in Sicily and Calabria, two regions that are
particularly lacking political transparency and accountability, where
corruption of public authorities and the criminal power of mafia
suppress social innovation. We believe that volunteer networks are the
strongest answer to fight the lack of political transparency and
accountability. Check out: Parliament Watch Italia
Andrea Rossi (Italy): I am the vice-president of Cherimus,
an art association based in the Sulcis-Iglesiente region
(Sardinia). Cherimus is a Sardinian word that means ‘we
want’ – we want to forge a new relationship between the
contemporary art world and local initiatives, both cultural
and economic. We work with international artists to
interact directly with people, places, and potential
processes of innovation. Apart from my work with the association, I am a post-doc
researcher studying processes of political change.’ Find out more at: www.cherimus.net
CitizensLab members 2016-17
8
Evija Taurene (Latvia): ’I live, work and generally enjoy life in
Cēsis. The organisation I represent is a public institution - a
local municipality, which coordinates and looks over all the
aspects of city governing, including development, economic
development, urban planning etc. As a part of my work in
the municipality I have started an initiative that aims to
encourage and empower citizens to make their voice heard
and to participate in the co-creation of the town.’
See more at www.cesis.lv.
Jekaterina Lavrinec (Lithuania): ‘I am a Vilnius-based urban
artist, researcher and educator in Urban Studies. I am a cofounder of the NGO „Laimikis.lt“ that serves as
interdisciplinary platform for participatory arts, research
and non-formal learning. I teach courses in Urban Studies at
Vilnius Gediminas Technical University and together with
my students I run and curate the annual week for urban
interventions "priARTink" (pARTincipate!). In my practice I
implement arts-based research approaches and focus on
the issues of urban perception, temporal urban solidarities and cooperation, usability and
regeneration of public spaces.’ Check out Laimikis.lt
Martin Popov (Macedonia): ‘I work as a project manager at Центар
на заедницата на општина Центар (Community Center of
Municipality of Centar). My focus and interest of work is
improvement of the local government and participative democracy.
My organization aims to achieve inclusion of citizens in decision
making processes on all levels of the local government as well as
improvement of the level of services’. Find out more at
www.cccentar.mk.
Wassila Hachchi (Netherlands): ‘I am a founder of
the Dialogue Digital, a safe online space for intelligent
conversations to drive social change. I am also a
social entrepreneur, a campaign consultant, a
speaker and a coach. In 2015 I shared my story at
TEDx Amsterdam Women and led a successful crowd
funding campaign.’
See more at http://listenthinkspeak.online.
CitizensLab members 2016-17
9
Laura M. Pana (Netherlands): ‘I am a social entrepreneur,
facilitator, and artist. Since 2014, I am running
migrationlab, a non-profit organization based in the Hague,
which was inspired by my journey as a Romanian migrant in
Europe. My work focuses on co-designing public living
rooms in cities across Europe, where migrants, refugees
and locals re-imagine how to acknowledge, communicate
with and relate to each other’. More information is
available at www.migrationlab.org.
Ed Santman (Netherlands): ‘I develop multi-disciplinary art projects with
people at the edge of society, like drugs abusers and prisoners. In most
of my projects I approach the arts also as a tool for non-formal learning.
My ambition is to help my target group to develop basic skills. My
organization Chances and Changes operates at the intersection of art,
education and society. Apart from creating stronger communities, the
essence of our work is the use of art as a tool for developing social and
employability skills’. Check out http://changeschances.com.
Sjoerd Bootsma (Netherlands): ‘I am a programme developer
of Leeuwarden European Capital of Culture 2018. I firmly
believe that everyone has a responsibility to work together
with their neighbours to create the best possible
neighbourhood to live in. In my work I try to help communities
to open up and criss-cross with other communities near and
far. In my opinion, all the different relations between all these
communities and cooperations is 'Europe'.’ See more at
http://2018.nl.
Mpanzu Bamenga (Netherlands): ‘Starting 2014 I am a city
council of Eindhoven. I focuse on the support for homeless
people, refugees, (hidden) discrimination, youth
unemployment, diversity, security & human rights policy
and social inclusion. I am also a coordinator of the Inclusive
Leadership Network, a civil society organization that
empowers high potential inclusion leaders from different
sectors, such as community, NGOs, business, government,
media, arts, education; and aspiring political leaders from
diverse backgrounds.’ Check out Inclusion Leaders Network.
CitizensLab members 2016-17
10
Tiago Castro (Portugal): ‘I am an urban planner, cultural manager and
actor/performer. In the past eight years I've been working at or
participating in initiatives and projects that involve local
communities, mainly linked to urban issues. The experience of
working and engaging several initiatives within my local community
reinforced my will of working as a facilitator and actor of change. My
organization 4iS – Platform for Social Innovation aims to create a
social value culture supported on social innovation practices through
sharing of knowledge, services, projects and social enterprises.’ See
more at Plataforma para a Inovação Social.
Serban Oncescu (Romania): ‘I am fond of freedom and I do not
let things as they are, when it comes to injustice or wrong
settlements. That's why I chose to try to change things a little,
not only to complain. My organization Asociatia Civicus
Romania supports young people to understand the society
they live in and help them integrate and associate. We assist
citizens in their relationship with public authorities and try to
show them the rights of their citizenship in order to participate
in public policy development.’ Check out Civicus Romania.
Christian Mladin (Romania): ‘I have studied Philosophy and
History of Art. I am interested in cultural management and
implementation of the creative and cultural industries' policies. I
am currently involved in an extraordinary project concerning the
creative community of Alba Iulia, a very beautiful and old city of
Romania. Giving this unique conjuncture, I'm trying to find ways
to connect the innovative with the past. This is one of Europe's
greatest ideas. Do we have the power to assume the exigency of
this reality?’ Check out http://www.visitalbaiulia.com.
Iva Cukic (Serbia): 'I am a co-founder and coordinator of the
Ministarstvo prostora (Collective Ministry of Space) NGO, a
do-tank that connects social activists, artists, architects,
scholars and citizens by organizing platforms aimed at
researching, making models and conducting campaigns
focused on city development issues. The activities span
from creation of independent social and cultural centers to
researching and developing policy recommendations on
urban planning and public property management.’
CitizensLab members 2016-17
11
Mateja Softic (Slovenia): ‘I am one of three cofounders of
ISKRIVA, a private non-profit organisation focused on
responsible use of natural and cultural resources for the
benefit of local communities. We work on helping public
organisations bridge the gaps in cooperation with local
stakeholders, develop cooperation projects and help with
the fundraising. Furthermore, we design and lead
stakeholder engagement processes in support of policy development and informed decisionmaking.’ Find out more at http://www.iskriva.net.
Ale González (Spain): ‘I am an architect, programmer and a digital
artist. I work for wwb.cc, an Andalusian cooperative that works with
free software, free hardware and open standards, offering
technological and communication services in the fields of art,
architecture and social movements. Although we have an architectural
background we are passionate about free technologies and its
implementation in the fields of art, communication and social
movements.’ For more information see https://wwb.cc.
David Juarez (Spain): "I am a restless inhabitant, architect and
co-founder of Straddle3, a multidisciplinary collective mostly
working with grass-roots organizations. I am also an active
member of Arquitecturas Colectivas network. I love radical
participation, self-building, ecology, popular culture, free
software, mediterranean food and I have a particular weakness
for music, being a dj and the father of a future rock star." Check
out: http://straddle3.net // http://arquitecturascolectivas.net.
Banu Pekol (Turkey): I specialize in the conservation of historical
heritage of minorities. Through creative as well as research–based
projects to preserve heritage especially of contested heritage sites, I
work to find concrete ways for communities to embrace and
preserve heritage, regardless of the ethnic or religious community
that built it. My organisation the Association for the Protection of
Cultural Heritage (KMKD) was founded in order to respond to the
urgent need to protect and preserve the heritage of minority
groups.' Find out more at Kültürel Mirası Koruma Derneği or
http://www.kmkm.org.tr.
CitizensLab members 2016-17
12
Ebru Gökdag (Turkey): I am founding member of CTOTurkey (Center for Theatre of the Oppressed-Turkey),
formed by a group of women to fight any kind of
oppression anywhere in Turkey and implemented as a sort
of network. I have been an active citizen of my community
for a long time working with many different groups on
different issues. With the help and support of my university
– Anadolu University – I am able to work within my community in Eskişehir and also conduct
field work in other areas of Turkey.’ Check out: www.anadolu.edu.tr.
Handan Saatcioglu Gurses (Turkey): ‘I am passionate about
working on different elements of the local community. It gives me
a platform to communicate face to face with other people from
different backgrounds. My storytelling project is called Komsu
Kapici which means ‘Neighbour's Door’; and it's all about knocking
on your neighbours’ door. Komsu Kapici urges awareness for
different ideas in the local neighbourhood and provides a platform
to use public space for all kinds of social-cultural-political
activities.’ Check out Komşu Kapisi Maçka Dayanişma Derneği.
Ayse Görür (Turkey): ‘My association SKYGD conducts
projects (in cooperation with other NGOs, local and public
institutions) with groups under risk or subjected to social
and/or economical exclusion since it has been founded.
These projects are oriented towards the needs of target
groups and susceptible to be adopted and applied by them.
As an art-based NGO, we work with all the disadvantaged
groups. We carry out powerful art projects comprehending art workshops such as drama,
painting,
hip-hop
etc.
with
groups
under
risk.’
See
more
at
http://www.sosyalkulturelyasam.org/?fref=ts
Louise Armstrong (United Kingdom): ‘I am constantly
experimenting and learning in pursuit of systems change. I
do this through the Peckham Coal Line a communityinitiated project for a new urban park and by working at the
System Change Lab where I am currently designing and
navigating an Inquiry into the Future of Civil Society in
England’.
For
further
information
check:
www.peckahmcoalline.org and www.systemschangelab.org
CitizensLab members 2016-17
13
Nick Connaughton (United Kingdom): ‘I run the Creative
Engagement department at Arcola Theatre, one of the UK's
leading off-west end venues, housed in a converted
warehouse in Dalston, East London. This means finding
creative, thought provoking and new ways to use the power
of theatre to influence the world around us. I run youth
theatre, schools and community theatre programmes, as
well as talent development strands, all of which aim to find
and nurture the artists and audience of tomorrow. We
believe that theatre has the power to drive radical change, and are also the world's first
Carbon Neutral Theatre!’ Check out Arcola Theatre.
Gerry Proctor (United Kingdom): ‘I really enjoy working with people
who live in the apartments of the city centre and waterfront and
trying to raise the profile of quality of life issues. Founded in 2007,
Engage Liverpool links these people together and becomes a voice to
speak with stakeholders and those who make decisions about the
direction the city is taking. We provide an independent forum where
people with the will to develop inclusive City Centre neighbourhoods
can work together towards this common goal.’ Check out
https://www.engageliverpool.com/ and also the Liverpool Air Project.
Kate Stewart (United Kingdom): ‘Co-founder & doer of all sorts
of things at We Make Places I am a creative businesswoman
with a wealth of experience in design & regeneration. Since I am
a serial social entrepreneur, my work involves partnerships &
collaborations with other creatives & businesses generating
projects for public spaces, buildings & cultural production’. Find
out more at www.wemakeplaces.org.
Dmytro Khutkyy (Ukraine): ‘I am a public sociologist, practicing
civic activism at the Reanimation Package of Reforms and
conducting research at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla
Academy, Ukraine, University of Tartu, Estonia, and the
University of California-Riverside, USA. My major fields of
expertise include democracy, development, modeling,
forecasting, and social change’. See also Center for Innovations
Development at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
CitizensLab members 2016-17
14