Marta Sys is a member of the Board of the Merkury Foundation located in Lower Silesia Region of Poland since 2010. She was responsible for applying for sources, implementation of social projects aimed on labour market, youth and building civil society as well as international cooperation. She is involved in many actions on local and regional level dedicated to civil society building eg Lower Silesia Youth Forum (4 editions), Lower Silesian Citizens Congress (5 editions). On local level, Marta is involved in NGO’s fairs (5 editions) as well as events dedicated to volunteering, such as „ Power of Help” (2 editions). She is also involved in the process of building the social economy in Poland as coordinator of innovative project financed by EU initiative EQUAL called „Muflon Partnership”. Marta is a lawyer and career counselor and member of the Board of ALDA since March 2023 as well.
Lizzy works in the Programmes and Development Department of ALDA as developer of projects funded by the European Union and other public and private donors, in the fields of good governance, human rights, social inclusion, active citizenship, youth, environment and sustainable development. More specifically, Lizzy is involved in the drafting of projects within the context of the indirect funds such as projects funded by the Italian government and regional administrations. Over the last 5 years, Lizzy has acquired a consolidated capacity and expertise in the writing and management of projects for medium and small enterprises based in Italy. She holds a master’s degree in Oriental languages with a focus on ancient languages such as Sanskrit. She is proficient in Italian, English and she has basic knowledge in Hindi and French.
Lizeth joined ALDA in 2023 as Project Manager in the Environment & Climate Hub after an internship in the Project Implementation Unit. Based on the Vicenza Office, she holds a Bachelor’s degree in Politics and International Relations from the University of Manchester (UK). She is currently finishing her master’s degree in Local Development at the University of Padua (IT).
Her past working experience includes the implementation of social development programs for small-scale farmers in Ecuador. Her interests involve corporate social responsibility, circularity and sustainability.
Participatory processes and Youth Engagement Advisor at the Istanbul Development Agency, will cooperate with the Association for the activities carried out in Türkiye. Elif Avcı holds 3 master’s degrees in Human Rights Law, Political Marketing, and Peace, Resilience, and Social Justice. She started her career as psychologist at TOÇEV and later worked as a Social Policy Specialist at Şişli Municipality. She served as Secretary General at Şişli City Council. After completing a Rotary Peace Fellowship, she joined the social policy team for the Istanbul Mayoral candidacy campaign. She worked in Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality as Social & Cultural Policy Coordinator and NDI Turkey as Program Manager. Avcı co-founded and chairs Local Monitoring Research and Implementation (YERELİZ) and currently advises the Istanbul Planning Agency on participatory policies and youth engagement. Her work reflects a strong dedication to inclusive cities and rights-based policies in collaboration with various civil society organisations.
Ahmed works as an advisor at the Tunisian National Constituent Assembly. Having been active in civil society through many NGOs, Ahmed is currently thevice-president andproject manager at “Youth Without Borders,” a Tunis based NGO aiming to supportyouth engagement in society. Ahmed is a specialist in the youth field with a focus on sports management. He also is a national and international election observer and election observer trainer.
Senida is an Albanian politician and professor. She served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Albania from 13 September 2017 to 17 January 2019. Now she is a member of parliament. Mesi lectured at the University of Shkodër “Luigj Gurakuqi” until she was elected to Parliament in 2017. In 2015, Mesi was elected a member of the municipal council for Shkodër. During the 2017 parliamentary elections, Mesi ran as a member of the Socialist Party. On 25 June 2017, Mesi was elected a member of the Parliament of Albania for Shkodër. In August 2017, Edi Rama announced that Mesi would be the next deputy prime minister of Albania. Expert on civil society local governance, she will be the point of contact for the Western Balkans area.
Tamara Ehs is a political scientist and consultant for democratic innovation from Vienna. She works with municipalities, ministries and parties in Austria, Germany and the Centrope region to foster citizens’ participation.
Tamara is the scientific advisor to the State Councillor of the Baden-Württemberg State Government on issues of citizen participation, to the European Capital of Democracy, and a member of the Commission for Dialogue Processes at the Austrian Federal Ministry for Climate Protection and Innovation. Moreover, she is involved in diverse forms of political education, especially for first-time voters, and taking part in several COST-Actions (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) as her consultancy is based on scientific research.
With over 15 years of experience in the area of Governance, Leadership, Peace and Conflict transformation, Political studies and decentralisation, Ibrahim Ndagijimana exercised high level responsibilities in the management of local government and worked as a coach for Districts organisational performance under Rwanda Governance Board in the framework of the Rwanda Decentralisation Support Program, supported by the Belgian Technical Cooperation/BTC/ENABEL).
He has a Master’s degree in Public Administration and Management, Master’s degree in Peace and Conflict transformation together with other relevant trainings and he possesses an excellent proficiency in Kinyarwanda, English, French and Swahili.
Kirsi Verkka is currently working as a participatory budgeting development manager for the City of Helsinki. She believes that renewing democratic processes, harnessing collective intelligence and deliberation are key aspects towards more democratic and sustainable societies. Her key areas of expertise are participatory democracy, digital participation and project management.
Kirsi’s background is in the field of education, with a focus on sustainable development, youth participation, teacher training and curriculum development. Her educational background has equipped her with a systemic approach to democracy innovation and citizen participation. She brings a wealth of experience in utilising various development methods, including network management, service design, experimentation, and co-creation.
Kirsi excels in conceptualisation, communication, and marketing of development work, ensuring effective dissemination of ideas and engaging stakeholders in the process. With a focus on empowering individuals and communities, she aims to drive positive change through collaborative efforts and meaningful engagement.
Maite Arrondo is an expert on innovation in housing policies. Nowadays she works for the `Housing and Renovation Institute of Barcelona Municipality´ where she supports the international social and affordable housing agenda through international networks, events organisation such as the European Housing Research Conference or the International Social Housing Festival and EU projects. Currently, she is the coordinator of the “Network of Cities for Collaborative Housing” (NETCO) on behalf of Barcelona Council. Besides, she also collaborates with HOGARSÍ Foundation, where she supports the international agenda stakeholders like the UN Homelessness Working Group and at the European Housing First Hub among others.
A passionate advocate of the interplay between homelessness and housing policies, she has expertise in gender mainstreaming and human rights based approach into public policies. She has wide experience working as urban expert in EU projects and programmes, and has collaborated with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing, European Research Centre or the European Federation of Organisations to End Homelessness among others. At the end of the day, she is the proud mum of a little girl and finds great joy in live music, yoga and cycling, and traveling.
Abdelaziz Bouslah is the Regional Officer the ASWAT: Africa, South West Asia, and Türkiye Department. He joined the European Association for Local Democracy (ALDA) in March 2019. Before that, he was a consultant for the Euro-Med France Network, where he liaised with the EU delegation in Tunisia. He also worked as a project manager for the Tunisian Association for Management and Social Stability (TAMSS), focusing on entrepreneurship and job creation for marginalised communities in Tunisia.
He is an expert in Project management, Local governance and enhancing citizens’ participation and dialogue with national and local authorities.
As for civil society activities, Abdelaziz is a member of the steering committee of the Euro-Med France Network, a former member of the advisory group of the UNESCO Networks-Mediterranean Youth Networks Tunisia and a former logistics officer at the International Debate Institute.
Abdelaziz is a native Arabic speaker, fluent in French and English, and has conversational skills in Italian.
Aladdin is an experienced EU Projects Manager and Coordinator with a proven track record of leading successful initiatives in Sports, Youth Empowerment, Civic Engagement, Sustainable Development, and other youth-related areas. Over the past 3 years, he has effectively managed and coordinated multiple projects with EU and global partners. With a strong background in Business Management and Development spanning 9 years, Aladdin has acquired valuable expertise across various sectors and fields. He holds two MSc degrees, one in Leadership and another in Marketing, reflecting his commitment to lifelong learning and professional growth. Aladdin speaks fluent English, Arabic, and good French.
Irakli Jgharkava serves as the Southern Caucasus and Central Asia coordinator, based in Tbilisi, Georgia. Prior to joining ALDA, Irakli gained valuable experience working with the European Endowment for Democracy (EED) as a programme assistant and consultant, where he contributed to the organisation’s efforts in promoting democracy in the EU’s eastern partnership region. Additionally, he worked as a researcher at the Tbilisi-based think tank, the Georgian Institute of Politics, focusing on research areas such as Georgia-EU relations, media polarisation, information warfare, national security, and nationalism.
Irakli’s academic background spans various disciplines, such as international relations, security studies, and European studies. He holds an MA degree in the Managing Disruption and Violence programme from the Daniel Morgan Graduate School of National Security (Washington, D.C., United States), as well as a Master’s degree in European Public Affairs and Policies from the College of Europe in Natolin. He completed his undergraduate studies in international relations at Tbilisi State University.
Natalie joined the ALDA Team in 2022 as Financial Officer. She obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Law from the National Research University Higher School of Economics in Moscow.
She has worked in different fields and has various experiences in working as an employee, but also as self-employed while also managing a small enterprise she founded while living in Moscow. The main work experience is related to business projects, legal and financial documents, accounting, and the digital sphere.
Dal Prà Luisa is a Project manager for ALDA Italia APS and she is the coordinator of the Alta Via della Grande Guerra (AVGG) DMO where she manages the project’s communication, promotion and development and she coordinates events and relations between administrators and economic stakeholders; she is also in charge of the project H.I.L.L. (Habitat in Living Landscape); project Carpaneda Chiama – in Vicenza, organization of participatory events. She collaborates in the definition and the drafting of the SISUS project for the Pedemontana Urban Area and the definition of partnerships for Europei projects in different programs.
Ecaterina joined ALDA in November 2022 as an administrative and communication assistant. Her professional career started as an assistant and evolved to head of the Communication and Consultancy Department of the National Intellectual Property Agency, a position she held for over 10 years.
She has designed and implemented institutional communication strategies, managed social media accounts and websites by writing content, monitoring activities and researching trends, developed concepts for visual and promotional materials, and organised national and international conferences, interactive and protocol events, and science-themed exhibitions.
She holds degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science and Economics and Marketing, from the State University of Moldova, Intellectual Property Management from the World Intellectual Property Office Academy, and Intellectual Property Enforcement from the European Union IP Office.
Fedoua is a junior project manager in the Middle East-Africa department at ALDA and is based in Strasbourg. She holds a bachelor in Political Science and a master’s degree of International Relations from Science Po Strasbourg. She had the opportunity to do an erasmus exchange in Istanbul and following that experience, she produced a research paper on the end of the ottoman caliphate for her master’s thesis.
She has previously volunteered and worked in associations focusing on migrant, refugee and asylum-seeker visibility, and on citizen’s appropriation of public space through a citizen-thought urbanism. She also acquired substantial knowledge on the Euro-mediterranean area by doing an internship at the maltese permanent representation to the Council of Europe.
Faty works at ALDA as Grant Manager for the WYDE Civic Engagement project and she is based in Senegal. She holds a master’s degree in urban geography from the Gaston Berger University of Saint-Louis in Senegal. Prior to joining ALDA; she worked at GGGI on a waste management project in Touba. She is fluent in French and has an intermediate level in English and Spanish.