International Council
….brings together distinguished persons from politics, business, science, art, culture and civil society who are elected by the Board of Directors by virtue of their office, their activity or their proven preference for the purpose of the Institute (purpose of the association). The International Council supports the Board.
Nadija AFANASIEVA
Director of UIIP Kyiv, Ukraine
Nadija Afanasieva is Director of Ukrainian Institute for International Politics (UIIP). Her main duties at the Institute are: fundraising, project elaboration, communication with donors, general supervising of the projects implemented by the Institute.
She is a part of the Priority Areas coordination team for PA 9 People and Skills of the European Strategy for the Danube Region, Support team to the EUSDR National Coordinator and the UA EUSDR Presidency 2022 Support team. The Institute has been promoting Ukrainian participation in the Strategy since 2015. Since 2016 Nadija has held trainings on project management, fundraising, presentation skills and communication for representatives of local authorities in Ukrainian regions. Also provides consultations for communities on project management and strategic planning.
Since 2021 she is expert on Smart Specialisation of the Joint Research Centre, EC
She is also a member of the EU-Ukraine Civil Society Platform, coordinator of the Working group 1 “Political dialogue, foreign and security policy”
She received a Fellowship at Wroclaw University, University of International Relations in 2012.
Eva PETRIĆ
Multimedia artist
Eva Petrić works between Vienna, New York, and Ljubljana in the fields of photography, video, installation, performance, sound, and literature. In 2005, she graduated in psychology and visual arts from Webster University in Vienna (photography mentor: Herve Massard; film script mentor: Joshua Sinclair). In 2010, she received her MFA in new media from the Transart Institute Berlin / Danube University Krems (photography mentor: Lucien Clergue, France; visual arts mentor: Martina Corgnati, Italy).
She has received numerous awards for her work, including the 2025 Prof. Hamano Special Award at the Utazu Art Award Biennial in Japan; the 2024 Hubert Sielecki Preis for video in Vienna, Austria; the 2022 Award of Excellence at the Utazu Art Award Biennial; the 2017 Best Performance Art Award at the United Solo Festival in New York (and the 2019 Best of Ten Years Award of the same festival); and the Grand Prix of the 6th International Festival of Fine Arts in Kranj, Slovenia. In 2016, she received a Silver Medal for photography at the Salon des Beaux Arts in Paris, and in 2015 she was selected as the featured artist of the EGU Conference (European Geosciences Union) in Vienna. Among other recognitions, she received the K3 Award at the Ljubljana–Villach–Udine Film Festival in 2012, the KH Pfann Ohmann Award in Vienna in 2011, and in 2010 the prestigious Vordemberge-Gildewart Foundation scholarship, awarded annually to only one promising young artist in Europe. Her works have been exhibited in more than 120 solo and over 150 group exhibitions worldwide. In 2016, she became the first Slovenian artist selected to participate in Sing for Hope, the largest public space charity art event in New York City. In 2018, her installation World Embryo was presented at the Delegates Entrance of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in recognition of World Environment Day. In 2019, her 9 × 5 m Collective Heart was the central artwork of The Value of Sanctuary: Building a House Without Walls at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the largest cathedral in New York City and North America. Since 2019, in collaboration with the Slovenian Ethnographic Museum, her interactive art object Rubik’s Cube of Recycled Shadows & Emotions has been enlivening the Metelkova Museum Square in Ljubljana, and since 2023 her 6.5 m sculpture Konduit E@mocij is in the lobby of the ELES administrative building in Beričevo. In 2023, her video Recycling Shadow was shown for three months on the large LED screens at 28 Liberty Plaza in New York. On May 2, 2025, her 50-minute film RE@EVOLUTION was screened there to mark Earth Day. Her 12-part, 8 × 5 m installation Human Cocoon—a photograph of her shadow silhouette translated into an Idrija lace pattern—which later transformed into Human Butterfly @ ArtScienceSpirituality, was the main installation at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna in 2023.
Before that, the same lace figure, titled Earthling Tattoo Seal, encapsulated in one cubic centimeter of plexiglass, was part of the test of camera lenes in microgravity at the International Space Station for almost a year, from February 2022 to January 2023. In 2025, enlarged to 9 × 5 meters, it became part of the monumental installation I Am an Earthling – What Are You? at the renowned Kollegienkirche in Salzburg. Since spring 2025, its six-meter version—equipped with sensors—has served as an interface between satellite observation and the public at JKUAT University in Nairobi, Kenya.
In 2026, a miniature 0.5 cm³ version will travel with the LifeShip Mission aboard AstroLab FlexRover to the Moon, where it will remain permanently. Her most recent large-scale installation in New York is the seasonal, site-specific Tree of Life – Totem for Humanity, created from recycled lace donated by Austrian and international contributors for the foyer of the Austrian Cultural Forum in New York. Installed in the vestibule of the landmark Raimund Abraham ACF building, it marked the transition into the new year in 2023/24, 2024/25, and 2025/26. Eva Petrič is also the author of several books that have been translated and published in several languages in different countries.
Urška DOLINAR MBA
Co-founder of Iskriva, Institute for Development for Local Potentials
Urška Dolinar is the co-founder and CEO of Iskriva, Institute for Development for Local Potentials, based in Slovenia, with relevant experience in the Danube region. Urška Dolinar graduated in communication studies and finished the MBA in international business at the University of Ljubljana.
After working as project manager and consultant in EU-funding, in 2014 she co-founded Institute Iskriva. The Institute Iskriva’s mission is to translate EU development policy objectives into concrete solutions in the field. Iskriva has been operating as a think-and-do-thank, following the principles of sustainable use of natural and cultural heritage for fair, environmentally sustainable and inclusive local economic development, leading to sustainable businesses and green jobs. It is the member of the New European Bauhaus on the Danube, Global Water Partnership, EIC Water and Tourism 4.0 networks. Urška Dolinar is the CEO with strong background in balanced regional development and sustainable tourism, with experience in developing and managing numerous international projects. Her focus has been leading bottom-up development of the Amazon of Europe (AoE) responsible destination in the UNESCO biosphere reserve Mura-Drava–Danube (AT, SI, HR, HU, SRB).
Vladimír BILČÍK
Former MEP
Since spring 2025 He has been a Senior Fellow and GLOBSEC and Visiting Professorial Fellow at Aston Centre for Europe, Aston University in the UK. He served as a Member of the European Parliament from 2019 to 2024.
In the EP he worked on EU enlargement as Chair of the Delegation to the EU-Montenegro Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee and as EP Standing Rapporteur for Serbia where he also co-led the Inter-Party Dialogue with Serbian political parties. He was a Member of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and served as Vice-Coordinator of the EPP Group in the Committee on Constitutional Affairs and Coordinator the EPP Group and Co-Rapporteur in the Special Committee on Foreign Interference and Disinformation. Prior to his parliamentary career, Vladimír Bilčík lectured in the Department of political science at Comenius University and led the research programme on the European Union at the Slovak Foreign Policy Association (SFPA). In 2002 and 2003 he worked as Advisor to the Representative of the Slovak Government in the Convention on the Future of Europe. He holds a PhD in political theory (Comenius University), M.Phil in European Politics (University of Oxford) and B.A. in political science and economics (Swarthmore College).
Georg STAWA
Judicial Attaché for the Western Balkans at the Austrian Embassy in Belgrade
Georg Stawa, former Judge, Head of Department and Secretary General in the Ministry
of Justice, now Judicial Attaché for the Western Balkans at the Austrian Embassy in
Belgrade.
He participates in international research projects, is Guest Lecturer and has a long experience in justice reform projects in countries of Central and (South) Eastern Europe in leading positions. Georg Stawa is long-term member of the Commission for Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) of the Council of Europe, for which he served as President.
Sami UKELLI
Former ambassador of Kosovo to Austria
Sami Ukelli is an experienced diplomat with extensive service in ambassadorial roles, multilateral cooperation, and regional diplomacy across Europe and beyond. He has served as Ambassador of the Republic of Kosovo to Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein, Austria, Hungary, and Japan, and previously held the position of Director General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kosovo.
At an earlier stage of his career, he worked in multilateral development cooperation as a consultant for the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and the MOPAN Network Secretariat, contributing to technical and policy-related cooperation with professional assignments in Vienna, Copenhagen, and London. He attended the Postgraduate Programme in Interdisciplinary Balkan Studies jointly offered by the University of Vienna and the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe (IDM) from 2007 to 2009, and holds a Magister degree in Social Economics from Johannes Kepler University Linz (JKU). He brings extensive experience in regional cooperation, institutional dialogue, and the development of international networks in Europe and beyond.
Ass.Prof.Dr. Zoltán VÖRÖS
University of Pecs
Zoltán Vörös is Habilitated Doctor of Political Science, Associate Professor and Academic supervisor of the International Relations BA Program at the Department of Political Science and International Studies, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Pécs and a Senior Research Fellow at John Lukacs Institute for Strategy and Politics at the Ludovika University of Public Service.
He is the head of the Indo-Pacific Challenges Research Group at the University of Pécs, member of several scientific communities, editor of Hungarian Journal of African Studies and Polarities academic journals. Was a guest lecturer at Metropolitan State University between 2017 and 2022, and is a regular visiting lecturer at higher education institutions and speaker at international conferences in many countries of the world, and was the organiser of the DRC Summer School from 2008 to 2023, one of the most relevant summer schools of the CEE region. As a lecturer and researcher, he is an expert in international relations and security studies, focusing on China’s foreign and security policy and the global implications of its economic rise.
Ass.Prof.Dr. Tena PRELEC
Centre for Advanced Studies Southeast Europe, University of Rijeka
Dr Tena Prelec is an Assistant Professor in Politics and International Relations at the University of Rijeka, Croatia. Her research focuses on EU enlargement, transnational corruption, illicit finance, and the intersection between kleptocracy and geopolitical competition. She has previously held academic positions at the University of Oxford and the London School of Economics, and earned her PhD from the Centre for the Study of Corruption at the University of Sussex.
She is co-author of “Indulging Kleptocracy: British Service Providers, Postcommunist Elites, and the Enabling of Corruption” (Oxford University Press, 2025). She is the recipient of many academic grants and currently serves as Work Package Leader on the Horizon Europe project GEO-POWER-EU, examining EU enlargement under conditions of intensified geopolitical contestation. Dr Prelec is a member of the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG) and a Marshall Memorial Fellow, GMFUS. She is also an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Exeter, a board member of the Foreign Policy Forum (Croatia), and a former Fellow of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Integrity and Anti-Corruption. Her work has informed policy debates and decision-making in the United Kingdom, in the European Union and across the Western Balkans.
Areas of expertise:
Rule of law, corruption, kleptocracy, state capture, informality, EU enlargement, geopolitical competition, academic freedom, media freedom, transnational authoritarianism.
Languages:
Croatian, Italian, English, Russian (advanced), French, German, Spanish (basic)
Amb. Gerhard REIWEGER
President, Austrian Bulgarian Society
Gerhard Reiweger studied German and English Literature at the University of Vienna, where he obtained a Mag. phil. degree, and later completed a postgraduate diploma in International Relations at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna. He began his professional career as a teacher of English at the Goethe-Gymnasium in Vienna before joining the Austrian diplomatic service.
During his diplomatic career, Reiweger held several positions in the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in Austrian embassies abroad. He served as Attaché at the Austrian Embassy in Rabat, Economic Counsellor at the Austrian Embassy in Washington D.C., and Deputy Chief of Mission at the Austrian Embassy in Stockholm. At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he worked as Deputy Head of the Office for International and European Cooperation in Justice and Home Affairs. From 1997 to 2010 he was Deputy Director of the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna. Later he served as Austrian Ambassador to Bulgaria from 2010 to 2014 and as Austrian Ambassador to Romania from 2014 to 2017, with concurrent accreditation to Moldova between 2014 and 2016. After retiring from the Austrian foreign service in 2017, he became President of the Austrian-Bulgarian Association in 2022.
Vladislava GUBALOVA ph.D.
Globsec
Vladislava Gubalova is a Senior Research Fellow at the GLOBSEC’s Centre for Global Europe and the Lead of GLOBSEC’s CEE Her Initiative. She has been with the organization since 2017. Her current work focuses on Europe’s global standing, European integration processes amid new global realities, as well as the Central and Eastern European region.
In addition, Vladislava is engaged in activities related to building societal resilience through democratic innovations by managing and participating in multi-partner projects. She leads efforts towards women’s inclusion in policymaking and investing in future women leaders. Vladislava Gubalova holds a PhD in Philosophy (Political Science) from Southern Illinois University in the U.S. and previously she was a visiting lecturer at several universities and colleges in the U.S.
Aliaksei KAZHARSKI ph.D.
Charles University
Aliaksei Kazharski received his PhD in European Studies and Policies from Comenius University in Bratislava in 2015. He has subsequently worked as a researcher and lecturer at Comenius University in Bratislava and Charles University in Prague.
He has been a visiting researcher at the Universities of Oslo (Norway), Tartu (Estonia), Vienna (Austria), Malmö (Sweden), Uppsala (Sweden), the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna (IWM), and the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. In 2022, he was elected to the Executive Council of the Central and East European International Studies Association (CEEISA). He has also been a contributing fellow at Visegrád Insight and GLOBSEC. Kazharski’s research interests have included Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, regionalism, identity in international relations, critical approaches to security and terrorism studies. His second monograph, Central Europe Thirty Years after the Fall of Communism. A Return to the Margin? (Rowman&Littlefield 2022), won the International Studies Association, Global International Relations Section 2022-2023 Book Award.
Mag. Igor SEKARDI
Head of the international unit of the industrial association
Igor Sekardi was born on 17 August 1984 in Zagreb, Croatia, and is an Austrian national. He currently serves as Director for International Affairs and Markets at the Federation of Austrian Industries (IV), a position he has held since September 2023. Prior to that, he worked as Deputy Director for International Affairs and Markets from 2020 to 2023 and as Senior Manager for External Trade in the International Relations Department of the IV between 2015 and 2020. He began his career at the Federation of Austrian Industries in 2013 as a trainee in the International Relations Department.
In addition to his professional role, Igor Sekardi has been a lecturer at the IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems since 2021, teaching the course “Interest Groups and Advocacy.” Earlier in his career, he worked as an EU project coordinator at the Austrian Federal Bureau of Anti-Corruption and held positions related to Austrian foreign service training, including at the Permanent Mission of Austria to the United Nations in Vienna and at the Austrian Embassy in Zagreb. He holds an MBA in Public Affairs, Communication and Leadership from the Quadriga University of Applied Sciences in Berlin, obtained with a scholarship from the Federation of German Industries (BDI). He also completed the interdisciplinary Master of Advanced International Studies (MAIS) program at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna and holds a Master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Vienna, graduating with distinction. Igor Sekardi speaks German and Croatian at a native level, English at an advanced level, French at an intermediate level, and Italian at a beginner level.
Kati SCHNEEBERGER
Founder of Vienna Goes Europe
Kati Schneeberger is the Federal Managing Director of the Federation of European Youth/Young European Federalists Austria, as well as President and Founder of Vienna goes Europe and Kosovo goes Europe, and Vice President of the Disinfo Resilience Network.
The focus of her work is: European integration, security & defense, especially in the information space (FIMI/disinformation). She develops and leads projects to promote democracy and strengthen European awareness and regularly organizes events.
She is a trained teacher of history and political education. For her thesis, she received the ÖIF Research Prize for Integration. She is also a graduate of the IVLP program of the U.S. Department of State (International Visitors Leadership Program).
Dr. Alexander PICKER
Manager of the largest bank in the Republic of Moldova
Born in Salzburg in 1962 Alexander Picker embarked on an international banking career journey after having graduated in Law and Slavonic Studies at Salzburg University. In 1989 he started at Länderbank, Girozentrale, OeKB and Creditanstalt in Vienna.
The next steps took him abroad to Russia, Poland, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Slovenia, Bosnia & Hercegovina and back to Austria. After a stint into consulting in Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Croatia, Poland and Austria, inter alia working for Neobanks and Crypto Exchanges, he is for the last three years CEO of Moldindconbank in Chisinau, Moldova. Alexander is a CEO of banks for more than 18 years. Additionally, he is executing mandates as Chair of the Supervisory Board of Xalqbank in Uzbekistan and as independent director in the Supervisory Board of Golomt Bank in Mongolia. Alexander Picker is engaged with Transparency International Austria since 2019, first as Executive Director, then as Board member and eventually as Chair till 2024. He is married since 1987 to Dr. Monika Picker with three grown up children.
Arno RIEDEL
President, Austrian Albanian Society
Held lately the position of Austrian Coordinator for EU Macro Regional Strategies in the Austrian Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs.
He was Ambassador of the Republic of Austria to Canada and Jamaica, to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Burma and to Albania. He also held positions in missions in Budapest, Jakarta, Tehran and Rome. He has been dealing most of his career with European affairs (EU enlargement, National Coordinator of the Stability Pact for SEE, Central European Initiative, National Coordinator of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region). Mr. Riedel studied economics at the University of Innsbruck and the University of Economics in Vienna. He is an alumnus of the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna. Since 2018 he is President of the Austrian Albanian Society.
Evelina AZIZAJ
National Coordinator, Albanian Network for Rural Development
Evelina Azizaj is an accomplished professional in sustainable rural development, with over 20 years of experience in programming, policy advocacy, and project management. She currently serves as the National Coordinator of the Albanian Network for Rural Development (ANRD), leading initiatives on capacity building, multi-stakeholder networking, and advocacy to enhance the well-being of rural communities in Albania. In addition, she is the Vice President of the PREPARE Partnership for Rural Europe.
She holds a degree in Social Sciences and a Master’s in Administration from Andrews University (USA), and is a certified PRINCE2 Practitioner in project management. Evelina has played a key role in advancing evidence-based and bottom-up advocacy in Albania. She coordinates the Albanian Rural Parliament, the country’s first nation-wide participatory platform for rural dialogue. She is also the founder of Pro-Rural Women and the Rural Youth Hub, strengthening ANRD’s thematic work on gender equality and youth empowerment in rural development. As a committed advocate for inclusive and sustainable rural policies, Evelina contributes to national and regional discussions on Community-Led Local Development (CLLD/LEADER), women’s empowerment, sustainable agriculture and rural livelihoods.
Almina BESIC
International Management, Kepler Uni Linz, Bosnia
Almina Bešić is an assistant professor at the Johannes Kepler University Linz. She is also an independent consultant and researcher for the European Migration Network and a visiting lecturer at the University of Graz. She holds a PhD in Economics and Social Sciences
from the University of Graz (Austria). In her doctoral thesis, Almina studied the strategies of multinational companies operating in South-Eastern Europe, more specifically their employment strategies across borders, examining highly skilled migrants. For her work, Almina was awarded a research fellowship from the Erste Foundation and she has received several awards, amongst others the Josef Krainer Prize for young researchers from the regional government of Styria in Austria.
Almina’s main research and teaching interests are linked to migration and employment issues as well as gender and diversity. She focuseson the integration of migrants at work, European migration policy; international HRM; management in transition economies; diversity and gender equality at work. Her work has appeared in academic journals such as European Management Review, Comparative Migration Studies, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.
Almina spent several years working as a policy researcher in the United Kingdom and Belgium. Her main focus is employment and integration of migrants as well as gender and social inclusion for the European Commission and EU agencies.
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Florian BIEBER
Director of the Centre for Southeast European Studies at the University of Graz, Austria
Florian Bieber is a Professor of Southeast European History and Politics and Director of the Centre for Southeast European Studies at the University of Graz, Austria. He holds a Jean Monnet Chair in the Europeanisation of
Southeastern Europe and is the coordinator of the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG) and has been providing policy advice to international organisations, foreign ministries, donors and private investors. He studied Political Science and History at Trinity College (USA), the University of Vienna, and Central European University (Budapest) and has worked for the European Centre for Minority Issues and taught at Kent University (UK). Prof. Bieber is also a Visiting Professor at the Nationalism Studies Program at CEU. He has been a Visiting Fellow at the LSE and New York University, and held the Luigi Einaudi Chair at Cornell University. Recent publications include Debating Nationalism (Bloomsbury 2020) and The Rise of Authoritarianism in the Western Balkans (Palgrave 2020).
Donika EMINI
Executive Director of the Civikos Platform, Kosovo
Donika Emini, PhD Candidate, is leading the CiviKos Platform in Kosovo. She is a member of the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG). Ms. Emini is finishing her PhD thesis in Politics and International Relations at the
University of Westminster, London, in the United Kingdom (UK) She holds a master’s degree in public policy, specializing in public and non-profit management and international relations. She previously worked at the Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS). Furthermore, she was a Research Fellow at the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) Paris Office – fellowship granted by the European Fund for the Balkans (EFB). Ms. Emini worked with the Transparency International Secretariat in Berlin, Balkan Policy Institute (IPOL), and the General Consulate of the Republic of Kosovo in New York (United States). Ms. Emini is a country analyst for Freedom House covering Kosovo and Albania. She authored book chapters and research papers with focus on Western Balkans and the EU. Ms. Emini is a recipient of the Reagan Fascell Democracy Fellowship and will be the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) at the International Forum for Democratic Studies (IFDS) in Washington DC.
Pavlina JANEBOVA
Research Director, Association for International Affairs (AMO), Czech Republic
Pavlína Janebová is the Research Director at the Association for International Affairs. He specializes in Czech foreign and European policy and relations between Central European states. She is a student of the International Relations and European Politics doctoral
program at Masaryk University. In her dissertation, she focuses on the role of the Visegrad Group in the Czech foreign policy since 1993. She is the author and editor of publications on the subject of Central Europe and Czech foreign and European policy.
Dr. habil. Renata MIEŃKOWSKA-NORKIENE
University of Warsaw, Poland
Renata Mieńkowska-Norkiene – professor of political science, sociologist, mediator, living in Warsaw and Luxembourg; associate professor at the University of Warsaw; chairwoman of International Institute of Civil Society (MISO); expert of Team Europe coordinated by the European Commission;
Prof. Mieńkowska-Norkiene has a great experience in managing projects as well as obtaining funding for their realization; her two main scientific fields of interests are: European integration and conflict management; Prof. Mieńkowska-Norkiene lectured at University of Vilnius, Liechtenstein-Institut, EURAC European Academy, London School of Economics and Political Science, Université Libre de Bruxelles and SciencePo in Paris; she worked in the European Commission; Prof. Mieńkowska-Norkiene speaks fluently 5 languages; she cooperates with numerous scientific journals (as a reviewer), NGOs (as a member of Program Councils) and TV programs (as a commenting expert).
Milena MIHAJLOVIC DENIC (ex LAZAREVIC)
Programme Director of the European Policy Centre
Milena Mihajlovic Denic (ex Lazarevic) is one of the founders and Programme Director of European Policy Centre (CEP), an independent, non-governmental, think tank based in Belgrade, Serbia. A proven expert in the field of public administration reform and European affairs, in
2014-2015 Milena acted as the Special Adviser to the Serbian Deputy Prime Minister. She started her career as a civil servant in the EU Integration Office of the Serbian Government. She is one of the authors of the Template for a Staged Accession to the European Union, a comprehensive proposal for reforming and reinvigorating the EU’s enlargement policy. Milena obtained her BA degree in European Studies and International Relations at the American University in Bulgaria as a Soros scholar, and her MA at the College of Europe, on a King Baudouin Foundation scholarship.
Sergiu MUSTEAŢĂ
Professor at the History and Geography Department of the „Ion Creanga” Pedagogical State University of Chisinau and University „Valahia” Târgoviște, Romania
Sergiu MUSTEAŢĂ is a historian from the Republic of Moldova, professor at the History and Geography Department of the „Ion Creanga” Pedagogical State University of
Chisinau and University „Valahia” Târgoviște, Romania. He holds his PhD at the History Faculty of „Al.I. Cuza” University, Iași, Romania (1999) and habilitation thesis at the „Ion Creanga” Pedagogical State University of Chisinau (2021). He is a former research fellow of various scholarships in the USA, Hungary, Sweden, Poland, including DAAD and Humboldt Foundation at Bonn, Freiburg, and Braunschweig universities, Fulbright Scholar at the University of Maryland, University of California Berkeley and Stanford University. He is the author of 8 monographs, more than 300 scientific publications, editor of over 30 books, and editor of two scientific journals. His major academic interests are Medieval History and Archaeology of Eastern Europe; Cultural Heritage Preservation and History textbooks analysis. Email address: sergiu_musteata@yahoo.com
Gabriela Carmen PASCARIU
Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, Romania
Gabriela Carmen Pascariu is Full Professor in European Economics and Policies at “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi, Romania. She is Director of the Centre for European Studies (https://cse.uaic.ro/), Jean Monnet professor and Team Europe expert
having more than 30 years of teaching and research experience in the field. She is currently an expert in various national and international committees, Editor in Chief of the Eastern Journal of European Studies (https://ejes.uaic.ro/) and member of the editorial board of other several publications in European Studies and Regional Development, Editor for Regional Science Policy & Practice (RSPP) (https://rsaiconnect.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/17577802), expert evaluator for national and international bodies. Her research interests focus on economics if integration, regional development and European Cohesion Policy, resilience and regional development and cross border cooperation; she is author of numerous articles and book chapters or books editor.
Dr. Lura POLLOZHANI
Researcher at the University of Graz
Dr. Lura Pollozhani is a Researcher at the University of Graz, researching the contexts of violent extremism and radicalization in the Balkans and the MENA region. Her other research interests include citizenship practices in divided societies, social movements, and democratization. She completed her PhD in
Law and Politics at the University of Graz, while she was awarded an MSc in European Studies: Ideas and Identities at the LSE. Lura has previously worked as an Advisor to the Prime Minister of North Macedonia on cooperation with international organizations. She went on to work for the UNHCR as an external engagement officer. She has also worked as a Researcher at the University of Prishtina and as a University Assistant at the CSEES in Graz, as well as a Project Manager for ECMI Kosovo. She is a contributor to Kosovo 2.0 where she writes articles on political and social developments in North Macedonia.
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Ulrich SCHNECKENER
Professor of International Relations and Peace and Conflict Studies, Osnabrück University, Germany
Since 2009 Professor Osnabrück University, Co-Director of the MA Conflict Studies and Peacebuilding, since 2016 Chairman of the
Board of the German Foundation for Peace Research (DSF), 2002-2009 Senior Researcher at the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP, Berlin). Areas of Research & Expertise: European security policy, EU Eastern Partnership, EU-Ukraine relations, international conflict management, state- and peacebuilding, political violence & war studies.
Tomas STRÁZAY
Director of the Research Center of the Slovak Foreign Policy Association (RC SFPA), Slovakia
Dr. Tomas Strazay has been the director of the Research Center of the Slovak Society for Foreign Policy (RC SFPA) since September 2019. Prior to that, he served as deputy director
and head of the Central and Southeastern Europe research program. Tomáš is a leading expert in projects focused on regional cooperation in Central Europe and EU enlargement and one of the founders of the Think Visegrad – V4 Think Tank Platform.
Joanna TALEWICZ
Chair of Towards Dialogue Foundations (Roma and Sinti Rights), Poland
Co- founder and president of the Foundation Towards Dialogue [Fundacja w Stronę Dialogu]. Researcher, educator, author, activist. For twenty years he has been working for the benefit of the Roma community and minorities
rights. Doctor of Cultural Anthropology. She worked as an assistant professor in Jagiellonian University and University of Warsaw. Consultant in the field of Diversity & Inclusion. She is a recipient of Olga Kersten-Matwin Award of of the Batory Foundation for constant integration, educational, psychological, legal and activation assistance for refugees of Roma origin. Fellow of: Columbia University, Leadership Academy for Poland,, Fulbright scholarship, Tom Lantos Institute, European Commission and the US Department of State. Member of the Democracy and Belonging Forum at the Othering & Belonging Institute, UC Berkeley and the Polish delegation at the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). Author and editor of the books and articles regarding human rights and Roma minority.
Dr. Andreas UMLAND
Senior Expert Ukrainian Institute for the Future, Kyiv
Analyst at the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies of the Swedish Institute of International Relations and lecturer in the Department of Political Science of the Kyiv Mohyla Academy. Editor of the book series “Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Society” and “Ukrainian Voices” of the ibidem publishing
house Stuttgart. Co-editor of the “Forum for Eastern European Ideas and Contemporary History” (Eichstätt). Member of the Advisory Boards of the International Association for Comparative Faschismusforschung Budapest, Zeitschriften „World Affairs“ (Washington), „Fascism: Journal of Comparative Fascist Studies“ (Amsterdam) und „Ideology and Politics Journal“ (Kyjiw) sowie des Boris-Nemzow-Zentrums für Akademische Russlandstudien Prag und Sacharow-Forschungszentrums für Menschenrechte Wilnius. Studium in Leipzig (Staatl. gepr. Übersetzer Russisch), Berlin (Dipl.-Pol.), Oxford (M. Phil. Osteuropastudien) und Stanford (A. M. Politikwissenschaft) als Friedrich-Ebert, DAAD and ERP scholarship holder of the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes. 1998 Doctorate as Dr. phil. in History in Berlin (Meinecke Institute) and in 2007 Ph.D. in Politics in Cambridge (Trinity College). 1997-99 NATO Fellow at the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace, California. 1999-2001 and 2002-03 Lecturer at the Robert Bosch Stiftung at the Urals State University of Yekaterinburg and Kyiv Mohyla Academy. 2001-02 Thyssen Fellow at Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University Cambridge, Mass. January-December 2004 Substitute Lecturer for Eastern European Studies in Oxford (St. Antony‘s College). 2005-08 DAAD lecturer at the Institute of International Relations, Shevchenko University Kyiv, Ukraine. 2008-10 Research assistant at the Chair of Central and Eastern European Contemporary History at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt. 2010-14 DAAD lecturer at the Master’s programme “German and European Studies” of the Kyiv Mohyla Academy. 2014-2019 Research associate of the Institute for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation Kiev.
Adelheid WÖLFL
Correspondent South Eastern Europe, Der Standard, Austria
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