Involving the Citizen in Building the New Europe
In what ways can participation and consultation be used to deepen citizens’ support for a united Europe and desire to be “European”? In this Seminar, the European Commission and Partners for Democratic Change focused on recent experiences and EU and foundation efforts to build a “European” consciousness and engagement through citizen consultation processes. Methodologies of engagement, policy formation, and civic participation were examined with attention to outcomes.
Panelists:
Eva Deak, Director, Partners for Democratic Change-Hungary
Eva Deak joined Partners Hungary Foundation in 2006 and has served as the Executive Director since 2008. She has started her career in the business sector at the largest Hungarian private company involved in adult education. After 10 years with that company she began working in the NGO sector. Initially she ran Ec-Pec Foundation, an organization that is engaged in the inclusion of Roma, the largest Hungarian minority. She holds degrees as a teacher of Hungarian language and literature and cultural manager and is currently doing a degree in mediation.
Dušan Ondrušek, Director, Partners for Democratic Change-Slovakia
Dr. Dušan Ondrušek, PhD. is the Executive Director of Partners for Democratic Change Slovakia (Partners-Slovakia). As Executive Director, Dr. Ondrušek manages a staff of 13 trainers and program managers, and designs and implements training programs for government and civil society leaders in mediation, conflict management, and facilitation skills. He also works as a training consultant for various global organizations, including the U.N., the World Bank, and the International Research and Exchange Board, and organizes seminars on organizational development, conflict management, and alternative dispute resolution, among other topics. Dr. Ondrušek also lectures at Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia on cross-cultural communication, negotiation, and conflict resolution and is a widely published author. Previously he worked for the Comenius University Counseling Center and as an external consultant for the Slovak Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Family.
Dana Rabinakova, Director, Partners for Democratic Change-Czech Republic
Ms. Dana Rabiňáková has served for over a decade as the Director of Partners for Democratic Change – Czech Republic (Partners Czech), an independent non-governmental organization specializing in education, ethnic minority issues, NGO development, and local government reform. Partners Czech has vast experience working with Roma and other ethnic minority populations on integration and development programs, including the $2.8 million, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Roma Integration Program that seeks to improve Roma political and economic opportunities at the local and national levels. In her role as Director, Ms. Rabiňáková manages a staff 10 trainers and program managers, oversees strategic planning and budget development and assists with the design and implementation of Partners Czech trainings and programs. She is also a senior trainer and facilitator, has worked as a consultant, and is trained in mediation, conflict resolution, collaborative planning processes, and other peaceful change management skills. She holds a Masters and Ph.D., both in Psychology, from Charles University in Prague.
Anthony Smallwood is currently "spokesman" and press and cultural counselor at the European Commission’s Delegation in Washington, DC, where he leads the Press and Public Diplomacy team. Immediately prior to that he headed up the Commission's regionalized Delegation in Trinidad and Tobago. Apart for a brief period as an economist in the private sector and as a researcher on Middle East politics, he has spent most of his professional life either as a British cultural or development counselor, or with the European Commission at its Brussels headquarters and abroad. During his career he has traveled widely with postings in Europe, the Americas, the Caribbean, the Middle East and Africa. Although his principle responsibilities have been in external relations and development cooperation, he also played an important role in pioneering higher education cooperation during his time managing the European Commission’s ERASMUS program. He was educated in the UK and the USA and has published on science and higher education cooperation.
Moderator:
Jonathan Davidson, Former Senior Advisor, European Union Delegation of the European Commission
From 1991-2006 Davidson was Head of Academic affairs and later Senior Adviser for Political and Academic Affairs at the European Commission Delegation in Washington DC. In the foreign policy area, his responsibilities included representing EU policy to the U.S. Administration and the non governmental foreign policy community, and reporting to EU headquarters on foreign policy and security developments in the U.S. Issue areas included security policy, Central and Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, the Middle East, and Eurasia. In the academic area his responsibilities included liaison with universities in the United States, supporting the study and teaching of European Union affairs, including establishing a network of EU Centers, financially supporting EU and transatlantic policy studies in think tanks and public policy institutes, and organizing information networks to promote understanding of the European Union. He ran international videoconferences on European Union affairs and EU US relations.
