Finland

1993
Degree in Economics and Management University of Messina, Messina (Italy)
Thesis in "Equal opportunities between men and women in the working environment".

1996 Summer Workshop
University of Toronto, CANADA, Toronto (Canada)
“Trade Off Investiment Decisions in the Emerging Economies”.

1997 EU Project Management
Province of Florence, Florence (Italy)
Training programme organised by a company called "Kiosco" and the Province of Florence, Italy.

2001 Workshop
Formez (ISVOR-FIAT), Roma (Italy)
Training programme in Business Process Reengineering.

2004 EU InSpire Programme
Centre for Advanced Land Mapping Services - Italy, Lametia Terme (Italy) Course for Web Gis Developer.

Government Training Programme for Managers
Italian Department for Public Administration, Rome (Italy)
Forum of Italian Municipalities "Strategies for Local Development”.

International Conference
Center of Canadian Heritage and Cultural Studies, Taormina (Italy)
Coordinator of the summer workshops on economy and heritage identity
between Canada and the European Union.

Working Position
Finance & EGovernment & ICT Department Public Manager
City Hall of Rizziconi, Reggio Calabria (Italy)

Working Experience
EU DG NEAR Expert
European Commission, Bruxelles (Belgium)
Joseph Caristena has been selected as DG NEAR Expert.

EU DG NEAR Expert
European Commission, Bruxelles (Belgium)
Tirana - Albania
EU Expert Mission at the National Agency for Information Society.

EU DG NEAR Expert
European Commission, Bruxelles (Belgium)
Podgorica - Montenegro
EU Expert Mission at the Ministry of Innovation & Information Society

EU DG NEAR Expert
European Commission, Bruxelles (Belgium)
Keynote Speaker at the MCI Management Center (MCI) Innsbruck - Austria in Media & Information Society in the Emergings Economies.

EU DG NEAR Expert
European Commission, Bruxelles (Belgium)
Toronto - Canada
Meeting at Venice Palace with the member of Canadian Parliament Frank Sorbara.

EU DG NEAR Expert
European Commission, Bruxelles (Belgium)
Podgorica - Montenegro
Mission on Cybersecurity - “Designing a Predictive Model Framework”.

Cultural Diplomacy
2013 - US Yale University
Joseph Caristena as "Heritage Cultural Broker" leaded the group of Prof. John R. Hale of the Yale University and the "Big Five" universities like Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Columbia and Yale, during the cruise ship stop at the Port of Vibo Marina Calabria - Italy.

2013 BMTA "Heritage Cultural Broker "
An Archaeological Italian Trade Fair in the City of Capaccio - Paestum (Campania). Joseph Caristena promoted as “Heritage Cultural Broker” many archaeological sites of Calabria - Italy.

2015
Theatre production at the Politeana theatre of Catanzaro - Calabria (Italy) -
Twinning Programmes with the Municipality of Bethlehem - Palestine with the Mayor Vera Baboun .

Awards & Recognitions
Albania - Tirana
Official recognition from the Agency of the Information Society.

Honours and awards 2004 Italian EGovernment Award Winner 5th Edition
"Top Projects for Digital Citizens - Innovation that creates Value".

Hur Hassnain (MDS, MBA) is an evaluation specialist, author, Treasurer and founding Board Member at the International Evaluation Academy. Currently he is working as the Senior Evaluation Expert at Meldea, the European Commission DG INTPA, DG NEAR, and FPI’s external service on Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning, and Design supporting the headquarter units, and over a hundred EU Delegations around the world.

Hur has authored several internationally peer reviewed publications, including a book as lead author: Evaluation in Contexts of Fragility, Conflict and Violence published in 2021. It presents an interesting argument that “evaluation” – like development aid itself – can unintentionally exacerbate tensions in ways that can negatively affect people and institutions if care is not taken in designing and approaching it with caution and sensitivity.

Hur has over 20 years of experience of working in a variety of thematic areas including but not limited to gender equality, rural development, climate change, renewable energy, agriculture, women’s economic empowerment, education, and protection. He has lived and worked in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. Hur has designed, commissioned, and conducted research and evaluations for projects funded by UN agencies, the European Commission, private donors and the governments of the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Norway.

Hur is a staunch advocate of the Latin proverb "rerum cognoscere causas", signifying the pursuit of understanding the causes of things – a guiding principle that underpins his work and philosophy.

I'm a dedicated programme manager that wants to make a difference for a better world.
My experiences include:
- Advisory and training services for small CSO's,
- Grantmaking and project management for small CSO's,
- Improving; housing safety, energy preservation, health conditions in households,
- Introducing quality management in public services,
- Auditing sustainable development in local authorities,
- Developing sustainable development strategies for local authorities,
- Developing environmental information service centres,
- Environmental-friendly methods for flood prevention.