Hello, Vibrant Community!

I’m Marie, and since February 2022, I’ve been steering the ship here as the Community Manager of Capacity4dev.

A wanderer at heart and by profession, my academic and work journeys have whisked me across five European nations and allowed me to dip my toes into professional adventures in seven countries globally. During my BA studies at the Metropolitan University of Prague, I carved out a little piece of history as the first student to navigate through the Erasmus+ program at the International BURCH University in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Quite a ride, I must say!

Your stories, projects, and experiences are the heartbeats of Capacity4dev, and I’m here to ensure they echo throughout our online spaces, sparking connections, inspiring projects, and fostering our growing web of international cooperation.

Feel free to drop me a line at marie.zamecnikova@meldea.eu. I’m here to chat, assist, or explore collaboration opportunities that will elevate our collective efforts on this platform.

Eagerly awaiting our shared journey ahead,

Marie

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".

Austrian Development Agency Representative in the Practitioners Network of European Development Cooperation

Cristina Bejenaru is an international consultant and the visionary behind Authentic European Consulting, recognised for her expertise in policy development, capacity building, and monitoring and evaluation within EU funding frameworks. With over a decade of experience in European structural funds, humanitarian aid, development policy, and project and program management, Cristina is a reliable advisor for organisations pursuing EU funding and strategic growth in the Balkans and Eastern Europe. Her geographic areas of expertise include Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Albania, Montenegro, Greece, Bulgaria, and Kosovo, where she has effectively driven policy initiatives and programs aligned with EU standards. Cristina’s exceptional track record includes a 95.3% approval rate on funding proposals across CERV, Erasmus+, EuropeAid, Horizon Europe, and the Single Market Programme, helping organisations obtain over €90.5 million in the past 7 years. Her commitment to capacity development is demonstrated through her coaching program for organisations, enhancing their ability to discover EU funding opportunities and build complex project management and reporting frameworks. Cristina also brings a deep understanding of monitoring and evaluation practices, ensuring that funded projects deliver measurable and sustainable impacts.

Known for her strategic insights into EU regulatory standards and leadership in fostering cross-border partnerships with over 30 organizations in 15+ countries, Cristina plays a pivotal role in advancing Moldova's EU integration through policy alignment and capacity-building initiatives. Her approach is highly personalized and culturally responsive, tailored to the unique needs of each client and enriched by her multilingual proficiency. Cristina holds two Bachelor's degrees in International Relations and Law, along with two Master's degrees in Public Administration and Security and Defence. Her extensive professional development includes over 35 certifications in human rights, gender, strategic planning, public service development, policy formulation, business administration, and justice and home affairs, making her a highly versatile asset to any organisation.

Johan van Geijn has a unique track record as a specialist in international corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the world of sports, particularly in football and international development cooperation. With more than 25 years of experience – heading the international programs at the Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB) since 1998 to build local capacity through football in developing countries and low-income countries. More than 20,000 young volunteer coaches have been able to improve themselves in their local environment through programs developed by Johan.
As founder of the WorldCoaches program, Johan has proven many times how sport can serve as a means for social development. Using football as a catalyst for social cohesion, for the position of girls and women in society, for awareness of communicable diseases, drugs and addictions or clean water.
With the international challenges surrounding migration and refugees, using football as an initiator for programs to tackle youth unemployment in these countries. A range of thematic social challenges where Johan has been able to let football contribute to the approach and often to the solution.

As the focal point for EU foreign policy and external investment for The Nature Conservancy, my expertise spans EU trade, fiscal policy, programming, and Partner Country cooperation - together with water (marine/freshwater) policy, scientific and planning knowledge. I also work with sustainable financing instruments for sustainable development outcomes (e.g., Debt Swaps, Water Fund, lending mechanisms). With a multi-faceted conservation and policy team based in Brussels, I bring TNC's experience and partnerships world-wide in context of SDG-related support and implementation in the environment, land-use, and climate space to the European policy dialogue space.

Marie Körner is a senior Socio-economist and M&E specialist with over 30 years of experience

in all aspects of project cycle management from assignments in Africa, Asia (including Vietnam),

Europe and the Middle East. She has worked for different clients including UN agencies,

multilateral and bilateral donors, NGOs, IFIs, and the private sector. Ms. Körner is a skilled

evaluator with extensive experience in designing and implementing formative and summative

evaluations of development projects and programs using participative qualitative and

quantitative methods. She is also skilled in the planning, organization and implementation of

socio-economic surveys and in setting up monitoring systems. Her particular interest is the

sustainability and continued benefits from development interventions