Democracy

Support Facility Roadmaps for EU engagement with Civil Society

Former project manager capacity4dev.eu

edemocracy evangelist, social networks enthusiast, working on developing web tools 4 capacity development in civil society and pub. admininstrations

Views expressed here are my own

 

Notable contributions to capacity4dev.eu:

Peer Support: 

How do you share knowledge in your organisation?

 

Head of section OPSYS contract management

With 20 years experience in non-formal education and the non-profit sector, my background is Communication and Anthropology. Started my career as a journalist in 1992 and I am passionate about video production, photography and documentary filmmaking - my favourite tool is stories of life.

I'm interested in visual Anthropology, photovoice, theory of change, communication for development (C4D), civic media literacy and other impactful tools and approaches in the fields of global education, community development, international cooperation and democracy. Thus, I was a founder of NGDO 4Change 19 years ago.

All these have been nurtured over the years - and I may say these also applied to my life and family (two kids, one cat). I've actually started working in non-formal education and non-profit sectors as a volunteer before it became serious work. Always focusing on 'how we can communicate better', 'how a team works', 'how to enhance participation and support diverse voices' - how to be fair in life or trade...

These have been my life and work main challenges.

I've now embraced a new challenge: research in the area of democratic governance, alternatives for civic participation and, of course, climate changes - within the framework of an European consortium managing Horizon Europe funded research programme INCITE_DEM.

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

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My passion and curiosity about people, about 'the living', led my personal and professional paths to different places and different countries, where I have experimented with a vast range of encounters and insightful experiences.

For about 30 years I have been involved in the development and coordination of youth-related projects encompassing training courses on intercultural sensitivity and communication, project management, training for trainers, learning 2 learn, and self-directed learning, among others. I also engaged in coaching and in facilitating development and learning processes, for groups or individuals (beyond youth). I had the chance to work with local, national, and European NGOs and platforms, as well as with institutional bodies (European Commission, Council of Europe).

Since then, my path crossed the one of Gestalt therapy and I got trained as a Gestalt therapist at the Belgian Institute of Gestalt Therapy, in Brussels. To support my learning, I continue exploring, discovering and in some cases, training, in different areas such as competence development, the Neurocognitive Behavioural Approach, Inspirational Leadership through Emotional Intelligence and the Process Communication Model. I now have a particular interest in further developing my competencies in the areas of trauma healing and systemic coaching, while being trained on Systemic Family Constellations and their connection with therapy.

From 2017 to 2023, I worked at SALTO Training and Cooperation Resource Centre where I coordinated the development and implementation of the European Training Strategy of the Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programmes.

Policy advocacy specialist living in Brussels. Regional work in the Middle East and Africa, notably with civil society and in the areas of human rights and HIV. Notable contributions: Policy Forum on Development http://capacity4dev.ec.europa.eu/article/eyd2015-and-policy-forum-devel…