Participants

Raminta Andziulyte, National Development Institute, Lithuania

Raminta Andziulyte is an analyst for the National Development Institute in Vilnius. She provides analysis and support in the areas of strategic and program management of the public sector; youth entrepreneurship promotion and youth policy; the development of the non-governmental sector in Lithuania; applications for European funds; and project management. She holds a master’s degree in Economics from Mykolas Romeris University.

The National Development Institute was founded in 2000 in Lithuania. It is a non-profit organization aimed at finding optimal solutions for state development, and offering practical as well as theoretical resolutions. The Institute has developed as a “think tank”, conducting research and advocacy in the areas of the nongovernmental sector, government efficiency, youth policy and entrepreneurship, and reform of the scientific and education sectors.

Yaroslav Azhnyuk, Internet Initiatives

Yaroslav Azhnyuk is co-founder and director of Internet Initiatives and 4th year student at applied math faculty in Kyiv Polytechnical Institute, Ukraine. He is inspired with an idea of making social changes via the Internet, and searches the ways to empower another people to do so. Among his special interests are new media, internet literacy, access to knowledge and math.

Internet Initiatives is a non-governmental organization designed to encourage development of the Internet and new media in Ukraine and to help other NGOs to use these technologies efficiently. During 10 months since the establishment the organisation held 5 conferences on various Internet-related topics. One of them was Blogcamp CEE 2008 – the largest conference on new media in Eastern Europe which gathered more than 800 participants from 16 countries. They are also working on a number of other new media related projects and thirst for empowering initiative people to make the world a better place while sitting in front of their laptop.

Diana Bancheva, Access to Information Program, Bulgaria

Diana Bancheva has been working as a Coordinator for the Access to Information Programme (AIP) since September 2004. Her direct duties include coordinating project activities, translation of relevant freedom of information (FOI) information, and preparation of their publications. Since the beginning of 2008, she has been maintaining AIP’s website containing information on FOI issues and resources in both Bulgarian and English. Bancheva is a graduate of the American University in Bulgaria, with majors in History and Political Science. She also obtained an MA in Management of Information Resources from the University of Sofia.

The Access to Information Programme (AIP) is a Bulgarian NGO which has been working for twelve years to promote freedom of information in Bulgaria and worldwide. It was one of the leading organizations in the public debate for the adoption of the Access to Public Information Act, the Personal Data Protection Act, and the Protection of Classified Information Act in Bulgaria. Currently, AIP is advocating for better FOI legislation and implementation in Bulgaria through monitoring of FOI legislation and practices, provision of free legal assistance in cases of information seeking, provision of representation in court cases involving information refusal, and permanent involvement in a FOI public awareness campaign.

Magda Biernat, The 61 Association, Poland

Magda Biernat was educated in sociology at the University of Warsaw and holds a master’s degree from the University of Brussels. Since November 2007, she has been working for the 61 Association, updating their website and their contacts with politicians and the media. She also works on their public relations strategy and project promotion.

The 61 Association was established in 2005. The organisation maintains the information database mamprawowiedziec.pl („I have the right to know”), a site which collects and systematizes public information about the people performing elected functions in Poland (their activities and parliamentary decisions). It aims to empower Polish citizens to participate in public decision-making and increase voters’ knowledge about their representatives’ actions, as well as the rights they possess in citizen-state relations.

Marietta Gargya, Nosza Association, Hungary

Marietta Gargya became a human rights activist while a student at the University of Budapest, and worked for some time as a hotline operator, trainer and translator for an NGO specializing in women’s rights. She is currently a student of Psychology, specializing in social issues and counseling. Since September 2007, she has worked as a Project Manager for the NOSZA Association, which focuses on the legal issues surrounding human rights and civil liberties, as well as the legal environment of Hungary’s civil sector.

The NOSZA Association was established in 2005 by experts and researchers drawn from the Hungarian NGO sector who were actively involved in the Environmental Management and Law Association (EMLA)’s Non-profit Sector Analysis (NOSZA) project. The NOSZA project is renowned for its publications on non-profit legal issues, and for its online educational material (Moodle). NOSZA staff manage an online portal “legislation.hu” that aggregates draft legislation under consideration, making it easily accessible and searchable, as well as providing space to comment on the new laws and register for notification of new content.

Dessislava Georgieva, Center for the Study of Democracy

Dessislava Georgieva is presently a trainee at the Centre for the Study of Democracy. She has a bachelor`s degree in philosophy from Sofia University and a prequalification in international relations from the same university.

Founded in late 1989, the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) is an interdisciplinary public policy institute dedicated to the values of democracy and market economy. CSD is a non-partisan, independent organization fostering the reform process in Bulgaria through impact on policy and civil society.

David Hoffman, Bankwatch, Czech Republic

David Hoffman works as a web editor and media assistant for the CEE Bankwatch
Network in Prague, coordinating the development of its English and Russian-version websites and other information and communication applications, as well as assisting with the production of the organization’s publications and films. Prior to this position, he worked with the Bank Information Centre Policy program in Washington DC, advocating stronger environmental and social policies and access to information at the International Financial Institutions like the World Bank Group.

CEE Bankwatch Network is an international NGO with member organizations from 12 countries across the central and eastern European region. The aim of the network is to monitor the activities of the international financial institutions (IFIs) which operate in this region, and to propose constructive alternatives to their policies and projects. Bankwatch was formally set up in 1995 and has become one of the strongest networks of NGOs in central and Eastern Europe. Bankwatch focuses mainly on energy, transport and EU enlargement, while working at the same time to promote public participation and access to information about the activities of the IFIs across its target region.

Agne Kazlauskaite, TI Lithuaniua

Agne Kazlauskaite is a project coordinator at Transparency International Lithuania, working mainly on journalism ethics and media transparency issues. She also collaborates with the Centre for Geopolitical Studies and writes analytical articles on Lithuanian foreign policy and geopolitics in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Agne Kazlauskaite is a graduate of Vilnius University, with a major in Political Science.

Sergej Muravjov, TI Lithuania

Transparency International is a non-profit, non-political global civil society organization leading the fight against corruption. “Transparency International” Lithuanian Chapter (TI Lithuania) was established in 2000 in Lithuania. The goal of TI Lithuania is to analyze the phenomenon of corruption, to promote civic anticorruption initiatives and to inform the public of the anticorruption activities in Lithuania. TI Lithuania currently focuses on public procurement procedure transparency issues, journalism ethics and whistleblower protection, while analyzing the fields, organizing trainings and conducting wide advocacy policy in Lithuania.

Marian Kišdurka, Slovak Governance Institute

The Slovak Governance Institute (SGI) is a nonprofit, non-partisan civic association. It spun off from one of the most important Slovak think-tanks,
the Institute for Social and Economic Reforms (INEKO), in October 2001 and emerged as an NGO with a clear focus on good governance and public policy. SGI’s mission is to improve the process of decision-making, implementation, and the allocation of public resources to meet society’s needs in order to ensure accessible, transparent and effective public services.

Anna Kuliberda, Association of Leaders of Local Civic Groups, Poland

Anna Kuliberda is the Watchdog School project coordinator of the Association of Leaders of Local Civic Groups (SLLGO), a researcher for the Watchdog Organizations Portal, and a member of the SLLGO Trainers Team. She originally hails from Legnica, a city in southwest Poland, where she worked on various local projects revolving around transparency in public funds distribution and access to information. As a researcher for the Watchdog Organizations Portal, she examines the best practices of civil control over public policy and public funds.

Krzysztof Łoś, Association of Leaders of Local Civic Groups, Poland

Krzysztof Łoś lives in Warsaw. He has worked with the Association of Leaders of Local Civic Groups since 2007 and before that with Center For Citizenship Education. Krzysztof is a webmaster, editor and educational trainer. He’s a member of "Meetings - The Association for Education and Culture" and sometimes volunteers for gay & lesbian NGOs.

Anna Aleksandra Puławska, Association of Leaders of Local Civic Groups, Poland

The Association of Leaders of Local Civic Groups (SLLGO) is a watchdog organization that acts on the local level through “Local Civic Groups”. Local Civic Groups are the initiatives of citizens asking questions of their authorities, participating in decision making processes, monitoring efficiency of public spending and enforcing their right to freedom of information. In other words, they are a civic watchdog monitoring authorities’ performance. The Association has a training team of 20 individuals and has held around 40 workshops, seminars and conferences focusing on public participation, monitoring, access to public information, building local support, advocacy and community organizing.

Gleb Kannuninkau, Belarus

András Lõke, TI Hungary

András Lõke is an editor with HVG, the biggest quality weekly in Hungary, editing the Trend section of the weekly. Formerly he edited the Interview section, also being author to articles on international politics and economy, mainly Middle Eastern and European affairs. He has been the chairman of the Soma Göbölyös Foundation, a civil organization for endorsing investigative journalism, since 2001. As a grantee of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, in 1994 he studied grass-roots movements in the US. He took his MA degree from Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, in English and Oriental Studies.

Transparency International (TI) Hungary
TI Hungary aims to play a crucial role in the fight against corruption in Hungary, contributes to creating transparent and accountable circumstances in the use of public funds and improving the access to public information. Transparency International is an international non-governmental organization, whose aim is to fight corruption, advocate for clean and accountable circumstances in using public funds. The main activities of TI consist of carrying out research and publishing recommendations. TI regularly co-operates with business, government, civil society and international organizations that play an important role in fighting corruption. TI does not perform investigations to track individual corruption cases.

Alaksiej Lavončyk, new media expert

Alaksiej Lavončyk comes from Minsk (Belarus) where he is supporting several media projects which are aimed at promoting citizen journalism. Alaksiej is also a trainer for Belarusian citizen and conventional media in usage of Web 2.0 tools for journalism as well as in different aspects of Internet journalism. He holds a degree in economics and management from Belarusian State University (2006) and is currently studying for his MA in Media in the City University of London (2009).

Transitions Online is an international publishing and media development organization based in Prague and registered as a Czech non-profit, non-governmental, civic association. Its mission is to improve the professionalism, independence, and impact of the news media in the 29 post-communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and the former Soviet Union. Its principle operations include publishing of the internet TOL Magazine and training journalists on different aspects.

Cristina Lupu, Center for Independent Journalism, Romania

Cristina Lupu has been a Program Coordinator for the Center for Independent Journalism since November 2005. She coordinates projects involving the local media and how disadvantaged groups are portrayed in the media. She also has extensive experience in event management, public relations and media training. Before working at the Center for Independent Journalism, she worked for two years as a PR Specialist in a public relations company, making strategic plans and implementing marketing and PR campaigns for several companies. In 2003, she was a Special Reporter engaged in investigative reporting at one of the most important mainstream daily newspapers in Romania, Evenimentul zilei.

The Center for Independent Journalism (CIJ) is a non-governmental, non-profit organization acting for professional and responsible media in Romania. CIJ supports freedom of expression as a necessary condition for real democracy. CIJ supports democratic changes and encourages citizens' participation and accountability on the part of decision-makers. Its main areas of activity include: media legislation, freedom of expression, and European policies. CIJ offers training for journalists and students of journalism, consults media organizations, maintains a journalism library, and sponsors debates and symposia for journalists and public figures. Since its creation in 1994, more than 10,000 persons have been trained at the Center.

Csaba Madarasz, Citizens Network, Hungary

Csaba Madarsz has volunteered and worked in the field of community/area development educational programs, as well as for multinational companies. He has consulted muncipalities in Hungary regarding e-local government and e-democracy projects. He freelances in the field of e-learning, multimedia, video and e-campaign projects. He is an individual member of the CEE Citizens Network (CEECN), occasionally representing it at the Council of Europe's Conference of NGOs in its working groups on the future recommendation one-democracy.

The Central and Eastern European Citizens Network (CEECN) was created to provide opportunities for grassroots citizen initiatives from the CEE region to learn, exchange experiences and ideas, as well as enhance their organizational growth through establishing and managing a partner relationship among themselves. Its main objectives are: to increase awareness of the general public throughout CEE on the potential and impact of citizen initiatives; to increase skills and capacities of citizens to more effectively participate in local and national development; and to promote citizen participation throughout the CEE region.

Monica Măroiu, TI Romania

Monica Măroiu has been the External Relations/Communications Coordinator at Transparency International Romania since March 2008. She graduated from Titu Maiorescu University in Bucharest with a degree in law and is currently attending a two year master course in consultancy and expertise in advertising at the Bucharest University. She has previously worked on information and communication campaigns at national and local level and as a freelance webdesigner.

Transparency International Romania is a nongovernmental organisation whose primary objective is to prevent and fight corruption on a national and international level, mainly through researching, documenting, informing, educating and raising the awareness level of the public. TI-Ro was founded in 1999 through endeavours of a group of citizens with a high degree of civic responsibility, and a number of organisations concerned with reducing corruption in Romania and was accredited as the Romanian branch of the international anticorruption watchdog Transparency International the same year.

Daniela Petrova, Center for Economic Development, Bulgaria

Daniela Petrova holds a master’s in Political Science from Lomonosov Moscow State University. She is an information specialist for the Center for Economic Development (CED), a Bulgarian Think Tank, since 1998. Her special interests lie in business information strategies, on-line economic databases, information management and internet publishing. She actively participates in and coordinates information projects implemented by the CED including Electronic Library, OECD
Information Center, and World Bank Information Kiosk.

The Center for Economic Development (CED) is a non-governmental think tank in the economic policy area, established in 1997. It actively contributes to Bulgaria’s economic development and achievement of sustainable growth, plays a key role in formulating economic policy options and in promoting public debate on major economic issues; fosters cooperation between the public, private, NGO sector, and educational institutions in addressing and resolving economic problems.

Gabriel Sipos, INEKO, Slovakia

Gabriel Sipos is an economic and media analyst at Institute for Economic and Social Reforms (INEKO). He graduated from Central European University (Budapest) with degrees in Economics and Political Science. He joined INEKO in 2001, devoting his work to media criticism on the spw.blog.sme.sk Slovak Press Watch blog and monitoring the best practices in Slovak self-government. Apart from the media blog, he prepares monthly analyses of how the Slovak government's 2006 election promises are meeting reality.

The Institute for Economic and Social Reforms (INEKO) is a Slovak economic think tank founded in 1999. It seeks to support the quality and transparency of discussions on reforms needed for Slovakia to promote sustainable economic growth. Its current projects include improving the effectiveness of national budget allocations, fighting political party populism, and monitoring reform proposals in health care and education.

politika.lv team delegation:

Dmitry Petrenko, Editor-in-Chief
Marta Herca, Contents Administrator

politika.lv is a non-profit, non-governmental policy website established in 2001 with the mission to improve the quality of public policy in Latvia through informed public participation. It is now the largest and most popular on-line policy resource in Latvia, and has pioneered on-line public consultations as well as special interactive pre-election projects such as Try On A Party!

PROVIDUS delegation:

Vita Terauda, Director
Linda Austere, researcher, lawyer and the leading expert in Latvia on freedom of information issues
Linda Curika, Project Manager

Centre for Public Policy PROVIDUS was established at the end of 2002 by the Soros Foundation-Latvia and several individuals and has since developed as the leading think-tank in Latvia. PROVIDUS mission is to facilitate comprehensive policy change in areas important for Latvia’s development. PROVIDUS also provides expertise to other countries undergoing democratic transformation.

PROVIDUS is both a source of expertise and an “agent of change” in these priority areas: good governance, including anti-corruption; criminal justice policy; tolerance and inclusive public policy; European policy. PROVIDUS activities include: publishing research and policy analyses, providing expertise to the government in the policy-making process, advocacy and monitoring, consultancy services and training as well as promoting public participation in the policy process and holding of an annual Public Policy Forum. PROVIDUS also provides institutional home for the largest on-line policy resource in Latvia – politika.lv.

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