Steering Committee
Martin Vokálek
EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy, Czechia – Linkedin
Martin Vokálek holds a master’s degree in International Politics and Diplomacy from the Faculty of International Relations of the Prague University of Economics and Business (VŠE v Praze) and an MBA degree from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland and the Prague University of Economics and Business, Czechia. For several years, he collaborated on the project of CERMAT, worked at the Institute of International Relations and other institutions, served as the Finance Manager at the International Sustainable Finance Centre, and was active also in the private sector. He is currently the Executive Director of the EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy. He is interested in economic issues, European security and NATO, hybrid threats, war crimes and international law problematic
Diego López-Garrido
Fundación Alternativas, Spain – Linkedin
Diego López-Garrido is the Executive Vice President at Fundación Alternativas. He is Professor Emeritus of Constitutional Law, a lawyer admitted to the Spanish Parliament, and a graduate in Business Administration. He has served as a member of Parliament during several legislative sessions and as Secretary of State for the European Union.
Alexandra Popa
Romanian Center for European Policies, Romania
Alexandra Popa is the Executive Director of CRPE. Since 2012, Alexandra has been coordinating CRPE projects in the fields of rural development, vulnerable groups and VET. She is a graduate of the Master of International Relations and European Studies program at the European Institute of Higher International Studies in Nice. She obtained a Bachelor’s degree from the Faculty of Finance, Banks, Insurance and Stock Exchanges of the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies, as well as from the Communication and Public Relations Department of the National School of Political and Administrative Studies. Alexandra has over 15 years experience in the NGO sector.
Martin Buchtík
STEM, Czechia – Linkedin
Martin is a sociologist and – since 2018 – the Director of the STEM Institute for Empirical Research. He investigates the dynamic of societal changes and other issues, such as public opinion, quality of life, social cohesion and inequality. In the past, he led the Public Opinion Research Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences (CVVM). He obtained his PhD from Charles University specializing in the methodology of social science research.
Kristjan Kaldur
Institute of Baltic Studies’, Estonia – Linkedin
Kristjan Kaldur has worked at the Institute of Baltic Studies since 2007 and is currently a member of the board of the Institute of Baltic Studies. His main area of work and interest is migration and integration, and he also has a keen interest in issues related to the information society and the data-driven world. Kristjan holds a Master’s degree in Comparative Politics from the University of Tartu. During his studies, he has studied at various universities in Germany and Georgia on long-term scholarships. He is pursuing a PhD at the Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies, University of Tartu, where he also supervises BA and MA students on nationalism, ethnopolitics and migration.
Shana Cohen
Think tank for Action on Social Change (TASC), Ireland – Linkedin
Dr Shana Cohen is Executive Director of TASC (Think-tank for Action on Social Change). She is also an Affiliate Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the University of Cambridge. Her research and publications focus on inequality, economic policy, civil society, social action, and democracy, with extensive experience in community engagement and policy development. Before joining TASC, she was Deputy Director of the Woolf Institute, where she worked on interfaith and intercultural relations across Europe, India, and the Middle East. She has also collaborated with NGOs, community organisations, and international institutions in the US, Morocco, the UK, Ireland, and India.