Global challenges demand sharp and innovative approaches. Increasing authoritarian tendencies in Central and Eastern Europe, and beyond, the inability to take care of the environment, pandemics, the development debacles, and important transformations in terms of technology, security challenges and inequality show the need for more understanding and analysis, for a stronger connection between research, practice, and communities, and for bolder interdisciplinary work.
The International Center for Global Affairs and Postdevelopment, in short IC-GAP, is a part of the Făgăraș Research Institute that focuses on the many facets of international, peacebuilding and development phenomena.
The Center is formed in order to contribute with knowledge, analysis, and action to the increasingly complicated and intertwined global, regional and local dynamics that expose growing instability, challenges to our wellbeing, security, rights, and freedoms.
The attention of the Center expands across levels of analysis, aiming to analyze phenomena that generate consequences at global, regional, national and local levels. Also, the Center values highly interdisciplinary research and aims to connect academia, practice, and communities. Therefore, and in line with the overall approach of the Făgăraș Research Institute, the Center will conduct educational, policy, outreach and community projects alongside its core focus on research.
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Projects
Team
Adela Rusu, M.A.
Alexandra Ioan Ph.D.
Anca Molnoș Ph.D.
Bhakti Shringarpure Ph.D.
Chris Moreh, Ph.D.
Annamarie Bindenagel Šehović Ph.D.
Amarachi Igboegwu Ph.D. Candidate
Elizabeth Maloba
Ioana Hașu-Georgiev M.A.
Laura Ranca, M.A.
Laura Vișan, Ph.D.
Lev Fejes, Ph.D.
Mihai Pătru
Monica Popescu, Ph.D.
Monique Lima Leite, M.A.
Moritz Poesch, M.A.
Oana Lup, Ph.D.
Silvia Fierăscu, Ph.D.
Sorin Cebotari
Ștefan Cibian, Ph.D.
Victor Cepoi
Adela Rusu, M.A.
Adela is an independent expert on development cooperation, management and organizational development of networks in the non-profit sector, with particular interest in sustainability, non-governmental diplomacy and empowering leadership. Adela Rusu holds a BA in Political Science and an MA in European Studies, both from the Faculty of Political Science, University of Bucharest, Romania and was awarded a scholarship at the University of Verona (Italy). Between 2008 and early 2020, Adela was the executive director at the Romanian NGDO Platform – FOND, being actively involved in monitoring the national and European development policies, ensuring representation at national and European level (both in the NGO community and different institutional settings), fostering regional cooperation among NGOs in the Black Sea region (with focus on enabling environment and building resilience of civil society) and strengthening the capacity of Romanian NGOs in this field.
Alexandra Ioan Ph.D.
Dr. Alexandra Ioan is a young professional and researcher focusing on the development of effective civil society organizations and governance processes. She completed her PhD in Governance at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin in 2018 and leads the Learning and Action Center at Ashoka Europe. Originally from Bucharest, Romania, Alexandra has extensive experience in program and organization development in civil society and focuses on translating research findings into concrete policy action. She holds degrees from the Hertie School of Governance, the University of Bucharest and the National School of Public Administration and Political Studies in Romania. She also conducted research at the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, Stanford University.
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- Ioan, Alexandra. (2020). Want to help fight the Covid-19 pandemic long-term?Support Solutions from Social entrepreneurs. Here’s how. (Online) Availabe at: https://changemakersunited.ashoka.org/930-2/
- Mair, J., Wolf, M. and Ioan, A. (2020) Governance in Social Enterprises. In H.K. Anheier and T. Baums (Eds.), Handbook on Advances in Corporate Governance; Comparative Perspectives. Oxford University Press: Oxford. In Press.
- Ioan, Alexandra, Mühlenbein, Odin and Shirobokova, Olga. (2020) Systemic and empowering. Social entrepreneurship in the time of philanthrocapitalism. (Online) Availabe at: https://lac.ashoka.org/story/systemic-and-empowering
- Wolf, Miriam and Ioan, Alexandra. (2020). Social Purpose Organizations and Digitalization: Towards an Inclusive and Sustainable Transformation. Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society. (Online) Availabe at: https://www.hiig.de/en/social-purpose-organizations-and-digitalization-towards-an-inclusive-and-sustainable-transformation/
- Ioan, Alexandra and Serta, Ana Luisa. (2019). Doing Democracy: How Social Entrepreneurs Bridge Divides, Fight Apathy and Strengthen Civil Liberties. Ashoka Learning and Action Center. (Online) Available at: https://lac.ashoka.org/sites/default/files/atoms/files/Doing%20Democracy%20Full%20Study_2.pdf
- Ioan, Alexandra. (2019). Romania’s election is more about the people than the candidates. Blog article. The German Marshall Fund of the United States. (Online) Availabe at: http://www.gmfus.org/blog/2019/11/21/romanias-election-more-about-people-candidates
- Ioan, Alexandra. (2019). Country chapter – Romania. In More-Hollerweger, E., Bogorin, F. Litofcenko, J., Meyer M. (eds). Civil Society in Central and Eastern Europe: Monitoring 2019. ERSTE Foundation, Vienna. (Online) Available at: http://www.erstestiftung.org/en/publication/civil-society-in-central-and-eastern-europe-monitoring-2019/
- Ioan, Alexandra, Serta, Ana Luisa, Cary, Tatiana, Eimterbäumer, Marlene. (2019). Creative solutions for changing times. The approaches of social entrepreneurs to Europe’s most pressing challenges. Ashoka Learning and Action Center. (Online) Available at: https://lac.ashoka.org/sites/default/files/atoms/files/Creative%20Solutions%20for%20Changing%20Times_0.pdf
- Ioan, Alexandra. (2019). The Solution Abroad: Hungarian, Polish and Romanian Diasporas Engage for Democracy Back Home. Blog article. The German Marshall Fund of the United States. (Online) Availabe at: http://www.gmfus.org/blog/2019/02/14/solution-abroad-hungarian-polish-and-romanian-diasporas-engage-democracy-back-home?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social
- Ioan, Alexandra. (2019). Civic Engagement For Democracy From Abroad: Hungarian, Polish, and Romanian Diasporas. Policy paper. The German Marshall Fund of the United States. (Online) Availabe at: http://www.gmfus.org/sites/default/files/publications/pdf/Civic%20Engagement%20for%20Democracy%20From%20Abroad.pdf
- Ioan, Alexandra and Bibu, Teodora. (2018). Diaspora față în față cu parlamentari – o analiză. (Online) Availabe at: https://diasporacivica.com/diaspora-fata-in-fata-cu-parlamentari-analiza/
- Ioan, Alexandra. (2018). Strategizing in highly institutionalized environments. Social enterprises in Germany. PhD Dissertation (Online) Availabe at: https://opus4.kobv.de/opus4-hsog/frontdoor/index/index/docId/2530
- Ioan, Alexandra and Dragoș, Ioana. (2018). Protestul diasporei din 10 august – un moment bun de reflecție. (Online) Availabe at: https://diasporacivica.com/protest-diaspora/
- Ioan, Alexandra. (2018). Accountability in social enterprises around the world. (Online) Availabe at: https://accountablenow.org/accountability-in-social-enterprises-around-the-world/
- Ioan, Alexandra. (2018). Singura soluție pentru maturizarea societății civile românești este perseverența. Interview by Vladimir Adrian Costea, Europunkt.ro Blog (Online) Availabe at: http://europunkt.ro/2018/01/31/interviu-alexandra-ioan-doctorand-in-guvernanta-la-hertie-school-of-governance-berlin-singura-solutie-pentru-maturizarea-societatii-civile-romanesti-este-perseverenta/
- Ioan. Alexandra. (2017). Social enterprises – a manifestation of ethical capitalism? Interview by Jessi McNeill, Young Leaders for Health Conference Blog (Online) Available at: https://www.youngleadersforhealth.org/single-post/2017/10/11/Social-enterprises-a-manifestation-of-ethical-capitalism---an-interview-with-Alexandra-Ioan?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base%3B8cCQ4qoMQ%2B2ly%2FKVpVj1QQ%3D%3D
- Ioan, Alexandra and Boța-Moisin, Monica. (2017). Romanian civil society abroad: perspectives from Berlin. In Ana Adi and Darren G. Lilleker (eds). #rezist: Romania’s 2017 anti-corruption protests: causes, development and implications. (Online) Available at: http://www.romanianprotests.info/?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base%3B8cCQ4qoMQ%2B2ly%2FKVpVj1QQ%3D%3D
- Ioan, Alexandra. (2017). Diaspora Civică Berlin: La început am fost 4 oameni cu o pancartă pe care scria un singur cuvânt. (Online) Available at : https://republica.ro/diaspora-civica-berlin-la-inceput-am-fost-4-oameni-cu-o-pancarta-pe-care-scria-un-singur-cuvant?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base%3B8cCQ4qoMQ%2B2ly%2FKVpVj1QQ%3D%3D
- Ioan, Alexandra, Wolf, Miriam and Mair, Johanna. (2016). Study finds that German social enterprises lead in collaboration and innovation. (Online). Avaiable at: https://www.tbd.community/en/a/study-finds-german-social-enterprises-lead-collaboration-and?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base%3B8cCQ4qoMQ%2B2ly/KVpVj1QQ%3D%3D
- Wolf, Miriam and Ioan, Alexandra. (2016). Social enterprises in Germany and the refugee crisis: What role do they take? (Online) Available at: http://www.seforis.eu/news/social-enterprises-in-germany-and-the-refugee-crisis-what-role-do-they-take?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base%3B8cCQ4qoMQ%2B2ly%2FKVpVj1QQ%3D%3D
- Wolf, Miriam and Ioan, Alexandra. (2015). Facing unexpected challenges – social entrepreneurs and the refugee crisis in Germany. (Online) Available at: http://www.seforis.eu/news/2016/6/22/facing-unexpected-challenges-social-entrepreneurs-and-the-refugee-crisis-in-germany?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base%3B8cCQ4qoMQ%2B2ly%2FKVpVj1QQ%3D%3D
- Ioan, Alexandra. (2016). Social entrepreneurship in Central Eastern Europe – are we making the best of it? (Online) Available on the Hertie Innovationskolleg Blog (registration required).
- Ioan, Alexandra. (2009). The impact of Expedition Inside Culture. In Mazurkiewicz, G., Fischer, J. (red.). Designing authentic education for democracy. Expedition Inside Culture, Center for Innovative and Transformative Education, Bowling Green State University, Kraków, Poland/ Bowling Green, Ohio, USA.
- SEE Change Magazine. (2020). Think slow, act fast: 5 tips for using research and knowledge to maximize impact. Available at: https://www.seechangemagazine.com/think-slow-act-fast-5-tips-for-using-research-and-knowledge-to-maximize-impact/
- CIVICA. (2020). Learning through practice and practice through learning: an interview on social science research with Alexandra Ioan. Available at: https://civica.eu/news-events/news/learning-through-practice-practice-through-learning-alexandra-ioan
- Hertie School. (2019). PhD profile: leveraging insights from social entrepreneurs. Available at: https://www.hertie-school.org/en/leveraging-insights-from-social-enrepreneurs/?fbclid=IwAR1Xf-wkRzDvEEjjpdqOOM6z0mVkh7371Pppqo_vVa3vOgq3A6HVH-eJpmU
- Impact Diaspora. (2019). Interview on diaspora civic engagement (in Romanian) Available at: http://impact-diaspora.com/impact-diaspora-impreuna-cu-gabriela-mirescu-si-alexandra-ioan/
- Ioan, Alexandra. (2018). Singura soluție pentru maturizarea societății civile românești este perseverența. Interview by Vladimir Adrian Costea, Europunkt.ro Blog (Online) Availabe at: http://europunkt.ro/2018/01/31/interviu-alexandra-ioan-doctorand-in-guvernanta-la-hertie-school-of-governance-berlin-singura-solutie-pentru-maturizarea-societatii-civile-romanesti-este-perseverenta/
- STARTx Conference organized by the START- Alumni e.V. (2018). Making a change back home – Diaspora Civică Berlin. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAjF5oO2Rmo&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR3nQv-BKJ382RrZZqHDd9x319kqgeM6vZSXdYqFsjsqNJDuNj3qPnOroqk
- SEFORÏS MOOC on Social Enterprises. (2017). Module 3: Organizational governance: between responsibility and opportunity. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hG3iz8ym-7o
Anca Molnoș Ph.D.
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Bhakti Shringarpure Ph.D.
Bhakti Shringarpure, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of English at the University of Connecticut and editor-in-chief of Warscapes magazine. She is the author of Cold War Assemblages: Decolonization to Digital (2019) published by Routledge Studies in Cultures of the Global Cold War. She is the co-translator of Kaveena, a novel by Senegalese writer Boubacar Boris Diop (Indiana University Press, 2016). She has extensive experience editing fiction and poetry and her works include Literary Sudans: An Anthology of Literature from Sudan and South Sudan (Africa World Press, 2016), Imagine Africa, Volume 3 (Archipelago Press, 2017) and Mediterranean: Migrant Crossings. She is the editor of a forthcoming book series titled Decolonize That! Handbooks for the Revolutionary Overthrow of Embedded Colonial Ideas which will be published jointly by OR Books and Warscapes. Also forthcoming is a co-edited anthology called Insurgent Feminisms: Women Write War with Mantle Books and a co-written book titled Imagining Imperial Formations: India's Culture Industries with Rowman and Littlefield.
Chris Moreh, Ph.D.
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Annamarie Bindenagel Šehović Ph.D.
Dr. Annamarie Bindenagel Šehović is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at GGI’s Peace & Security Section as well as the European Center for Global Education, where she coordinates the blended learning course (with Georgetown University and Vesalius College) on Transatlantic Approaches to Global Peace, Security and Diplomacy. She is also Senior Analyst at In on Africa (IOA), based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Her research and expertise focuses on human security and global insecurities, with particular emphases on health security, non-citizen rights, and security in Africa. Dr. Šehović is also Associate Fellow at the Potsdam Center for Policy and Management (PCPM). In the winter term (2017/2018) she was Acting Professor, Chair of International Relations at the University of Potsdam, Germany, and Honorary Research Fellow at PAIS, the University of Warwick, UK. Previously, she was Research Associate at PAIS, the University of Warwick, UK, as part of the Horizon2020 project, EL-CSID (European Leadership – Cultural, Science and Innovation Diplomacy) focusing on knowledge transfer between the EU and Africa with regard to pandemic responses. She has been a lecturer in international relations at the University of Erfurt, Germany, and at the Willy-Brandt-School of
Amarachi Igboegwu Ph.D. Candidate
Amarachi A. Igboegwu is an international professional training expert and doctoral research candidate at Heidelberg University, Germany. Her doctoral study focuses on equipping teachers with skills necessary for teaching and managing culturally diverse classrooms. Her research is focused primarily on unconscious bias in the classroom and critical self-reflection as cornerstones for pre-service teacher training for especially culturally diverse classrooms.
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Elizabeth Maloba
Elizabeth has twenty years’ experience in addressing complex challenges - she works in cross-sectoral, trans-professional, multistakeholder settings to foster collaborative initiatives; and support shifts in strategies, policies, frameworks and business models. Her expertise is drawn from work in International Cooperation, Development Cooperation, and Private Sector. She works in cross-cultural groups, from grassroots levels to global platforms, to support development of leadership, teams, policies, strategies, plans, and models that contribute to transformation. She works with various staff levels – from entry level to director level – in either individual or group sessions, in both face-to-face and virtual settings. She is passionate about small businesses and draws from lessons in her journey as an entrepreneur to support founders and leaders in growth stage businesses along their journey. She brings skills in capacity building, knowledge management, facilitation, conflict resolution and management to diverse assignments.
She has experience across sectors – Agriculture, Health, Financial Services, Retail and Hospitality – and has worked with organisations such as GIZ, UN Women, IFAD, Syngenta, African Heritage, Fila East Africa, Procasur, Nature Kenya, IREN, IHPMR, Ipsos-Synovate, Save the Children, Strathmore Business School to name a few.
She holds a number of certificates in corporate governance, leadership, consulting, conflict management, e-learning and business coaching, and a postgraduate diploma in financial management.
She lives in Nairobi, works across the World, and speaks English, Swahili, German and French.
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Ioana Hașu-Georgiev M.A.
Ioana Hașu-Georgiev is interested in Romania’s recent past, researching aspects related to the armed anti-communist resistance. She holds an M.A. from the Central European University (2015) and is an accredited independent researcher at the National Council for the Study of the Securitate Archives (2011). She explores in her research the less known aspects of the anti-communist struggle, such as the role of women in the resistance, postmemory and trans-generational trauma, traumatic amnesia, the relation between forgetting, remembering, and healing.
In 2012 she created an interactive workshop for children, Grandparents’ Times, focusing on the early communist period and repression. The workshop is offered in schools, high schools, and camps. In 2018 she launched an exposition at the Țara Făgărașului Museum entitled The Women in the Resistance, invisible actors of the anti-communist struggle.
In the last 10 years, Ioana gave public lectures and participated in conferences organized by the Institute for the Investigation of Crimes committed by the Communist Regime.
Ioana has over 15 years of experience in mass-media, among others, working for BBC Romania and Radio France Internationale.
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Laura Ranca, M.A.
Drd. Laura Ranca is a project coordinator with Tactical Tech’s Exposing the Invisible project. Before joining Tactical Tech in January 2018, she worked for two years as a program specialist with the investigative journalism portfolio of the Independent Journalism Program at Open Society Foundation in London. Prior to that, she was a reporter and researcher with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and with RISE Project – a community of investigative journalists, developers and activists in Romania. At RISE, among others, she coordinated the development of Visual Investigative Scenarios (VIS), a data visualization platform, which assists investigative journalists, activists and researchers in mapping complex organised crime networks. Earlier on, Laura also worked as a public information officer with the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo and as a program coordinator and reporter with the Center for Media, Data and Society at the Central European University in Budapest, Hungary.
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Laura Vișan, Ph.D.
Laura Visan is an adjunct faculty member of the Department of Arts, Culture and Media (ACM) at the University of Toronto Scarborough and has a Ph.D. in communication from York University and Ryerson University in Toronto. She researched the process of social capital formation through civic participation and networking in the case of Romanian immigrants from Toronto. Having grown up in Romania, Laura has also written about the popular culture artefacts of the Nicolae Ceauşescu era, with a focus on the 1970s and 1980s. She has taught at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton and at York University in Toronto.
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“Recuperate, Recycle, Reuse: Adaptive Solutions for the Socialist Architecture of Bucharest”. In Lisa B. W. Drummond and Douglas Young (Eds.), Socialist and Post-Socialist Urbanisms. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2020; pp. 168-184
“Political Engagement through Civic Transnationalism: Romanian Diasporas and the 2014 Presidential Elections”, in Reading Sociology: Canadian Perspectives, Third Edition. Oxford University Press, 2017
“Reading Cutezatorii and Watching Jackie Chan – Romanian Children and the Communist Propaganda (1970s and 1980s). Medialni Studia (Media Studies), Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University Prague, II 2013, Pp. 212-228. Available online at: http://medialnistudia.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/6_laura-visan.pdf
“(Dis)Connected: Romanian Canadians in Cyberspace”. Romanian Journal of Communication, Romanian Journal of Communication and Public Relations. Pp. 113-127. Vol. 15 No. 1 (29). April 2013. ISSN 1454-8100.
Available online at: http://journalofcommunication.ro/29/visan_29.pdf
“Creating Social Capital Resources: A Case Study of Romanian Immigrants in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area”. Working Papers series no. 93 / 2012, CERIS, the Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Settlement; available online at: http://www.ceris.metropolis.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/WP93_Visan.pdf
Romanian Immigrants Go to Church” – Illumine – The Journal of the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society at the University of Victoria, 2012; vol 11, no. 1. Available online at: http://journals.uvic.ca/index.php/Illumine/issue/view/763/showToc
“Partially Color– Rethinking Exterior and Interior Spaces in Communist Romania” – Anthropology of Eastern Europe Review, Vol. 29, No 2 / Fall 2011, 51-66; available online at: http://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/aeer/
“Houses that Cry: Online Civic Participation in Post-Communist Romania” – McMaster Journal of Communication, Vol. 7, Issue 1, 2011; available online at: http://digitalcommons.mcmaster.ca/mjc/vol7/iss1/3/
Lev Fejes, Ph.D.
Lev holds a doctorate in criminal justice from the School of Criminal Justice within Michigan State University (MSU) and an MA in Nonprofit Organization Management from Babeș-Bolyai University. As the Head of Research at the Association for Community Relations (ARC) he is responsible for coordinating the organization’s research efforts related to philanthropy and corporate social responsibility. He is a founding member of the Initiative for European Democratic Culture (ICDE) think-tank, and a Research Fellow at the Făgaraș Research Institute and Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD).
An enthusiast of research methods, at ARC he utilizes his research experience developed at the Center for Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection (A-CAPP) within MSU in designing and implementing studies aimed at furthering the understanding of philanthropic behavior in Romania and at informing decisions with regards to the development needs of Romanian NGOs. In his other capacities, Lev pursues various topics related mainly to urban safety and policing.
His area of expertise includes anti-counterfeiting strategies, consumer behavior, corporate social responsibility, philanthropy and public policy. His main academic research interests relate to criminology, product counterfeiting, policing and urban safety. He is also interested in more applied research on the topics of philanthropy and corporate social responsibility and is passionate about turning the world into a better place for each and all.
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Mihai Pătru
Mihai Pătru started his professional career as a diplomat with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania. He was awarded the Transatlantic Diplomatic Fellowship by the U.S. State Department and in 2014 joined the Center for Transatlantic Relations, Johns Hopkins University, in Washington DC. Currently he serves as Executive Director at Caravanserai Project and Senior Policy Fellow at University of California in Riverside, his main interests focusing on social entrepreneurship and social impact in grassroots underserved communities. In 2018, he joined Mozaïque, a social business developing tools to provide artisans and handworkers in remote communities around the world access to markets and financial predictability. He earned his Master’s in International Public Policy from Johns Hopkins University/School of Advanced International Studies and holds a MA in International Relations from Central European University in Budapest and a BA in Arabic Language and Literature from University of Bucharest.
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Monica Popescu, Ph.D.
Dr. Monica Popescu is Associate Professor and William Dawson Scholar of African Literatures at McGill University. She is the author of South African Literature Beyond the Cold War (which won the 2012 Gustave O. Arlt Award in the Humanities) and The Politics of Violence in Post-Communist Films, and co-editor of a special issue of the Journal of Postcolonial Writing on Alternative Solidarities: Black Diasporas and Cultural Alliances during the Cold War. She has published articles on postapartheid literature, African culture and the Cold War, postcommunist cultures and nationalism which have appeared in journals like Studies in the Novel, Research in African Literatures, Current Writing, and The Yale Journal of Criticism. She is currently completing a book manuscript on “Postcolonial Cultures, African Literatures, and the Cold War.”
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Monique Lima Leite, M.A.
Mgr. Monique Lima Leite is a researcher and independent consultant focused on spirituality and development, postdevelopment studies and community development. She has a master’s degree in international development studies from Palacký University, Czech Republic, postgraduate in Executive Management Communication at Universidad Diego Portales, in Chile, and BA in Social Communication at Universidade Metodista de São Paulo, in Brazil. She started her career in the business world, where she worked with environmental and social conflict management and community development at the biggest mining company in Latin America. She was one of the responsible team members for the relationship with more than 60 communities across Brazil, including indigenous and other traditional communities, besides consultation to the operations in Argentina, Peru, and Canada. Monique is a multicultural professional, she lived and studied in several countries, including the Czech Republic, Chile, New Zealand, Romania, Brazil, and has experiences in local communities in Bolivia and Cuba. Her knowledge and experiences include: Hatha Yoga instructor, guest speaker in several subjects, high skilled in making her 8 months daughter laugh.
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Moritz Poesch, M.A.
Moritz Poesch holds a master’s in comparative political economy from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Prior to this, he studied philosophy and anthropology at Witten/Herdecke university in Germany, with exchanges at Central European University Budapest, Cairo University, and the European College of Liberal Arts Berlin. In his thesis,he has worked on the social psychology of organizational crisis and on processes of radicalization.
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Oana Lup, Ph.D.
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Silvia Fierăscu, Ph.D.
Dr. Silvia Fierăscu has a PhD in Comparative Politics and Network Science from Central European University. Her research focuses primarily on quality of governance, political-business relations, and statistical analyses of network data. Silvia is involved in various interdisciplinary projects, translating complex problems into real-time applications for organizational management, political communication, and better governance.
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Sorin Cebotari
Dr. Sorin Cebotari is a researcher in sustainable development. At the moment, Sorin is a senior research manager at weTHINK. Europe where he coordinates a research team focusing on the energy and construction sectors in Central and South-Eastern Europe. Also, Sorin is an external consultant for European Climate Foundation, where he coordinates the project InfoClima.ro
Aiming to improve public discurse on climate change. As a Marie Curie Fellow he researcherd the impact of renewable energies on perypheralyzation in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Key areas of interest: sustainable development, circular economy, perypheralyzation and polarization in CEE, regional development, renewable energy.
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- Sorin, Cebotari, “Romanian electricity market in the light of fast development of renewable energies: General presentation and critical assessment”, Institute for Regional Studies, Center for Economic and Regional Studies, Hungarian Academy of Science. Molnar Nyomada Ltd., 2015
- Sorin, Cebotari; Marius, Cristea; Ciprian, Moldovan; Florin, Zubascu; “Renewable energy's impact on rural development in northwestern Romania”, Energy for Sustainable Development, Vol 37, Feb 2017, pp. 110-123
- Sorin, Cebotari; Jozsef, Benedek; “Renewable Energy Project as a Source of Innovation in Rural Communities: Lessons from the Periphery”, Sustainability, Vol 9 (4). 509, March 2017.
- Sorin, Cebotari; Melinda, Mihaly; “Towards a Progressive Local Development Approach-Insights from Local Community Initiatives in Hungary and Romania” in Regional and Local Development in Times of Polarization, by Thilo Lang and Franziska Gormar, Palgrave Macmillan, doi:10.1007/978-981-13-1190- 1_11, Jan 2019.
- Sorin, Cebotari; Thilo, Lang; Tomas, Hanell; “Translating Scientific Results: Encouraging Reflective Policies as a Chance for Change” in Regional and Local Development in Times of Polarization, by Thilo Lang and Franziska Gormar, Palgrave Macmillan, doi:10.1007/978-981-13- 1190-1_15., Jan 2019.
- Sorin, Cebotari, “Against All Odds: Community Owned Renewable Energy Projects in North-West Romania”, ACME 18(2), 513-528, May 2019.
Ștefan Cibian, Ph.D.
Dr. Ștefan Cibian is a member of the Board and the executive director of the Făgăraș Research Institute. Stefan is an Academy Associate with Chatham House – The Royal Institute of International Affairs, he is also teaching courses related to international development at Babeș-Bolyai University and manages Cibian Consulting S.R.L.
In what concerns teaching and research, Stefan is focused on development and statehood in Sub-Saharan Africa, development policy, development assistance, international organizations, migration, and human rights.
Stefan’s core interest in research is focused on international development, community development, Africa-EU relations, development policy, international relations theory, peacebuilding and fragile states, the link between research, policy, and practice, higher education policy and global affairs, including the EU. In terms of geographic focus, Stefan is primarily concerned with Sub-Saharan Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, the European Union, and transatlantic relations.
In his consulting and civil society work, Stefan is focusing on civil society development in CEE, contributing to the development of civil society organizations. Stefan is the President of FOND, the Romanian NGDO Platform, the Treasurer of CONCORD – the European NGO Confederation for Humanitarian Aid and Development. He is also a board member for the following organizations: ARCADIA – The Romanian Association for International Cooperation and Development, Țara Făgărașului Community Foundation (FCTF), UiPath Foundation, and the Foundation for Youth Involvement (FIT).
Stefan received his Ph.D. degree in political science and international relations (2012) as well as his M.A. in public policy (2006) from CEU – the Central European University. He also holds a BA in political science (2004, from Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania) and in law (2005, 1st of December 2019 University, Alba Iulia, Romania).
FRI PublicationsExpert CommentsNews and mass-mediaOther publicationsEvents
Central and Eastern Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa: Prospects for Sustained Re-engagement (Chatham House Research Paper, 2017)
Analyzing the European Development Fund: An English School Account of How Presumed Statehood Undermines (Development in) Sub-Saharan Africa (Ph.D. Thesis, Central European University, 2012)
Victor Cepoi
Dr. Victor Cepoi is Assistant Professor at the School of Advanced Social Studies in Nova Gorica, Slovenia (SASS) and Faculty of Information Studies in Novo mesto, Slovenia (FIS). He received his Ph.D. in 2018 at SASS on the topic of Regional Innovation Performance. His research interests include: European regional development, innovation performance in the EU, social capital and research methodologies. He was engaged in several international projects.
These include two Interreg Danube Programme projects: High-performance Computing for Effective Innovation in the Danube Region (InnoHPC) and Fostering Innovation in the Danube Region through Knowledge Engineering and IPR Management (KnowING IPR). Additionally, Victor was engaged in several projects co-financed by Erasmus+ programme: Enabling SMEs to gain competitive advantage from the use of HPC, Boosting Innovation in Curricula Development of IT Programs in Palestine and Designstem: integrated design + STEM education.
Other publications
Cepoi, Victor. A meta-analysis and explanation of innovation processes through the outline of social fields theory. Research in social change, vol. 12, issue 3, pp. 15-31, 2020
Cepoi, Victor. National Case Study in the Danube Region: Ukraine. In: Rončević B., Coscodaru R. and Fric Urška (eds.). Go with the flow: high performance computing and innovations in the Danube region. Vega Press, 2019
Kantor Irina and Cepoi Victor. From Neglect to Crime - The Role of Media In 2015. European Migration Crisis. A Comparative Study in Three ECE Countries: Romania, Hungary and Slovenia. In: Balica E and Marinescu V (eds.), Migration and Crime: Realities and Media Representation. Palgrave, 2018
Roncevic Borut, Makarovic Matej, Tomsic Matevz and Cepoi Victor. Methodological Solutions for Comparative Research on Transformations. In: Vihalemm P, Masso A, Opermann S(eds.), The Routledge International Handbook of Social Transformation. Routledge, 2018.
Cepoi Victor and Golob Tea. Innovation Performance in the EU Comparative Perspective: The Interplay of Social Forces in the Context of National Innovation Systems. Comparative Sociology, 2017, Vol. 16, issue 4, pp. 555-579
Mikulan Kildi Janja and Cepoi, Victor. The importance of the political order for peace. Journal of aggression, conflict and peace research, 2017, Vol. 9, issue 1, pp. 24-37
Cepoi Victor. Trust and participation in the information society: new and traditional information sources. In Rončević Borut and Tomšič Matevž (eds.), Information society and its manifestations: economy, politics, culture. Frankfurt am Main [etc.]: Peter Lang, 2017.
Cepoi Victor. Does trust make people more civically moral?: an empirical study for the Romanian and Moldovan societies. Raziskave in razprave, 2016, Vol. 9, no. 1/3, pp. 264-307
Cepoi, Victor. Do social forces matter?: a model for innovation and development performance. Research in social change, 2016, vol. 8, issue 3, pp. 4-27
Cepoi Victor and Golob Tea. Regional innovation performance: measuring development in cultural, social and economic perspectives. Innovation Issues and Approaches in Social Sciences, 2016, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 242 – 260
Cepoi Victor. Trust: A Diversity approach. in Trust, Social Capital and Democratic participation: A literature Review. Accent, Romania, 2013.
Conference Proceedings
Cepoi Victor and Rončević Borut. Social fields theory explaining innovations and developmental performance. 4th International Conference on Economics, Political and Law Sciences (Business and economic series), 2015, pp. 38 – 47
Cepoi Victor. Democracy at a new crossroad for Eastern Europe. 4th International Conference on Economics, Political and Law Sciences (Business and economic series), 2015, pp. 111 – 117
Cepoi Victor. An explanatory model for innovation: a focus on cognitive frames. 4th International Conference on Economics, Political and Law Sciences (Business and economic series), 2015, pp. 182 – 188
Cepoi Victor. Regional development performance – a focus on the innovation processes. Mathematical and Computational Methods in Applied Sciences. Mathematics and Computers in Science and Engineering Series, 2015, pp. 132 – 139
Cepoi Victor. The role of Social Networks in the framework of the Regional Development. in Mathematical and Computational Methods in Applied Sciences. Mathematics and Computers in Science and Engineering Series, 2015, pp. 112 – 119