Zašto Ne
Amar Karađuz (MA in Democracy and Human Rights in South-East Europe, and BA in International Relations) is researcher and author at the fact-checking platform Raskrinkavanje from Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is a co-author of several research publications on disinformation, published by the organization “Zašto ne”, within which Raskrinkavanje operates.
New Justice Culture
Ani Jilozian is a public health and human rights specialist with over 15 years of experience in Armenia spanning research, advocacy, program management, and resource mobilization. She co-founded New Justice Culture, a Yerevan-based, women-led think-and-do tank working across human rights, gender equality, and civic engagement to advance evidence-based reform and a rights-centered culture of justice. Previously, she held a leadership role at Armenia’s largest domestic violence center.
New Community Foundation
Programme Director at the New Community Foundation, responsible for project operations and fundraising. She has been involved in the civil society since 2006. She has implemented social and educational programs for organizations including the Polish Donors Forum, the Working Community of Associations of Social Organizations, and the Ocalenie Foundation. She is a trainer and facilitator associated with the NGO Trainers’ Association (sTOP). She supports organizations in management, strategic processes, and internal communication.
Foundation Atelier for Community Transformation – ACT
Azra Berbić is an activist, lawyer and researcher with over a decade of experience in human rights, environmental protection, peacebuilding and transitional justice. She is Deputy Director of the Foundation Atelier for Community Transformation – ACT, where she leads the Building Resilience of Activists programme, supporting activists and journalists facing threats, SLAPPs and repression. Her work focuses on civic space, environmental justice, critical raw materials and community protection in BiH and the wider region.
Metamorphosis Foundation
Movement for Social Democracy
George is a founding member of the Movement for Social Democracy, a new political movement in Georgia. With 10+ years in education policy, he has led CSOs and taught in public and private schools.
He graduated from Malmö University (Human Rights, 2012), holds an MA in Cultural Studies and an MA in Organizational Development and Consultancy. He is now pursuing a PhD on the marketization of education, and has authored several policy papers, including The History of General Education in Georgia: 1990-2020.
Metamorphosis Foundation
Goran Rizaov is an award-winning journalist, editor and media-programme leader with more than 20 years of experience in journalism, public-interest media and democratic resilience in North Macedonia and the Western Balkans. His work focuses on media and information integrity, countering disinformation, fact-checking, data journalism, open data, media literacy and platform accountability. He has led numerous regional and international projects, training programmes and policy initiatives.
Front Line Defenders
Hapee is an international development expert and worked 15 years at Hivos as part of the ICT&Media team. He always worked with OpenSource Software in the field of ICT for development, ranging from projects around open data, accountability&transparency, citizen engagement, websecurity and osint. After Hivos Hapee worked as Rapid Response Manager for Greenhost where he facilitates the digital emergency response community to resolve threats. Currently Hapee is working as Digital Protection Coordinator at Front Line Defenders and in this role he is mainly training and support human rights defenders to be protected against digital attacks in all aspects of it . Through his work he has thorough understanding of which OpenSource tools are out there and which problem requires which solution and he is also able to implement such a project securely. His experience connects him to a world-wide network of developers and security trainers.
New Community Foundation, Poland
Directory for Social Change
José Blázquez helps civil society make sense of AI from inside the sector, not from a distance. As Marketing and Product Development Manager at the Directory of Social Change, he leads the charity’s AI programme: testing tools, building capability and helping smaller organisations adopt AI responsibly. He holds a Master’s in AI and writes regularly on what it really means for the third sector, with no hype, no doom and no jargon. He builds things that solve real problems, not features that look good in a demo.
TechSoup
Pero Sardjoski is an instructional designer, teacher trainer and educator with extensive experience in digital literacy, AI-enhanced learning, media literacy and learner-centred education. He supports TechSoup’s AI for Social Change initiative in developing practical and accessible learning experiences for civil society organisations. He is also Director of Studies at Pegasus English Language School in N. Macedonia, where he leads innovative, project-based learning and teacher development.
Daily Humanity, Ukraine
Code for Romania / Commit Global
Salome Margvelashvili is Regional Project Manager at Code for Romania/Commit Global, an international civic tech organization building digital infrastructure to strengthen democratic processes and humanitarian response through digitalization. Salome manages the development and deployment of technology that strengthens election integrity and public accountability, including Vote Monitor, a digital election observation tool used by over 8,500 observers across 40 election rounds on three continents.
QLUB
Selin has been working in civil society for over a decade, with a background spanning media, gender equality, LGBTI+ rights. She currently works as a Matching Manager at Tech To The Rescue, connecting NGOs with tech companies to build impactful solutions. She has spent over ten years exploring ways to create safer and more inclusive spaces for LGBTI+ people in sports and is the founder of QLUB, a community built around sports, connection and belonging.
Paperlab Research Center
Serik Beissembayev is a sociologist and director of Paperlab Research Center, an independent think tank in Kazakhstan. His research focuses on governance, civil society, and identity politics in Kazakhstan. Through Paperlab he works to strengthen the capacity of independent think tanks across the region. He also teaches at Almaty Management University (AlmaU) and regularly contributes analytical commentary on Kazakhstani politics and society.
Cukr
Sofiia Mikhailichenko is a Project Manager at Cukr (cukr.city), an independent media and community organisation in Sumy, Ukraine, 30 km from the Russian border. Founded in 2019, Cukr combines journalism, events, physical spaces, a shop for local makers, and a club of 840+ members. Cukr began integrating AI in 2023, starting with no budget, and now uses it across editorial and operational workflows. Sofiia leads grant management and donor reporting. She also volunteers as operations’ lead at the Lotus Charitable Fund.
Shape Change
Val Voshchevska is a Ukrainian activist, campaigner and digital strategist based in London. She is founder and CEO of Shape Change, a global impact studio helping purpose-driven organisations drive change through digital campaigns and creative content. Formerly Global Head of Digital Engagement at Amnesty International, she now focuses on supporting Ukraine, building global solidarity and challenging harmful narratives. Her writing and commentary have appeared in TIME, Al Jazeera, NYT, the Guardian and BBC.
VotEDU
Vlad Garbuz is a product engineer who creates digital products and AI tools to solve everyday problems. He is passionate about helping young people in Moldova have a say in their country’s future. He leads VotEDU, a civic education app that helps young adults understand how democracy affects their lives, make informed decisions and take part in shaping their country.
Metamorphosis Foundation
Metamorphosis Foundation
TechSoup
