We support everyday heroes working for the betterment of their communities
We empower young changemakers.
We support everyday heroes.
EDYN Headquarters is located in Bratislava, Slovakia and provides management, coordination, strategic guidance and fundraising support to the network.
EDYN n.o. is an independent non-profit organization registered in Slovakia. It is governed by a Board of Trustees, visionaries and true friends of our mission.
Michal Kovács is a social innovator and activist. Prior to joining the European Democracy Youth Network, he founded and led numerous non-governmental organizations supporting young leaders in Slovakia and abroad. He was a Shadow Minister of Education for the ZA ĽUDÍ party, where he worked closely with the former President of Slovakia, Andrej Kiska. Prior to that, Michal was a member of the Leadership Team and Head of Communications for Slovakia at Swiss Re, one of the world’s largest reinsurance companies. He also founded an academic department focused on North American Studies at the University of Economics in Bratislava, and served as the University’s Envoy for Business-Academic Cooperation. He holds a PhD and an MSc in International Relations.
Ľubica Kováčová is the Institutional Development Manager at the EDYN HQ. She previously worked as the Head of the Office of the Minister at the Slovak Ministry of Environment. Her experiences include mostly political party development, campaigning, communication and public administration. Lubica holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Illinois and M.A. in International Relations from University of Groningen.
Nadezhda Mouzykina is the Deputy Regional Director with the Central and Eastern Europe team. Since joining NDI in 2009, she has supported in-country and regional programming focused on parliamentary strengthening; political party and civil society development; election administration; and inclusion of marginalized populations, such as the Roma, women and youth, LGBTQ+, and religious minority groups. Ms. Mouzykina holds an M.A. in International Affairs from the George Washington University and a B.A. in International Studies, with minors in Russian, German, and Vocal Performance, from the Johns Hopkins University.
Matthew Drygulski is a Program Officer on the Transatlantic Strategy team at the International Republican Institute. Before his time at IRI, Matthew served on the Government Affairs team of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, a think tank specializing in transatlantic relations. He holds a B.A. in International Affairs from the George Washington University, with a minor in Sustainability.
Lizzie Patterson is a Program Associate at the International Republican Institute. At IRI, Lizzie supports programmatic activities for EDYN and political party strengthening programming throughout Europe. Lizzie holds a B.A. in International Studies with a concentrated focus in Business Management, French, and German from Indiana University.
Jacob Kostrzewski is a Program Manager on the Central-Eastern Europe team with National Democracy Institute. He previously served on the International Rule of Law and Security Team at the McCain Institute at Arizona State University. He has a Master's in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and speaks Polish and French.
Jeremy Lennon is a Program Associate at the National Democratic Institute (NDI). At NDI, Jeremy supports EDYN, and projects related to Serbia and Montenegro. Jeremy holds a B.A. in Comparative Politics and German Studies from the University of Puget Sound.
Katherine Hedrick is a Program Officer at the National Democratic Institute, where she supports EDYN in addition to programming in North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Romania. Before NDI, she served on the Europe and Eurasia team at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems. Katherine holds a B.A. in both History and Arabic Language from Western Kentucky University and a M.A. in Conflict Resolution from Georgetown University.
Lucia Husenicová is the EDYN Communications Officer with EDYN HQ. She graduated with a PhD from the Faculty of Management at Comenius University and has a strong background in marketing and communications, having established a successful marketing agency. She was involved in youth engagement at the Senate of Comenius University, where she presides over the student body and is responsible for a third of votes. Lucia was the COO of the Digital Marketing Club, an NGO based at the Faculty. She led multiple teams of over 40 people and was the creative director of several projects and events. Lucia hopes to elevate EDYN’s communication and member dynamics.
Carlotta Serioli is the Outreach & Partnerships Manager at EDYN HQ. She holds a BA in Politics and International Relations from the University of Manchester and a MSc in International Political Security from University College London. She previously worked as a financial consultant and headhunter in London before joining the Research & Editorial team at the Institute for International Political Studies in Milan, Italy.
Iveta Homolová is the Office Manager at the EDYN HQ. She previously worked as a Chief State Advisor at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic where she was mainly responsible for the international relations of the Deputy PM. Iveta holds a Master's Degree in Political Science from Comenius University. She experienced many internships, for example at the Office of the State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Press Department at the same ministry. International relations are her main domain although she is also a proud advocate for gender equality.
Founders and Friends: EDYN was founded by the International Republican Institute (IRI), the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to elevate the voices of the new democratic leaders.
EDYN n.o. is an independent non-profit organization registered in Slovakia. It is governed by a Board of Trustees, visionaries and true friends of our mission.
EDYN n.o. is an independent non-profit organization registered in Slovakia. It is governed by a Board of Trustees, visionaries and true friends of our mission.
Rye Barcott is co-founder and CEO of With Honor, a cross-partisan political organization led by veterans focused on promoting and advancing principled veteran leadership to reduce polarization in the U.S. Congress. Previously, he co-founded and led the clean energy investment firm Double Time Capital, and co-founded the non-governmental public health organization Carolina for Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya. His memoir, “It Happened on the Way to War,” juxtaposes military service and social entrepreneurship. Mr. Barcott serves on the boards of National Democratic Institute (NDI), the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation, and the U.S. Institute for Peace. He chairs the board of Carolina for Kibera.
Tami is the Chief of Staff to the CEO of Swiftarc Ventures. A young Venture Capital firm focused on Telehealth technology and under represented Founders. Based in the USA, with offices in Miami and New York City. Tami is the former chief executive of a privately-held, family company, the Longaberger Company which specialized in handmade baskets and other home goods. The family sold the company in 2013. Today, she continues to serve as President and Member of the Board of the Longaberger Family Foundation. She serves as a Board member of the International Republican Institute (IRI), a Washington, D.C.-based organization dedicated to advancing freedom and democracy worldwide and has worked on International Election Observation teams to Georgia, Jordan, Tunisia, Ukraine and Ghana. She chaired the Arab Women’s Leadership Institute, based in Amman, Jordan. She also serves at the Vice-President of the Financial Research Advisory Committee of the US Treasury. In 2003, she served as a US delegate to the Human Rights Commission. She was appointed by President George W Bush as the Chair of the National Women’s Business Council and served on the Board of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Ms. Longaberger earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Ohio State University and is the former Chair of the Ohio State Board of Trustees.
Jonas Rolett has worked on democracy and governance issues in Europe for much of his career. His focus has been on building civic resilience, opening the political process, promoting good governance and defending human rights. He has lived in Budapest and Tirana and remains closely involved in Albania's political and social development. From 1998 to 2021 Mr. Rolett served in a variety of roles at the Open Society Foundations, including Regional Director, Advocacy Manager and Special Advisor to the Chairman. He worked a broad range of issues, including debt relief, vaccine justice and citizen engagement. Prior to joining the Open Society Foundations, Mr. Rolett was a Senior Program Officer at the National Democratic Institute (NDI), where he promoted democratic development across Eastern Europe. He managed programs related to governance, civic participation and political party building, and established domestic election monitoring organizations in five countries. Mr. Rolett is co-founder of the Transatlantic Democracy Working Group and has served as a steering committee member on the World Bank's Global Partnership for Social Accountability. He holds a BA in Literature and Psychology from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where he was a Morehead Scholar.
Kathryn Walt Hall is an attorney, businesswoman, and former US Ambassador to Austria. Ms. Hall began her public career as Assistant City Attorney in Berkeley, California. Later, she joined Safeway Stores, where she was responsible for developing and administering one of the first and largest affirmative action programs in the United States. Subsequently, she worked as an attorney and businesswoman in Dallas, Texas, where she was the President of an inner city development company and partner of Hall Financial Group, Inc. Throughout her distinguished career as a successful businesswoman, community activist, and humanitarian, she has been active in a number of civic issues, serving on numerous non-profit and institutional boards, addressing issues related to social care and mental health. Ms. Hall co-founded the North Texas Food Bank, served on the U.S. House of Representatives’ Hunger Advisory Committee, and was the Director/Vice President of the Texas Mental Health Association. In 1995, Ms. Hall was appointed by President Clinton to serve on the National Advisory Council for Violence Against Women and as a trustee of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. From 1998 to 2001, she served as the United States Ambassador to Austria. Ms. Hall has also been a leader in numerous business organizations, including the Dallas area Chambers of Commerce, the Dallas Assembly, Commercial Real Estate Women, and the Texas Retailers Association. Ms. Hall serves on the Napa Legal Aid Board, the Board of Directors of Festival Napa, and is a Trustee of the Southwestern Medical Center. She is fluent in French and German, earned a B.A. in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley, a joint MBA from UC California, Berkeley & Columbia University, and a J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of Law.
Leadership Council serves as the representative and decision-making body of the network and is supported by five committees: Program Development, Communications, Finance and Partnerships, Elections and Membership.
Daryna Onyshko is a youth advocate, program management professional and researcher with experience working at international organizations, NGOs and youth networks. She is currently the President of the European Democracy Youth Network (EDYN). Daryna joined EDYN as a member in 2020 and was engaged at the various levels of the network: starting with leading the event team that carried out more than 10 online discussions and later co-coordinating the work of the Polish Chapter with its 16 members (2021-22). As her main work engagement, she serves as the Program Officer at National Democratic Institute Poland based in Warsaw. She focuses her work on democracy-related activities in Visegrad Group countries on youth in politics, and in Ukraine on religious freedom and interfaith dialogue. Most recently Daryna served as the Program Officer on Youth and Gender Equality at the Community of Democracies (2017-2022). Daryna is an alumna of the Center for European Policy Analysis’s James S. Denton Transatlantic Program, the New Security Leaders Program of the Warsaw Security Forum, LEADx Program by the Fletcher School at Tufts University and a recipient of OSCE & UNODA Peace and Security Scholarship. She currently co-chairs the Women’s Diplomatic Club in Warsaw that brings together more than 100 women diplomats. She holds an MA in Political Science with a major in Analysis and Policy Advice and a BA in International Relations. Besides English and Ukrainian, she speaks fluent Polish and basic Norwegian.
Mr. Keco holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science with a concentration in Governance and Public Policy and has specialized in European Union Politics and Diplomacy. He has a combined work experience of eight years in the public and private sector, and NGOs. Enrik has worked as a research manager in the field of education, political parties, innovation, markets, EU studies, participation, business, etc. Further, he worked as a Development and Good Governance Policy Expert in the Council of Ministers. Currently, Mr. Keco is working as Senior Project Coordinator in the education sector. He is deeply involved in the local community demonstrated by his active participation in organizations that serve the Albanian youth empower.
Salome Mgeladze works in the education sector for many years. She’s the founder of two non-formal education centers. Currently, she’s working as a CEO in one of them under the name re:school. It is a non-formal education space, where the creators of innovative projects teach tech professions that are in high demand. Salome believes that only knowledge of digital technologies is not enough for professional perfection, therefore, her team equips new generations with all the necessary skills that will help them to be successful. The mission of re:school is to turn users of technologies into creators. Currently, Salome is working on two projects with her partners from re:invent studio, which is the first venture studio in Georgia of which re:school is a part. The first project is about the implementation of teaching digital technologies to women prisoners and the second one is about teaching digital technologies to 100 women from regions of Georgia. The final goal of Salome and her partners is to teach digital technologies to 500 000 people in Georgia and to fight unemployment and low income this way. In addition, Salome is a Ph.D. researcher in International Law. She was a representative of Georgia at the Transatlantic Inclusion Leaders Network of the German Marshall Fund of the United States and recently became an alumna. She graduated from the Georgian – American University with a bachelor’s degree in Law and received her master’s degree from the University of Rome Sapienza in European Studies. She has diverse experience working in the public and private sectors. In addition, she was an author and a host of the TV show “we need to talk” on the Georgian TV channel Formula. She’s a civic activist and she’s passionate about women’s political and economic empowerment. In addition, her sphere of interest and working area is fighting against disinformation. Salome speaks five foreign languages. She joined EDYN in 2020, became an ambassador in 2021, and was elected as a member of the Leadership Council in 2022.
Tudor Arnaut is the co-founder of Comunitatea Plus, a non-governmental organization that empowers young people to make a positive impact in their communities. He organized various Erasmus+ projects and provides youth with more opportunities for personal and professional development. Tudor is an alumnus and mentor of the youth program Challenger, a program that fosters critical thinking and research skills among young people. He also received a scholarship from Soros Foundation in 2021.
Zulfiyya is a civic activist and economist from Azerbaijan. She is the founder of Easy Peasy Economics, the initiative group of economists in Azerbaijan. Currently, as a team, she is working with 12 young economists to increase economic literacy and grow young generation economists. In addition, Zulfiyya was the manager of various social projects funded by EU, USAID, US Embassy and she delivers training on Project Management and Writing.
Viktoriya Andrukovich is a human rights and political activist from Hrodna, Belarus currently based in Lithuania, Vilnius due to repressions in her country. She has extensive experience working in human rights organizations, NGOs, youth organizations, and political and civic campaigns in Belarus and abroad(mostly with a focus on Eastern Europe). In Belarus, she worked with the victims of riot police violence after the august 2020 events, political prisoners, refugees, and discriminated groups. Currently, Viktoryia continues her work on Belarusian affairs as a program officer at the International Republican Institute. My main focus of work at the moment is grass-roots activism, advocacy, anti-propaganda and anti-disinformations, support for independent media, protection of rights of minority groups, LGBTQ+, women’s rights, and more.
Nikola Kandić is a lawyer, youth worker and storyteller from Bosnia and Herzegovina. He earned a master’s degree in civil and company law at the University of East Sarajevo. During his student period, he was president of the Student Assembly and began his career as a civil activist. He gained work experience by working in the Ministry of Justice of the Republika Srpska, UNHCR, and non-governmental organizations in BiH (Institute for Youth Development Kult, Youth Council of the Federation of BiH, Civitas BiH). He currently works as a Communication and Outreach specialist in the IT sector. He is a member of the Youth Advisory Group at the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and was appointed as an ambassador of the EDYN network and a European youth ambassador for the Western Balkans by the European Commission. He is recognized as a youth leader and is the author of a number of researches, methodologies and programs in the field of youth work. Fields of his work: media and information literacy, communications, youth policies, dealing with the past, regional cooperation, social innovations.
Egzon Osmanaj is born and raised in the city of Mitrovica, Republic of Kosova. He is an alumnus of the University of Sussex and holds a master’s degree in European Governance and Policy. He is also a Young Cell Scheme Awardee by the European Commission. He is an experienced Researcher and Policy Analyst with a demonstrated history of working in the public policy industry, Civil Society, and International Organizations. He has an extensive experience in social research, policy drafting, data analysis for policy making, political education, critical thinking and media literacy, youth empowerment, and project cycle management and evaluation. He is also a trainer in soft skills and a consultant in data-based policy-making and strategic planning. He currently works as a program manager at the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Prishtina Office.
Gjorgi Tasev currently works as an Advisor for youth and youth policies to the Prime Minister of North Macedonia. Tasev previously worked in the sector of communications and PR in the Government. Tasev was part of Rising Public Leaders Programme at Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University where he strength the skills that rising senior public leaders need to build cultures of excellence, effectiveness, and integrity throughout the institutions they lead and across the public sector more widely. In addition, Tasev worked as a demonstrator/associate at FON University (Faculty of Law) in the fields of administrative and constitutional law. Within his work engagement, Tasev has also been active through the NGO sector as program and project coordinator in various organizations, and now from the position of a decision maker he continues working on affirmation of youth policies, encouraging youth activism and increasing the participation of young people in social processes. He is author/co-author of many articles in the field of youth policies, social relations, and legal affairs, and also have many years of experience as an expert and consultant in strategic planning, youth participation and youth policies, political and development programs. Tasev is Government representative and Bureau member in the European Steering Committee for Youth (CDEJ) and Joint Council on Youth (CMJ) of the Council of Europe, co-managed decision-making system. Furthermore, he is an ambassador of the European Democracy Youth Network (EDYN) from the Republic of North Macedonia, and a member of the Leadership Council, supporting everyday heroes working for the betterment of their communities. In his free time, Gjorgi enjoys reading books, playing video games, and exploring new places.
Saška Radujkov is president of Youth of the Movement for Change and Ambassador of the European Democracy Youth Network. She is a Ph.D. student at the Faculty of Philosophy and holds a MA in Pedagogy. Ms. Radujkov participated in Democracy Academy organized by NDI, Crta, and OSCE, and Program for Young Political Leaders, organized by NDI and Lymec. She is part of the EDYN Training of Trainers program. Saška is interested in women´s rights and the greater participation of young people in politics. She believes in democracy and solidarity and works on activities that promote the role of young people in politics.
Denys Ganzha, 23, Ukraine. Denys is a founder of an NGO called “Public Diplomacy Platform”, Ukrainian Youth Delegate to the UN, Member of the Youth Affairs Council under the President of Ukraine. During the last 9 months, Denys is staying inside Ukraine to help his country win the bloody war against Russia. His main front is an informational one: 250 comments for various international media (BBC, SkyNews, Al Jazeera, Le Temps, De Staandard, etc.), founded Ukraine Frontline Media Platform which has already helped international journalists with more than 1000 requests to create truthful stories about Ukrainian war for Independence. Apart from this, Denys is helping various ministries and government agencies by giving free consultations in communications and by setting up volunteer teams, which can perform different tasks to help the state.
Jana Soukupová is the Director of the Cabinet Department of the Minister for Science, Research and Innovation, and the founder of the organization Youth, Speak Up! which aims to introduce young people and their topics into politics. She has been politically active for over ten years, and opened deliberative platforms for young people in the Chamber of Deputies (Parliament of the Czech Republic) – platforms focused on the youth-oriented political agenda such as environment, mental health, digitalization, and the support of early-career scientists. As a female leader, she emphasizes creating a diverse and progressive environment within the political and scientific sphere.
Laura Danilas has been a member of the City Council of Tartu since 2017, she got reelected in 2021 and she is a member of the Estonian Reform Party. She holds a B.A. in Aeronautical Engineering from the Estonian Aviation Academy and is currently studying for an M.A. in Cyber Security at the Tallinn University of Technology. She is working as a Political Advisor to the Minister of Social Protection and is also involved in aviation-related projects. She has written articles for both local and international publications and is passionate about foreign affairs, defense policy, and information warfare. She enjoys reading, skiing, playing golf and chess.
Loretta Pinke is a doctoral student at Comenius University in Bratislava, where she officiates at the Department of Economy and Finance. In her academic work, she researches domestic consumption in small and open economies. She is a founding member of the party HLAS – Social Democracy. Moreover, she is the vice-president of the civic association Slovakia – Europe – the World, where she focuses on topics related to the European Union, youth, and international relations, where she wishes to extend her activities in the nearest future.
Country Chapters located across 23 countries bring together EDYN’s Ambassadors and Members to empower young people to become active in public life and develop initiatives tackling the most pressing societal problems by identifying solutions from across the political and ideological spectrum that EDYN represents.
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