Team
Tere Badia, Secretary General
tere(at)cultureactioneurope.org
Tere Badia holds a degree in Art History from the Universitat de Barcelona and a MA in Information and Knowledge Society by the IN3 (Internet interdisciplinary Institute) of the UOC.
She is dedicated to cultural research and production in various formats. She has carried out several studies on cultural policies, networks and R+D+i for visual arts. Tere has curated exhibitions and projects of contemporary art. She has been professionally linked to the Interarts Observatory in the 90’s, the communication and multimedia agency Goetzinger&Komplizen (Karlsruhe). Tere coordinated the platform DISONANCIAS in Catalonia for the promotion of the relations between artists and research departments of companies and organizations, as well as the network of visual arts production spaces of Catalonia xarxaprod. Until January 2018, Tere Badia was director of Hangar – center for artistic production and research in Barcelona.
Kornelia Kiss, Operations Director
kornelia(at)cultureactioneurope.org
Kornelia is an international project management professional with wide ranging experience in both the private and the public sector. Before joining CAE, she worked at the European Commission -DG Development Cooperation (DEVCO), as project manager promoting for peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development. Previously, she also worked at DG Trade, and also as a consultant for the OECD working on results frameworks and indicators. Before joining the Commission, she acquired strong project management and organising skills at leading multinational companies and at an international training company. Her academic background is in economics and business and management consulting.
Natalie Giorgadze, Communications & Community Director
natalie(at)cultureactioneurope.org
Natalie is a community manager and communications specialist with solid experience in the non-for-profit sector. Attracted by power of words, she passionately searches for new, creative and effective ways of telling stories, stories that inspire and motivate to act. Before joining Culture Action Europe, Natalie worked as communications officer for Women in Development Europe and as freelance writer and project developer at Indigo, a cross-media project. Her previous NGO experience includes working for human rights and environmental networks. Natalie is trained as a journalist and holds a graduate degree in Cultures and Development studies.
Gabriele Rosana, Policy Director
gabriele(at)cultureactioneurope.org
Gabriele Rosana is a public policy enthusiast with experiences both in the institutions and in the not-for-profit environment. He is passionate about the EU political project and the role that culture has to play there. During the 8th legislative term, he has worked for the Chair/Coordinator for a major political group of the CULT Committee in the European Parliament, and rapporteur for Creative Europe, extensively following the EU policy-making in the fields of culture, education, media, and digital.
Before joining Culture Action Europe, Gabriele worked as Policy Executive for Fondation EURACTIV and as Advocacy Officer for the Association européenne des conservatoires (AEC). He holds an LL.M. in EU Law from the College of Europe in Bruges and is a freelance journalist covering EU and foreign affairs for various media outlets. He tweets a lot.
Mamen Garcia, Project Coordinator
mamen(at)cultureactioneurope.org
Mamen’s background and interests are located at the intersection between governance and human rights and culture. Before joining CAE, she worked at the European Commission -DG DEVCO- as program officer promoting good governance and institutional building. The EU also led her to live and work in Peru, Syria and Democratic Republic of Congo, where she promoted democracy, human & women’s rights and culture.
She holds a degree in Political Sciences from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, an MA in international politics from the Université Libre de Bruxelles and a postgraduate in management from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Continuously reexamining, questioning and broadening horizons, she is currently studying an MA in Cultural economy and entrepreneurship at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam.
Maya Weisinger, Project Coordinator
maya(at)cultureactioneurope.org
Maya Weisinger is currently a Masters student at the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy in Erfurt, Germany. She is a community engagement specialist with particular focus on projects at the intersection of social justice and the arts. Before joining the CAE team she worked for ten years in the non-profit sector, defining ways to utilize art and creativity as pathways to diversity, equity and inclusion. As the Community Partnerships Coordinator at the Walker Art Center she created strategic policy focused on breaking down structural barriers that have traditionally marginalized people of color, indigenous and immigrant communities, and disabled individuals from large cultural institutions. Her current research focuses on the implementation of arts-based projects in the peacebuilding field.
Rajae Mechkour, Communications Intern
rajae(at)cultureactioneurope.org
Rajae Mechkour is a master’s student specialising in Arts and Culture Management, with a bachelor’s degree in communications. Before moving to Rome to explore the dynamics of the European cultural ecosystem, she lived and worked in Rabat, Morocco, a city known to be a cultural hub in North Africa. There she gained knowledge about cultural policies in the MENA region. Her last job was with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Embassy in Morocco, where she was responsible for coordinating a professional exchange program, providing fellowship opportunities for novice social entrepreneurs working mainly in the Cultural and IT sector. Always eager to learn, she herself is now exploring the world of entrepreneurship by releasing a podcast, which aims to bring debates on Arts and Culture in the MENA region to the table.
Sebastiano Bertagni, Policy Intern
sebastiano(at)cultureactioneurope.org
Sebastiano is a young cultural professional, and an enthusiast of European cultural policies. After his bachelor in Culture and Media at the IULM University of Milan and at the University of Bordeaux, he decided to investigate the economic side of culture, attending the MA in Cultural Economics and Entrepreneurship at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam.
During these years, he had the chance to work as a fundraiser for the artists Beka & Lemoine, for the International Film Festival Rotterdam and the Stichting Stukafest; besides, with other 4 selected students, he was involved in a consultancy project, under the request of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, developing a new model to assess the social impact of Dutch culture.
During these experiences, he strengthened his personal and professional ambition: to demonstrate that culture not only contributes to sustainable economic growth and innovation but also impacts the well-being of individuals and society.
