LIGHTS ON EUROPE

Katharina von Schnurbein was appointed the first European Commission Coordinator on combating antisemitism. Prior to this, she worked for five years as part of the advisory team of President Jose Manuel Barroso on the dialogue with churches, religions and non-confessional organisations. Her interest in building bridges and facilitating dialogue with other cultures was strongly impacted by her experience of liberation of Central and Eastern Europe and fall of the Berlin Wall, which ultimately led her to Slavonic Studies and perfect mastery of Czech language. Interested to hear how all of us can play a role in increasing tolerance in our society? In her interview with Lucia Klestincova for Lights on Europe, Katharina explains the sensitive nature of her function, outlines the origins of rise of anti-semitism in Europe and what can be done to combat it by mediating better dialogue at the European level. You will also learn whether there is any link between her current function and the knowledge of Central Europe she built when working for the Czech Commissioner Vladimir Spidla!

Follow Katharina:

Twitter: @kschnurbein

Jaromír Novák pracuje v Bruseli ako spolupracovník TASR - za slovenské printové médiá je tu jediný dlhodobo prítomný novinár. Ako sa potýka so snahou informovať o dianí v EÚ, keď v jeden deň musí pokryť všetko od rokovaní premiéra a ministrov až po bežné dianie v Beneluxe? Má šancu dostať slovo na slávnych poludňajších tlačovkách Európskej komisie, kde o mikrofón súperia novinárske štáby z celého sveta? Aj o tom sa Jaromír porozprával s Luciou Kleštincovou v najnovšom vydaní Lights on Europe – posvieťme si spoločne na politiku v zákulisí informovania o dianí z hlavného mesta EÚ, ale aj na dôležité maličkosti ako zlaďovanie takto časovo náročnej kariéry s rodinným životom.

Vera Pinto Gomes is one of the experts working on the EU’s space program Galileo but also an activist for patients’ healthcare. What do space shuttles have in common with diapers? In this interview with Lucia Klestincova, she busts a whole range of myths such as space industry being open exclusively for male engineers, or chronic diseases being an obstacle to living an energised and fulfilled life without barriers to exciting experiences. Listen to her as a unique example of a woman that is determined to follow her passion to reach for the stars and at the same time transform the life of chronically ill individuals in Portugal at the same time. We were all brought to tears seeing the standing ovation she received during her TED talk. Let us know what you think about her journey of courage and vulnerability.

Follow Vera on social media: 

Instagram: @escadinhas

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/veracgomes

Twitter: @astropolitica

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vera-gomes-83701418/

Alexandra Ekkelenkamp is the advisor to the director for media and communications of the Council of the EU - one of the main EU institutions. What’s the magic bullet behind the successful communication of Donald Tusk? How does Alexandra manage to bring the latest digital trends into a bureaucracy? What’s left when personal branding strategy meets national political interests and institutional safeguards? Learn how to stay on top of your game in a hyper dynamic environment, how to stay sane when your phone doesn’t stop ringing and how to set the boundaries of taking care of your body and mind before becoming a mindless robot. Get inspired by Alexandra’s time management tips, which allow her to pursue her EU career but also lead mindfulness and yoga classes, sing in a choir and manage women empowerment networks. In this interview led by Lucia Klestincova, you will be amazed by a conversation that combines performance measurement with letting go, top EU politics with authentic humanity, leadership vision with career tips, all the way to advice to those managing their communication projects without big support teams or budgets.

(This episode was recorded before President Charles Michel joined the European Council as its president on November 29 2019.)

Follow Alexandra:

Twitter: @alexekkelenkamp

Agnès Hubert built her entire career on fighting discrimination and promoting gender equality  – as a senior advisor to the European Commission Presidents, a founder of the first European feminist think-tank in Brussels, as a professor and a recognised author on EU gender equality policy. Throughout her 30 years lasting career of a senior civil servant at the European Commission, she focused mainly on development, social innovation, gender and social policies. In her interview with Lucia Klestincova for Lights on Europe, she shares her experience of past decades of feminist claims and achievements within European policies and what kind of work is still ahead of us. She’s still active in shaping the EU’s gender policies as a founder of the GENDER FIVE PLUS think tank and as a professor of gender policies at the College of Europe in Bruges and at Science-Po in Paris. How does she see the future of gender activism? Where is the link between the attacks on gender studies at university and the rise of populism? Agnes calls on her listeners to recognise that gender equality is THE topic of the next decade. It will serve all of us in pushing humanity away from the production madness that brought us where we are, towards greater compassion and reproduction of our businesses, planet and families.

Frans Nijs is known around the European Commission mainly as one of the early ambassadors of more participatory way of working and hosting of the conversations we have among ourselves and so-called ‘stakeholders’. In this episode he talks to Lucia Klestincova about his experience of experimenting with more fun in his meetings dedicated to strict financial procedures – quite an unusual area to start with. As a Belgian that has worked for decades in the international context of the European  institutions, he also shares his impressions of the impact of the EU enlargement on Brussels and integration of us, expats, into the city of Brussels. Lastly, would you expect a financial expert to also be a writer, philosopher and possibly your role model in journaling? Stay tuned.

Radovan Javorčík je stály predstaviteľ Slovenska pri NATO. Ako sa z absolventa Strojníckej fakulty stane diplomat, veľvyslanec a ako sa dá zasmiať, keď si niekto neskontroluje vaše krstné meno? Počúvajte jeho rozhovor s Luciou Kleštincovou - odhaľuje aj rozdiely v zákulisí bilaterálnej, európskej a svetovej diplomacie a pridáva viaceré kariérne postrehy: pre startupistov, čo sa môžu niečo podučiť z jeho izraelskej skúsenosti, ale hlavne pre študentov a študentky s obavami, ako sa presadiť v náročnom svete diplomacie.

Sleduj Radovana Javorčíka tu:

Twitter: @RadovanJavorcik

LinkedIn: Radovan Javorčík

Twitter Stálej delegácie SR pri NATO: @Slovakia_NATO

Facebook Stálej delegácie SR pri NATO: @SlovakiaNATOBrussels

We nearly could have recorded this in Slovak too - as an American Slovak (or Slovak American?) Rick Zedník speaks Slovak and knows the central-European political landscape very well. Having lived in post-communist Slovakia and co-founded a news media company there, in this interview with Lucia Kleštincová he shares insights into Slovakia’s democracy building and current political turmoil. Now working as Managing Director at Women Political Leaders (WPL), the worldwide network of female politicians, he has a clear vision for the value that more female political leaders can bring into global politics. Listen to his call for action - addressed to everyone from political parties to the general public, women themselves as well as the European Commissioner in charge of gender equality - and share it in your networks!

Twitter:@RickZednik and @WPLeadersOrg

Facebook:Rick Zednik and @WPLeadersOrg  

Linkedin: Rick Zednik and Women Political Leaders (WPL)

Lucia Kleštincová probably wouldn’t work for the European Commission if it wasn’t for the training received from András Baneth – a household name for everyone who ever tried passing very competitive selection process for the European institutions. Listen to their conversation about the Brussels job market, how to build successful careers in the area of EU public affairs and what are the skills to develop if you wish to remain competitive in the future.  Speaking of public affairs, we also look into the myths surrounding this industry and how it differs from questionable lobbying practices. You may also learn about the differences in lobbying the Hill in Washington DC.

Follow @andrasbaneth on Twitter!

Monika Ladmanová sprevádzala komisárku Věru Jourovú päťročným bojom za politiky rodovej rovnosti na európskej úrovni. V nadchádzajúcom mandáte im k tomu pribudnú aj ďalšie európske hodnoty a transparentnosť. Tento rozhovor poskytla Lucii Kleštincovej práve v čase zostavovania novej Európskej komisie a zároveň nových zistení v slovenskom škandále Gorila. Čo vôbec dokážu bruselské inštitúcie spraviť na ochranu demokracie a slobody médií? Ako sa človek z biznisu a tretieho sektora dokáže aklimatizovať vo svete byrokracie? A aké sú ponaučenia z presadzovania feministickej agendy do obdobia mandátu Zuzany Čaputovej a Ursuly von der Leyen?