ERMA Alumni Network (EAN)

ERMA Alumni Network (EAN) is the official action of the European Regional Master`s in Democracy and Human Rights in South East Europe (GC SEE/ERMA) which links more than 550 graduates of the programme to its alma mater and vice versa. EAN is established in 2017 to represent the point of reference for communication, and a hub through which the ERMA programme fosters a web of professional, academic, and public relations with its graduates. EAN is funded by the ERMA programme, with support of EU and AICS Italy, and it is a proud member of the Global Campus Alumni (GCA), the biggest international alumni organization in human rights and democracy in the world with more than 3,000 members, supported by the Global Campus of Human Rights (GC).  

The EAN vision is to strengthen human rights and democracy in South East Europe and beyond, through active involvement and work of our alumni in different spheres of political and social life towards societies based on social justice, solidarity, and respect for human rights.

The EAN mission is to establish a strong professional and expert alumni community of human rights professionals, ready to fight injustices and work towards better protection and promotion of the fundamental rights and freedoms, and socio-economic development of the SEE region. Furthermore, key actions of EAN are connecting, engaging, and empowering the alumni.

Marjan Icoski

EAN Manager

Marjan Icoski is a program manager at Mladiinfo International and a policy fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. He has more than 7 years of experience in the civil society sector and academia, specializing in international programs and funding for youth education and human rights. He is also the lead researcher at Mladiinfo and author and editor of numerous policy and academic papers on the topics of youth migration, youth participation, regional cooperation, democratization, and EU enlargement. Additionally, Marjan is a trainer and facilitator of capacity-building programs for youth and youth CSOs from Africa, Asia, and Europe, as well as visiting lecturer at the University of Bologna, where he previously worked as an academic tutor. He holds an LL.M from the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, and a MA Degree in Human Rights and Democracy in SEE from the University of Sarajevo & University of Bologna.

Marija Ivanović

EAN Focal Point

Besides being ERMA Alumna, Marija Ivanović holds an M.A. in Political and Social Studies of Latin America from the University of Economics (Prague) and University Alberto Hurtado (Santiago de Chile). Also, she graduated from M.A. programme in Nationalism Studies (Central European University). She worked in the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and Caribbean in Chile and, more recently, she was a Young Researcher at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Koszeg. Her interests lie in questions of identity, memory and political geography. She joined the CIS team as an assistant for educational programs in 2019.

News & History

EAN piloted the Human Rights in Practice Program

The first edition was intended for the current cohort of students and consisted of two workshops: Project Writing and Advocacy and Human Rights. The workshops lasted for 4 hours each, giving the basic knowledge and triggering the interest of the students for important topics for their further career development. The workshops were held by experienced alumni, coming from international organizations dealing with youth and human rights: Mladiinfo International, Association for Democratic Initiatives, and Human Rights Defenders. The student`s feedback was excellent, paving the way to open the program for the alumni, and add two other modules in the a.y 2021/22: project management and human rights activism.

EAN Newsletter Launches

Another tool for more efficient and modern communication with alumni – the EAN Newsletter – was put in circulation. In 2020/2021, 3 editions of the newsletter were created and delivered to the email addresses of the alumni in the periods of March 2021, May 2021, July 2021. The first introductory bulletin was thematically designed to acquaint alumni members with the plans and future activities of EAN, but also with special reference to realized and upcoming programs and events. The second bulletin was dedicated to human rights, reconciliation through artistic activism as such. The third bulletin focused on green policies and mapping the potential but also the challenges that actors and promoters face in SE Europe. In addition, all editions relied on the co-creation alumni approach. More than 10 alumni contributed with their own stories, op-eds, success, and impact stories presenting them to the wider alumni audience.

Events

Research presentation: Deinstitutionalization of children with disabilities in SEE

February, 2021

GCSEE/ERMA graduates Esma Latić, Melina Kalem, Muamer Fazlić and Gresa Rasiti presented research findings regarding process of deinstitutionalization of children with disabilities in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria and Serbia. The research was done as part of the Global Classroom flagship project.

Dealing With The Past, Forum ZFD & EAN

March, 2021

In order to have sustainable peace in region, new creative approach is needed when dealing with this sensitive topic. This was underlined as guiding idea in the frame of Dealing with the past online event organized jointly by Forum ZFD Western Balkans and EAN.

Environmental Struggles in SEE: Actors, Potentialities, and Challenges

June, 2021

The online discussion aimed to shed light on the ongoing environmental struggles in the region by focusing on the following questions: What motivates different actors to mobilize? What are some of the strategies that movements and citizens use in order to organize contestations of official (often corrupt) politics?