Campaign “Trafficking next door” – The Team
As the launching date of the Human Trafficking Campaign (8 March) is getting closer and so is the date of the preparatory workshop (Program here ), we finished the selection process of the team who will meet in Düsseldorf on 7-8 March and will implement the campaign in their countries afterwards. The selection was not easy as there were many applications of similarly high quality. We did our best to bring together a team of diverse professional backgrounds, with team members who are lawyers to volunteers who have already worked helping women and children who fell victims to trafficking.
Some of us know a lot about trafficking in human beings already from research, some studied psychology and are interested in this topic. Others have more experience in online campaigning. Some come from feminist organizations, others were looking for something fulfilling to volunteer for during their studies and convinced us with their enthusiasm. Every team member had volunteered before. We will surely all have a lot to learn from each other and are looking forward to meet in Düsseldorf at the workshop hosted by our partner Arbeit und Leben NRW and supported by the “Politische Bildung in Aktion” program of the Bundeszentrale für Politische Bildung.
You can find the short personal profiles of the team members below.
Trainers
Ivan Matic was born in Dubrovnik, Croatia. He studied Political Science in Zagreb and Nationalism Studies with a specialization in South Eastern Europe at the Central European University in Budapest, Hungary. Later he worked at the European Roma Rights Centre and in the „Migrants in the Spotlight“ program of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
His main research areas are Migration and Human Rights, Human Trafficking in South Eastern Europe. He has been with YCDN since November 2010 and is currently acting as Project Coordinator and a member of the Executive Board.
“As a modern form of slavery, Human Trafficking represents the worst possible breach of Human Rights which has served as a strong incentive for my personal engagement in counter-trafficking campaigns. Every person made aware of real and very present dangers of Trafficking contributes to saving life and this campaign ultimately aims at exactly that.”
Sofie Langmeier is an expert in marketing and communication with experience in a broad range of fields. She studied PR and Marketing and later Social Pedagogy and Social Management in Munich, and worked in the social and healthcare service sector as well as in the economic sector. Since 2000 she runs her own company specializing in PR work and communication.
Some of her better-known work includes the campaign “JA zum Nichtraucherschutz!” (YES to non-smoker protection) which in 2010 was nominated in the civil society category for the prestigious Politikaward in Germany. Between 2006 and 2008 she was a founding member of MünchenPakt, a web-based platform for new partnerships between NGOs and companies in Bavaria, which also won several awards.
Country Coordinators
Romania - Cătălina Trandafir
My name is Cătălina Trandafir , born in 1988 in Constanţa, Romania. Currently, I am doing a Master in Politics, Gender and Minorities Studies. I have been volunteer for The Princess Margarita of Romania Foundation for three years and for one year I coordinated the volunteering program regarding elderly help. I am interested in interculturality in all its aspects.
Romania – Andreea Pontos
My name is Andreea Pontos, I currently live in Oradea, Romania, and I am a social worker – department coordinator at the People to People Foundation. As a social worker, over the past two years I have been working for developing a program for human trafficking victims: direct assistance for the victims, fundraising, licensing the service, assuring quality standards and of course prevention campaigns. We are partners with the National Agency Against Trafficking in Human Beings in Romania and together we developed prevention and awareness raising campaigns. Some examples: “Young people from Oradea against human trafficking”, “European Day against Human Trafficking”, as well as training sessions for policemen from Oradea and Satu Mare.
I enthusiastically look forward to putting my knowledge and experience into practice and working with a group of people interested in this area, and if we are opened and think together we can develop efficient campaigns and why not, this can be the beginning of future projects and collaborations.
Serbia - Nikolina Tubic
My name is Nikolina Tubic. I was born in Croatia; I live in Belgrade, where I finished Faculty of Law, international department. Currently I am doing Mater in European Integrations at same Faculty and I am an intern in United Nations Development Programme in Belgrade.
I applied for this project to learn more about this global issue, and to help vulnerable groups with my knowledge and strong will. I aspect, at least for my country, that we will get real picture how widespread this problem is and in the future, with actions like this one is, we will bring better future for all.
Serbia – Sanja Dzeletovic
Sanja Dzeletovic has been with YCDN since June 2011 and is currently working as Project Manager. She will work with the campaign targeting Serbia.
My name is Sanja Dzeletovic, I was born in Belgrade, Serbia, where I live. Currently I am finishing my studies at Faculty of Law, Belgrade, department of international law. During studies I attended many seminars regarding international criminal law, organized crime, and also various seminars and a legal clinic against discrimination. At the moment I am volunteering in a law office in Belgrade. Contact: dzeletovic[at]ycdn.eu
Bulgaria - Joanna Daskalova
My name is Joanna Miroslavova Daskalova. I was born in 1992 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. I graduated from the College of Natural sciences in my hometown, with a major in Mathematics and English. I’m currently living in Sofia, where I study in “St. Kliment Ohridksi” University. I am enrolled in the BA Program of Sociology, Anthropology and Cultural Sciences in the Philosophical Faculty. Since 2006 I am involved in civic activism and youth work. I volunteer as project assistant and peer-trainer in Bulgarian Network for Child and Youth Trafficking Prevention and in Bulgarian Network for Human Rights Education. I am specifically interested in Social Anthropology, non-formal Human Rights Education and Prevention of Youth Migration-at-risk, including human trafficking. Email: joanna_d@abv.bg
Bulgaria – Martina Kazakova
My name is Martina Stefanova Kazakova, born in 1992 in Bulgaria. In 2011 I finished the French Language School “Antoine De Saint Exupery” in Plovdiv. Now I am a first-year student in Veliko Turnovo University, in the Philological Faculty, first grade in “Slavic Philology”. I have volunteer experience in some youth NGOs and I’m interested in youth work and citizen actions. My areas of interests are Human Rights and Slavic Languages. Email: martina_kazakova@abv.bg
Hungary - Nikolett Kormos
My name is Nikolett Kormos, I was born in Eger, Hungary. Since 2006, I have been studying and living in Budapest. Currently I am finishing my two majors, Philosophy (MA) and Communication Sciences (MA) at Eötvös Loránd University. I work as an editor-journalist, and volunteer by Foundation for the Women of Hungary – MONA, which is an NGO dealing with serious issues like prostitution, FGM, violence against women, and domestic violence.
The issue of prostitution is especially tightly intertwined with the problem of human trafficking. Therefore, human trafficking undoubtedly means an enormous problem in Hungary, nevertheless, this fact has remained unrealized by people. That is why I felt that this project would be a particularly useful one. I really hope that we will be able to bring closer the problem of human trafficking to people, and prove that this issue is not a distant but, an urgent and tangible one.
Germany - Sarah Moog
My name is Sarah Moog, I was born in 1987 near Bonn, Germany. After my B.A. in Event Management, I finished my M.A. in Political Sciences at Charles University in Prague with a focus on refugee studies. I am now collecting work experience at IOM and UNHCR, where I work, among others, on counter-trafficking projects. I hope I will be able to contribute to the fight against human trafficking with the web 2.0 project.
Germany – Sarah Fensky
My name is Sarah Fensky, I was born in 1985 in Dortmund, Germany. I am an occupational therapist and have worked as one for example with drug addicted and mentally ill people. After a volunteer experience working in an orphanage in Perú, I started studying psychology at the university of Aachen. A few months ago I learned about Solwodi (“Solidarity With Women In Distress”) an advisory centre for foreign women and girls, that have gotten into distress here in Aachen because of human traffic and/or forced prostitution. My voluntary work at this project is the reason why I want to participate in the promising Web 2.0 Campaign on Human Trafficking by YCDN, by putting up an internet presence and informing about this main toppic I am sure we can prevent girls from falling victim to human trafficking.
Support
Maria Wigbers works at Arbeit und Leben in Düsseldorf, Germany, and her job responsibilities include the cooperation with the scholarship program “Politische Bildung in Aktion” and the partnership with YCDN. She has very generously dedicated a considerable amount of her time and effort to organizing the workshop, finding local trainers, building contacts to local institutions in Düsseldorf and making YCDN more visible in the region. She researched THB for the workshop and set up interviews with experts for the campaign.
My name is Maria Wigbers, I was born in 1985, currently I live in Düsseldorf. In 2008 I finished my Bachelor in Media and Cultural studies and in 2009 I started working for Arbeit und Leben North Rhine-Westphalia. In my work and studies I focus on intercultural cooperation and I strongly believe in the idea of Europe.
I am glad to be able to participate in the project and think about solution statements to a virulent European issue together by the means of real-life and virtual networking.
Szabolcs Sepsi is a founding member of YCDN and is responsible for organizing the workshop and coordinating and helping the country campaigns after that.
My name is Szabolcs Sepsi, born in Romania, studied Film and Chinese in Budapest, Hungary and International Relations at the Andrássy Gyula German Language University. Previously I worked at Amnesty International in Budapest and London. I applied for a scholarship at the Bundeszentrale für Politische Bildung with the idea of a prevention campaign on trafficking in human beings for several reasons. As a Central-South-East European myself, I am committed to the improvement of the human rights situation of the region and to projects that can produce practical and tangible results. I believe that THB prevention is the area where a small bottom-up initiative like YCDN can implement an effective, successful campaign, which reaches further then most reports or conferences and makes this gross human rights violation more visible among those who could fall prey to it.
You can reach me at szabolcs@ycdn.eu. If something goes wrong with organizational stuff regarding the campaign, this is also the email address to complain at 
You can also read a bit more about me here (in German).
