European Commission webinar on depolarising dialogue: how to defuse tensions in education

Dr. Maja Nenadović is a debate coach, facilitator, human rights and civic education specialist, critical pedagogy practitioner, program design and monitoring and evaluation consultant. As a professional with 20 years of experience, she has worked in 40+ countries worldwide. Since 2012, she has implemented 'Across Divides – Training Workshops for Depolarizing Communication', a methodology that she developed in and tested in the field through a series of workshops and dialogues with both those using discriminatory and hate speech rhetoric, and with those targeted by it. Maja holds a PhD from the University of Amsterdam, and is the co-founder of HERMES and of Reflectory, a consultancy in the field of conflict transformation, social cohesion and civic engagement. She is also a team member of the DARE project. 

Eli Pijaca Plavšić graduated in sociology from the University of Zagreb in 2004. For the past 20 years, she has focused on education policy analysis, educational reform, and promoting equity from early childhood to higher education. She has developed curricula and teaching materials for teacher training, including topics such as civic education, inclusive education, and mental health. Eli served as Executive Director of the Forum for Freedom in Education until 2021 and later as a program head and education policy analyst. Since 2023, she has owned Edukateka, providing independent educational consultancy. She has led and researched various national and international projects and worked with over 350 educational institutions, 3,000 teachers, and 150 school directors in Croatia. Eli is an independent consultant for several organisations, including Ecorys Ltd., ICF Ltd., and the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education. She has extensive advocacy and policy development experience, having participated in numerous national and local policy boards and committees. She has led numerous EU-funded educational projects and has been a member of the NESET Network since 2018 and is now a board member of the European Toolkit for Schools. 

Adnana Turkić is Governance and Capacity Building Assistant at the Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions (OBESSU). She is working with school students on topics of student and human rights, active citizenship, and democracy. Experienced trainer in non-formal education and a BA student of Education/Pedagogy. 

Doroteya Georgieva is a policy officer in the unit on prevention of radicalisation of DG HOME. She is involved in the establishment and implementation of the EU Knowledge Hub on prevention of radicalisation and since 2022, has coordinated the work on the policy support strand of the Radicalisation Awareness Network. Doroteya also follows the developments as regards the disturbing phenomenon of involvement of minors in radicalisation processes in the EU. With experience of more than 10 years at the European Commission, previously, she worked in the fields of Schengen governance, external border management and customs cooperation.