Staff
Executive Director
Joke van der Leeuw-Roord, Founding President and Executive Director of EUROCLIO - The European Association of History Educators received her degree in history at Groningen University in the Netherlands. She worked from 1972 till 1993 as a history teacher, teacher trainer and history advisor. She was President of the Dutch history Teachers Association, VGN and editor of the Magazine on the Learning and Teaching of History in the Netherlands, Kleio. She was chair of the WIEG, the committee which designed and implemented innovative national examinations for history and citizenship education. As a leading expert on history education, innovative methodology and trans-national history, she has initiated and coordinated a multitude of national, trans-national projects in Albania, Belarus, Bulgaria, Bosnia-in-Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Russia, Serbia Turkey and Ukraine. The projects are characterized by the focus on professional capacity building, development of educational tools, implementation through training and the development of independent local networks and organizations promoting innovative history education. She works as consultant for the Council of Europe, UNESCO, OSCE, International Alert and the European Union. She is Vice-President of the Advisory Board of the Georg Eckert Institute in Braunschweig (Germany) and member of the Advisory Board of the Institute for Historical Culture at the Rotterdam Erasmus University. Joke van der-Leeuw is the author of publications by the Koerberstiftung, UNESCO and many international journals on history and history education. Joke van der Leeuw-Roord has been decorated in 2009 by the Dutch Queen as Officer in the Order of Oranje-Nassau and honored by the Dutch History Educators Association with the Huib de Ruyter Award for History Education. Both awards stipulated her important contributions to the national and international quality development of history education. She is Honorary Member of the Bulgarian and Estonian History Educators Associations.
- This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
-
Download Joke van der Leeuw-Roord Curriculum Vitae
Senior Managers
Jonathan Even-Zohar (MA) has a degree in History from Leiden University, relating to World-Historical perspectives in History Education with an honorary Crayenborgh-degree in Islam and Europe. At EUROCLIO he has assisted Joke van der Leeuw-Roord in the History Education Projects in Bulgaria, Cyprus and Former Yugoslavia during various visits to the countries, including the practical preparation of international conferences, seminars and workshops; the processing and dissemination of the results into financial, methodological and practical reports. He coordinated the funding for and execution of a study visit to Turkey for 20 Dutch History Educators in October 2007. This trip was a great success and increased the participant’s knowledge of the cross-cultural comparisons with Turkish History Educators, regarding aspects of publishing, curriculum development, political influence and general attitude. More recently, in 2008 he managed the project “Connecting Europe through History – Human Rights Education”, funded by the European Union and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs amongst others.
- This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
-
Download Jonathan Even-Zohar Curriculum Vitae
Steven Stegers was born in Smallingerland in the Netherlands in 1983. He graduated as Social Psychology at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the State University in Leiden and did research at the History Department at Georgetown University in Washington DC. Steven is Project Manager at EUROCLIO – the European Association of History Educators. In this function he contributed to the implementation of innovative projects History Education in the Balkans, the Caucasus, Central Europe and the Euro-Mediterranean region. One of his main responsibilities is the overall coordination of the Historiana initiative in which EUROCLIO and partners develop a online tool on History and Heritage in Europe as alternative to a European Textbook.
- This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
-
Download Steven Stegers' s Curriculum Vitae
Project Managers
Geert Kessels received his BA in History from the Radboud University Nijmegen and is currently enrolled in the Research Masters programma at the University of Amsterdam. During his studies he specialized himself in modern Central European History with a focus on nation building processes. At EUROCLIO Geert is responsible for the execution of the Historiana programme, which will be an Online Learning Environment for History Education with a focus on multiperspectivity and a transnational approach.
- This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Communication and Administration Manager
Aysel Gojayeva is a post-graduate student from Leiden University in the Netherlands in MA European Union Studies. She wrote her MA thesis in the topic: European Neighbourhood Policy and Conflict Resolution in the South Caucasus. Her BA degree was in the field of Methodology of Teaching Foreign Languages: English. Before her studies in the Netherlands, she was actively involved into the youth work as the elected board member of European Students’ Association Baku Public Union (AEGEE-Baki ) in her home country Azerbaijan. Aysel was later elected a multiplier of “Youth In Action Programme (YIA)” within SALTO Eastern Europe and Caucasus Resource Centre supported by the European Commission and held this position from March 2009 till September 2010. This position gave her an opportunity to enrich her understanding and experience in the European youth work and share her experience with the local NGO representatives in Azerbaijan mainly in the field of project acquisition within YIA programme. Currently she is the communication and administration manager in EUROCLIO. Her activities are mainly framed within the execution of the EUROCLIO 19th Annual Conference "Looking at History through a Variety of Lenses" in Antalya, Turkey in 2012, EUROCLIO-Yad Vashem Partnership Seminar to be held in Jerusalem on 15-18 December 2011, “Shared-Cultures-Historical Imprints” Project and lobbying activities.
Contact information: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Trainees
Marko Lovrić (born 1987 in Zagreb, Croatia) is a European Union Studies Pre-Master student at Leiden University, Netherlands. He has also received a Bachelor diploma in International Relations from Webster University in Leiden (2010). The International Relations programme focused on global politics, human rights and sensitive issues such as genocide, but also history. It was also a great introduction to the world of international organizations and institutions. After graduating from Webster University, he decided to join an internship programme at the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). At ICTY, he worked at the Military Analysis Team for a period of three months. After his internship, his interest in international organizations led him to enroll in a two-year European Union Studies programme, where he is currently in the process of completing his first year.
He found out about the EUROCLIO traineeship through his university website and decided to apply as it was a great opportunity to gain both valuable working and learning experience. Also, it is a great way of getting introduced to the world of NGOs, which he considers as a possible career field. He hopes to contribute to EUROCLIO during his stay as a trainee in the projects like History That Connect and Historiana.
Marleen Maat (1985, The Hague) is a student from Leiden University in the Netherlands. Last year she graduated in the field of European History with a master thesis on the New Left Movement written at the University of Oxford (Balliol College). Furthermore, she has studied abroad in France (Université Panthéon Sorbonne, Paris I) and Italy (Università di Bologna). Currently she is finishing her master degree in Philosophy of Law. She participated in the Masters Talent Programme of the Graduate School of Legal Studies in Leiden, which offered in-depth courses with a focus on developing research skills. Also, Marleen has been engaged in the Historical Studies Association in Leiden (vice-president) and has taught history at a private high-school institute in Rotterdam. In the summer of 2011, she participated in the EUROPAEUM Summer School on ‘The future of Europe’ in Santander, Spain. Through her experiences in teaching, travelling and studying in Europe, she has become even more aware of the importance of education for young people. In our rapidly changing world, she thinks EUROCLIO can be of key importance in offering possibilities for multiple perspectives and intercultural dialogue. Marleen believes that the traineeship at EUROCLIO will be an enriching experience and will offer her an opportunity to explore the world of international organisations.
Mirjam Zeilmaker (Zwijndrecht 1989) has finished her Bachelor History at the University of Leiden. During her bachelor she also followed courses in law, political science and world religion and participated in the Honours Class of 2008 about ‘The Rise of the West’. In her third year she spent a semester in Edinburgh to do research for her bachelor thesis about the assassination plot of 1696. She was also head of several commissions during her student life and was in the association board of the rowing club, thereby gaining important management skills. Now she has finished the first half of her History Master at the University of Leiden. Before beginning on her thesis she decided to get some working experience and started searching for a study related internship. EUROCLIO’s aims to improve historical education seemed perfect, because she also wants to do a second Educational Master. With this internship she hopes to learn a lot of practical knowledge about working in an international organisation and hopes to get a better insight in the historical education abroad. This will lead to a better understanding of the historical education in the Netherlands.
Roman Hlavac (Uherske Hradiste, 1985) is a master student of European law at the Leiden University. Before his studies in the Netherlands, he finished a master programme of European studies at the Masaryk University in Brno, the Czech Republic. His thesis is connected to the work of EUROCLIO, contemplating on a topic of creation of European citizenship through a supporting EU education policy. At EUROCLIO he will be mainly involved in the Historiana Programme and also in development of a new website for 20th anniversary of EUROCLIO. He believes that working experience in EUROCLIO will be very beneficial for him and it will also allow him to gain a practical working experience in an international organization.
Sanne Deckwitz (1986) recently graduated (cum laude) from the University of Utrecht with a MA International Relations in Historical Perspective. In her MA thesis, she compared the political, economical, and psychological functions of the Communist forced labour camps in the Soviet Union and China.
She has a BA degree from University College Maastricht, where she participated in a wide variety of history, philosophy, and international relations courses. As part of her Bachelor, Sanne spent a semester abroad at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where she studied Chinese history and philosophy.
At Euroclio, she will contribute to the Historiana programme, and, in cooperation with the University of Utrecht, develop a module on the Cold War.
Gleb Mytko, Prior to enrolling in the International Relations and Diplomacy program at the University of Leiden and Clingendael Institute of International Relations, Gleb Mytko worked as global industry analyst and Eastern Europe specialist at the Freedonia Group, a global market-research firm. During his three years at the company, Gleb Mytko authored ten studies about national construction industries and markets worldwide. Additionally, he provided support for Freedonia Group's Custom Research Department, conducting primary and secondary research (in Russian) in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and other CIS countries. An article authored by Gleb Mytko was published in Windows and Doors, an industry trade journal. He received his bachelor's degree (with honors) in International Relations (concentration: Russia & Eastern Europe) from Cleveland State University in 2007. During his bachelor's program, he also studied law and politics at the University of Leiden (one year). Before graduating, Gleb Mytko completed an internship at Earth Day Coalition, a US-based, environmental NGO.
Timo Vosse (Utrecht, 1988) is a bachelor student at the University of Utrecht, hoping to graduate in the field of Political history and international relations this summer. He currently writes the last chapters of his thesis about the succession of Willem III, who died in 1702, leaving behind both the kingdoms of Great Britain and the Republic without any official offspring. Before making himself acquainted to political history, Timo took a propaedeutic year to study Law, also at the University of Utrecht. In the past few years, courses about philosophy of science kept intriguing him. It is one of the reasons why he likes to participate in the Historiana programme at EUROCLIO: what is neutral or objective information? What are possible advantages of historical research? What kind of historical information could be needed in public debate? These are questions Timo works with, when opening new case studies at the Historiana website.
At the end of October I stopped working for the EUROCLIO Secretariat: it would be hard for me to summarise what these three years and a half meant for me. I feel lucky for having had the opportunity to work with this unique organisation, and grateful to my colleagues and all the people I worked with for what we shared during these years. Working for EUROCLIO kept being for me intellectually stimulating, professionally challenging, and humanely enriching all through this time. I am profoundly happy I was able to contribute to the implementation of the EUROCLIO mission, as part of a wide group of committed people all across Europe, many of whom I met and worked with. I discovered and learnt a lot as a project manager in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Slovakia and Turkey, as a lobbyist in Brussels, and as a staff member in The Hague. I know what I experienced and developed at EUROCLIO will stay with me and help me for my professional and personal development in the future. Finally, I would like to stress the role Joke played for me as a constant source of inspiration and stimulation, and I would like to thank her again for this. I will be now looking for new professional opportunities, but I am determined to remain part of the EUROCLIO family, and I hope to be able to meet again with many of you in the future!"
"It has been a great experience to work with you all and I feel grateful for having been given the opportunity to contribute to the wider mission of this fascinating organization. What EUROCLIO and you all strive for is unique and mostly needed nowadays. I do hope I will be able to bring with me the values learned and to pass on further the EUROCLIO message. I started my “life at EUROCLIO” as a trainee 3.5 years ago finding myself in a young, active and very engaging professional environment. Now I leave as a young professional with a wide range of skills acquired thanks to all the people I worked with. I will deeply miss my work, the inspiring role of Joke and my dear not only colleagues but also by now good friends at the Secretariat. I will surely follow the activities from afar hoping that the work you are all so committed to will continue to prosper. My next stop will be Barcelona, Spain where I will attend a Master Programme in Arts and Cultural Management at the International University of Catalonia. My experience at EUROCLIO being responsible for communications and event management as well as being surrounded by professionals in the field of History, Heritage and Culture has inspired me in choosing this Master. The tools EUROCLIO has provided me with over the last years make me feel confident to meet this new phase/challenge. With warm wishes, Maria Kazamiaki"
EUROCLIO would also like to thank Nino Kereselidze from Georgia. Nino Kereselidze has completed her external research for the EUROCLIO in the Hague. She is hoping that with her volunteer endeavor she has made an input to building tolerance through history education in Georgia. She is happy to share the values of innovative and responsible history teaching further.
Patrick Barker
Elena Kanava
