Sophie Bloemen – director
Sophie Bloemen co-founded de Danube Foundation and works with various civil society organisations, as a social activist and policy advisor. Her background is in philosophy and political economy and she currently lives in San Francisco. Both Europe and Social Justice are her passions, even more so combined. She is deeply involved with the Danube Utopia and finding a world of possibilities.
Wouter van den Bos – co-director, treasurer
unemployed philopsher, dyslectic poet and rogue scientist at Stanford University.
Tim Sweys – board member
Tim Sweijs is a policy analyst with the Security Studies Programme. Prior to coming to HCSS he served as a research assistant at NATO’s Parliamentary Assembly. He received degrees in War Studies (MA King’s College), International Relations (MSc, University of Amsterdam) and Philosophy (BA, University of Amsterdam). Tim has been involved in a variety of projects; the current focus of his work is on geopolitical risk assessment and security foresight.
Thijs van Velzen – operations director
Thijs works as a journalist for the Dutch technology magazine De Ingenieur and the opinion weekly De Groene Amsterdammer. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering and just finished his master thesis in sociology at the University of Amsterdam, specializing in cultural sociology.
Tanja Bubic – project manager
As a policy adviser Tanja Bubic eagerly explores interesting connections and co-operations, hereby trying to bridge the ‘real’ and ‘pursued’ world of policy making. Having a background in Sociology and Communication she is currently busy with the future role of local communities. Inside DF Tanja is occupied by the exhibition ‘State of Utopia’ (expected: Spring 2012). Besides, she passionately dances flamenco and regularly finds her way to cultural events in Amsterdam.
Jan ter Burg – project manager
Jan studies European Studies with a minor in history, which he studied previously, at the University of Amsterdam. He is trained in European Culture, specializing in minorities and literature. He is a former board-member of the student organisation “Happy Chaos” and his interest lie in nationalism and minorities.
Kristina Petrasova – communications
Media producer at Dutch broadcast company VPRO, with a deep love for art in culture in all its forms. Claims to have a passionate and creative Russian soul, which was also formed in Dutch province.
Sofya Spiridonova – member
Sofya Spiridonova, trainee at Danube Foundation from September 2011. I was born on 10 December 1988 in a Russian Siberian city that is called Tomsk. In 2005 I was enrolled in the historical department of Tomsk State University. During my studies I went abroad for a 1-year exchange programme at La Sapienza Univerità di Roma. After getting my degree in Russia, I started to follow Erasmus Mundus MA in Euroculture. This program gave me possibility to study in two universities: Italy (Università degli studi di Udine) and the Netherlands (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen). My interests involve European and Russian history of the 19 century, construction of the European Identity and Italian language.
Merel Leeman – advisor
Merel (1978) has studied History and Comparative Literature at the University of Amsterdam. With other students and journalists of the Dutch weekly Vrij Nederland, she has founded and organised HappyChaos, a platform for political and cultural debate. She works as a jounalist and book reviewer for i.a. NRC Handelsblad and De Groene Amsterdammer. Merel is a PhD student in history at the University of Amsterdam.
Giusy Chierchia – member
Giusy Chierchia graduated in 2005 in Arts and Culture at the University of Milan with a master thesis on “Multicultural theatre in Amsterdam as a tool of integration”, since 2003 she lives in Amsterdam where she has been working for the European Cultural Foundation, ReKult and Balkan Buro. She also successfully accomplished a master degree in European Studies at the International School for Humanities and Social Sciences with a thesis titled “We have made Europe, now we have to make the Europeans” about the role of civil society in filling the EU democratic deficit.
