MANAGEMENT and ADMINISTRATION
| Luisa Chiodi - Director Luisa Chiodi has been the director of Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso since 2006. After completing her undergraduate studies in Political Science at the University of Milan, she earned her doctorate in social science from the European University Institute (Florence). From 2003 to 2008, she was a contract professor of the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Bologna where she taught “Eastern European studies.” She has edited several academic publications and coordinated many research projects. Her research interests focus on civil society and the transnational social dynamics of post-communism. Previously she carried out assignments for international organizations such as the OCSE, the World Bank and for international NGOs in the Balkans. |
| Marco Vender - Secretary General After earning his diploma in Agriculture, Marco was employed by the Autonomous Province of Trento in 1990. Between 2000 and 2005, he was a member of the city council of Rovereto and was in charge of international cooperation projects. Since 1988, he has collaborated with the Committee of Associations for Peace and Human Rights of Rovereto. In 2001, he contributed to the establishment of “Tavolo Trentino con Kraljevo (Serbia)”, which aims to support projects of decentralised cooperation with South-East Europe. In 2001, he was seconded to the staff of Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso by the province's Immigration and International Cooperation Office. |
| Francesca Vanoni - Projects Manager Francesca achieved a degree in International Relations at the University of Bologna and an MA in Central and South-East European Studies at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies in London. Between 1998 and 2004, she coordinated various research projects on the topics of inter-ethnic dialogue and strengthening civil society in the Balkans, and has participated in cooperation projects of governmental and nongovernmental organisations in Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia. She has worked for Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso since 2004. |
| Chiara Sighele - communication and fund-raising After completing her undergraduate studies in Political Science at the University of Pavia, Chiara earned an MA in European Project Management. Her research focused on the role of Germany's Turkish community in regards to Turkey's accession to the EU. She has also worked with the Immigrants' Integration office of the municipality of Konstanz, Germany and in the Italian Embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria. She has worked with Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso since 2007. |
| Chiara Cont - organisational and administrative assistant Chiara earned a BA in Cultural Tourism from the Department of Literature and Philosophy at the University of Ferrara. She collaborates with the Autonomous Province of Trento in the areas of youth policies, community-building activities, and awareness-raising campaigns. Since 2008, she has worked with Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso in general administration and organising events. |
EDITORIAL BOARD
| Luka Zanoni - website director After earning a BA in Theoretical Philosophy from the University of Milan, Luka completed post-graduate studies in History and Philosophy at Bocconi University in Milan. Between 1999 and 2005, he worked as an editor and translator for Notizie Est-Balcani and from 2002 to 2003 he edited the monthly publication Balcani economia. He speaks fluent Serbo-Croatian and has worked for Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso since 2001. |
| Roberta Bertoldi - editor and web-designer Roberta has worked in the field of online information focusing on social themes and human rights issues for many years. From 2001 to 2004, she was editor of Unimondo, the Italian branch of the international network 'Oneworld’. An expert in content management systems, her main interest is graphic design for the web. She has been a part of the editorial staff of Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso since 2005. |
| Cristina Bezzi- editor and researcher PhD in anthropology at Siena University, Master in social anthropology of children and child development at Brunel University, London, Degree in Italian literature with a focus on anthropology at Perugia University. Since 1999 she has been doing research on Romania as a member of the Italian ethnological mission in Romania. She has worked on childhood issues and migration, participated in international development projects and collaborated with various NGOs. She speaks fluent Romanian. Since 2011, thanks to a bursary from the CARITRO Foundation, she has been at OBC doing reasearch on transnational welfare between Romania and Italy.
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| Giorgio Comai - editor and researcher After completing his BA in Political Science from the University of Bologna, Giorgio earned his MA in East European Studies and Research at the same university. He was a student and researcher at Russian State University for the Humanities in Moscow and contributes to the publications and research of the University of Bologna's Istituto per l'Europa Centro-Orientale e Balcanica. His interests include the political systems of former Soviet republics, especially in the Caucasus region. He speaks fluent Russian and joined Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso in 2009. |
| Nicole Corritore – editor and media officer Between 1992 and 2000, Nicole worked in international and decentralised cooperation projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as in Croatia. From 1992 to 1996, Radio Popolare Network employed her in information broadcasts. In her work with Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso, she is in charge of relations with the press offices of local entities, NGOs, associations and other institutions. She is interested in environmental and cooperation issues. She speaks fluent Serbo-Croatian and joined Osservatorio in 2001. |
| Francesco Martino - editor After completing a BA in Media Studies at the University of Trieste, Francesco worked in the field of international cooperation in Kosovo and then began working as a journalist. He has lived and worked in Bulgaria since 2005 where he collaborates with various Italian and international media. He speaks Bulgarian, Serbo-Croatian, Slovene and Macedonian. Based in Sofia, he has worked for Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso since 2006. |
| Andrea Oskari Rossini - editor and director of documentary films Degree in Political Science at the Università degli Studi di Milano and MA at the Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale (ISPI). He worked on many projects focused on decentralised cooperation in the Balkans and, in particular, for the Council of Europe's programme of Local Democracy Embassies in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A journalist and documentary film director, he has worked for Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso since 2002. |
| Davide Sighele -editor and director of documentary films Journalist, he earned his BA in International and Diplomatic Studies at the University of Trieste. He has worked in the field of international cooperation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo and has authored numerous reports published in daily and weekly Italian publications. He has been an editor of Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso since 2001. |
| Kaela Ann Venuto - editor M.A. in Human Rights and Democratisation at the European Inter-University Centre in Venice, M.A. (Hons) in Politics and German at Glasgow University, Scotland. She lived in Sarajevo from 2001 to 2005 working in international development; from 2005 to 2008 she worked for a German NGO in rural Kosovo. Her main areas of interest are international development and civil society in the Balkans. She is bilingual in Italian-English and speaks Serbo-Croatian. She has been working at Osservatorio Balcanie Caucaso since 2010
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WEBMASTER
| Roberto Antoniazzi - webmaster and system administrator After earning a BA in Information and Communication Technologies from the University of Padua, Roberto worked as a project manager for various software companies. From 2001 to 2004, he was web manager for Unimondo, the Italian branch of the international network 'Oneworld’. In 2005, working in the field of open-source software, he helped co-found the company OpenContent. He has been webmaster and system administrator for Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso since 2007. |
