About Us

Miriam leads the Centre’s strategy and projects on collaboration and partnerships. She started at the Centre as Executive Assistant in 2014 and then, as Project Manager, developed and implemented the Centre’s projects on civic space between 2016 and 2019. Prior to joining the Centre Miriam worked for VSO International and GIZ in the Palestinian Territories. She holds a BA in Islamic Studies and Social Anthropology from the University of Freiburg and an MA in Near and Middle Eastern Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies.

Vicky Tongue is the International Civil Society Centre’s Head of Futures and Innovation, leading the projects and events for the Centre’s innovation programme for ICSOs, and the sector Scanning the Horizon strategic futures peer learning platform. Vicky is the lead author of the Centre’s annual Civil Society Innovation thematic report. Vicky has 15 years’ senior programme management with several leading UK-based ISCOs, including MSI Reproductive Choices, Article 19, CAFOD, ODI and Save the Children.

Eva joined the team as Project Manager in February 2020. She coordinates the project “Solidarity Playbook” which aims at strengthening resilience of and solidarity among civil society actors. Coming from Slovakia, Eva has studied and worked in the Czech Republic, Turkey, and Germany. Prior to joining the Centre she worked at the Robert Bosch Stiftung (Foundation) in Stuttgart where she managed the foundation’s projects focusing on civil society and governance in Turkey, the Western Balkans, and North Africa. Before that she coordinated international summer schools on past and contemporary social movements at the Institute for Social Movements of the Ruhr University Bochum and completed her internships at European Academy in Berlin and Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly in Istanbul. She graduated from the German-Turkish Masters Program in Social Sciences (GeT MA) at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara and Humboldt University in Berlin.

Nihal joined the team in April 2020 as Events Manager. She now is the Centre’s Knowledge and Communities Manager, in which she manages knowledge and lessons across Centre-convened communities, projects and events. She also coordinates the Centre’s monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning framework. Moreover, she leads the project management and content delivery for the Centre’s flagship convening, Global Perspectives. Prior to joining the Centre, she worked with Mission Talent as a Consultant, where she worked as a researcher on projects with BRAC, Greenpeace Canada, Action against Hunger France and Sphere. Nihal has a Bachelor degree in electrical engineering and a Master in Business Administration.

Ioanna joined the Centre in October 2021 as the Global Perspectives Intern. Ioanna graduated with a BA in Social Anthropology. From Greece, she has also lived in Slovenia and is currently living in Berlin.

Ryan joined the Centre in July 2018 as Events Officer and supports organisation and delivery of the Centre’s events programme. Prior to joining the Centre, Ryan worked for the youth democracy charity “Bite the Ballot” coordinating a European wide competition aimed at increasing youth engagement and turnout in the 2014 European elections, the project culminated in an event at the European Parliament and was named national winner of European Charlemagne Youth Prize for the United Kingdom. He then took a position as Events Coordinator at Oldham Council where he developed his expertise in event management and was the lead officer responsible for managing a wide range of events on behalf of the authority. Ryan holds a degree in International Relations from the University of Leeds and spent a year studying at Tischner European University in Kraków through participation in the Erasmus programme.

Colette joined the Centre in September 2021 as Project Manager for Making Voices Heard and Count, a project of the Leave No One Behind partnership. Before joining the Centre, she lived in New York for over a decade, where she most recently led strategic communications at the Guttmacher Institute for its international research on sexual and reproductive health and rights. Previously, at Physicians for Reproductive Health, Colette trained doctors in advocacy communications for evidence-based health policy. She has worked as a policy researcher, editor, writer and project manager with OutRight Action International, Amnesty International, Oxfam Germany and the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions. Colette holds a BA in international relations from Connecticut College and an MSc in political sociology from the London School of Economics.

Peter joined the Centre in January 2013, back then as a trainee. He completed the traineeship in the advocacy & campaigning office of World Vision Germany. Peter now coordinates the Leave No One Behind project as global partnership lead and contributes to the development of various other strategic formats. Before joining the Centre, Peter worked for various organisations and think tanks in the development sector, being an expert in multi-stakeholder processes. He studied at the University of Bonn and graduated with an MA in Political Science with a focus on multi-actor advocacy for climate policy.

Karl joined the Centre in June 2019 after a professional career in institutions of German technical co-operation and as humanitarian manager in the United Nations. He spent years in conflict zones, such as the Gaza Strip, the Great Lakes region in Central Africa, and in the Sahel. He led multi-sectoral teams on data management, refugee registration and biometrics. At the ICS Centre he works pro bono on issues relating to artificial intelligence, digital transformation, identity and trust as well as their impact on civil society in general and ICSOs in particular. Karl, born in 1960 in Germany, is a graduate of the Political Science faculty of the Free University of Berlin and studied Public International Law at Cambridge University.