About Us

Miriam leads the Centre’s programmes. 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.

Myriam joined the Centre as Project Manager in February 2022. She coordinates the “Accelerating Inclusive Power Shift” project, which aims to foster equitable partnerships and more inclusive governance models in the development and humanitarian sectors. Prior to joining the Centre, she worked on EU development policy in Brussels for CONCORD and Humanity & Inclusion and with CBM in Italy. Myriam holds a MA in International Development from the Catholic University of Milan and a BA in Intercultural Communication from the University of Milan.

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.

Chandani joined the Centre as a Project Manager in May 2022. She supports the Leave No One Behind Partnership that promotes the collection and use of community-driven data to give voice and agency to marginalised communities. Prior to joining the Centre, Chandani headed communications and outreach at TolaData. In addition, Chandani has coordinated many projects for local and international NGOs, working closely with refugees, individuals with disabilities and other marginalised groups in Nepal, Germany and the US. Chandani holds a master’s degree in International Development and Social Change from Clark University, USA and a B.Sc. in Mass Communications with an emphasis on PR and Advertising from Minnesota State University Moorhead

Eva joined the team as Project Manager in February 2020. She leads on the Centre’s civic space work – the Solidarity Action Network (SANE) aimed at strengthening resilience of and solidarity among civil society actors, and the International Civic Forum (ICF), our annual civic space platform to network and identify opportunities for collaboration. 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. 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.

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.

Rachel joined the centre in January 2023 and co-leads the Futures and Innovation programme with Paola Pierri. Rachel is jointly responsible for managing the portfolio of projects and events as well as leading and developing the Scanning the Horizon strategic peer learning platform. Rachel has more than 15 years of experience working in the third sector, on a national and international level, working for various INGOs in international development and human rights in both London and Berlin. Prior to joining the Centre, Rachel worked for Tactical Tech an NGO tackling the impact of digital technology on society. Rachel holds an honours degree in Political Science from Newcastle University.

Paola co-leads the Futures and Innovation programme with Rachel Wilkinson. Prior to joining the Centre, Paola was Director of Research at Democratic Society and a Fellow at the Weizenbaum Institute, working on the impact of emerging digital technologies on the public sphere. Paola comes with more than 15 years of experience working in between Academia and Civil Society Organisations providing analyses of emerging trends to support the sector achieving greater impact in complex and uncertain times. Paola holds a Doctorate in Design Anthropology from London College of Communication and an MA in International Development.

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.