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Relation to Future Worlds Center
Elia Petridou served as Member of the Board in and out between 2005 and 2020. She is credited for the establishment of the relation between Future Worlds Center and the [[United Nations High Commission for Refugees], which led to the foundation of the Humanitarian Affairs Unit and the Unit for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture, were she also served as the first head.
Elia joined Future Worlds Center in January of 2004. The first projects she undertook were the HasNa Inc.-funded, Media Literacy and Economic Collaboration projects. From a Project Coordinator she evolved to a Programs Developer envisioning and initiating a number of socially responsible projects. With interns (especially, Kerstin Wittig, Larry Fergeson, Levent Kizilduman) and other colleagues Elia envisioned, developed and managed to secure funding for socially-responsible projects such as Extending EU Citizenship, SafenetCY, Cyberethics and URVT. Elia was invited in 2005 to join the Board of the Organization. Following some wandering, Elia re-joined the Organization taking various challenges on Economic and Environmental Sustainability, global education and corporate social responsibility. Between the 1st April 2012 and ??? Elia was the project coordinator of TeachMDGs and head the Global Education Unit.
Biography
Elia completed a BA (Double Major) in Economics and Political Science in New Jersey City University, NJ, USA. During her studies Elia has also interned with the Press Office of the Cyprus Mission to the UN in New York, a memorable experience she holds very dear. She then proceeded with her MA in Political Science/International Relations at McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
Contributions to Cyprus
Elia returned back from Canada to Cyprus to complete her MA Thesis and seek employment. She got introduced to the civil society of the island through her collaboration with the NGO Support Centre, a UNOPS/UNDP Funded Project, concentrating on supporting the civil society and bringing the two conflicting communities closer. By January of 2004 Elia was already part of the Future Worlds Center team working on a bicommunal project on media Literacy and Economic collaboration. Other projects that followed with Elia's mark of involvement include: Extending EU Citizenship, the Unit for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture, Cyberethics, Cyprus's first safer internet awareness node and SafenetCY, Cyprus's hotline. On January of 2008 Elia traveled back to the US for a Fellowship she had received with the Graduate Center of CUNY to further enhance her knowledge on corporate philanthropy. Elia's paper concentrated CSR as a means of Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication. The fellowship, USAID funded, was followed by another study visit in the US organized by USAID concentrating on sessions with major corporate figures who have been successfully implementing CSR practices in their companies. A socially sensitive way of doing business should be the new norm and Elia is a strong believer in it, as she strongly believes on sustainable living behaviors! Elia is currently collaborating with the FWC team, an equally sensitized and forward looking group of individuals for promoting and embedding sustainability practices in the day to day operation of the organization. In addition through a collaboration with an already established team of fundraising professionals, she is working on Private Sector Fundraising for safeguarding the economic sustainability of her favorite NGO.
International Contributions
Trained Facilitator
Elia values constructive communication highly and strives to constantly improve her skills in that area. She is a trained SDDP[Structured Dialogic Design Process] Facilitator and has conducted co-Laboratories using the Structured Dialogic Design Process in many projects including URVT and the Cyberethics. She has further received training with the European Capacity Building Programme for International Cooperation at the Center for Advanced Training in Rural Development, Humboldt University in Berlin. The training concentrated on conflict prevention and conflict management. A firm believer of life long learning, Elia has recently completed two online training sessions, one with UNITAR on, Intro to Peace Operations and another on Human Rights Education with the North South Centre,of the Council of Europe.
List of SDDs facilitated and co-facilitated
| Date | Type | Location | Participants | Project | Triggering Question | Title of SDDP Role(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9-11 May 2007, 1-2 October 2007 | Actions | partly on a boat between Stockholm and Helsinki (9-11 May 2007); completed in San Sebastian (1-2 October 2007) |
26 | SDDP COST 219ter Actions towards developing practical broadband applications | What actions can the Cost219ter community take to alleviate the obstacles that prevent the development of practical applications? | SDD Facilitator, CogniScope Operator, Workshop Coordinator, Report Writer |