Marina Kisjova de Heus is a founder and executive director of the Institute for study of peace – Plovdiv, the organization is well known with the initiative – Academy “Ekaterina Karavelova” and the format “SHE in….”. Marina returned to live in Bulgaria in 2014, having previously worked for the team of the President of the International Criminal Court in the Hague and was a member of the European Youth Advocacy Team of the United Network of Young Peacekeepers. She has a Master's degree in International Peace Studies at Trinity College Dublin and specializes in Conflict Prevention and Resolution through Arms Control and Disarmament to the OSCE Special Programme and the United Nations Office for Disarmament in Vienna. She is also a member of the Foreign Ministry's Advisory Working Group on developing a National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security. In 2019 she is included in the ranking "40 of up to 40" of Darik radio for the 40 most influential women in the country. In 2018, Marina was invited to join the Euromed Rights Working Group on Women's Rights and bringing together organisations from the Middle East, North Africa and Europe.
Marina is also one of the participants in the first edition of the Initiative. What motivates her to participate and how participation supports her work, read in the following lines.
Tell us about yourself and your work? How your organization makes the world a better place?
The academy “Ekaterina Karavelova” is an initiative I created in 2017 because I very strongly believe that Bulgaria needs more confident women in their abilities to ensure that there is a balance in society and who are responsible for the preservation of peace and nature. At “Ekaterina Karavelova” Academy we are dedicated to forming communities where every woman can find support and inspiration. We have created the form of the social event "SHE in..."™ and organized various trainings to make girls and women more confident in their abilities, to express their opinions, to pursue their goals and to address the problems of their communities. In 2019 we also launched a personal development program for girls and young women, developed by a Bulgarian team and fully tailored to our native context and needs.
What is behind the format of the social event „SHE in ..…”?
The idea came up in one of the “Ekaterina Karavelova” Academy trainings in May 2018. Together with two of the participants in the training Elena Lulcheva and Kirina Boykova, we decided to organize an event to enable two women who are not known and live in Plovdiv to tell about the obstacles they have encountered and the successes they have achieved. We lacked examples of female role models that show us a smarter world. We called the event "SHE in Plovdiv", and the gathering turned out to be so emotional and impactful that it began to happen every month giving an opportunity every time to different women to speak out. Now „SHE in..…“ brings together over 20 volunteers, who organize SHE in Varna, SHE in Gabrovo, SHE in Veliko Tarnovo and SHE in Sandanski. So far we have organized 43 events on which 85 different women have spoken. From a small initiative, „SHE in…“ already SHE in Bulgaria has grown into a feminist movement led by values as lave and equality.
Why did you dicide to take part in the Initiative?
The initiative I created grew extremely quickly and I needed knowledge of how to run a foundation. When I saw the news of the Initiative, I immediately applied because I was looking for a program that would correspond with the principles of active citizenship and democracy.
What were your expectations when you enrolled and did they come true?
I expected to meet many interesting people who, like me, believe that it is worth investing and working for social change in Bulgaria. My expectations definetly came true!
What happened for you within this project?
I took part in several daily forums in Sofia, where I met people from all over the country who work on many different topics and I am very impressed with their activities. It's another thing when you know there's someone else who's facing the same difficulties as you and whom you can count on to join forces to find solutions based on our shared experience.
What was the most useful thing for you from the Initiative?
Lecturers in the Initiative are symbolic persons and experts. It was very helpful for me to hear their stories and lessons learned. The topic of communication with media and journalists for me was very important and useful.
Did your participation in the Initiative improve in any way your work performance?
It is too early to say, because the program is ongoing and more training is coming, but I am already using the tools that some of the experts have shared.
What are your goals, what are you dreaming of?
This year, thanks to the financial support of active citizens fund Bulgaria, we will organize 5 trainings for new volunteers and thus we will form 5 new teams that will organize "SHE in..."™ in the towns of Pleven, Lovech, Vidin, Montana and Vratsa. We will draw up and issue a detailed and beautiful guide dedicated to organizing the social event "SHE in..."™ in my town". On a personal level, at the moment I dream mostly of peace and time for long mountain hikes. I think of more courage and nobility in Bulgaria.
Photoes: „Violeta Apostolova-Leti for the „Ekaterina Karavelova“ Academy