.png)
On Europe Day, 9 May, with the opening of new offices and the recruitment of new teams in Berlin and Brussels, Make.org announced the expansion of its work in favour of participatory democracy in Europe.
The Conference on the Future of Europe, the European Year of Youth, the general development of citizen participation, ... There are many ongoing evolutions in the field. Make.org is fully involved in these developments with four major consultations on European issues in the 27 Member States: WeEuropeans (2019), NRW Gestaltet Europa (2021), Parole aux Jeunes (2021), and Unser Europa, unsere Zukunft (2022).
After several projects implemented in Germany, Make.org is intensifying its development there with the creation of its own legal structure (Make.org GmbH) and the opening of a permanent office in Berlin. In Germany, participatory democracy projects are becoming more numerous at both local and federal levels.
Along with the creation of this legal entity, Sarah Delahaye has been nominated Director of Make.org in Germany. Graduated from Sciences Po Paris and the Freie Universität Berlin, Sarah has been involved for several years in volunteer work on popular education and citizen participation projects. After working for eight years as a consultant and project manager on participatory transformation processes in public and private organisations, first for Kienbaum Consultants International and then on her own, she took over the management of the German office in Berlin in April 2022. Sarah is already being accompanied by two new faces!
Claudia Ardelean will support Sarah as Senior Project Manager. Claudia was born and raised in Romania, where she was part of the German minority. She studied international relations and pursued European studies at the University of Timișoara and the Eberhard Karls University in Tübingen. Thanks to her previous work experience at Deutsche Bank and the European Youth Parliament in Germany, Claudia is familiar with the business world, as well as the association and NGO sector.
Patrycja Makucewicz is in charge of the communication of the German office, in order to make Make.org increasingly known in Germany. With her knowledge of marketing, design and experience in the German start-up sector, she will also support the team in developing the business and projects in Germany.
This 9 May 2022 marks also the day Make.org moves to Brussels - to the Impact House, a meeting place dedicated to entrepreneurial solutions with high social and environmental impact. As a European player in participatory democracy and a founding member of the Association of European Civic Tech (ACTE), the opening of the office in Brussels is part of the wish to continue to work with the European Union institutions. Make.org aims to revitalise European democracy through citizen participation.
This development is accompanied by the recruitment of a EU Public Affairs Manager: Hendrik Nahr. Hendrik is passionate about participatory democracy, citizen engagement and European politics. After having studied social sciences, he obtained two masters degrees in European studies at the University of Maastricht and the College of Europe in Bruges. He then had several experiences in European affairs: in the European Parliament, as well as in the private sector and the civil society world.
“We are delighted to see the Make.org team grow and become more international, and are excited to welcome Sarah, Hendrik, Claudia and Patrycja to the team" say Axel Dauchez (President) and Alicia Combaz (General Director), co-founders of Make.org. “Our development in Germany and Brussels will enable us to pursue our mission: to involve citizens and mobilise the civil society to positively transform society. The number of participants in the consultations we have conducted in Europe and on European issues show that citizens are demanding debate; it is by massively involving them that we will be able to strengthen our democracies!"