Znani so kandidati za predstavnika NVO v Evropskem ekonomsko-socialnem odboru za obdobje 2025-2030

Ajda Pistotnik is a policy strategist, advocate, and expert on economic transformation, sustainability, and social justice. As the co-founder and director of Policy Lab, she has established a cross-sectoral platform bridging academia, civil society, and policymakers to drive progressive economic reforms. Her hands-on experience in international engagement, civil society collaboration, and government advisory roles makes her an asset to the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC).

International Engagement:

• Ajda has been a member of the Advisory Board at the Corporate Europe Observatory (Brussels), contributing to policy debates on corporate influence in EU institutions and economic governance.
• She was a consultant at the ZOE Institute for Future-fit Economies (Koln), developing the EU Compass Beyond GDP and advocating for its integration into European Commission policymaking.
• Through FundAction, Ajda has actively engaged in participatory grant-making, supporting grassroots initiatives across Europe that drive environmental justice and democratic governance.
• She has presented her research or moderated international policy debates on financial justice, international financial institutions and debt policies at G20 (Hamburg), UNCTAD (Nairobi), and IMF Annual Meetings (Lima).
• During the financial crisis, Ajda was a national contributor to the Troika Watch initiative, monitoring and reporting on austerity measures and their social impact across Europe. Her in-depth reporting provided key insights into the consequences of financial policies on economic and social conditions.
• She has also played an active role in shaping global economic and social debates by starting her career as a policy analyst at the Danish Institute for Human Rights, researching business and human rights cases and supporting advocacy at the UN frameworks on corporate accountability.

Civil Society Collaboration:

• She is taking part in the GreenPaths Project (Horizon Europe) that involves 13 partner organizations working towards a just green transition. Taking part at the already conducted a systematic literature review on Social Welfare and Just Green Transition and is working on a case study about land concentration and proposals for land governance reforms.
• She organized study visit to the Beyond Growth Conference at the European Parliament (Brussels), providing Slovenian CSOs with direct engagement opportunities with EU policymakers, deepening their understanding of post-growth narratives and economic alternatives.
• She led and coordinated the Degrowth Political School (2022, 2024) in Nova Gorica, a major interdisciplinary initiative fostering knowledge exchange among over 100 academics, policymakers, and activists from 14+ countries. The school has established itself as a platform for forging alliances and cultivating critical economic narratives that inform alternative pathways for progress.
• Her commitment to amplifying overlooked sectors in economic policy was evident in her leadership of the Invisible Economy Seminar (2023), which brought together CSOs and experts from agriculture, care work, and labor rights to push for more inclusive economic reforms.
• She has also contributed to shaping discourse in the Green Academy (Croatia) by initiating and moderating policy debates, reinforcing alliances between civil society and decision-makers across Europe.
• Ajda has been a key figure in the Slovenian degrowth community, contributing to book translations, journal editing, and event organization, including the International Degrowth Conference in Budapest, which gathered 1,200 participants.

Expertise & Thought Leadership:

• At the national level, Ajda serves on Slovenia’s Strategic Council for Economy at the Ministry for the Economy, Tourism and Sport.
• Her collaborative approach to research (with intersectoral research team: CSO, a researcher and journalist) produced the paper "Reshaping Europe's Fields", which was presented at the European Society for Ecological Economics in Pontevedra (Spain) and the Global Land Grabbing Conference in Bogota (Columbia).
• She initiated the translation and written a foreword to the book “Degrowth: vocabulary for a new era” published by Studia Humanitatis.
• She was a member of academic journal editorial board the Journal for the Critique of Science, Imagination and New Anthropology (ČKZ).

Ajda’s academic credentials and policy expertise underpin her role as a leading voice in economic transformation.

She holds an MSc in Political Science from the University of Ljubljana, she finished it at the Copenhagen University, where she specialized in human rights and business in sustainability policies. Her additional academic training includes:

• Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (Washington College of Law, USA).
• Summer Program on Business & Human Rights (European Inter-University Centre, Venice).

Črt Kanoni Črt Kanoni was born on May 22, 1952 in Ljubljana. He is retired journalist, TV and Radio host, editor and writer, with a University degree in Economics

Since his retirement in 2017, he has been the editor-in-chief of the ZDUSPlus magazine and in head of Public relations department at ZDUS.

He has many years of experience in managing in the field of media (Editor and host at RTV Slovenia, editor-in-chief of RGL, editor-in-chief of special programs on Kanal A, editor-in-chief and director of programs GTV- Gorenjska televizija and GEA TV.

He speaks English, French and Italian, and communicates in German as well.

Kot izkušena zagovornica civilne družbe s 20-letnim delom v nevladnih organizacijah in neformalnem izobraževanju ima Neža Repanšek izjemne veščine za učinkovito zastopanje interesov slovenskih NVO na evropski ravni. Več o njenih veščinah izkušnjah lahko najdete na njenem LinkedIN profilu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neza-repansek/ 

Danes je Neža direktorica samostojne NVO (zavoda Carlina), ki se ukvarja z raznovrstnimi aktivnostmi na področju mladinske participacije in medgeneracijskega sodelovanja.  

Več o delu, ki ga Neža opravlja zadnjih 5 let, lahko najdete na povezavi: https://memberspage.eesc.europa.eu/members/2038832 

Ključne prednosti kandidatke:

• Aktivno delovanje v odboru EESO : soustanovila t.i. Youth Group (ki zastopa interese mladih v odboru s povprečno starostjo 58 let). Skupina je poskrbela, da se v času mandata kot z eno izmed prioritetnih skupin, EESO ukvarja z mladimi, medgeneracijsko solidarnostjo in t.i. “meaningful participation” (kot jo opisuje Hartova lestvica participacije)
• Dokazano poznavanje področja in metod dela: znanje na področju mednarodnih odnosov, izobraževalnih politik in izzivov nevladnega sektorja na ravni EU. S svojimi aktivnostmi je poskrbela, da je odbor v svoje delo vpeljal mehanizem, ki spremlja učinke sprejemanja politik na mlade ( t.i. EU Youth Test)
• Moderatorske in fasilitatorske veščine v več jezikih: v EESO je Neža aktivno sodelovala pri organizaciji in implementaciji dogodkov, okroglih miz in dogodkov na visoki ravni (tako v času slovenskega predsedovanja kot po njem)
• Dolgoletno delo v NVO sektorju na lokalni, regionalni, nacionalni in mednarodni ravni (izkušena zagovornica vloge civilne družbe z 20-letnimi izkušnjami v nevladnih organizacijah, prostovoljstvu in neformalnem izobraževanju)

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As an experienced civil society advocate with 20 years of work in non-governmental organizations and non-formal education, Neža Repanšek possesses exceptional skills for effectively representing the interests of Slovenian NGOs at the European level. More information about her skills and experiences can be found on her LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neza-repansek/

Today, Neža is the director of an independent NGO (Carlina) that engages in various activities in the field of youth participation and intergenerational cooperation.

More information about Neža's work over the past 5 years can be found at: https://memberspage.eesc.europa.eu/members/2038832

Key strengths of the candidate:

• Active involvement in the EESC: co-founded the  Youth Group (representing the interests of young people in a committee with an average age of 58). The group ensured that during the mandate, the EESC deals with youth, intergenerational solidarity, and "meaningful participation" (as described by Hart's ladder of participation) as one of its priority groups.
• Proven knowledge of the field and working methods: expertise in international relations, educational policies, and challenges of the non-governmental sector at the EU level. Through her activities, she ensured that the committee introduced a mechanism to monitor the effects of policy adoption on young people (EU Youth Test).
• Moderation and facilitation skills in multiple languages: Neža actively participated in organizing and implementing events, round tables, and high-level events in the EESC (both during the Slovenian presidency and after).
• Long-term work in the NGO sector at local, regional, national, and international levels (experienced advocate for the role of civil society with 20 years of experience in non-governmental organizations, volunteering, and non-formal education).

Rado Carlo Poggi is an economist and political theoretic, born and educated in Germany to an Italian father and a Slovenian mother. He underwent, next to his studies some business enterprises in Germany and Italy, consulted later on local political administrations in Germany and Italy on questions of cultural politics. Since 2008 he is at the head of the NGO raum AU in Slovenj Gradec, where he implemented within the work of raum AU many cultural innovative approaches and changed the socio-economic reality. Today some 13 ngo's have their stable and subsidized spaces to work, the "HABitat za razvoj nevladne kulture Slovenj Gradec" is a pilot, that could be implemented in any community in Slovenia, even starting tomorrow. The dolina:dialoga sklad, an idea of Poggi, is funding cultural projects in 4 local communities and is in many aspects a best practice instrumentarium, that addresses many issues in Slovenian public funding, that are not structured favourably. Next to delivering a good and fair distribution of private funds it identifies and responds to bad practises in slovenian public funding procedures and puts it in the view of everybody, fostering change. Rado Carlo Poggi is able to communicate in 5 european languages, German being his mother tongue. Italian being second, followed by English and Slovenian and then some basic capabilities in Spanish and reading in French.

Tanja Piškur je vodja finančnih storitev pri Zvezi potrošnikov Slovenije (ZPS), kjer si prizadeva za zaščito in podporo potrošnikov ter spodbuja poštenost, transparentnost in dostopnost na področju finančnih storitev. Ima bogate izkušnje na področju financ, strategije in produktnega vodenja, ki jih je pridobila v vodstvenih vlogah pri Erste Card d.o.o. in NLB d.d. Je diplomirana pravnica, nosilka naziva CFA ter magistrica financ z Univerze v Ljubljani.

Tanja serves as the Head of Financial Services at the Slovene Consumers' Association (Zveza Potrošnikov Slovenije). In this role, she is committed to serving and protecting consumers in financial services by promoting fairness, transparency, and accessibility. She works to empower consumers through education, advocacy, and policy initiatives aimed at fostering trust and understanding in the financial sector.

Tanja Piškur is an experienced financial services professional with over a decade of leadership roles spanning corporate finance, sales development, strategy, and product management. With a strong foundation in finance and business strategy, she combines analytical rigor with practical insights to drive organizational improvement and deliver meaningful results.

Before joining ZPS, Tanja contributed to transformative initiatives in the role of Management Board member at Erste Card d.o.o., focusing on digital innovation, product portfolio development, and enhancing customer experiences. These experiences equipped her with a comprehensive understanding of the financial services landscape and the importance of aligning business strategies with evolving market demands.

Earlier, at NLB d.d., Tanja held pivotal roles that combined sales development and product management. As Head of Sales Development and Management, she worked on optimizing sales operations across multiple channels, upgrading predictive analytics, and enhancing CRM practices. Her work also extended to strategic product and channel development, ensuring alignment with customer needs and organizational goals. These efforts significantly improved customer satisfaction and operational efficiency, earning her recognition as a collaborative and results-oriented leader.