Citizens of Europe stepped into 2013 by welcoming the 100 days anniversary of its new Board. This is headed by the new Chairman, Tobias Kunow, who replaces Frank Burgdörfer, the founder of Citizens.
Tobias will set up his own approach and will follow the heritage left by his predecesor. This is reflected in his own words : « my aim is to continue the successful work made by Frank ».
Frank Burgdörfer, who had this position since the birth of Citizens in 2002 in Munich, pointed out: « having Tobias for six years already, I am truly confident that he can contribute what Citizens needs now. I wish him and his team all the best and encourage all the members to support them».
This first new term witnessed not only the traditional hand over of the official functions but also the rise of an active and relevant period for Citizens. In fact, the seminars « Art N Art» in Ukraine and « Activacting » in Berlin, as well as the sixth edition of the short film festival « My Europe » and the improvement of the online platforms played a major role in the last months of 2012. Tobias is aware that 2013 can mark a turning point for the life of Citizens. As he mentions : « the fact that I have already learnt a lot does not mean that every difficulty is yet solved. But we are improving every day ». His goals for the mandate are to consolidate the growth of the organization, whose number and relevance of projects have continuously increased since 2006. The transparency and the division of work between more people are also one of the top priorities in Kunow´s mandate.
The current Board was elected on 8th of September, at the same time that the organization became ten years old. On this day members of Citizens chose in our General Assembly Tobias Kunow and the other seven people that compose the current Board.
Tobias is specialized in the cultural field and joined Citizens in 2006. Since then he has been the project manager of the film festival « My Europe » and three years later he became part of the Board in the function of Treasurer.
The new faces of the current Board are Jelena Ljumovic, who is based in Belgrade and was involved the seminar « Beyond the Crisis » and Lina Jukonyte, responsible for «How We Shape Our Past ». The Board is completed by Maaret Jokela (Vice Chairperson), Susanne Backmund (Vice Chairperson), Nina Vredegoor(Secretary General), Rasmus Randig and Jürgen Tobisch.
This is an international team composed by people who come from different European countries and cities and agree on the philosophy of Citizens that is about perceiving diversity as an opportunity.