We’re thrilled to have kicked off the inaugural edition of the ECDA Fellowship Program.
This program is for high-potential progressive organizations, social movements, trade unions, news portals, political parties, and their representatives, who want to scale up their digital capabilities.
During the three-month program, the ECDA Incubator team of digital organizing experts will mentor the ECDA fellows through a comprehensive curriculum that covers a variety of topics from mastering effective email writing and narrative building to leveraging social media ads and implementing successful fundraising tactics.
This program aims to help our fellows and their organizations reach more supporters, mobilizing them for campaigns and fundraising.
Overview
1st Cohort
18 Sept - 14 Dec 2023
1st ECDA Fellowship Cohort
Carla Allenbach
The European Correspondent (Switzerland)
Carla is the Managing Director and Co-Founder of The European Correspondent, a network of more than 170 correspondents and organizers bringing the most relevant stories from across Europe to the inboxes of a European audience. With the ECDA fellowship, The European Correspondent aims to apply digital organizing strategies to their user-funded independent media.
Giacomo Antonelli
(Italy)
Giacomo is a native of Rome, where he is currently based. Giacomo lived in Turin and London while studying history, political communication as well as programming and statistics before working for a media intelligence company. Giacomo joined Ultima Generazione in January 2023 and is responsible for digital fundraising and database management, to manage the full 360 of mobilization efforts.
Eliodoro Belmare
Gay Center
(Italy)
Eliodoro is an Italian Political Advisor and Digital Strategist.
He has a Master’s degree in Communication Science from La Sapienza – University of Rome, as well as a one-year Master's in Political Communication for the USA Presidential Election obtained with a Fellowship at the U.S. Embassy to Italy.
Since 2019, Eliodoro has been working with the main Italian progressive political parties and currently works for LGBT+ and environmental organizations.
Emma Boschini
Mediterranea Saving Humans (Italy)
Emma was born in North-West Italy but has lived in various parts of Europe over the past seven years. Emma is currently finishing an MA in Area and Global Studies for International Cooperation. Emma is an activist at Mediterranea Saving Humans, working on communications and campaigning.
Gabriel Bretone
Rebelión o Extinción Madrid (Spain)
After the scorching and nightmarish summer of 2022, Gabriel joined the local Extinction Rebellion group in Madrid. Gabriel's pursuit of climate justice is guided by his Love for life and Rage for past inaction against a well-known climate threat from 50 years ago. Gabriel supports the movement through the Funding Work Group.
Alex Deval
(France)
A Swiss army knife of ecology, Alex has been fighting for human rights for many years. He now lives in Brussels where he works on ecologizing the EU.
Marta Kraujina
Sievietei paveicās / The Lucky Woman
(Latvia)
A storyteller at heart, Marta studied film, and theater production, and practiced creative writing. Marta started working in the creative field in 2018 but had to find new ways to tell stories once the pandemic hit. Marta began working in communications for the social-democratic Green Party in Latvia, later forming an organization with a few colleagues called "Sievietei Paveicās" (The Lucky Woman). What began as an online movement to raise awareness about women's inequality in public discussions, expanded to other related topics, like women in corporate leadership, women in politics, misogyny in society, and the portrayal of women in advertising. Marta is now an activist, telling everyone the story of "Sievietei Paveicās".
Clara Ludwig
Brand New Bundestag (Germany)
Clara is from Brand New Bundestag (BNB), an independent and non-partisan cross-party grassroots organization that advocates for progressive politics. BNB works to have the Parliament represent all people in society. The organization supports people running for political office who are underrepresented and have progressive ideas. Additionally, BNB connects civil society with politics to include the voices of movements in political decision-making. Clara is in charge of the communication department in BNB and is very excited about the opportunity to take their digital communication to a new level with the help of the ECDA Fellowship!
Gréta Mészáros
(Hungary)
Gréta has an MA degree in Social Sciences and has been involved in the Hungarian feminist movement for 7 years. At PATENT (People Opposing Patriarchy), Gréta is a project coordinator in the area of violence prevention and is also responsible for communication and fundraising activities. The PATENT association is a women's rights organization from Hungary that is active in the fields of gender-based violence and sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Olga Pek
(Czechia)
Olga Pek studied English and American studies. After a brief stint in the literary scene, Olga settled down in the for-purpose (otherwise also known as non-profit) sector. She takes care of donors and partnerships in Jako doma and sends out newsletters for the Czech Green Party.
Anna Portillo
Sumar - En Comu Girona (Spain)
Anna lives in Girona, Spain and has a degree in Political Science and Administration from the University of Girona. Anna is currently combining her law studies with a job as an accountant. Anna is a member of Sumar - En Comú Podem and has participated in the last two campaigns for local and national elections.
Mina Jack Tolu
(Malta)
Mina Jack is a trans and non-binary activist from Malta with over 12 years of experience in developing campaigns and communications on LGBTQI rights and green politics. Mina Jack is passionate about trans and non-binary inclusion in media, art, sports, and other areas where representation is lacking. They are a committee member of the European Green Party and Deputy Chair of ADPD – The Green Party in Malta.
Kaspars Zalitis
(Latvia)
Kaspars Zalitis is one of the most well-known human rights advocates in Latvia. He is a Board member of the Association of LGBT and their friends, MOZAIKA, where he works on advocacy, hate crimes, hate speech, supporting victims, and strategic communication. Currently, he serves as the Coordinator of the Latvian Diversity Charter and is one of the leading D&I consultants. Kaspars is also a leader of the advocacy group Dzīvesbiedri, which works towards adopting comprehensive partnership regulations in Latvia. Furthermore, Kaspars holds the position of Co-Chair of the Baltic Pride in Riga and Riga Pride. Kaspars is involved in strategic communications and D&I efforts both in Latvia and internationally, spanning across more than 50 countries. He was honored as the recipient of the Peter Greste Baltic Freedom of Speech Award in 2019/2020.
The 2nd ECDA Fellowship Cohort is planned for January through March 2024.
We will be opening applications starting in November of 2023. More details to follow.
If you have any questions in the meantime, write to us at fellowship@centerfordigitalaction.eu.
How to apply
Why digital organizing?
“We are currently in a crucial moment in many European communities where progressive values are under threat. The far right utilizes fear, disinformation and unfair practices to propagate their theories, resulting in the advancement of their political agenda and the further erosion of progressive values. We want to equip progressive organizations and political parties to effectively counter this threat, by reaching and communicating with the broadest audience possible, in the most efficient use of resources possible to mobilize people. For this reason, we see our mission to share digital organizing practices and tools as fundamental to helping the progressives in Europe have the means to excel their values, reach people, and give a voice and platform to those who need it most.
The ECDA Fellowship Program is one of the ways that we continue to support and sustain organizations that are doing the important work of promoting and protecting progressive values in Europe, especially in these critical times when far-right political parties are gaining influence. Join us and become a part of this inspiring program to excel the impact of your organization!”
Mar Garcia, ECDA Co-Director
What to expect
The fellowship program is designed for organizations who have mastered communication via traditional and social media and are looking for new ways to engage with their supporters. The program will help groups organize their supporters into contactable lists by leveraging moments, and keep the group organized and mobilized via engaging emails and written content. Most importantly, the program will teach you how to tap into grassroots energy to fundraise from supporters to building self-sustaining movements.
During the program, the ECDA fellows will develop campaigns, fundraising strategies and actions for their respective organizations. By the end of the program, the ECDA fellows will be well-equipped to implement powerful digital organizing strategies to transform their organizations. With these strategies, they will be able to turbocharge their campaigns, expand their list of supporters, and meaningfully engage with supporters through digital platforms. In completing our program, fellows will be able to elevate their digital organizing and small donor fundraising strategies, infrastructure and plans.
The program is designed to give individuals and organizations a learning by doing experience - where participants will have a chance to practice live the things they learn about, receive feedback and refine their work. The participants will form a group, and the cohort system aims to create an environment of horizontal learning, and not just top-down instructions. It will be a space where we can make mistakes, learn and inspire each other.