Executive director of International Visegrad Fund. Firstly, she obtained her MA at the Philosophy/Sociology Faculty in Culture studies then graduated at the Faculty of Law and Administration at Warsaw University. Later she went to the University of Cambridge to obtain diploma in English and European Union Law. She has worked for the Ministry of Economy of Poland as deputy director (2006-2009) then as director (2009-2011). Since 2014 she has been a ministerial advisor of the Ministry of Economy (2014-2015), later of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland (2015).
Experts
Beata Jaczewska
Andrzej Jagodziński
Until 2006 executive director of the International Visegrad Fund. Essayist and translator from Czech into Polish. Correspondent of Gazeta Wyborcza (1990-96). Author of the Visegrad Festival.
Iwona Jakimowicz - Pisarska
PhD of Political Science and History. The Assistant Professor in Naval Academy in Gdynia. The author of books and articles about migration, minorities and Greek modern policy. The member of Greek Political Specialist Group PSA; Association for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism; Ceske spolecnosti pro politicke vedy and Polskiego Towarzystwa Nauk Politycznych. As the guest lecturer regularly gives her speeches: at Bologna University, Cretan University, Athens University and St Lucie University in Madrid. She cooperates in the international teams and prepares her research about the European state's conditions and migration issue in UE. She is also keen on modern literature as a typical worm book.
Magdalena Jakubowska
Vicepresident and director of operations at Res Publica Foundation since mid-2017, where she manages and supports key ventures, including institutional cooperation and partnerships, strategic development, and program management. She is also responsible for operational planning. Earlier, from 2015 till 2017, Magda has established the presence of and served the role of Director of Operations at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) Warsaw Office. In 2016 Magda has earned a diploma from the Leadership Academy for Poland featuring a Harvard-type leadership and management development program. Previously, Magda worked at the Polish Institute of International Affairs. She holds a degree from the faculty of Languages for Specific Purposes at the University of Warsaw and from International Relations at the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH).
Hatif Janabi
Poet, novelist, essayist and translator. Born in Iraq, near Babylon. Since 1976 lives in Poland. BA in Arabic Language and Literature from the University of Baghdad, MA in Polish Language and Literature from the University of Warsaw and PhD in Drama Studies from the Warsaw University, where he now lectures on Arabic Language and Literature. 1985-1988 lecturer of Arabic Literature and Drama in the University of Tizi-Ouzu in Algeria, 1993-1994 visiting scholar at the Indiana University. Author of books of poetry, criticism and translation. Numerous poetry prizes, e.g.: The Polish ZAiKS Prize for Translation, (Warsaw 2003), Witold Hulewicz Award for all works, (Warsaw 2003), International Day of Poetry and the magazine “Poezja Dzisiaj” Award for all works, (Warsaw 2005). His poems were published in many languages: Arabic, English, French, German, Czech, Kurdish, Slovak, Spanish, Persian, Polish, and Russian. His poems have appeared in many Arab, English and Polish magazines and anthologies, such as The Space Between Our Footsteps - poems and paintings from the Middle East, Simon & Schuster Books, Literatures of Asia, Africa and Latin America, Prentice Hall with Simon & Schuster Books and Pisarze Świata (The Writers of the World), Encyclopedia PWN. Author of Arabic Theatre: origins, history and quest, Dialog (Poland). Main translator of the Polish literature into Arabic (translated more than 40 polish authors, among others Słowacki, Mickiewicz, Miłosz, Herbert, Szymborska, Różewicz, Grochowiak, Zagajewski, Stachura, Wojaczek, Kapuściński, Kołakowski) and Arabic literature in Polish. Member of Polish P.E.N. Centre Board (till November 2003), The Union of Polish Writers, the Polish Oriental Association and the Middle East Studies Association of North America.
Balázs Jarábik
Balázs Jarábik is an award-winning political analyst and decorated diplomat specializing in Ukraine and the broader Eastern European region. He is the founder of Minority Report, a political risk consultancy focused on Central and Eastern Europe, and a partner at R.Politik. From 2019 to 2023, he served as Head of Policy, Analysis, and Coordination for the European Union Advisory Mission (EUAM) in Ukraine. He also led high-impact international development projects in Eastern Europe and advised the Ukrainian government on its EU integration process (2017–2018). Renowned for his field-based insights and candid, evidence-driven analysis, Jarábik has played a key role in shapin Western understanding of Ukraine’s internal political dynamics. He has authored influential work for leading think tanks, including FRIDE (2006–2012), the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (2014–2019), and the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) as a Europe’s Future Fellow (2022–2023). His work reflects a rare blend of policy practice, analytical rigor, and deep regional networks across Ukraine and its neighborhood.
Zora Jaurová
Profession: Producer, Country: Slovakia
“She worked as the theatre dramaturg, international cultural cooperation consultant and EU Affairs expert for Slovak government and European Commission. She was the co-author and artistic director of the Košice - European Capital of Culture 2013. Until January 201was a member of the Board of the Slovak Arts Council.
Today, she works as a film producer and partner at MPhilms and as an advisor to the mayor of Bratislava, Matúš Vallo. She also works as an expert on cultural policy and the creative industries in Slovakia and abroad. She is the President of the Slovak Creative Industries Forum and a member of the European network of film producers Ateliers du Cinéma Européen (ACE).”
Leszek Jazdzewski
Leszek Jażdżewski is a graduate of the University of Oxford, founder and editor-in-chief of Liberté!, a liberal journal and foundation based in Poland.
Liberté! organises the annual Freedom Games, one of the biggest intellectual forums in Central Europe.
Leszek was a Policy Fellow at the School of Transnational Government at the EUI and a non-resident fellow at the Institute of Human Sciences in Vienna where his work focused on the ways of countering the rise of national populism in Europe.
He was selected as a European Young Leader by the Friends of Europe (class 2022). He is a co-host of the Liberal Europe podcast.
Ivan Jestřáb
Mr. Jestřáb is a professional Czech diplomat. At the MFA he was dealing with many different agendas. He worked as Director of the Internal Administration Department, Asian and Pacific Countries Department, South and Southeastern European Countries Department, UN Department. He held office of Political Director and Junior Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Security Questions. For two years, he performed functions of the External Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister. At the beginning of his career abroad, Mr. Jestřáb worked in Scandinavia. In 1990` he was Chargé d´Affaires at the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Norway. From 1997 to 2002 he was Ambassador of Czech Republic to India with accreditation for several other countries of the Southern Asia, from 2004 to 2008 Ambassador in Belgrade with accreditation for Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia. Mr. Jestřáb spent the period from 2008 to 2013 on Southern Caucasus as Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Georgia and Armenia. From 2017, he is Czech Ambassador to Poland. Among his hobbies are classical music, ballet and history.
Ewa Junczyk-Ziomecka
Since 2006 Undersecretary of State at the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland. She is dealing with issues connected with the Polish-Jewish relations. She graduated from the Law Department and did post-graduate journalistic studies at Warsaw University. She worked as a journalist and editor-in-chief of the “Dziennik Polski” daily in Detroit. She also was a member of the Dialogue group. In 2001 she was nominated for the director for the development of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews. She is a member of the „Otwarta Rzeczpospolita” Association, of the Association of the Jewish Historical Institute and of the Association of Polish Journalists. Author of a book about Pope John Paul II A Man Among Us, she published in Kultura and Tygodnik Powszechny.
