After her Master of Arts degree at the Institute of Oriental Languages at the University of Warsaw, Mrs Sośnicka studied International Relations at The Polish Institute of International Affairs in Warsaw, then completed her studies at the Academy of International Law in The Hague, International Institute of Public Administration in Paris and University of Mons. Since 1987 she has worked at the Polish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Polish Embassies in Managua, Caracas, Brussels and Lima. Now she is Deputy Director of Europe at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
Experts
Barbara Sośnicka
Marek Sowa
Graduated from Krakow AGH University of Science and Technology. Active in local government since 1994 working as soltis and councilman. As voivodeship management officer was responsible for creation and implementation of the Governmental Strategic Programme for the Oswiecim (Auschwitz) Area and Strategy of Malopolska Viovodeship for years 2007-2013. Marshall of the Malopolska Region since 2010. President of Monitoring Commission for European Funds in Union of the Voivodeships of the Republic of Poland and member of Malopolska Innovation Council. Initiated founding of Malopolska Center of Entrepreneurship and Center Business in Malopolska (CEBiM). Involved in organisation of Economic Forum in Krynica.
Magdalena Sroka
Deputy Mayor of Krakow in charge of Culture and City Promotion. Master of Arts in Theatre Studies, manager of culture, producer of festivals, shows and TV programs. Director of the Krakow Festival Office (2008-2010). Co-initiator of legislative reforms regulating the cultural sector.
Vera Stading
Political scientist. Assistant to the management, development and implementation of simulation games, events and research.
Leszek Stafiej
Owner of the Stafiej Partnerzy agency in Warsaw. For several years - Deputy Chairman of International Advertising Association, Poland. During the 1990s for few years has been in Charge of polish branches of the biggest international creation's agencies: McCann-Erickson and DBB. Co-founder and first Deputy Chairman of Radio Zet (one of the biggest radio in Poland). Juryman of advertising festivals, author of articles in "Media Polska", "Impact", "Brief", "Home&Market".
Agata Stafiej - Bartosik
Vice-President of the Social Communication Foundation. Founder and the President of the European Institute of Social Marketing. Cofounder of SMart - Social Marketing Artisans in Belgrade. 2004-2005 manager of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the Danone group. Professional Adviser specialized in creating corporate images, social marketing and socially responsible advertising. Fields of interests: Civic Participation, Socially Responsible Advertising.
Maria Staszkiewicz
Director of Association for International Affairs in Prague. She has degrees in Linguistics (Katowice), International Relations (Krakow) and European Studies (Bonn). After study periods abroad (Munich and Prague), she moved to Brussels to take up a post in the Secretariat General of the Council of the EU. Her last assignment was within the Crisis Management and Planning Directorate. She is interested in the EU external relations and political communication. Participated in the 5th edition of the Visegrad Summer School, currently project partner.
Małgorzata Sternal
PhD from the Jagiellonian University, Faculty of Management and Social Communication, School of Cultural Management. Her European experience in the fields of cultural management education has been broadened through serving on the Board of ENCATC – European Network of Cultural Administration Training Centres, and participating in international seminars and training sessions (Denmark, Great Britain, Austria, Russia, etc.) Ms Sternal now teaches at the Jagiellonian University and Cracow Academy of Music.
Václav Štětka
Dr Václav Štětka is Reader in Comparative Political Communication at the School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Loughborough University, where he has been working since 2016. Previously he has held research and academic posts at Masaryk University in Brno, Charles University in Prague, and the University of Oxford. His current research interests encompass political communication in the digital environment, the dissemination and impact of mis/disinformation, and the relationship between media and democracy in post-transition countries. He has been contributing to several other international research projects and networks, including Media Pluralism Monitor (European University Institute, Florence) or Digital News Report (University of Oxford). His new book "The Illiberal Public Sphere: Media in Polarized Societies" (with S.Mihelj) is coming out in July 2024 (Palgrave, Open Access).
Václav Štětka
Received his PhD in sociology from Masaryk University in Brno, the Czech Republic, where he worked as Assistant Professor at the Department of Media Studies and Journalism, Faculty of Social Studies. Between 2009 and 2013 he was Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford, working on an ERC-funded project Media and Democracy in Central and Eastern Europe. He moved to Prague in 2013, having been appointed a Senior Researcher at the Institute of Communication Studies and Journalism, Charles University. There, he established the Political Communication Research Group (http://www.polcore.cz), which focuses on the role of social media in political communication and civic participation. In 2016 he joined the Department of Social Studies, Loughborough University, becoming Lecturer and member of the new Centre for Research in Communication and Culture. His research interests encompass political communication and the role of new media, media systems in Central and Eastern Europe, media ownership and globalization. A member of the ECREA Executive Board since 2015 and Chair of the ECREA Central and Eastern European Network.
