Agora Election Observation is happy to announce that there will be an additional second Focal Point for the upcoming Election Observation Missions (EOMs) in Slovakia and Poland this fall. After a successful pilot during the EOM to the General Election in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Maria Bayer who acted as the Focal Point against Sexual Harassment and Mobbing will be joined by her colleague Oguzhan Urhan. So now there will be a Focal Point of both genders giving participants to decide with whom they feel more comfortable to talk to in case they will report case of Sexual Harassment or Mobbing or ask for advice.
Oguzhan Urhan
I’m Oguzhan Urhan (He/Him) from Turkey, and currently based in Osnabrück, Germany. I am also enrolled at the University of Osnabrück and finalising my master’s in Migration Studies (IMIB). I specialise in the rights of LGBTQI+ refugees and migrants, peacebuilding, and anti-discrimination. Besides that, I deeply understand the challenges of marginalised communities and the importance of combatting harassment and discrimination.
As a Peacebuilder, member of YPAN and freelance Trainer at various local and international NGOs, I have implemented and participated in impactful workshops and trainings on peacebuilding, combating sexism, Gender-Based Violence and Toxic Masculinity, racism and anti-Semitism. Through my work, I have engaged directly with diverse communities by developing strong communication and interpersonal skills. I aim to create safe and inclusive environments during election observation missions of Agora Election Observation.
Maria Bayer
My name is Maria and I am half-Moroccan, half-German and I’m currently based in the United Kingdom. I hold a Master’s degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from Uppsala University. It is during my studies that I developed a keen interest in good governance and inclusive political processes as tools for preventing conflict and sustaining peace. In my past work and voluntary experiences I specialised in inclusive peace processes, in particular looking at the barriers and entry points for women and youth. In this work, I have also focused on politically motivated repression and sexual and gender-based violence.
I am currently a Junior Trainer at Youth Peace Ambassadors Network, where I am focusing on inclusive peacebuilding and mental wellbeing for youth activists. My objectives are to continue to work towards inclusive political processes that take diversity, intersectionality, and accessibility into account.
COMPLAINT MECHANISM
Oguzhan Urhan and Maria Bayer are not part of Agora Election Observation. They are independent from the organisation and will treat each complaint confidentially. They can assist in mediation amongst members of the EOM and propose someone to help with interpretation in case the Local authorities have to be informed or, if the complainant agrees, inform the Board of Agora Election Observation. They can take complaints until two weeks after the return of the observers from their respective deployments to Slovakia and Poland. After each mission they prepare an anonymous report stating whether there have been any cases reported and the overall number of cases.
Agora Election Observation would hereby like to thank Youth Peace Ambassadors Network for the collaboration!
