For the upcoming EOM Spain on 20 December 2015 we have decided to choose three Mission coordinators. These very talented and experienced enthusiasts are already working on the last AEGEE Election Observation EOM in 2015. Meet Dessi and Ivaylo!
Dessi Hristova
My name is Dessi Hristova and I am 34 years old. I am from Bulgaria, but since 2011 I moved to London. Since then I have been involved as a volunteer in helping the Bulgarian embassy in London and Bulgarian communities mainly in the UK with organisation and logistics of polling stations for Bulgarian elections. During this time I was also in the shoes of Elections observer and a Campaigner.
I graduated in European Studies from the University of Sofia and have spent an academic year at the University of Oxford. I worked with Open Society Institute Sofia on various projects including developing the second CIVICUS Civil Society Index. As a member of Transparency International UK Defence and Security team, I was involved in devising two editions of the Defence Companies Anti-Corruption Index. I also volunteer for the Royal Society for Blind People in London.
I am excited to plunge into this new challenge of being Mission coordinator for the AEGEE Election Observation Mission in Spain and hope to be able to contribute to its success.
Ivaylo Pentchev
Hola! Soy Ivaylo Pentchev – 33 – Bulgarian born and South African raised, with a BA in International Communication from the Netherlands and an MA in Global Studies earned in Poland and Austria. Back in the early 2000's I was a President of the local chapter of AEGEE in my university. I have just returned from the European Union EOM to Tanzania (2015), and I participated in the African Union EOM to the Sudan (2015), worked as national staff in the OSCE/ODIHR LEOM to Bulgaria (2014) and independently observed the 2012 General Elections in Timor-Leste as a part of my master thesis research. I also actively participate in domestic election observation in Bulgaria under the auspice of a Human Rights NGO. Observing in a consolidated democracy will be a new experience for me, but the rules for free and fair elections are universal, so I hope to be quite useful as Mission Coordinator in the AEGEE EOM to Spain.