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Bureau
of Educational and Cultural Affairs State Alumni Member of the Month - June 2008
Kristina Prunerova, an alumna of the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) from the Czech Republic, has cultivated a career around supporting democracy and promoting human rights throughout Europe and the world. After participating in the IVLP in 2006, Prunerova assumed a new position in the recently founded European Foundation for Democracy through Partnership (EFDP), where she plays an even more influential role in advocating human rights worldwide. Prunerova served as a human rights officer for the Czech NGO, People in Need (PIN), and also as the Secretary of the International Center for Democracy in Cuba (ICDC). As Prunerova assumed a new position at EFDP in 2008, she played an even more influential role in advocating human rights worldwide. EFDP was launched on April 15, 2008, in Brussels by European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, former Mozambique President Joaquim Chissano, and former Czech President Václav Havel. EFDP combines fifteen European civil society organizations to share their experiences in promoting social justice democracy and respect for human rights and to assist countries where democracy and basic rights are still neglected. As an independent European foundation, EFDP aims to contribute to the advancement and strengthening of democracy outside the European Union (EU), and to complement existing EU democracy assistance programs. Following her IVLP, Prunerova participated actively in the “Supporting Change” workshop on democracy promotion sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Prague in March 2007, and led the breakout group during the workshop that focused on Cuba. Before joining EFDP, Prunerova served as a human rights officer for People In Need, and also as the Secretary of ICDC. ICDC was founded by former Czech president and human rights champion, Václav Havel, as an international organization striving to build political support for Cuban democracy. ICDC members include former U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright and numerous current and former leaders of many European and Latin American countries. As one of the most active leaders of PIN, Prunerova cooperated on human rights projects with other NGOs and engaged many fellow Czech alumni who are NGO activists to further the cause of human rights and related issues. In both her current and past positions, Prunerova has striven to inform fellow alumni about human rights activities and activism.
Prunerova’s IVLP experience provided her with new knowledge and insights that she is able to utilize and apply in her new position in EFDP. As an official of EFDP, Prunerova is responsible for mapping existing European democracy assistance in target regions, promoting cooperation among associated organizations working in the target region and establishing contact with local partners. After initial research, she organizes working visits to selected post-soviet states to meet with local stakeholders and gather potential project proposals. After the board of directors selects projects for funding, she is responsible for the project supervision and evaluation. Prunerova's work at EFDP focuses largely on civil society projects in transitioning democracies, where EU and other funding becomes available too slowly, as well as on humainitarian projects and rule of law projects in post-conflict areas. Through her work, Prunerova is able to utilize the concepts and strategies of democracy promotion and approaches to dealing with various groups of dissidents and activists that she witnessed and explored as part of her IVLP exchange. Prunerova’s assignment as an official in EFDP highlights her indefatigable advocacy for democracy and recognizes the meaningful contributions she has made thus far in promoting human rights. Her continued work in this field promises to make additional contributions towards building democracies abroad and promoting human rights around the world. As Václav Havel wrote, "The salvation of this human world lies nowhere else than in the human heart, in the human power to reflect, in human meekness and human responsibility." Prunerova has made that responsibility her own by devoting her life's work to championing basic human rights and values in places in the world where people cannot take them for granted.
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