Meridian Welcomes Inaugural Class of Social Innovation Fellows

On May 4, 2015, Meridian International Center welcomed the first group of the Meridian Social Innovation Fellowship to Washington, D.C. The eight Fellows - who hail from Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain - are global problem-solvers who bring together networks and resources to solve critical challenges facing their organizations, communities, and countries. Meridian has brought together this distinguished group to drive ground-breaking advancements in the fields of youth and women empowerment, cultural integration, entrepreneurship, science, technology, and education. The 2015 Meridian Fellows are:

• Julie Pascoet - Policy Officer, European Network Against Racism(Verviers, Belgium): Ms Pascoet’s project, translated to “Citizens of My City”, will provide a space and a network to empower women’s participation and encourage greater social integration.
• Alberto di Minin, Ph.D - Associate Professor of Management, Scuola Sant’Anna di Pisa and Italian Delegate, Horizon 2020(Pisa, Italy): Mr. di Minin’s project – TalentEurope – will contribute to economic recovery in Italy and the EU by promoting STEM education and investment in start-ups.
• Diva Tommei, Ph.D. - CEO of Solencia; Board Member, Global Shapers Rome, World Economic Forum; and Mentor, Startup Weekend Rome (Rome, Italy): Ms. Tommei is creating LOVE, ROMA to establish free Wi-Fi hotspots across Rome to engage citizens, immigrants, and youth in larger efforts to foster social inclusion and economic recovery.
• Rowinda Appelaman - Advisor, Youth Atlantic Treaty Association; Member, NATO Emerging Leaders Working Group; and President, Dutch Atlantic Youth Association (Amsterdam, Netherlands): Ms. Appelman’s project Language4Language will engage Amsterdam’s vibrant expat community, leveraging social, cultural, and community programs to provide language lessons for immigrant youth in some of Amsterdam’s most impoverished communities.
• Tamara Steen - Assistant Coordinator, IMC Weekend School (Utrect, Netherlands): Ms. Steen’s project Future For Life picks up where other supplemental education programs for at-risk youth leave off. Targeting 14-18 year-olds, this on-line community will prepare youth for job readiness and engage alumni to give back.
• Mateusz Malyska - Co-Founder, Center for Youth Information and Development and Website Coordinator, Lublin.ngo.pl, Sempre a Frente Foundation (Lublin, Poland): Mr. Malyska has already created the Center for Youth Education and Development.Via the Fellowship, Mr. Malyska aims to improve the structured dialogue between young people and decision makers and coordinate the collection of information on youth policy across the country.
• Cristina Aranda Gutierrez: Independent Communications and Marketing Consultant (Madrid, Spain): Ms. Gutierrez leads ʺMujeres en la Tecnologíaʺ, a consortium of technology corporations and experts that seeks to foment the presence of women in IT companies and the creation of start-ups by women entrepreneurs.
• Javier Garcia Rodrigo - Lead, Strategic Innovation Policy, Telefonica Innovation and Leaders for Strategy, Communications and Partnership, JuntoSalimos.org (Madrid Spain): Mr. Rodrigo wants to take online platform JuntoSalimos to the next level, democratizing access for early-stage entrepreneurs, providing resources, and connecting them with a network of supporters.