Mariam (masha) Dzneladze

About me

I am a Green activist from Georgia who joined the Green movement in 2012. Initially, I volunteered for the Georgian Young Greens and the Cooperation and Development Network (CDN) and later joined the CDN Secretariat. I have also worked in other organisations and movements and carried out training on a variety of topics. However, I feel most passionate about cities, which I explored actively with the CDN’s Alternative Urbanisation Working Group, as well as my free time. I am also very interested in exploring organisations and movements as one living organism – finding the avenues for improving work, processes and strategies to better fight for a common Green future.

My skills

Strategic planning, strategic analysing, conflict management, NFE event planning, developing publications, developing project proposals

Why you should work with me

During my experience in CDN, I learnt a lot about making the NFE event as inclusive and intersectional as possible. It starts with the preparations – the organisational/preparational team should get to know each other then plan the activity programme in detail. Everyone should be allowed to express themselves and contribute but should know why there is a trainer at the event and what is expected from him/her. I like to give an update on the progress of the sessions and ask additional questions if they crop up. The event should be a balanced combination of fun and interesting and useful content. I believe the NFE is a Green value/practice as it is inclusive and horizontal. My favourite methodologies include role paying, world cafe, fishbowl and case studies. I also like to explore new methodologies and games on different platforms, like SALTO-YOUTH and modify them to the event I am organising. I think it is important to collect feedback from the participants and make changes according to their needs and relevant comments.

My work experiences

I worked in many spheres before joining the Greens. I started exploring the NFE when I joined Georgia’s Young Greens in 2012. I attended several CDN and FYEG seminars and tried to make my own, knowledge sharing events for the organisation’s peers. I was active in the Alternative Urbanisation Working Group and joined the CDN Executive Committee where my journey to get closer to NFE theory began as I observed and participated in different preparatory teams for CDN events. As a volunteer, I was part of the prep team for the international training for trainers – Urban Steps for resilient future – and the Caucasus regional training that followed. In 2019, I was part of prep team for the Youth and the City event organised by the CDN and GEF in Prague. Before I joined the CDN secretariat, I worked at Youth and Environment Europe where I also organised several events, then, in 2020, I set up an international seminar on artivism – Digitising youth ar/ctivism. I worked on the Ar for the Young, the Queer, the Feminists and Outsmarting the Paradigm projects which were held online – this experience was challenging but valuable as it taught me how to engage participants, even though Zoom calls might not be the friendliest space for this. I also really enjoyed exploring the GEF's online learning platform and the opportunities it provides.

My education & training

I participated in the following international events:

My references

Luka Gudek - Green European Foundation, Project Coordinator

Sophio Mchedlishvili - Green Forum Sweden, Project Coordinator