Hi, I'm Liza Saris
I'm the Project Manager for Connecting Europe, a joint initiative by the European Policy Centre and Stiftung Mercator aimed at connecting civil society organizations with the Brussels policy community. We organise events and analyse relevant policy developments for CSO's in Europe. I'm particularly interested in civil society resilience and its role of defending democracy.
Before joining the EPC, I coordinated several EU-funded projects with grassroots civil society to stimulate transnational civic collaboration and engagement across Europe. I gained my initial professional experience as a program assistant for the Jean-Monnet Centre of Excellence - Amsterdam Centre for European Studies at the University of Amsterdam, and as a freelance (policy) researcher for various CSOs based in Brussels.
I’m driven by my curiosity and interest in civil society and public policy. I find energy and joy in making connections, building networks and bringing together communities and stakeholders to drive social change.
Holding roles as a facilitator, project manager, activist, and researcher, I've gained wide experience in supporting movements in civil society. With my hands-on attitude, I empower, mobilize and connect people. I thrive in new challenges, building communities, coordinating long-term strategies, and building projects from scratch. My generalist knowledge allows me to quickly dive into new issues and topics.
I grew up in Amsterdam, lived in Berlin, and finally in 2022 moved to Barcelona where I'm currently residing while working in Brussels. Take a look at 'projects' for an overview of my project portfolio and at the 'Blog' page for a selection of my published articles.
reach me on LinkedIn or by email
lizasaris(at)gmail(dot)com
I believe that enabling people to become active citizens and do good in the world, is the key to building a strong civil society.
I support projects and ideas to reach their goals without losing sight of the process. In this way, we can maximize the impact of the project, not only by looking at the results but also by learning during the process.
I get energized by conversations about (European) democracy, (online) civil society, national identities, migration, and citizenship.
It's with my positive attitude that I mobilize and connect people. I get excited by multicultural environments, political activism, and organizing grassroots communities.
With my capacity to learn new skills and topics quickly , I've been able to connect to many different issues related to the development of civil society.
Services
Community building
Production (event & project)
Strategy Advice
Project coordination
(policy) Research
Facilitation
Moderation
Project process development
Strategic campaigning
Application/fundraising writing