Global civil society alliance CIVICUS was pleased to announce the new elected CIVICUS board during the International Civil Society Week - ICSW in Serbia, 8 -12 April 2019. Two new Board members were appointed. They will join our current board from June 2019 in helping to steer and govern the CIVICUS Alliance from July 2019 to December 2020.
Betty Barkha
Betty Barkha is from the Fiji Islands and has been involved in development for over 10 years in Asia and the Pacific. She is currently the youngest serving member on the board of directors of the Association of Women in Development (AWID), an advisor with FRIDA Young Feminist Fund and a member of the Women Deliver Young Leaders Program. She is a passionate advocate on human rights, gender, peace and security and climate action. Betty holds a Masters of Arts in Sociology and is currently pursuing a PhD at Monash University on the gendered impacts of climate induced migration for Pacific island states.
Serap Altinisik
Serap Altinisik is a passionate intersectional-feminist activist. She is the Head of Office and EU Representative of Plan International, and previously held the position of Programme Director at the European Women’s Lobby (EWL), leading their Fundraising & Programme Strategy. Serap started as Fundraising and Policy Coordinator at EWL, where she successfully led the 50/50 Campaign “No modern Democracy without Gender Equality” across Europe which aimed to achieve equal representation of women and men in decision-making and power positions within the EU institutions, as well as co-founded the EU Civil Society Network (CSOs FPN). Serap is convinced that girls' and women’s rights can only become reality when young women’s power, young women activism and leadership are at the core of our endeavours for a just and equal world.
CIVICUS board elections run in a way that half of the Board of Directors’ positions are up for election every 18 months. Each board member serves a three-year term, limited to two consecutive terms. This rotation ensures continuity on the board and in our decision-making processes.
Betty Barkha and Serap Altinisik join existing CIVICUS Board Members who were elected for another term: Amitabh Behar (India), Dr. Daisy N. Owomugasho (Uganda), Julia Sanchez (Canada), Lorenzo Marsili (Italy), Guillermo Correa (Argentina), Jesse Chen (United States), Nilda Bullain (Hungary), Patricia J. Lerner (United States), Nyaradzo Mashayamombe (Zimbabwe), Sebastian Vielmas (Chile), Ziya Guliyev (Azerbaijan).
We wish to thank outgoing board members Anabel Cruz and Oyebisi Babatunde Oluseyi, who will conclude their terms in June 2019, for their leadership and dedication to the CIVICUS Alliance over the past years.
