Juan Francisco Suarez, Project Assistant (Joint Position with Coglobal)

Granada, Spain

Juan Francisco has a high interest in the reinforcement and protection of democracy when facing the current historical time and threats, using innovative participatory tools and approaches, and giving a greater role to advocates and practitioners of the third sector in providing skills and knowledge to public authorities. Currently, as a joint staff member based at the organization Coglobal, Juan Francisco supports the implementation of the capacity-building activities of the Nets4Dem project, which is establishing a European-wide network of advocates, practitioners, policymakers, and researchers in the field of participatory and deliberative democracy.

He grew up in rural southern Spain, which gave him the perspective of the high importance and usefulness of participatory approaches to tackle problems like depopulation and the disappearance of quality public services and social opportunities at the local level. His academic background is in Law and Political Science at the University of Granada. He holds a Master's in Project Management from Social Change School (a private entity specialized in training third-sector professionals in Europe) specializing in EU projects. His professional background comprises experience in the design, management, and implementation of EU-funded projects, including from indirect management programs (ERDF, ESF+, and Next Generation) and direct management ones (Horizon, CERV, Creative Europe, Erasmus+. Interreg, and URBACT). 

When he is not working, Juan Francisco plays tennis, reads a nice book, or studies a new program to learn new things continuously.