Structure

 

The Executive Board

The President and the Vice Presidents are elected by the Steering Committee for a mandate of 4 years.

 

Portrait of Benedetto Zacchiroli

Benedetto Zacchiroli

ECCAR-President, Representative from the City of Bologna (Italy)

Benedetto Zacchiroli was elected president of ECCAR in April 2015 for a mandate of four years. Reelected president of ECCAR in June 2019 for a second mandate of four years (2019-2023). At the Steering Committee 2023 in Wroclaw (Poland) he was reelected for a third mandate of four years (2023-2027).

 

 

Danijel Benjamin Cubelic

Danijel Benjamin Cubelic

Vice President, Representative from the City of Heidelberg (Germany)

Elected Vice-President in July 2020 for a mandate of four years. Danijel Benjamin Cubelic is Head of the Office of Equal Opportunities of the City of Heidelberg and teaches Diversity and Gender Studies at Heidelberg University and the Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University (DHBW). He studied Religious Studies, Islamic Studies and Cultural Anthropology in Heidelberg, Bochum, Damascus and Aleppo. From 2011 to 2017 he was a research fellow at the Center for Religious Studies at Ruhr University Bochum and the Department for the Study of Religions at Heidelberg University.

 

Ana Isabel Rodriguez Basanta

Ana Isabel Rodríguez Basanta

Vice President, Representative from the City of Barcelona (Spain)


Elected Vice President in December 2021 for a mandate of four years (2021-2025).
She is the director of the Department of the Citizen Rights Services in the City Council of Barcelona. Ana Isabel Rodríguez Basanta has developed her professional career mainly in public administration and has participated in or coordinated research projects in matters such as preventing violence in nightlife spaces, social construction and perception of insecurity, safety policies or community management of conflicts, among others. 

 

Dr. Ayfer Yazkan Kubal

Dr. Ayfer Yazkan Kubal

Vice President, Representative from the City of Kadıköy (Türkiye)


Elected Vice President in October 2022 for a mandate of four years. She is Head of EU-Foreign Affairs Commission at Kadıköy Municipality. Dr. Yazkan Kubal is graduate of Sankt Georg Österreichisches Kolleg in İstanbul and finished Economics and International Studies at the University of Warwick. After her PhD in Political Science, she worked as an academician and was elected as Municipality Councillor in Kadıköy District, Istanbul, Türkiye. 

 

Bartłomiej Ciążyński

Bartłomiej Ciążyński

Vice President, Deputy Mayor from the City of Wrocław (Poland)


Elected Vice President in October 2022. Lawyer and local government official. Since 2011 attorney-at-law, since 2018 Councilor of Wrocław and deputy chairman of the City Council, since 2019 Civic Advisor to the Mayor of Wrocław on Tolerance and Counteracting Xenophobia, originator and since 2021 co-chairman of The Wrocław Equal Treatment Council. 

 

 

The Office

The Coalition's office is based in the City of Heidelberg (Germany), as part of the city administration.

The tasks of the Office are i.a.:   

  • Acting as a liaison office and contact point for member cities and interested municipalities
  • Promoting communication among member cities and sharing of experiences and best practice examples for the implementation of the "Ten-Point-Plan of Action Against Racism"
  • Performing public relations and on- & offline communication for the Coalition
  • Supporting the national coalitions of cities against racism in the implementation of activities and campaigns against discrimination
  • Organising the whole activities, cultural and political events of the Coalition

 

 

Portrait of Evein Obulor

Evein Obulor

Evein Obulor is ECCAR director. With a background in Political Science, Peace and Conflict Studies her work is rooted in community building with a focus on antiracism. As director of ECCAR she shifted her focus towards the role of city administrations in the fight against racism. Today she is responsible for the work of the coalition as a whole and puts a specific focus on representation of BIPoC within institutions and the implementation of the UN Decade for People of African Descent.

 

Portrait of Jana Christ

Jana Christ

Jana Christ is ECCAR coordinator. With an academic background in education, migration and multilingualism she is responsible for the onboarding of new members, legal and financial management, the coordination of the ECCAR Working Group on antisemitism and the overall communication tasks of the coalition.

 

 

 

Portrait of Dr. Linda Hyökki

Dr. Linda Hyökki

Dr. Linda Hyökki is the coordinator of the ECCAR Working Group anti-Muslim racism. Her academic research work focuses on anti-Muslim racism, racialization, and Muslim converts. She also works as a freelance consultant for research and policy work in national and transnational projects. 

 

 

 

Portrait of Nils Vieten

Nils Vieten

Nils Vieten is ECCAR's financial manager and is responsible for ECCAR’s digital infrastructure. With a background in sociology and political science he is in charge of all legal and financial matters of the coalition and makes ECCAR’s digital infrastructure fit for the future, building a platform for meaningful internal and external exchange.

 

 

 

Portrait of Marie Paule N'Guessan

Marie Paule N'Guessan

After coordinating ECCAR’s Working Group on anti-Black racism, Marie Paule N´Guessan is now project manager for ECCAR’s project ACTION focussing on local action plans against racism. In addition she continues to coordinate the work of the Working Group on anti-Black racism and is responsible for the membership fee management. With a background in foreign languages and literatures, she has grown professionally in the past years in the social field working with civil societies organizations. 

 

 

 

The Steering Committee

The Steering Committee has the following tasks:

  • Deciding on the admission of cities as members of the Coalition
  • Suggesting the exclusion of member cities to the General Conference
  • Representing and promoting the Coalition and its goals at a European, international and regional level
  • Deciding on and preparing General Conferences and other conferences of the Coalition
  • Implementing decisions taken during the General Conferences
  • Preparing and facilitating medium and long term action programmes for the Coalition
  • Preparing and discussing the budgets and annual accounts
  • Forwarding the reports presented by the ECCAR members to the Scientific Secretariat for annual evaluation

The Steering Committee members are elected by all member cities for a mandate of four years. Some members serve as observers and scientific advisors.

Barcelona – Berlin – Bologna – Bonn – Bordeaux – Dortmund – Dunquerke –  Esch-sur-Alzette – Gent – Graz – Heidelberg – Kadikoy – Karlsruhe – Lausanne – Liège – Malmö – Monheim am Rhein – Nancy – Nizza – Nuremberg – Oslo – Rotterdam – Toulouse – Wroclaw & UNESCO

 

The General Conference


The General Conference is organized by ECCAR with the assistance of hosty city, institutional partners, civil society and local stakeholders. The Conference is centered on actual issues related to the objectives of ECCAR. Participants have the opportunity to showcase their experiences while creating spaces for discussion and dialogue.

 

The General Assembly

The ordinary General Assembly meets at least once a year. The General Assembly of member cities is competent to make all key decisions and elect ECCAR representatives and its Steering Committee for a period of 4 years.

 

The Scientific Advisory Council - SAC

The Scientific Advisory Council (SAC) of the Coalition comprises a representative of UNESCO and up to 3 Scientific Advisors. While UNESCO is a permanent member, the advisors are appointed by the Steering Committee. The SAC is coordinated by an appointed member of the Executive Board. The SAC may be supported by an institution suggested by a member city.

The tasks of the Scientific Advisory Council comprise the following:   

  • Responsible for the analysis and evaluation of the member cities’ reports: Evaluation of the implementation of the "10 Point Action Plan against Racism" on the basis of reports submitted by member cities on an biannual basis
  • The support and advice of the member cities of the implementation of the "10 Point Action Plan" and other related actions
  • Advises the Executive Board and the Steering Committee in the preparation of work programmes and in their implementation, as well as in all issues those bodies request for advice
  • May function as a research centre for ECCAR. In specific projects, the SAC carries out research or facilitates research upon decision by the Steering Committee