Partner universities
Project Team
Katarína Olšová
Katarína has been with Civic Concepts International for two years, while previously being active part in organizing past 4 conferences. She was one of the facilitators at the 10th IYLC, which was one of the most fulfilling experiences of her life. She is honored to serve as the Conference Director for the 12th International Youth Leadership Conference. Originally from Bratislava, Slovakia, Katarina has been living in Prague for five years now. She has studied in England and the USA and also spent some time working in Toronto and Paris. In England, she studied at the University of Reading where she began to focus on Conflict Resolution. Katarina received her Bachelor of Political Science and International Relations at the Charles University in Prague and is currently finishing the M.A. Political Science program. Katarina loves event organizing and working with people like you and she also has a passion for good music, dance and photography.
Penelope D. Frearson
Penny was a participant at the 6th IYLC and has been a facilitator at the 7th, 8th and 10th IYLCs… and loved every minute of them! She has completed a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and a Diploma of Modern Languages (Indonesian), at the University of Melbourne, and is currently studying for a Bachelor of Laws majoring in International Trade Law at the Australian National University in Canberra. Penny has worked on temporary contract with the Canadian Federalism Research Group from Dalhousie University, has edited and contributed to the Oxford Companion to Australian Politics (2007) at the University of Melbourne and has worked alongside the Australian Strategic Policy Institute on research pertaining to counter-insurgency and post-conflict reconstruction. Along with her law degree, she is currently working as the executive research assistant to the Director of the Australian Institute of Criminology, for the Australian Department of Justice and Customs. She will be married in May 2007, and after completing her law degree, will move to the United States with her husband and looks forward to continuing her public service in areas of strategy and defence there.
Naeem Formuli
Naeem Formuli was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. He participated in the IYLC in winter2005 and worked as a facilitator in the summer IYLC 2005. Naeem is a student of Law and International Relations at the Coventry University in the UK. He is currently studying his final year as an exchange student at the University of Hague in the Netherlands. This summer Naeem worked as an intern at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan. Naeem is very interested in international affairs and this year founded a society of International Relations at the Coventry University, which helped him to win an award of excellence from his University.
Fatima Khakwani
Fatima Khakwani is from Pakistan and is currently pursuing an MBA degree at Quaid-e-Azam University Islamabad. Her time in Germany and at the Insight: Dubai Women’s Conference, reinforced her belief that travel is the best form of education. Conferences like these not only promote a healthy exchange of ideas, but also change us for the better. Her involvement with the Youth Ministry of Pakistan inspired her dream is to start a Civic Concepts International project in Pakistan so that the youth there can also benefit. Fatima believes that the IYLC is a turning point in your life and she hopes that all of you will internalize the lessons learned and skills acquired to emerge as a brilliant future world leader!
Lauren Kettler
Lauren received her B.S. and M.A. from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts where she studied Political Science and Communication Studies. Although she is originally from the United States, she has spent the last year living in Dublin, Ireland while working on a graduate degree at the University of Dublin, Trinity College. She believes her experience as a participant in the 5th IYLC in the summer of 2003 changed her life, as it was a key element inspiring her to further her education in international politics. Lauren came back to Prague to be a facilitator for the 8th, 9th and 10th conferences. Her current research focuses on political party systems in Central Eastern Europe. When Lauren isn’t thinking or reading about politics, she loves good music and traveling anywhere. She is also slowly trying to learn how to cook…with the goal of trying not to burn anything!
William Webster
William is one of the founders and Executive Director of Civic Concepts International, where he oversees international youth projects. After working with youth from Congressional Youth Leadership Council, he brought with him from Washington DC the idea of starting a youth leadership campaign in Central Europe based on multicultural understanding and the promotion of democratic ideas. William founded the International Youth Leadership Conference and Civic Concepts International as a way to make this initiative a reality.