Elena Maccioni: About me...
I am an EU policy specialist with a particular interest in rural development in its wider definition of social and economic development. I am particularly motivated by making EU and national level policy plans accessible to stakeholders and creating the best conditions for high-level policy-makers to understand real local needs and points of view.
I have 5 years’ experience in networking at the EU level and analysis of European agricultural policy. I have used and developed my skills in policy analysis and reporting, and also developed a crucial sense for how the European Commission and EU policy works behind the Regulations.
As a networker, I have enjoyed developing creative approaches to the organisation of events, workshops and activities for stakeholder involvement and am experienced in the moderation of discussion groups and organisation of events.
An Italian national, I started my career in Rome at a local commercial company and at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. This helped me to understand that my place was 'somewhere in between those two experiences': I want to work for Europe with a foot on the ground and a foot in Brussels, land of high-level policy.
I believe that policy improvement should start with stakeholder consultation and that networking at European level is a key tool to spread the knowledge already gathered by policy-makers and local stakeholders.