The Gender Talk: Symposium on Advancing Comprehensive Sexuality Education and Gender-Based Violence Prevention in Europe

Ashlee Burnett-Beatrice

Global Lead, Comprehensive Sexuality Education, International Planned Parenthood Federation

Ashlee Burnett-Beatrice is a Queer Caribbean educator, organiser, and researcher, serving as IPPF’s Global Lead on Comprehensive Sexuality Education, leading on CSE partnerships, evidence generation, and supporting MA-led initiatives like the Center of Excellence on CSE to deliver innovative programmes and youth-centered care. She holds an MSc Education Policy and International Development from the University of Bristol and has been awarded the Colin Robinson Hard Head Award for transformational activism in Trinidad and Tobago.Her work focuses on gender justice, gender-transformative education, and meaningful intergenerational partnership.

Nuria Casablanca

CESIE ETS

Nuria holds a degree in Pharmacy and has over 8 years of experience in health sector management. She later specialised in international cooperation and health, focusing on EU-funded social welfare projects. Her expertise includes health education, mental health promotion, drug-use prevention, gender equality, gender-based violence prevention, and comprehensive sexual education. Nuria is a native speaker of Spanish and Catalan, and she also speaks English, Italian, and basic Portuguese. She is recognised for her organizational skills, proactive approach, and commitment to fostering equity, innovation, and meaningful impact in health and social development initiatives.

María Alonso

Élan Interculturel

María Alonso is an expert in project management, gender studies, and interculturality, distinguished by her academic and professional experiences across multiple countries and cultural contexts. She is currently completing a Master’s degree in Human Rights at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya while working as a Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) trainer and Project Manager at Élan Interculturel in Paris. María holds degrees in International Relations and Economics from Universidad Loyola, where she specialized in women’s rights and minorities, with a particular focus on the Middle East. Her academic research includes a thesis on Palestinian liberation women leaders and another on gender disparities in the Spanish labor market. She broadened her expertise through studies at Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth, as well as learning experiences in the USA and Ireland.

Salomé Darrigrand

Élan Interculturel

Co-founder of the feminist association Brûlant.e.s and educator in sexual and emotional well-being, as well as gender equality, Salomé Darrigrand combines diverse professional experiences with a solid academic background. Holding a Master’s degree in Human Sciences and Gender Studies from Université Bordeaux Montaigne, she has dedicated over five years to designing and implementing educational programs addressing gender-based violence, equality, and comprehensive sexual education. Salomé has extensive expertise in providing guidance and raising awareness on topics including gender equality, sexuality, emotional relationships, violence prevention, and activism. She has collaborated with various organizations, including ADRIC and Crips Île-de-France, and has led cultural and feminist tours with Feminists in the City. Her work encompasses designing educational content, facilitating artistic mediation workshops, and managing European projects.

Lina Januškevičiūtė

Diversity Development Group

Lina Januškevičiūtė is a sexuality education and human rights educator who actively works in non-formal education with both adult and adolescent groups. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and two master’s degrees – in Developmental Psychology from the Netherlands and School Psychology from Lithuania. Currently, she leads the non-governmental organization House of Diversity Education, where she conducts training and educational sessions on sexuality education, human rights, gender equality, violence prevention, and LGBTQIA topics. Together with her organizational colleagues, she develops methodological tools, coordinates local and international projects. Lina also represents sexuality education topics in the Vilnius City Municipality Human Rights Commission.

Anna Riga

The Square Dot Team

Anna Riga is an experienced special education teacher with a decade of dedication to empowering students with diverse learning needs. Her expertise in developing inclusive educational strategies has made a significant impact on the lives of many young learners. She holds her Bachelor degree in Linguistics from the National Kapodistrian University of Athens and her Master degree in ICTs in Special Education from Dimocritus University of Thrace and the scientific research centre Demokritus. Anna speaks Greek as a mother language, English, German and understands French. Anna is committed to ensuring that every individual, regardless of their abilities, has access to quality education tailored to their unique needs.

Elena Alfageme Villalaín

InteRed

Elena holds a Degree in History, a Degree in Social and Cultural Anthropology, a Master’s Degree in International Solidarity Action and Social Inclusion and a Expert Degree in Public Policy, Justice and Women’s Autonomy. Elena has worked in the international cooperation for development and humanitarian action field for more than 15 years in Spain, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Lebanon, Jordan, Peru and Bolivia, managing teams and projects on human rights, gender equality, women’s rights, coeducation and prevention of gender based violence. She has also experience in the field of Transformative education. She is feminist, curious, committed to continuous learning and fostering equity, social justice and diversity from an intersectional approach. Elena is a native speaker of Spanish, and she also speaks English, and basic French, Portuguese, German and Arabic. She is currently the Gender Responsible for InteRed, ensuring gender mainstreaming in the organization, and leading innovative gender and feminism inspired projects and actions.

Alba Gómez Gil

InteRed

Alba holds a Degree in International Relations, a Master’s Degree in International Solidarity Action and Social Inclusion and a Master’s Degree in Sexology and Gender by the Sexpol Foundation and Nebrija University, where she is a teacher since 2020 in charge of the subjects “Human rights and sexual rights”, “Comprehensive Sexuality Education” and “Migrations and sexuality”. Alba has worked in the international cooperation for development field in several African and South American countries, managing projects regarding the promotion of Human Rights, women empowerment and the prevention of gender and sexual-based violence (including Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), forced and child marriage, etc.). She is the co-founder of ¡AClaSex! , a Comprehensive Sexuality Education project based in Madrid, providing sex-education workshops to students, educators and families. As a consultant and trainer, Alba also works for different entities and companies facilitating training and workshops aimed at the promotion of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

Laura Fernández Río

InteRed

Laura has a degree in Marketing and Market Research, a Master’s degree in International Cooperation from the Complutense University of Madrid, a diploma in Humanitarian Action and a specialisation in International Cooperation Projects. Laura has experience as a gender project technician in the Spanish Cooperation Agency in Colombia, where she worked on projects aimed at the prevention of GBV, women’s economic autonomy and the promotion of comprehensive sexual health. She currently works at InteRed, where she manages Transformative education projects.

Chrysoula Iliopoulou

Symplexis

Chrysoula (Chrys) Iliopoulou is a Sex Therapist. Born and raised in Amaliada, Greece, she finished her undergraduate studies in Psychology at Panteion University,Athens and her graduate studies in Social Work (MSW) and Sex Therapy (MEd) at Widener University, Chester, PA, USA. She has worked in Greece and the US academically on designing and implementing trainings for teachers, educators, and health professionals and clinically across the spectrum of sexual functioning and pleasure. Her expertise lies on sexual orientation, gender identity and alternative sexualities – BDSM and Consensual Non-Monogamy. She currently works as a clinician in her private offices in Athens and Amaliada treating individuals, couples and families. She is a member of Orlando LGBTQ, a Greek professional organization focusing on stigma-free mental health services, as well as the World Association for Sexual Health (WAS) and the American Association for Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT).

Sofia Constantinou

Center for Social Innovation

Holding a bachelor’s degree in Law and an LLM in International Law, Sofia seamlessly integrates her legal acumen with her passion for social life improvement. Her work is driven by a commitment to advancing gender equality, empowering youth, and promoting inclusive education across Europe. As seasoned project manager with a robust background in European projects and policy frameworks, she managed projects and drafted proposals for EU funded programs such as CERV, ISF, Erasmus+ KA2/3 and Youth. Her experience includes developing educational resources, organizing non-formal education workshops with diverse stakeholders, and synthesizing data into impactful strategies. Previously, Sofia served in roles at the European Commission, contributing to programs like Erasmus+ and Europass, where she honed her expertise in policy implementation, stakeholder coordination, and project deliverables.

Dr. Nahia Idoiaga Mondragon

UPV/EHU

Dr. Nahia Idoiaga Mondragon holds the PhD in psychology, degrees in psychology and educational psychology and two master’s degrees (Teachers Training & Research Methodology). Framed on social and educational psychology she has researched and published impact articles on topics related to socio-educational inclusion, education and feminism. In the field of research, she is part of the research group KideON. She is also part of several projects, most of them European funded, working on gender issues. At a teaching level, she is professor in the Department of Evolutionary Psychology and Education and in her teaching subjects is implementing innovative methods. She is also Vice-Dean of Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Final Degree Projects at the Faculty of Education in Bilbao.

Dr. Idoia Legorburu Fernandez

UPV/EHU

Dr. Idoia Legorburu Fernandez is a graduate in Early Childhood Education and Psychopedagogy. PhD from the University of the Basque Country (2022) with international mention and UPV/EHU’s Extraordinary Doctoral Award 2022. She has been a Therapeutic Pedagogist for 10 years and is currently a lecturer in the Department of Didactics and School Organisation at the Faculty of Education of Bilbao. In terms of research, she is a member of the Kideon research group. She has participated in several research projects on various topics related to education, such as inclusive education and child autonomy, some of them European. She has also participated in several innovation projects.

Sergio Villanueva Baselga

University of Barcelona

Sergio Villanueva Baselga is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Information and Media at the University of Barcelona (Spain) and the research coordinator for the Barcelona-based NGO StopSIDA, one of Spain’s leading organizations in the fight against HIV/AIDS. His research focuses on the intersection of language, media, and the formation of collective identities, encompassing three main research lines: the study of sexual health identities and stigma and their articulation through media representations; the exploration of how young people construct their sexual identities through media; and the analysis of the representation and uses of the past in shaping collective identities. Much of his research adopts a transdisciplinary approach, allowing him to publish extensively in journals across diverse fields, including Humanities, Social Sciences, and Public Health. He has authored over twenty articles in high-impact journals, contributed more than ten book chapters, and coordinated an edited book and three special journal issues. He also leads various research projects at regional, national, and European levels.

Alessandro Polidoro

Stop the Data Porn

Alessandro Polidoro is an attorney and digital rights advocate experienced in tech law, criminal law and digital forensics. As an independent lawyer, he collaborates with diverse NGOs and law firms across Europe, Africa, and North America, being responsible for cases related to privacy, cybercrimes and the protection of workers’ rights. A core focus of his work is providing legal protection against hate crimes and gender-based violence, particularly in cases of image-based sexual abuse. Alessandro’s work also involves lobbying for more comprehensive and effective policy measures to ensure digital human rights are safeguarded under international law. He actively engages with both the public and policymakers through public speaking and writing to raise awareness about the ethical implications of technology on society and individual freedoms.

Rūta Grigaliūnaitė

CESIE ETS

Rūta Grigaliūnaitė is an experienced Project Manager, Researcher, and Proposal Developer with over 10 years of expertise in Comprehensive Sexuality Education, violence prevention, gender issues, and fostering inclusive societies. Throughout her career, she has worked with various Non-Governmental Organisations across Europe (Italy, Portugal, Lithuania) and internationally (Georgia, Cambodia, Brazil), managing both technical and administrative aspects of projects. She holds a BA in Cultural Management from Vilnius University in Lithuania and an MA in Human Rights and Conflict Management from Scuola Sant’Anna in Pisa in Italy. Recently, she has concluded the CREA Disability, Sexuality, and Rights Online Institute, where she focused on the intersections of disability, gender, and sexuality, with an emphasis on perspectives from the Global South. Native speaker of Lithuanian, fluent in English, Italian, and with a working knowledge of Russian and Portuguese, she is able to engage effectively in diverse multicultural and international environments. Currently at CESIE, she is involved in the management board of the SexSense network. She also serves as the Child Protection and Gender and Diversity Officer at CESIE and is a coordinator of the LoveAct project.