Dialoguing Youth Event: More about the workshops
Workshop leader
- Elaine Christiansen
- Dietrich Doerl
- Verena Fellner
- Christoph Floner
- Aniko Kaposvari
- Kathrin Kordon
- Eva Lepold
- Matthias Melber
- Nathan Spees
- Patrizia Tonin
Elaine Christiansen
Elaine Christiansen was born and grew up in the USA in a Norwegian family. Moved to Norway when she was 14. Took her final exams and attended the first year at the university in Oslo.
Studied social anthropology (ethnology) in Vienna. Field Studies in the former Zaire.
Has been working within adult education since 1988 (language training, group training, conceptual design and execution of integration classes), occasionally works as an interpreter and translator, approved mediator, participation at the summer school of diversity at the university of Vienna.
She lives in Vienna, is married and has a young white sheppard dog. Music, literature, good food with good friends and walks in the forest with the dog are her favorite pastimes.
Dietrich Dörl
Dietrich Dörl is 43 years old, married, a father of two and lives in Vienna.
He studied agriculture at the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences in Vienna, as well as Protestant Theology at the universities of Vienna and Hamburg. He holds a degree in Protestant Theology from the University of Hamburg and the Baptist Theological Seminary in Elstal.
Dietrich Dörl has worked part and full time with young people since 1989. Within that framework, he has organised international youth travels to South Africa, Zimbabwe, France and the U.S. As an executive secretary of the European Baptist Youth Work he has been able to collect international moderating experience. He has organised several European Youth Secretary Conferences since 1994, the last of which was hosted by him in Vienna in 2008.
He has furthermore guided and assisted foreign trainees from affiliate churches in South Africa and the U.S. Dietrich Dörl is the Austrian Partnership Coordinator for the Baptist General Convention of Texas and the Baptist General Assembly of Virginia.
As a youth pastor of the Austrian Baptists he has collected workshop experience during his 15 years of instructing large and small groups within the frameworks of religious education and developmental psychology.
He is also an authorised DISC trainer with experience as a course instructor (DISC is a model for personality profiling available in 28 languages, see www.persolog.com) and a supervisor-in-training (ÖVS).
Verena Fellner
Mag. Verena Fellner lives in Lower-Austria and works at FHWien University of Applied Sciences of WKW as a lecturer and as a scientific officer in the centre of excellence for e-learning. The conceptual design, a realization of blended-learning trainings for students and lecturers, is a considerable part of her job. Verena Fellner provides good skills in French and is fluent in German and English.
Besides teaching adolescents and adults, she has been an honorary scout leader since 1999 in her free time guiding kids, teenagers and young adults. Due to her training of adult and youth education for PPOE, Verena Fellner has a great deal of experience in planning, organising and conducting workshops, seminars and camps for both audiences as well as high skills in experiential education and teamwork. Furthermore, Verena Fellner is a Coach-in-training and will graduate in 2009.
Mag. (FH) Christoph Floner
Born 1969 in Lower Austria.
Community- and Social Worker focused on developing innovative (social) projects, urban development and Groupwork
Cooperation with and leading of different community work projects, e.g. IKAP (Interkultureller Kommunaler Aktionsplan| EQUAL project to increase the chances of people with migrational background on the employment market) or „e-werkstatt handelskai 214“ (participation project with inhabitants of a municipal building).
Years of experience in the work with people with handicaps and mental diseases.
Board Member of the association „living books – Miteinander reden statt übereinander“.
Organizer of the events „living books – Die Lebende Bibliothek“
Father of two children (13 and 10 years old).
Dr.in Aniko Kaposvari
Mediator, trainer on human rights Education, peace education, conflict resolution, intercultural communication, Playback Theater. She graduated in Social politics in Budapest, and in doctor stadium of cultural studies in Klagenfurt. She has been part of several international projects aiming to reduce discrimination against children from minorities as well as to reduce discrimination in the educational system and to strengthen human rights on a classroom level.
Her field of experience is working with children, teachers, public officers, schools and communities in Hungary and many South-East European countries. Since 2002 she lives in Vienna. The main focus of her work are projects aiming to provide better chances for Migrants in the Austrian labor-market as well mediating and teaching intercultural mediation. She is board member of the International Playback Theater Network.
Mag. Kathrin Kordon
Supervision, coaching and organisational development
Language and communication training
University assistant
Consultant for supervision, coaching and organisational development
Coach for speech and communication training
University assistant
Kathrin Kordon studied English and French with a focus on applied linguistics. She worked at the University Language Centre in Vienna both on the administrative and conceptual levels and became the head of it in 2004. She conducted several university projects and was a teacher of English and French at various educational institutions. She completed a postgraduate study programme on “Supervision and Coaching” at the University of Vienna and acquired additional qualification in Psychodynamic Organisational Development. She is currently working as a university assistant while pursuing her PhD at the Department of English at the University of Vienna. Kathrin Kordon is also a teacher for intercultural communication at the MODUL University Vienna as well as a professional coach and supervisor.
Eva Lepold
Studies of English and French with focus on language, culture and cognition in Vienna, Manchester (UK) and Montpellier (F). Since 2003, working both in Yin (introverted aspect), by translating books and working in graphic design, and Yang (extraverted aspect) by teaching in the field of experiential and outdoor education, and by performing and choreographing expressive dance, primarily Japanese Butoh dance.
Her interest focuses on the borderline between the visible and invisible, between thought and outward expression, between the individual, the cultural and the universal; and above all on our ability to change and to transform ourselves and our relationship with others.
Her approach used includes outdoor methods, bodywork, concentration exercises, games, creative techniques and improvisation.
Matthias Melber
Matthias Melber lives in Vienna and works as a Trainer for social learning, social skills and team training with schools since 2004.
He has worked several times in the past with the Vienna International School on these topics. He has planned and organized camps and meetings for young people from all around the world.
Matthias Melber works with teenagers who are former cancer–patients on projects for psycho-social education and on citybound projects which are about getting to know Vienna and its inhabitants in an alternative way.
When not on project weeks with schools and young people and when not working on citybound - projects he works as a guitar teacher in Vienna.
Mr. Melber speaks English and German.
Nathan Spees
Nathan Spees, originally from North Carolina, has lived, studied, and worked in several countries and U.S. States (most recently Alaska) before moving to Austria. His experience in working with youth spans 15 years in many different capacities: teacher, outdoor guide, facilitator, and volunteer. His career started by teaching natural history and outdoor education at summer camps in North Carolina. He has worked with both youth and adults and developed numerous trainings and workshops on various topics including the environment, group dynamics, and leadership. Currently, Nathan lives with his wife in Innsbruck, teaches English courses and leads outdoor education programs for adults and youth in and around Innsbruck. His hobbies include playing banjo, rock climbing, backpacking, packrafting, sea kayaking, and everything else that is outside!
Patrizia Tonin
Patrizia Tonin, born 1968 in Geneva, studied journalism and communications in combination with translator/interpreter for the languages French and Spanish at the University of Vienna. She has professional experiences in the fields of strategic marketing, conflict management and personal & business coaching. As a coach she deals with building an individual's personal skills, from setting the goals, to communication, to management style, to decision making and problem solving. She focuses on the client's inner knowledge, resources and creativity to help him or her be more effective and to gain in self confidence.
Her working methods base on her studies of humanistic psychology, systemic therapy, group dynamics and on her practices in organizational consulting.
In addition, Mrs. Tonin is fluent in French, Italian, Spanish and English.
