Marie Curie Fellow at the Faculty of Religion, Culture and Society - University of Groningen (Jun. 2024 - present)
Postdoc researcher at ISOR - Research group in Sociology of Religions - Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Mar. 2023 - May 2024)
EU-Cuba international cooperation specialist at the Asociación Hermanos Saíz (Mar. 2022 - May 2024)
Research coordinator at Associació La Xixa Teatre (Feb. 2016 - Apr. 2024)
Extraordinary PhD Award - Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Links
CV - English (June 2025)
Publications - Google Scholar Profile
Video production and direction (film and edit by Irantzu Casajús)
Educational and community resources developed through participatory action research
Bio
I was born in Cuba, and was raised in Venezuela, Ecuador, and Spain. BA in Economics, MA in Communications, my PhD thesis focused on the application of Paulo Freire’s epistemological framework in three different European contexts: media (critical discourse analysis), international cooperation (Cuba-Spain), and higher education teaching (curricular development). While a doctoral fellow and additional to research and publishing (including various high impact publications), at university I undertook intensive teaching assignments and career development training. Outside of university, I trained as a Theatre of the Oppressed facilitator volunteering to work with vulnerable groups and communities on diverse social problematic, all of which were related to intercultural interactions and many of which were related to the climate crisis and climate justice, while knitting together a tight network of colleagues within the grassroots movements in Barcelona and Havana.
In 2016, after defending my doctoral thesis (awarded Suma Cum Laude then and the extraordinary thesis award four years later), I decided to pursue Participatiry Action Research (PAR) research more intensively, and was offered the post of Research and Communications Coordinator at La Xixa Teatre NGO. With La Xixa, I co-drafted and coordinated over 20 Erasmus+ projects for methodological innovation (7 as consortium coordinator) totalling over 2 million euros in funding distributed amongst a diverse pool of partners throughout Europe, and growing the organisation from a staff of three to a staff of ten FTE in four years. Within the E+ projects I undertook tasks pertaining grant writing, management (including financial management), research design and implementation, intellectual output drafting, organisation of conferences, events, and workshops, and community facilitation, amongst other tasks. In the meantime, I kept publishing and teaching.
In 2020, I coordinated the Erasmus+ project REBELAH, inviting the Centre for Religion and Heritage, led by Prof. Dr. Todd Weir of the Faculty of TRS at RUG, to partner in the project. The collaboration process with the RUG team has been enlightening and fruitful, so much so that it has motivated me to return to academic scholarship, leading to the successful application of a Marie Curie Fellowship due to start in June 2024.
I have been or am currently engaged in projects with numerous organisations in Cuba and Spain from a wide range of sectors (grassroots, international NGOs, schools, research, local and regional government, etc.), ethnicities (Afrocuban, Afrospanish, Roma, Sikh, etc.), religions (including Muslim, Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant organisations), and advocacy groups (LGTBI, diasporas, environmental, etc.). Aside from my work at La Xixa Teatre, I am currently offering consulting services specialising in internationalization and project development to the Research Group on Sociology of Religions from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, the Research Group on Digital Government at the University of Information Sciences of Cuba, and the Presidency of the Hermanos Saíz Association (AHS), the leading cultural NGO in Cuba grouping over 3,500 young artists across the island.
I am currently based in Havana, Cuba, and will soon move to Groningen in the Netherlands, to begin the Marie Curie Fellowship in the project ODEEN: Ontological Diversity in Environmental Education.
Handbooks for community work
“Inclusion, religion and heritage in secular adult learning environments: A train the trainer handbook” (2022). Funded by the European Commission Erasmus+ Program. Available at: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1HMF-5xyTeXWKUCrSMrg4vxgjjYcSgO88&usp=drive_fs
“Fostering inclusive learning environments through cultural heritage: Collection of activities for ice-breaking, teambuilding, and intercultural empowerment” (2022). Funded by the European Commission Erasmus+ Program. Available at: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Q6EQ8BP3eKya-NVEbUzMd8kCTGNl5ger&usp=drive_fs
“The Youth for Creative Identities Method: handbook for Youth workers” (2022). Funded by the European Commission Erasmus+ Program. Available at: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1kxxvsbFWThjYl7cWzuspX3_CQujXOCgk&usp=drive_fs
“Green Interculturality: Promoting migrant inclusion through environmental awareness and eco-friendly strategies. Foundation bricks (2021)”. Funded by the European Commission Erasmus+ Program. Available at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rO5KsMBd_PRn6alNOEZYWps1eZvuyuRu/view?usp=sharing
"Bridging the Gap: Facilitating Diversity-Based Transitions from Primary to Secondary School to Prevent Early School Leaving. Handbook for teachers ” (2021). Funded by the European Commission Erasmus+ Program. Available at: https://www.dreamsproject.eu/_files/ugd/632f44_cdea117a933c49929671c0ef44125143.pdf
“Exploring good proximity in youth contexts. A train-the-youth-worker guide” (2020). Funded by the European Commission Erasmus+ Program. Available at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gg6rS2Cz0VOw0ii_Htt-eudgoWNKBHWz/view
“Staying small, impacting big. Scaling-up organisational efforts through self-managed volunteering networks:an introduction for third sector organisations” (2020). Funded by the European Commission Erasmus+ Program. Available at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gnW7HH9C3EAYMzkvv0If_BDCfP6brk4e/view
“The SELFEE Method: Creative Approaches to teach social emotional learning and digital literacy for job searching” (2019) Funded by the European Commission Erasmus+ Program. Available at: http://selfeeproject.eu/documenten_es/EL_M%C3%89TODO_SELFEE_-_MANUAL_PARA_FORMADORES.pdf
“Teacher Handbook: Activities to Foster Diversity in Early Childhood Education” (2018). Funded by the European Commission Erasmus+ Program. Available at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1loo8m2-TffGdGvXdrC9RPNvngDK1ZfhU/view
Most relevant project writing and project management experience
(For project details consult: https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/projects)
HEARTS - Higher Education Action Response for Trauma Support (2023-1-ES01-KA220-HED-000158841)
PRISCILA - Fostering Personal, Intercultural, Social and Citizenship Competences for Lifelong Learning to Empower Migrant Adult Learners (2023-1-ES01-KA220-ADU-000165731)
SUSIEE - Sustainability and interculturality in 0-3 early childhood education and care (2023-1-ES01-KA220-SCH-000153355)
CREAC - Fortalecimiento de la educación y formación profesional en las artes y la cultura mediante la creación del Centro Caribeño de Recursos para el Emprendimiento Artístico y Cultural (Erasmus+ KA2 Capacity building in the field of VET 2023 - 101128789)
CL.AU.DI.A. – Cultura Digital Antillana: Jóvenes artistas se forman y promueven la cultura digital en el Caribe (Erasmus+ KA2 Capacity building in the field of VET 2022 - 101091953)
YURI - Intercultural rural-urban youth dialogues for collective entrepreneurship (2021-1-ES02-KA220-YOU-000029041)
SOPHIE - Safe and inclusive online learning in primary education (2021-1-ES01-KA220-SCH-000035875)
LEGACI - Legislative Theatre for Inclusive Heritage (2021-1-NL01-KA210-ADU-000034008)
Digital Theatre (2020-1-UK01-KA227-ADU-094558)
INCLUD-ED - Inclusive Sex-Ed through Creative Methods (2020-1-UK01-KA227-SCH-094470)
PERFORMERS GO ONLINE - Performing artists learn how to create audiovisual material from their home and promote it online during the pandemic (2020-1-FR01-KA227-ADU-094922)
1000LAYERS - Youth for creative identities (2020-2-ES02-KA205-015782)
REBELAH - Religion, beliefs, and laicity in cultural heritage to foster social inclusion in adult trainings (2020-1-ES01-KA204-082412)
GREEN INTERCULTURALITY - Promoting migrant inclusion through environmental awareness and eco-friendly strategies (2020-1-FR01-KA204-080110)
DREAMS - Fostering Diversity in Primary to Seconday School Transition To Prevent Early School Leaving (2019-1-ES01-KA201-064184)
COBU - Community Building Through Self-Managed Volunteer Groups (2019-1-HU01-KA204-061222)
Radio V.I.T.A (Voices In The Air) (2019-1-FR01-KA204-063118)
IRIS - Intimacy, Relationships and Interculturality in Youth Work (2018-1-FR02-KA205-014096)
SELFEE - Digital Literacy and Social Emotional Learning for Engagement and Employment (2017-1-NL01-KA204-035270)
BODI - Cultural diversity, body, gender, health in early childhood education (2015-1-FR01-KA201-015104)
Youth for Youth - Peer learning against Early School Leaving (2014-2-HU02-KA205-000504)
Plan europeo de desarrollo integral para el fomento de la diversidad y la convivencia ciudadana (2015-1-ES01-KA104-014924)
Contact: anafernandezaballi@gmail.com