ANA FERNÁNDEZ-ABALLÍ ALTAMIRANO

Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for Religion, Conflict and Globalization of the Faculty of Religion, Culture and Society - University of Groningen (Jun. 2024 - present)

Associated researcher at ISOR - Research group in Sociology of Religions - Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Professional Bio | CV | Google Scholar | Current Projects | Experience Systematization and Handbooks | Educational Video Production

Professional Bio

I hold a BA in Economics and an MA in Communications. My PhD thesis examined the application of Paulo Freire’s epistemological framework in three European contexts: media (critical discourse analysis), international cooperation (Cuba–Spain), and higher-education teaching (curricular development). Beyond academia, I trained as a Theatre of the Oppressed facilitator and worked together with vulnerable groups and communities on issues linked to intercultural relations and environmental justice through non-formal education, building strong networks across grassroots movements in Europe and Latin America.

After completing my PhD, I chose to focus on Participatory Action Research (PAR) and became Research and Communications Coordinator at La Xixa Teatre, an NGO in Barcelona. There I co-designed and managed more than twenty Erasmus+ projects for methodological innovation. My work combined grant writing, research design and implementation, financial and project management, process systematization, drafting of guides and handbooks, organising conferences and workshops, and community facilitation, while I continued to publish and teach at university.

Building on this trajectory, I coordinated the Erasmus+ project REBELAH, which brought the Centre for Religion and Heritage at the University of Groningen (RUG) into the consortium. The collaboration with RUG inspired me to return more fully to academic scholarship and led to a successful Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship for the project ODEEN: Ontological Diversity in Environmental Education.

Throughout my career I have collaborated with organisations across grassroots, NGO, educational, research, and governmental sectors, engaging with diverse ethnic, religious, and advocacy communities. Alongside academic work, I have provided consulting on internationalisation and project development to research groups and organisations. I am currently based in Groningen, advancing current projects and continuing to integrate participatory, intercultural, environmental, epistemologically diverse and justice-oriented approaches in education and research.

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