Maria Letizia Polizzi

• Establishing and maintaining a strong network with staff of European ministries, Executive Directors of the World Bank, EU institutions, international organizations, and think tanks.
• Monitoring and analyzing policy developments on ODA, across the US Government, EU member states and EU institutions, World Bank.
• Contributing to the organization's donor engagement with the EU (DG INTPA), the World Bank, FCDO.
• Coordinating and co-author policy reports and briefings presented to key EU and global stakeholders (DG INTPA, DG ECHO, Member States, MEPs, World Bank leadership) as well as think tanks (ODI, CGD), and peer NGOs.
• Drafting briefings for IRC leadership in preparation for missions and meetings with World Bank leadership and relevant teams, EU Commissioners, Member State officials.
• Supervised junior staff.

• Organized trainings to build internal capacity on the the EU development cooperation programming process, and advocacy skills.
• Drafted policy briefings for the negotiation of the Global Europe–NDICI regulation and the EU Multi-annual Financial Framework (2021–2027) to prioritize sustainable development objectives including gender equality, and support to forced displaced populations.
• Coordinated successful events, such as roundtables to foster dialogue between Members of the European Parliaments, officials from the European Commission and NGOs; highlighted recommendations on sustainable development in the MFF and NDICI negotiations

• Drafted policy briefings, press releases, statements in support of the establishment of a Child Guarantee at the European level. Led advocacy on child poverty in Europe and EU social policies, drafted NGO coalitions’ statements and secured a child rights focus in the text of the European Pillar of Social Rights and the Regulation on the European Social Fund+.

• Drafted content for the organization's social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter) to share policy updates.
• Monitored policy developments on asylum and migration; drafted policy blogs, coordinated media interview (France24, Euro News, Al-Jazeera) and coordinated the drafting of weekly communication products.
• Organised media coverage and events highlighting refugee rights and EU migration policies.

Drafted written submissions for the UN Human Rights Council, press releases, statements, and contributed to writing legal briefings. Conducted research on the violations of the right to freedom of expression by the Palestinian Authority (PA) against Palestinian journalists and bloggers.

Provided assistance to Iraqi and Sudanese refugees seeking resettlement through UNHCR and IOM; wrote statements highlighting the legal underpinnings accordingly under the supervision of the legal coordinator