Madara Mazjane-Kokina

Madara Mazjane-Kokina

Europe & Eurasia, Latvia, Women and Gender Issues, 2017

As the Director of Youth Programs of MARTA Centre, Madara Mazjane creates, coordinates, and organizes local and international trainings, workshops, and seminars to raise awareness about gender equality and prevent gender-based discrimination and violence among youth and professionals working with youth. While in the U.S., Mazjane worked with Break the Cycle in Washington D.C., where she learned about promoting nonviolent communication among youth and organized workshops that equipped young people with needed competencies to create and maintain healthy relationships with themselves and their peers. Since her return to Latvia, Mazjane is leading a project which aims to create and develop culturally specific methodology that reduces risk factors for young people (ages 12-18) to become victims or perpetrators of psychological, physical, and sexual violence. Mazjane is also developing education sessions and workshops for students in higher education, raising awareness of gender-based violence, domestic violence, and risks of trafficking in human beings.