Deputy Head of Office

Vesna Lendić Kasalo 

  • Born on December 26th, 1959 in Zagreb

Education 

  • 2003 - passed the state qualifying exam
  • 2004 - 2005 – attended postgraduate scientific studies- administrative-political course, the Faculty of Law, the University of Zagreb 
  • 1978 – 1982 the Faculty of Law Osijek, University of Josip Juraj Strossmayer in Osijek; received  the Dean’s Award as a high-achieving student, Bachelor of Law
  • finished grammar school and primary school in Osijek

 Professional career

  • October 2012  - present  - Deputy Director at the Croatian Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs
  • July 2008 – September 2011- Head of the Department for Strategic Planning, Programming and Informing, the Croatian Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs
  • December 2003 – June 2008 - Head of the Division for Technical Culture and Associations; Senior Adviser for technical culture at the Department for Joint Programs, the Ministry of Education and Sports
  • November 2002 – December 2003 – Senior Expert Adviser for technical culture at the Division for Sports and Technical Culture, the Ministry of Education and Sports
  • March 1992 – November 2002 – Assistant to Main Secretary at the Croatian Association of Technical Culture, Zagreb
  • July 1990 – November 1991 – Manager of the informatics school “Narodna tehnika” – the Alliance of the Technical Culture Organizations of the Osijek municipality
  • March 1985 - June 1990 – Expert Assistant for Legal, General and Human Resources Affairs at the Municipal Organization of Socialist Alliance (OK SSRNH); Secretary of the Municipal Conference for social status of women and families; Secretary of the Committee for civil petitions and complaints and of the Committee for social organizations and civil associations, a board member at the Assembly of the Osijek municipality; Deputy President of the Municipal Electoral Commission
  • November 1982 – March 1985 – Secretary of the Youth Municipal Organization (OK SSOH) in Osijek

 Professional and Scientific Development and Training 

  • April 2015 – completed the certificated training for Public Procurement
  • March 2015 - completed the basic training for mediation agents at the Croatian Mediation Association
  • 2012 - 2013 – finished the Program for managing state officials, State School for Public Administration
  • 2012 – co-manager of the project “Sports financing in the Republic of Croatia compared to the financing model in the European Union”- the research was carried out by the Public Finance Institute, as ordered by the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports
  • 2011 – 2012 - finished the training for state officials working in the project implementation units at the institutions that are beneficiaries of projects financed by EU funds
  • 2010 – 2013 -  participated at numerous conferences and workshops in Croatia and abroad in the field of civil society, organized by TACSO- the EU regional project for technical support of CSOs
  • March 2010 -  attended the three-day seminar for instructors on social entrepreneurship, organized by the National Foundation for Civil Society Development and British Council
  • March 2010  - attended the seminar “Lisbon Treaty- legal aspects” organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration and the Faculty of Law in Zagreb
  • November 23rd –  December 4th 2009 – attended the two-week course “Legislation in EU” within the „Matra training for European Cooperation“, organized by T.M.C. Accer Institute and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
  • November 2009 – attended the seminar “Monitoring and evaluation of EU projects” organized by the Central Office for Development Strategy and Coordination of EU Funds
  • March – June 2008 – attended the training “Methodical Approach to Integrity Management in Public Administration” organized by the Ministry of Legal Affairs
  • March 2007 – attended the training “Planning, Management and Development of Human Resources” within the Training Program for State Officials
  • 2006  - 2007 – participated at numerous lectures and seminars of the Ministry of Finance for members and managers of project implementation units for PHARE and CARDS decentralized projects, organized by the Directorate for financing programs and projects of EU assistance
  • 2004 – 2005 – attended the seminars “EU Basics” and “EU Law” within the training program for state officials from European integrations
  • March 2008 – study visit to Great Britain, organized by USAID, on the topics of “Consultation processes of government and civil society” and “The status of public-good organizations in Great Britain”
  • November 2007 – study visit to Strasbourg, Luxembourg and Brussels organized by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, with the aim of introduction to the institutions of the Council of Europe and the European Union
  • June 2007 – study visit to Berlin organized by USAID, on the topic of the status of NGOs working for the common/public good
  • September 2006 – study visit to the Netherlands organized by the National Foundation for Civil Society Development, on the topic of providing social care services and informal education by the non-profit sector
  • 2006 – attended the workshop held by the National Foundation for Civil Society Development: “Drafting of EU project documentation”
  • 2006 – finished the speed reading course
  • 2004 and 2005 – two seminars organized by the Center for Women’s Studies on the gender policy
  • 2002– attended the seminars “Project Management” (basic and advanced courses), as well as “Learning Organization- forming a system of continuous personnel training” organized by the Croatian Employers’ Association
 

Publications 

  • 2009 - present – a series of papers published in various expert publications and journals in the field of non-profit organizations on the topic of normative framework for the activities and financing of associations
  • editor of the annual publications of the Croatian Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs: The reports on the approved grants for OCD projects and programs in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012
  • co-author of the study “Sports financing in the Republic of Croatia compared to the financing model in the European Union”, the Public Finance Institute, Zagreb, 2012- 385 pages, available at the link: http://public.mzos.hr/Default.aspx?sec=2379
  • the author of the publication “Guidelines for the Code of Practice on Consultation with the interested public in the process of adopting laws, other regulations and policies”- Zagreb, the Croatian Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs, 2010- 40 pages
  • co-author of the “Manual for the implementation of the Code of positive practice, standards and criteria for giving financial support to programs and projects of associations”- Zagreb, the Croatian Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs and the National Foundation for Civil Society Development, 2009- 106 pages
  • author of the book “The associations of technical culture in the Osječko-baranjska County”- Osijek, the Association of Technical Culture of the Osječko-baranjska County”, 2006- 108 pages
  • author of the publication: “Regulations in the field of technical culture in the Republic of Croatia”- Zagreb, the Croatian Association of Technical Culture, November 1994- 77 pages
 

Membership

  • 2013 - present – member of the Youth Council of the Government of the Republic of Croatia  
  • 2012 - present – Deputy Member of the Open Government Partnership initiative of the Government of the Republic of Croatia   
  • July 2011- July 2012- coordinator of the work group for the draft of the “National Strategy for the Creation of an Enabling Environment for Civil Society Development from 2012 to 2016”
  • 2010 – present – Deputy Member of the Council for Civil Society Development of the Government of the Republic of Croatia   
  • 2008- present – member of the Council of the School of Media Culture of the Croatian Film Association
  • 2006 – present- member of the Youth Board of the Croatian Photographic Association
  • 1993- present – member of expert work groups for drafting bills (Law on Associations, Law on financial business and accounting of non-profit organizations, Law on Right to Access to Information, Law on Humanitarian Aid, Law on Providing Tourist Services, Law on Sports, Law on Technical Culture, etc.)
  • member of the Croatian Mediation Association
 

Training /lecturing experience

  • 2013 - present -  lecturer at the State School for Public Administration on the topics of financing of associations, consultations with the interested public, relations between public administration and civil society, as well as drafting of efficient strategic documents
  • 2014- present – lecturer at TAIEX workshops and expert missions (Cyprus, Montenegro)

 Foreign languages

  • English (active)
  • Italian (basic)

Other skills

  • advanced computer literacy
  • presentational skills