International Secretariat

The SCI International Secretariat is based in Antwerp, Belgium.  Currently three staff persons are working here together with two Long Term Volunteers. As of february we will also be welcoming an Erasmus student from Italy for three months!  At the International Secretariat we are busy with the international coordination of SCI, which includes finance and insurance, support to international working groups, PR and communication, international meetings, campaigns and projects, exchange support and volunteer management.

Who are the people at the International Secretariat?

Sara Turra - `International Secretary`

Sara is the head of the office and an ex-oficio member of the IEC. She takes care of international coordination, and is the focal point for three working groups: LTEG, YUWG and GAIA. She deals with project and grant management and  represents the organisation externally in various networks. Sara started working at the International Secretariat on October 23rd 2012! You can contact Sara at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Ingrid ter Maat - `Programme Officer`

Ingrid deals with communication and PR and is therefore responsible for the development and implementation of SCI`s communication strategies and plans. She is also the focal point for North South working groups,  and SAVA. Together with an international prepteam she is in charge of organising the annual North South Platform meeting. She manages various projects and campaigns, and coaches the Long Term Volunteers.  You can contact Ingrid at  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Ossi Lemstrom  - `Finance and Administration Officer`

Ossi is in charge of international bookkeeping, accounting and insurances. He also takes care of the office and staff administration and of ICT. You can contact Ossi at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Karolina Rymer - ` Project LTV`

Karolina is our Long Term Volunteer from Poland. She supports the International Secretariat mainly in the field of PR and Communication and works closely with Ingrid, the Programme Officer.. She started in the International Secretariat as an EVS volunteer for one year - from April 2012 to April 2013 - in the framework of the project `Volunteers 4 Visibility`. She was asked to stay for a few more months (until september) as Project LTV, and we are happy she accepted!  Karolina is also focal point for the Peace Messengers network and the No More War team and for the campaign ´Climate Justice´ that is currently being prepared by GAIA and the No More War team. You can contact Karolina at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Mariia ´Masha´ Ginzburg - ´Tech LTV´

Masha is the Tech LTV. She helps the staff and other volunteers at the International Secretariat in solving IT problems and she works with the SCI Tech Team on various IT solutions such as international websites, resource platforms, mailing lists and more. Apart from this she is also the person responsible for the Exchange Evaluation Meeting 2013 (taking place in Bucharest, Romania) on behalf of the International Secretariat and will therefore join the EEM prepteam 2013. She is taking over from Karolina Rymer, who had this role in 2012. Finally, Masha supports various administration and communication tasks in the office. Masha will stay until March/ April 2014. You can contact her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Ida Gravina - ´Erasmus Student (Intern)´

Ida came to Antwerp on January 29th 2013. She will help out the staff and LTVs at the International Secretariat for a period of three months, as part of an international internship financed by the Erasmus Placement programme of the European Commission. She is writing a thesis on communication within NGO´s and is therefore studying a lot of documents. Apart from this, she will perform a survey on the long term impact of North-South voluntary placement in SCI and she will support the No More War team and Peace Messengers in their (online) campaign for Climate Justice. You can contact Ida at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Peter Van den Ende - Intern

Peter joined us in March for a 6 weeks internship. He is studying to become a Management Assistant and wanted to test and train his skills in the International Secretariat. Since Peter is also an active member of our Flemmish branch, VIA Belgium, he is supporting us in writing a joint grant application for VIA and the International Secretariat, and apart from that he is mainly supporting Ossi with finances. 

Contact info

SCI- International Secretariat, Sint Jacobsmarkt 82, 2000 Antwerp - Belgium