Senior Organizer Jim Picchetti offers trainings in Central Europe

Jim Picchetti, CCH’s State Network senior organizer, is in Central Europe this month through a training exchange program.

Jim on a previous exchange trip through GLC in 2014.

Sponsored by the Great Lakes Consortium (GLC) for International Training and Development, the exchange trades community organizers from the U.S. and Central Europe each year. CCH has sent organizers abroad for six trainings and hosted 11 interns through the GLC program.

Jim will offer follow-up training to former CCH interns working in Hungary and Slovakia.

“I will be spending most of my time in Hungary, working with my two recent interns,” Jim said. “I will be working with Alexandra Szarka on a public toilets campaign in Budapest and with Fanni Aradi on coalition building in the southwestern town of Pécs. Both work for a non-profit called Cities for All.

“When they interned with me, they were hungry for knowledge on how to organize in their hometowns. I can’t wait to see what they have done with the tools we gave them in November, and to see how I can help them continue to grow as community organizers.

“I will also be flying to Bratislava to touch base with Jozef Kakos, a former intern who worked with Rachel (Ramirez, also a senior organizer).”