At Access Now we eat, drink, and sleep thinking about how to fight for your digital rights. From New Delhi to New York, we’re working to defend and extend your rights wherever they’re at risk.
In Brussels, we have some amazing people working for you every single day. And since our Brussels team is hosting this year’s RightsCon on March 29-31, 2017 — bringing together more than 1,000 people from across the world to tackle the most pressing issues in human rights and tech — we thought it would be nice to introduce them to you!
I’m Fanny Hidvegi, and I am Access Now’s European Policy Manager and Legal Counsel. I joined Access Now in 2016 and I am grateful to lead our European efforts to enforce human rights in the digital space.
On an average day I might look into international data transfers, review a blog post on the confidentiality of communications in Europe, put together a proposal on strategic litigation, and very likely chase my calendar for the next international meeting. When all that’s done, I’m commentating a tennis match — at home. Our team in Brussels includes a Nadal and a Federer fan (we love each other by the way). You can guess which one I am if I tell you that I was on Swiss national TV.
We live in challenging times for human rights and democracy, but I am proud to have this fight with our team full of devoted, smart, and funny people who make the battle winnable. Stand up for your rights with us, and I hope to meet you at RightsCon!
Hi. I am Estelle Masse, Senior Policy Analyst at Access Now. I joined the Brussels office in 2013. I work on issues from Net Neutrality to data protection, privacy, and trade agreements. I am passionate about the work we do and grateful to be part of such a diverse team of brilliant people.
Since our team is based in Brussels, a large part of my work is done in cooperation with our friends at European Digital Rights and the NGO members of the EDRi network. In my day-to-day, when I am not re-reading the General Data Protection Regulation or commenting on French government surveillance laws (which, as you may know, are quite a few), I am busy advocating for the repeal of unlawful Passenger Names Records programmes. If you are in for a hunt, I like hiding references to pop culture movies, French literature, and Greek mythology in my posts or reports, so let me know if you find any!
My name is Lucie Krahulcova and I’m the EU Policy Associate at our little office!
I remember looking through the old Access Now website two years ago and thinking what an incredibly diverse and fun-looking team it is! I read everyone’s bios and imagined what they would be like as colleagues — including the dramatic conversations we would have about digital rights issues around the globe. I daresay my imagination was right on point. The team is dynamic and incredibly committed, and we are constantly running head-first into challenges!
In my day-to-day work I look at what EU lawmakers are up to and provide feedback on what they could be doing better, to protect the fundamental rights of Europeans and people across the globe. I focus primarily on European cybersecurity strategy. I’ve covered data retention, surveillance, and Net Neutrality, and I’ve been very vocal about the export controls file that is currently under consideration.
My name is Nina Komakhidze. I’m the European Operations Manager and the overly-enthused coffee enthusiast of the office. I am of Georgian and English background, and am recklessly contemplating adding a Belgian nationality to the mix, post-Brexit.
I joined Access Now at the beginning of 2015. I manage the administration, compliance, finances, and human resources for our European office. At Access Now, I’ve learnt a great deal about the extent of the threats and opportunities for digital rights. Supporting this wonderful, dedicated team, and the organisation as a whole, isn’t just an amazing learning experience, it also makes me very proud.
Concerned about digital rights in Europe? Feel free to reach out! And if you’re coming to RightsCon Brussels next week, we hope you say hi and introduce yourself as well.
Thanks for being a part of the Access Now community.