We are excited to announce that as of 1 March, Ana Cristina Mendes, our current Vice-President, has been appointed as President of the ECA Board of Directors, while Elton Micallef has been appointed as Vice-President, as Nicky Dewar steps down as ECA President of the Board and board members due to other commitments. The Board continues as a four-member formation, comprising the President and Vice-President as well as members David Places Balsalobre (Internationalisation and Cultural Promotion for the Catalan Crafts Council in Barcelona) and Marion Poortvliet (Crafts Council Nederland), until the General Assembly in September 2025.
ECA’s Heartfelt Thank You to Nicky
As of 1 March, Nicky Dewar has stepped down as the ECA President to focus on her growing professional and personal commitments. Her leadership carefully crafted a path through the recent period of change, transformation and growth of the network which is today the European Crafts Alliance. She has stabilised our organisation and set us on the path toward a range of exciting new opportunities and collaborations.
We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Nicky for all her passionate guidance, strong decision-making, and the immense knowledge she has woven into our network. We wish Nicky all the success and fulfillment in her future endeavors and we look forward to continuing to collaborate with her and the Crafts Council UK at members’ meetings, assemblies, and other events.
Nicky Dewar at Annual ECA Annual Conference 2023, Malta, photo: ECA Archive
“Since joining the board in 2020 and then taking on the role of President in 2023, the network has faced a host of unimaginable challenges. I’m so proud of how everyone has come together to overcome these, allowing us to emerge stronger than ever. We now have an excellent, growing secretariat delivering the highest quality activities so that our makers across Europe can flourish, supported by a wise and committed board. Together, we form an impressive force that will build on the foundation we’ve created. The European Crafts Alliance is the most wonderful network of passionate, knowledgeable, and inspiring people. I’m so proud to be a member and to count so many of you as friends.“
– Nicky Dewar, ECA President of the Board of Directors 2023-2025
More about EAC’s Board of Directors New President & Vice-President
Ana Cristina Mendes has been with CEARTE – Professional Training Center for Crafts and Heritage since 1991 in the Training Department and as a Legal Advisor. She became Deputy Director of CEARTE in 2018 and was the general coordinator of the Vocational training department since 1998. She has extensive experience in the preparation of training projects for applications for European Programs and the coordination and monitoring of transnational training projects. Cristina is also co-chair of the Craft & Industrial Geographical Indications Expert Working Group.
Elton Micallef is the CEO of the Malta Crafts Foundation. His work with the foundation has resulted in better awareness and promotion of the sector, improved collaboration with all involved entities in the creative sector and better training opportunities for artisans.