Wherever in the world I have found myself, sport has been a passion of mine. I have lived and worked in various countries and speak several languages, but sport has always grounded me.
I believe that sport can clearly unite but also divide. It can be a tool for social change, and one that can be used to potentially make a positive social impact.
Marianna has 10 years of experience in grant writing, sports project planning, management, monitoring & evaluation. She has drafted projects on forced migrants’ social inclusion through football, human rights education through physical education, integrity in sport and sport organisational good governance.
She has worked with a range of organisations, including: the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Lega Pro (the Italian third division football association), Society Empowerment Projects (SEP) and the University of Padua Sports Centre amongst others.
Marianna teaches sports management and sociology of sport related matters at the University of Padua (IT), the University of Edinburgh (UK), and the Université Général Lansana Conté de Sonfonia (GNQ). Her research areas include questions on social change, Sport for Development, and addresses the promotion and protection of human rights through sport.
She has delivered numerous presentations at international conferences on sport, discussing all areas of Sport for Development, Mega Sporting Events, and Human Rights. Moreover, Marianna has published academic papers on the role of sport as a platform for social inclusion.
She was the principal investigator of an EU funded project – Sport Opens School – which served the purpose of creating a new Physical Education teaching module for high schools, where fair play, anti-discrimination, human rights and soft skills are part of the curriculum.
Finally, in 2022 Marianna was selected as Expert by the European Commission–EACEA in order to evaluate some of project proposals submitted under the Erasmus+ Sport call.
Marianna holds an MSc in Human Rights from the London School of Economics and Political Science (UK) and a BA in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Padua (IT). She is completing a PhD in Sport for Development at the University of Edinburgh (UK).
Marianna is fluent in English, Italian, French, and Spanish.
