International President

International President

Kristina Sperkova

Stockholm, Sweden

kristina.sperkova [at] movendi.ngo

+46 722 11 30 70

Address:
Box 112 97
SE-11150 Stockholm
Sweden

 

Kristina’s story starts when her dad got on a public tram in Bratislava, Slovakia, and found a little note there about starting an organisation that would focus on healthy lifestyle…

My father never takes public transport. He always walks to learn more about a city. But this time he did and his little journey has taken me on the great journey through life.

I joined the Movendi movement after I had attended their youth European summer camp in Slovakia. I enjoyed all the fun and laughter so I became a member… OK let me take it one more time so I can describe how it really was:

Imagine where action, emotion and ratio meet. All at once in one point. They all together built a strong notion of inspiration. The feeling that pulls you to the unknown. The feeling that both attracts and makes you radiate joy, excitement and enthusiasm.

That is what I felt when I, for the first time, came across this global movement. I was inspired by the knowledge and freedom of the people. I felt lighter like if I was carried by the genuine atmosphere of not pretending. I felt lighter like if I was carried by the ambition to create change I want to see around me. I felt lighter like when you find words for a feeling that you’ve felt for such a long time but only now finally you can put finger on it. I wanted to join forces with people who would look beyond their individual needs and would contribute to creation of environments where also others can grow. I liked that the contribution could happen on so many levels – starting with one’s own lifestyle, ending with global processes transforming societies. So I joined…and took off for a journey.

Genuineness. Inclusion. Joy.

Movendi means “genuineness” to me. It is a place where you know that what you feel and do is real. Movendi means “profoundness” to me. It searches for solutions that are long-term and lie at the root of a problem. To me Movendi means “inclusion” because it accommodates a great diversity of people, approaches, activities and none of them is more valued than the other. And last but not least, Movendi means “joy” to me. The environment Movendi creates on both a small and large scale opens more opportunities for exploration, friendship, understanding and freedom – some of the elements the joy is built of.

Movendi has given me a lifestyle that I have actively chosen.

Thanks to Movendi I became more aware of the happenings around me. I became more aware of the structural and cultural mechanisms that direct our decisions. I started reflecting the world around me. And I would not just blindly give in to something just because it is expected from the role I have in society (a woman, a young person, a central European, a student, a daughter…). But to be aware is not enough and Movendi with all its people and situations it brings into my life empowers me in amount of ways to act upon all the realizations and analyses I daily make. Movendi also gives me a challenge. I am challenged by Movendi almost every day, which makes me grow. And the experience of growth makes me content.

Imagine…what a difference one tram ride can make

Alcohol is an obstacle to development – both for human beings and their potential as well as for entire communities and societies around the world.

I feel honoured and grateful to serve Movendi International and its members.

Working for preventing and reducing harm caused by alcohol and other drugs, and for a world that is more just, healthy and free is a huge challenge but it’s also deeply rewarding and inspiring.

The alcohol-free lifestyle is the lifestyle of the 21st century.

Kristina’s Blog Corner

To get to know more about Kristina’s work, you can follow her personal blog, where she expresses her opinions and perspectives concerning global events, policy developments and other current affairs. Kristina also writes about the every day joys and challenges of leading Movendi International and traveling the world and she shares with us behind the scene reports from major events.

Find Kristina’s Blog Corner here.

Get in touch with Kristina in social media

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Kristina has a master degree in psychology from the Comenius University in Slovakia.

She has been active in the field of substance use prevention within civil society for 20 years starting in a peer program in her hometown community. Later on Kristina engaged in prevention work on European level and served as a Secretary-General of a European Youth Organization, Active – sobriety, friendship and peace. She worked both with capacity building of youth organizations active in the prevention field in Europe and with youth and alcohol policy advocacy on EU level.

From 2012 onwards, Kristina worked for a Swedish NGO, the IOGT-NTO movement that conducts development aid work with partner NGOs in Southeast Asia, East Africa, and Balkan countries, in the field of official development assistance. She worked as a Programme manager, Strategic coordinator and subsequently as Junior Advisor with questions relating to alcohol as obstacle to development.

Kristina has been in the board of Movendi International since 2006, first as International Vice President and since October 2014 as International President.