Meskerem Ritmeester

Meskerem Ritmeester is the Policy & Advocacy Director Africa for Christian Council International (CCI). She obtained her BSc in European Studies and her MSc in International Development Studies at the Wageningen University. She is currently living and working as a development consultant in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Because the African Union Headquarters is also situated in Addis Ababa, her main assignment with CCI is to reach out to politicians and public policy makers within the African Union and its Member States and to join hands with like-minded CSOs and religious organizations to advocate for Life, Family, and Freedom. Meskerem has 10+ years of extensive cross-cultural work experience in international NGOs and consultancy projects in Ethiopia on topics related to advocacy & public policy influencing, organizational management support, youth and women empowerment, knowledge management & learning, and inclusive political participation. Prior to her work in Ethiopia, she gained additional work experience in The Netherlands and South Africa. Meskerem was born in Ethiopia but raised in a Dutch Christian family in The Netherlands. She has therefore an excellent language proficiency in Dutch and English and is also able to align with the values promoted by the CCI. Meskerem is married and has two children.