Renata Cuk is Director of Programmes at Ariadne – European Funders for Social Change and Human Rights, where she supports philanthropic responses to the growing backlash against human rights and the shrinking of civic space across Europe. With over 15 years of experience in European human rights philanthropy, Renata has supported individuals, organisations, and movements working to address structural inequality and injustice.
Before joining Ariadne, Renata spent two years as a philanthropic advisor, providing strategic support, conducting research, and designing training and learning programmes for funders.
She previously spent 11 years at the Open Society Foundations, most recently as a Program Officer at the Open Society Initiative for Europe (OSIFE). There, she developed a new portfolio focused on Economic Justice, with particular emphasis on housing and workers’ rights. During her time at OSF, she launched the Effective Activism Fellowship, a programme designed to support individuals exploring innovative models of citizen participation and democratic governance. She also served as gender focal point for OSIFE, promoting gender equality both within the organisation and through its grantmaking.
Renata began her career as an activist working on women’s rights. In Croatia, she worked with the organisation BaBe, focusing on gender-based violence—particularly sexual violence—by challenging harmful stereotypes, advocating for survivors, and pushing for fair legal processes. She was also involved in various reconciliation initiatives, including the Women’s Court for the former Yugoslavia, launched in 2010 to provide a platform for women’s testimonies of wartime and post-war violence, and seek reparations.
Renata serves on the Board of the Democracy and Belonging Forum at the Othering and Belonging Institute, where she explores how the concept of belonging can strengthen social justice work in Europe.
She remains active in the global Atlantic Fellows community, building on her experience as an AFSEE Fellow, with a focus on narrative change, storytelling, and the relationship between inequality and philanthropy.
She holds a BA and MA in Sociology and Phonetics from the University of Zagreb, and an MA in Human Rights and Democracy in Southeast Europe—a joint degree from the University of Sarajevo and the University of Bologna.
After spending over 15 years working as a human rights and social justice advocate, I find myself increasingly drawn back to my time with reconciliation movements—and the lessons they offered about how we speak about justice in highly polarized environments. Those experiences feel especially timely now, as we think about how to connect across differences and challenge the polarization strategies that aim to deny the shared values we hold.Renata Ćuk