Kathrin Deventer is Secretary General of the European Festivals Association (EFA) since 2008. With a political science background and following her work in Genoa, European Capital of Culture 2004, Kathrin Deventer started working at EFA in 2004, year when the Association re-launched its activities in Ghent/Belgium under the direction of Hugo De Greef. EFA communicates through facilitating cooperation among its members, engages in training and education for young festival managers, EFA supports research and know-how and plays an important role in advocacy and lobbying activities at a European level. In this context, Kathrin Deventer is a founding member of the European House for Culture, an initiative set up by the European Festivals Association, strategy group member of A Soul for Europe and is actively engaged in various EU- advisory platforms to give festivals a voice.