Programme Manager
Ana Rodrigues is an education and child development specialist with 20 years of international experience across development and humanitarian contexts. She holds a BA in Early Childhood Education from the Lisbon School of Education in Portugal, and an MA in Development Studies, specializing in Children and Youth Studies, from the International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Her work focuses on strengthening programmes spanning early childhood to youth within the fields of education, child protection, and psychosocial support. Ana has led programme design, curriculum development, capacity strengthening, and feasibility studies in more than 20 countries. She has supported the integration of life skills educational programmes into national education policies and curricula, while also contributing to the design and strengthening of social and emotional learning, child protection, and psychosocial support initiatives at system and service delivery levels.
She has collaborated extensively with international NGOs, multilateral organizations such as UNICEF, UNHCR, and UNODC, government ministries, and civil society partners. Her expertise includes educational programmes (formal and non-formal education), teacher professional development, inclusive and disability-sensitive approaches, child helplines and cross-sectoral coordination within child protection systems.
Ana is originally from Portugal but lives in The Netherlands since 2006 with her three children.
As a child
As a child, I was tranquil and enjoyed being creative. I loved doing arts and crafts and was always looking for new things to make with whatever I could find around the house. I was (and still am) always ready for a good laugh—my best friend and I would sometimes laugh so much together that people had to separate us. It was always in good fun.
Ana and play
Ana’s play was shaped by both her home and her surroundings. At home, her creativity thrived: She loved making arts and crafts from any materials available, organising little second-hand sales with her friends for her neighbors, and baking cakes. During the week, she didn’t spend much time playing outside near the house, but weekends were filled with adventures at her grandparents’ little farm. With her cousins, she built huts, gathered pine nuts to snack on, chased chickens, picked fruits from the trees, and even took baths in the water tank. Growing up in a village near the beach, she also spent hours at the beach, playing with the sand as a child and hanging out with friends during her adolescence. Play for Ana was always about exploring, laughing, and finding joy in simple things.
