Iris Luarasi PhD. is the director of Counselling Line for Women (CLWG) that is the National Helpline for victims of GBV in Albania. Since 2018, she is leading the Center for Security and Peace Albania, under the umbrella of CLWG that is working in P/CVE and R&R in designing and implementing innovative programmes that engage communities, direct beneficiaries (RFTF) as well as local and national institutions with the support of GCERF. The Center has established the first info call centre on countering violent extremism in Albania. Luarasi is currently a member of SEE Network for Women Professionals on P/CVERLT established from OSCE. Dr. Luarasi also leads the first male centre in Albania – Counselling Line for Men and Boys, that tries to rehabilitate perpetrators of domestic violence inside prison system and probation services and works on prevention with young boys in the country and fatherhood campaigns. Till mid of 2023 Luarasi was the President of GREVIO (a monitoring committee at CoE), while in 2022 she was chairing the Platform of Independent Expert Mechanisms on Discrimination and Violence against Women (EDVAW Platform) that gathers seven United Nations and regional independent expert mechanisms on violence against women and women’s rights operating at the international and regional levels, including GREVIO. She is also a board member of WWP European Network and a member of the Steering Committee of The High-Level Advisory Group (HLAG) at OSCE. Recognized for her achievements, Dr. Luarasi has received two awards in investigative media. As a professor at the Department of Journalism at Tirana University, she passionately imparts her knowledge to Albanian journalists, focusing on human rights, journalism ethics, and combating fake news, hate speech, and sexism. A respected opinion-maker, she frequently contributes to TV panels discussing human rights and current affairs.

Marieke Wierda is a Dutch diplomat and lawyer, born and raised in Yemen and educated in the UK and the US, and specialized in rule of law, international criminal law, and transitional justice. Currently she is the Deputy Ambassador for The Netherlands to Yemen, so is serving in the country of her birth. Previously she was the rule of law coordinator at the Dutch Ministry for Foreign Affairs, since 2015. Dr. Wierda has 20 years of experience in international relations, development cooperation and justice issues, with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the United Nations (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, United Nations Support Mission in Libya), and NGOs (International Center for Transitional Justice). She is the author of many book chapters and articles on international criminal law and transitional justice. She completed her PhD in international criminal law on the Impact of the International Criminal Court in Situation Countries (Leiden University, 2019).

Mr. Konaković was born in Sarajevo in 1974. He obtained a Master of Arts degree in Sports Management from the University of Sarajevo, Faculty of Sport and Physical Education. Mr. Konaković is fluent in English, Italian and Romanian. Professional career in sports:As a professional basketball player he performed in Bosnia and Herzegovina and abroad. He was a player and team captain of the „Bosna“ Basketball Club from Sarajevo and continued his international sports career performing for clubs from Slovenia, Italy, Hungary and Romania.In 2002, he was appointed manager of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Men National Basketball Team and between 2003 and 2007 he managed the „Bosna“ Basketball Club. From 2013 to 2016 Mr. Konaković was president of the Management Board of the Basketball Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina.Political career:Mr. Konaković became politically engaged in 2004. He was elected in the Municipal Council of the Centar Sarajevo Municipality. In the period 2010 to 2014 he was elected representative in the Sarajevo Canton Assembly. In the period from 2018 to 2022 he was both - Sarajevo Canton Assembly representative (Chairman of the Assembly) and a delegate in the House of Peoples, Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Between 2015 and 2018, Mr Konaković served as the Prime Minister of the Canton Sarajevo.In 2018 he founded the political party People and Justice (Narod i Pravda) and was elected as the Party President at the Founding Assembly in March 2018. His mandate was confirmed in November 2021 at the Party's First Congress.At the General Elections 2022 in Bosnia and Herzegovina he was elected to the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.Mr. Konaković assumed the office of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina on January, 26 2023.

Rangina Hamidi is an Afghan American writer, educator, social entrepreneur, and politician who served as Afghanistan’s minister of education until August 2021. She was the first cabinet-level, female minister of education to hold that position in thirty years. Ms. Hamidi works tirelessly to advocate for women’s rights by empowering girls and women through social entrepreneurship and education initiatives to build their lives.Ms. Hamidi is well-versed in pedagogy, child development, and psychology and led the Mezan International School, a private institution, as its first principal. The school’s progressive international curriculum garnered praise for its solid foundation of Islamic education, Afghan values and history studies. These accomplishments led the president of Afghanistan to ask her to bring her innovative approach to education as education minister. Currently, Ms. Hamidi is a professor of practice with Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University and resides in Dubai, UAE.She has contributed to numerous publications, radio programs and podcasts. Ms. Hamidi has co-authored “Embroidering within Boundaries: Afghan Women Creating a Future," which takes the reader on a pictorial journey into the stories of the courageous Afghan women she continues to serve.

Ambassador Dr Husam S. Zomlot is the Head of the Palestinian Mission to the United Kingdom. Prior to his appointment to the UK, Dr Zomlot served as Ambassador to the United States (Head of the PLO General Delegation to the United States), and Strategic Affairs Advisor to the Palestinian President. Dr Zomlot’s previous official roles include serving as Ambassador –at-large for the Palestinian Presidency and Director of Fatah Foreign Relations Commission. Dr Zomlot holds a PhD in economics from the University of London, was a professor of strategy and Public Policy at Birzeit University, where he co-founded and chaired Birzeit school of Government, and held a number of teaching and research positions at Harvard University and University of London. His professional experiences include working as an economist at the United Nations and Economic Researcher with London School of Economics and the Palestine Policy Research Institute.

Dr Gerhard Conrad holds a Ph.D. in Oriental Studies, International Politics and International Law from Bonn University/Germany. Apart from scientific achievements and expertise in defence intelligence gathered at the Federal Ministry of Defence between 1980 and 2005, he served for 30 years in the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND). He was involved in secret humanitarian mediation missions on behalf of United Nations Secretary- Generals Kofi Annan, Ban Ki-moon (2006-2008) and conflict parties in the Middle East (2002-2004, 2009-2011). He served as chief of staff for BND-presidents Uhrlau and Schindler (2009-2012) and as chief of the BND-station in London (2012-2015). In 2016, he was appointed Director of the EU Intelligence Analysis and Situation Centre (EU INTCEN). After his retirement in 2019, Dr Conrad has been teaching intelligence and politics within the Master Program for Intelligence and Security Studies (MISS) at the Federal University for Administrative Sciences in Berlin. In addition, he is visiting professor at King’s College, London, and teaches at Sciences Po, Paris. He is intelligence advisor for the Munich Security Conference, an Advisory Board member of the Counter Extremism Project CEP (www.counterextremism.com) and board member in the Forum Intelligence Services in Germany (www.gknd.org).

Rosalind Nyawira is a legal and security expert with over twenty years experience in countering terrorism and preventing violent extremism. She is a specialist in international terrorism, and most recently has been engaged in preventing and countering violent extremism (P\CVE). She has excelled in counter-terrorism theory and practice. She is the Director of the National Counter Terrorism Centre , a multi-agency body charged by law with the role of coordinating CT efforts in all of government and leading de-radicalisation efforts and also the coordination centre for all bilateral and multilateral efforts at preventing violent extremism. She also guides policy and legal framework on preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE), undertakes research to identify vulnerable populations, liaises with international players in identifying knowledge gaps and providing tailor-made solutions, exchanges with foreign partners on best CT practices and represents Kenya in international CT fora.She has wide experience formulating the National Counter-Terrorism Strategy and the National Strategy for Countering Violent Extremism and the bi-annual review, generating training programmes and offering training for government officers on the threat of terrorism, and guiding law and policy on terrorism mattersShe is the former head of the Joint Counter-Terrorism Analysis Centre. She is also an adjunct lecturer at the National Defence University, Kenya. She is also an advocate of the High Court of Kenya and is widely published widely in the field of law and terrorism.

Alexander Radwan was born in Munich in 1964, the son of an Egyptian father and a German mother. After graduating as an engineer in 1987, he pursued legal studies and was admitted to the bar in 1995. His political career began with his tenure as a Member of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2008, followed by a term in the Bavarian State Parliament from 2008 to 2013. Mr. Radwan was elected to the German Bundestag in the 2013 general elections and was re-elected in 2017 and 2021. In his legislative roles, Mr. Radwan has been active on the Finance Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee. Currently, he serves on the European Affairs Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee. In the latter, he focuses on the regions of China, Japan, and the Middle East, bringing his extensive political experience to inform his contributions in these areas of international relations.

Ambassador Michael (Mike) Hammer was named the United States Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa on June 1, 2022. His most recent assignment abroad was as the U.S. ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 2018-2022.During his over three decades of service, Ambassador Hammer has served as Acting Senior Vice President of the National Defense University. He served as U.S. ambassador to Chile from 2014-2016. Prior to his appointment in Chile, Ambassador Hammer served as Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs. Before joining the Bureau of Public Affairs, Ambassador Hammer served at the White House as Special Assistant to the President, Senior Director for Press and Communications, and National Security Council Spokesperson from January 2009 to January 2011. He previously served at the National Security Council as Deputy Spokesperson from 1999 to 2000 and as the Director of Andean Affairs from 2000 to 2001.Ambassador Hammer’s overseas postings include Bolivia, Norway, Iceland, and Denmark.Ambassador Hammer earned a Bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. He has a Master’s degrees from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and from the National War College at the National Defense University.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced on 7 October 2022 the appointment of Guy Ryder of the United Kingdom as Under-Secretary-General for Policy in his Executive Office. He will succeed Volker Türk of Austria who has been appointed as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Mr. Ryder was most recently Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva after serving two successive terms since October 2012. He first joined the ILO in 1998 as Director of the Bureau for Workers’ Activities and from 1999, served as Director of the Office of the Director-General. Mr. Ryder started his professional career in 1981 as an assistant at the International Department of the Trades Union Congress in London. From 1985, he held the position of Secretary of the Industry Trade Section of the International Federation of Commercial, Clerical, Professional and Technical Employees (FIET) in Geneva. In 1988, he became Assistant Director and – from 1993 - Director of the Geneva office of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU). In 2002, he was appointed General Secretary of the ICFTU and was elected as the first General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) when it was created in 2006. He returned to the ILO in 2010 as Executive Director, responsible for international labour standards and fundamental principles and rights at work. Mr. Ryder studied Social and Political Sciences at the University of Cambridge and Latin American Studies at the University of Liverpool. He speaks English, French and Spanish.

Born in Atyrau city on November 14, 1983Education2000 – 2006, Tomsk State University, Finance and Credit, Linguistics and Intercultural Communication2008 – 2010, University of Michigan, Master in Applied EconomicsHolder of the Presidential Bolashak International ScholarshipA member of the Presidential Youth Personnel Reserve 1.0.Language proficiencyKazakh, English, Spanish, German and RussianAcquired certificates and awardsDipIFR (IFRS) by ACCA, Professional Accountant“Eren enbegi ushin” (for outstanding service) and several jubilee medalsCareerCAREER BACKGROUNDSeptember 2005 – February 2006, Leading Specialist of the Department of Internal Administration Department, and the Department of International Relations, Ministry of Economy and Budget Planning, Republic of Kazakhstan.In 2007 completed an internship at the Ministry of Finance, Japan.February 2006 – October 2010, Expert, chief expert of the Investment Policy and Planning Department, Ministry of Economy and Budget Planning and the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, Republic of Kazakhstan.November 2010 - Head of the Strategic Development Division of the Strategic Planning and Analysis Department, Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, Republic of Kazakhstan.November 2010 – February 2013, Deputy Director of the Department of Budget Policy and Planning, Ministry of Finance, Republic of Kazakhstan.February – June 2013, Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Geology and Subsoil Use, Ministry of Industry and New Technologies, Republic of Kazakhstan.June 2013 – April 2019, Deputy Head of the Center for Strategic Research and Analysis and Deputy Head of the Department of Socio-Economic Monitoring, Executive Office of the President, Republic of Kazakhstan.April 2019 – February 2021, Deputy Head of the Division, Office of the First President – Elbasy, Republic of Kazakhstan.February 2021 – January 2022, Vice-Minister of National Economy, Republic of Kazakhstan.Since January 2022 - Minister of National Economy, Republic of Kazakhstan.

Manisha is Founder and Principal at Sunstone Strategy Group, a strategic advisory firm. She is on the board of trustees of the University of Florida Levin College of Law, the advisory board for the American Foreign Policy Council and the Meridian International Center. She is also a Visiting Fellow at the GMU Scalia Law School National Security Institute. Manisha previously served as Assistant Secretary for Economic and Business Affairs at the U.S. State Department, as well as Acting Under Secretary of State. In 2020, she was nominated to be U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Her Capitol Hill experience includes serving as Deputy Chief Counsel to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In addition to government, she was a senior executive at J.P. Morgan Chase as well as an attorney at large law firms.

Dr. Cheol Hee Park has been appointed as Chancellor of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy(KNDA) as of March 31, 2023. He has been a professor at the Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS) at Seoul National University since 2004. He was director of Institute for Japanese Studies (2012-1016), dean of the GSIS (2016-2018), and director of Institute of International Affairs (2019-2023) at Seoul National University. He served as President of the Korean Association for Contemporary Japanese Studies in 2017.Dr. Park acquired Ph.D. degree at Columbia University in the City of New York, after obtaining B.A. and M.A. at the political science department at Seoul National University. Before joining a faculty at Seoul National University in 2004, he was an assistant professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) in Japan between 1999 and 2002 and the Institute for Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS) between 2002 and 2004. He was a visiting professor at Columbia University, University of Tokyo, Keio University, and Nankai University in Chia. In 2022, he served as a senior staff at the Subcommittee on Foreign Relations and Security of the Presidential Transition Committee.In his personal capacity, Dr. Park worked as a board member at several thinktanks, including Asan Institute for Policy Studies, Sejong Foundation, East Asia Foundation, and Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation. He also served as a non-resident senior research fellow at the Atlantic Council. For ten years between 2012 and 2021, he wrote a column at Tokyo Shimbun. He has written a number of columns at Chousn Ilbo, Joongang Ilbo, Munhwa Ilbo, Maeil Business Newspaper, and the Seoul Newspaper.Dr. Park wrote a number of books and articles in Korean, English, and Japanese, including a book titled “LDP Politics and the Transformation of Postwar Japanese Regime(Seoul National University Press, 2011).

Muhammad Shehada is Palestinian writer and analyst from the Gaza Strip. He is currently the Cheif of Communications and Programs at Euro-Med Monitor, he's a columnist at the Forward and contributing writer to the New Arab, Newsweek and other publications.Shehada studied Security Risk Management at Copenhagen University,International Development at Lund University and Computer Engineering at the Islamic University of Gaza.

Lebanon's former security chief Major General Abbas IbrahimA key figure in the set piece that helped shape global politics of our region.His first major cases at the head of General Security came after the outbreak of the Syrian war in 2011. In 2013, he negotiated with Qatar to release LebaneseShiite hostages who had been held for 13 months by Syrian Sunni rebels. They were captured on their way back from a pilgrimage in Iran.In March 2014, he negotiated the release of Christian nuns from the Syrian town of Maaloula who had been kidnapped by jihadists four months earlier north of Damascus. It was Ibrahim who was then contacted to free various Western hostages in Syria. Thanks to his mediation, Kristian Lee Baxter (Canadian) and Sam Goodwin (American) were released in the summer of 2019. Ibrahim also succeeded in convincing Tehran, in June 2019, to release Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese resident of the United States who was arrested in 2015 while visiting Iran, on charges of “spying” for Washington.He became known for his mediation between conflicting parties after serving for almost 12 years at the helm of General Security, as he forged connections with – and between – people with directly opposed views. Ibrahim has been linked with a potential political role in the country ever since he left Beirut’s security apparatus at the beginning of this year 2023.Ibrahim’s patriotic political and social responsibility has always pushed him to serve people and their rights wherever and whenever they are exactly as what happening now in Gaza.

Chido Cleopatra Mpemba is the Youth Envoy at the African Union Commission where she assists in championing youth development issues in Africa.She was appointed as the second African Union Youth Envoy by the chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki in November 2021, as the youngest senior official in the history of the African Union and youngest diplomat in the chairperson's cabinet. Chido took over from Aya Chebbi from Tunisia. Before being appointed to the African Union as the Youth Envoy on 1 November 2021, she had worked as a banker at Standard Chartered Bank, and also worked for the Ministry of Youth Arts, Sport, and Recreation in her country, Zimbabwe.Prior to enrolling in an MBA program at Midlands State University, she earned her degree in Labour Organisational Psychology and Human Resource Management from Cape Town University in South Africa. She studied Leadership in Business at Dartmouth College during her Mandela Washington Fellowship in 2016.

Ambassador Deike Potzel was appointed Special Envoy for Middle East Humanitarian Issues by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on 17 October 2023.She continues to be Director General for Crisis Prevention, Stabilisation, Peace Building and Humanitarian Assistance at the Federal Foreign Office.Previously, she served as Inspector General at the Federal Foreign Office. She was Germany’s Ambassador to Ireland, Deputy Director-General for Central Services at the Foreign Ministry and Head of the Personal Office of Federal President Joachim Gauck.She also served as Deputy Head of Division for Personnel, Staff Development and Planning, Desk Officer for Iran and the Gulf Countries as well as the EU- Enlargement desk at the Foreign Ministry. She was posted to Iran and Singapore.Ambassador Potzel studied English and French Language and Literature. She is married with two children.

Elisabeth Kendall is “The Mistress” [President] of Girton College at the University of Cambridge. Previously, she held positions and researched at the Universities of Oxford, Edinburgh and Harvard, and served as Director of a UK government sponsored Centre aimed at building Arabic-based research expertise. Her current work focuses on the cultural production of militant jihadist groups and the Yemen conflict. She has advised and lectured at government, military and scholarly institutions all around the world and is a frequent contributor to international television and print media. She has spent significant time in the field, especially in Yemen. She holds doctorates from the Universities of Oxford (D.Phil.), Cambridge (inc. Ph.D) and Glasgow (hon. D.Litt) and sits on a broad variety of Boards and Trusts. She has authored and edited several works on Arabic and Islamic literature, language and culture and is currently working on a new book, Rock Stars of Jihad.