Nudhara Yusuf is Executive Coordinator of the Global Governance Innovation Network (GGIN) and Researcher with Stimson’s Global Governance, Justice & Security Program. She also serves as Global Youth Coordinator at the Coalition for the UN We Need (C4UN), and advisor to several civil society organizations including UNA-UK and NGOCSD-NY; serving on the Board of foundations and charities focused on empowering young people and women. Prior to Stimson, Nudhara worked with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)’s SDG Integration Team and helped build the UNDP Regional Bureau for the Asia Pacific’s Strategic Foresight Unit. She has supported both Indian state welfare ministers in designing social inclusion programs at the grassroots, and the British Shadow Secretary of State for Justice in UK’s Parliament. Nudhara’s research and advocacy primarily focuses on governance of and with future generations, the role of globalization, technology, and development in shifting the multilateral architecture, and engaging youth in governance. She is lead author of the AI and Cyber Chapter of the Doha Forum’s Future of International Cooperation Report 2023.

Bruno Lanvin is currently the President of IMD’s Smart City Observatory, and a Distinguished Fellow at INSEAD. He is the co-founder and co-author of four of the most widely used global indices on technology (Network Readiness Index), innovation (Global Innovation Index), talent (Global Talent Competitiveness Index) and Smart Cities (Smart City Index). He is also the author of the Future Readiness Economic Index Report (FREI). He is co-founder and advisor of Portulans Institute, a thinktank based in Washington DC. He is the founder and president of DL Partners, a Geneva-based consultancy, and of Descartes Institute, a think tank also based in Geneva.During 30 years, he worked at the United Nations and at the World Bank, where he held senior positions. He currently advises governments, international organizations and multinational companies on strategic issues and the overall notion of future readiness. He is a member of several boards in different parts of the world. His latest book (The Future Is Young) was published in July 2022.Previously, he was the Executive Director for Global Indices at INSEAD. From 2007 to 2012, he was the Executive Director of INSEAD’s eLab, managing INSEAD’s teams in Paris, Singapore and Abu Dhabi. From 2000 to 2007, Bruno Lanvin worked for the World Bank, where he was inter alia Senior Advisor for E-strategies, and Regional Coordinator (Europe and Central Asia) for ICT and e-government issues. He was also heading the Capacity Building Practice of the World Bank’s Global ICT Department, and Chairman of the Bank’s e‐Thematic Group. He has taught in a number of universities in Europe and in the United States.Bruno Lanvin studied in France and in the USA. He holds a BA in Mathematics and Physics, an MBA (HEC), a PhD in Economics (La Sorbonne), and certificates from INSEAD (IDP-C) and MIT (Smart Cities).A French national, and the proud father of four, he currently lives in Switzerland.

Ghida Fakhry is an international broadcast journalist with over 20 years experience as a reporter, news anchor, columnist/opinion writer, and moderator. She is currently based in Washington DC and hosts Inside America with Ghida Fakhry, a weekly program covering US politics, and Bigger than Five, a monthly global affairs program for international broadcaster TRT World. She regularly moderates UN conferences and other global forums, including the World Economic Forum. She was Moderator of season 1 of the recently-relaunched Doha debates. She has also been a contributor to the Huffington Post. At the launch of Aljazeera English in 2006, she served as a Lead Anchor for the Washington D.C. broadcast center.* She presented the daily prime time 'Newshour' and conducted high-level interviews for 'Talk to Aljazeera'’ In November 2008, she co-anchored the channel's 12-hour live coverage of the US presidential election from Washington D.C. She moved to the channel's Doha headquarters in 2010 as Senior News and Programs Presenter. She also hosted the award-winning program 'Witness' and was a regular presenter of the current affairs program 'Inside Story.'’A passionate journalist, Ghida started her career as a Political Correspondent for a leading UK-based Middle East newspaper before moving into television news. She was a frequent analyst on CNN International and a CNN World Report Contributor. As New York Bureau Chief for Aljazeera, she covered the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center and its aftermath. She reported on-location from Iraq and Afghanistan following the US-led invasion in 2003 and conducted in-depth interviews with senior US officials, including Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Colin Powell. Ghida Fakhry has also reported extensively from the United Nations in New York, covering the Security Council and annual sessions of the General Assembly. She traveled with Secretary-General Kofi Annan throughout the Middle East and Africa and conducted several in-depth interviews with him throughout his 10-year tenure. She also interviewed several Heads of State/Government, including Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, Israeli President Shimon Peres, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, among others.

Ann Snow MBE was appointed UK Special Representative for Syria in succession to Jonathan Hargreaves. She took up her appointment in May 2023.Ms Snow joined the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in 2009. She has served in Malaysia and worked on Iran, China and Counter Terrorism. Before joining the FCDO, she worked for an international human rights organisation, the UK Parliament and as a Middle East analyst in the private sector.Curriculum vitae2023 to present UK Special Representative for Syria2022 to present Full-time Language Training (Arabic)2020-2022 FCDO, Deputy Head, China Department2017 to 2020 FCO, Head Iran Nuclear, Middle East and North Africa Directorate2012 to 2017 Kuala Lumpur, Political Section, British High Commission2012  Full-time Language Training (Bahasa Malaysia)2009 to 2012 FCO, Research Analyst, Counter Terrorism Department2006 to 2009 Amnesty International UK, Policy Advisor2003 to 2006 UK Parliament, Committee Specialist, Foreign Affairs Committee2002 to 2003 Dunn & Bradstreet, Analyst/Editor2000 to 2002 Oxford Analytica, Middle East Editor

Dr. Al-Khal earned his MBBCh from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in 1989. He undertook his internship at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) in the State of Qatar, and in 1991, joined the Internal Medicine Residency Training Program at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, CT, USA, followed by completion of a 2-year fellowship in Infectious Diseases at Hartford Hospital. He was awarded the Diploma of the American Board of Infectious Diseases in 1996. He was recertified in Infectious Diseases in 2013.Dr. Al-Khal holds several clinical positions, chairs a variety of committees, and has led number of strategic projects at HMC. Between 1999-2001, he servwd as the Chair of Family Medicine and as the Chair of Department of Medicine from 2001 until 2012. Dr. Al-Khal has been the Head of Infectious Diseases  Division since 1998 and the Lead of the Communicable Disease Center and is also the National TB Program Manager and the Director of the Clinical AIDS Program. As Deputy Chief Medical Officer and the Director of Medical Education/DIO, he has notably led HMC's achievement of ACGME-I accreditation, and in 2018 recieved ACGME's Physician  International Award, to recognize his outstanding contributions to improving the quality of graduate medical education in Qatar. Dr. Al-Khal also has an advisory role to several public health programs under the umbrella of Qatar's Ministry of Public Health.Dr. Al-Khal currently holds an appointment as Adjunct Professor of Clinical Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine Qatar (WCM-Q) and as Clinical Professor of Medicine at Qatar University  College of Medicine  (QU CMED) as well as serves as QU CMED's Director of the Clinical Affairs  Department. He remains active in research and publishes regularly in the fields of Internal Medicine,.Pharmacology, Infectious Diseases  and Medical Education.

On 31 October 2022, Mr. Othman BELBEISI was appointed Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa (RD, MENA) with the IOM Regional Office, Cairo.Between September 2019 and September 2022, Mr. BELBEISI served as the Senior Regional Advisor for the MENA in Geneva HQ.Mr. BELBEISI joined IOM in March 2003. He has since held various positionsacross multiple IOM portfolios, including Chief of Mission, Libya (April 2013 to September 2019). He was the IOM Country Representative in Lebanon (February 2008 to April 2013) Mr. BELBEISI is of Jordanian nationality and commenced with IOM in Amman.Mr. BELBEISI has been deployed to numerous MENA locations throughout his career, with a focus on managing migration crises. He served as Emergency Coordinator for the Syrian and Libyan crises and act as the Director General's Special Envoy for Iraq since early 2022. Mr. BELBEISI has attained a wide experience in Emergency Responses and Migration Management.Holding both a bachelor's and master's degree in Business Administration, Mr. BELBEISI also contributed to numerous research papers on topics related to migration and displacement.

Dr Khalid Koser is the founding Executive Director of the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund, the global fund dedicated to preventing violent extremism. He is Professor of Conflict, Peace, and Security at the University of Maastricht. Khalid was appointed MBE for services to asylum seekers and refugees, chaired the World Economic Forum Future Council on Migration, and was editor of the Journal of Refugee Studies. He was recently ranked by Stanford University in the top 2 percent of scientists worldwide.

Debjani Ghosh is the President of the nasscom since April 2018. A veteran of the technology industry, she is the first women at the helm of the organization’s three-decade history. Driven by a strong belief in the need for human-centric technology that enhances lives and livelihood, Debjani is a vocal advocate for the ethical and responsible use of technology. Under her leadership, nasscom actively works with the industry to ensure responsible practices and build trust as a core competitive advantage for the tech industry in India. Under her guidance, NASSCOM has prioritized the development of a Responsible AI Resource Kit, in partnership with leading industry stakeholders, to promote the adoption of responsible tech solutions. Back in 2019, nasscom under her leadership coined the term “Techade” to define a decade where technology will play a transformative role to create a sustainable, equitable and safe future, powered by human-centric innovation.  Debjani also believes that by the end of this Techade  the Tech Industry in India will be established as the world’s leading technology ecosystem and the ""I"" in innovation will stand for India, fuelled by India’s young talent, the growing confidence in our capabilities to solve for the world and our proven success in building open and interoperable tech ecosystems like the Digital Public Infrastructure, to deliver at scale services grounds up. Debjani is also a vocal advocate for building a truly inclusive technology sector where talent and meritocracy thrives above all.  In January 2018, Debjani was felicitated by the President of India under the auspices of the ‘First Ladies’ program, which honors exceptional women pioneers in their respective fields. In 2020, she has been honored by Vogue as the Tech Leader of the year 2020. Recognizing her contribution in the field of technology, Debjani was also facilitated in ‘40 over 40 - World’s Most Inspiring Women’ list by Fe:maleOneZero (F10) Magazine in 2022. With multiple feathers in her cap, before joining nasscom, she was the first woman to lead Intel India and the Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology (MAIT), she was also a member of the executive council at nasscom. She believes that learning never stops, and a trainable mindset is the biggest strength one can have. Debjani holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Osmania University in Hyderabad, India, and an MBA degree in marketing from S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research in Mumbai, India.

Ms. Afrah Al-Zouba, is the managing director of the Executive Bureau for the Acceleration of Aid absorption and Support for Policy Reforms, as the bureau supports the government's efforts in priority areas. Al-Zouba was appointed as an advisor in the area of humanitarian relief to the Prime Minister, in 2019. She also served as Deputy Secretary-General of the National Dialogue Conference and the Constitution Drafting Committee (2013-2015).Al-Zouba was among a delegation of Yemeni women leaders participating in the Kuwait negotiations in 2017, at the invitation of the Office of the UN Special Envoy to Yemen. She  Participated in dialogues and seminars with other high-caliber Yemeni politicians and peacemakers to support UN efforts for peace building,   and represented Yemen in many regional and international events. She has worked for more than 20 years in development, research, conflict resolution and peacebuilding, and has extensive experience working with local communities, identifying their needs and strengthening their resilience. Her development experience covers a wide range of issues such as poverty reduction interventions to health and education, etc.She undertook supervisory roles for projects related to capacity building of youth and inclusion in political and social life. In addition to women’s empowerment programs.Al-Zouba holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Science and Technology in Sana’a, a Master’s degree in Community Health from the National University of Malaysia and a Bachelor’s degree in Pharmaceutical sciences from Sana’a University.

Folly Bah Thibault is a journalist, Principal Presenter for Al Jazeera English, based in Doha, Qatar. She is the founder and president of the NGO ‘Elle ira à l’école’ Fondation Kesso Bah- which promotes the education of young girls in Guinea and the West Africa Region. Folly is also Global Champion for Education Cannot Wait, the UN’s Global Fund for Education in Emergencies and Protracted Crises. Folly joined Al Jazeera Media Network in 2010, having previously worked at the French news channel, France24 in Paris and Voice of America in Washington D.C. As such, she has covered some of the world's biggest news and interviewed some of the world's top leaders, newsmakers, and other influential people including Bill Gates, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed and Nobel laureates Malala Yusufzai, Wole Soyinka and Dmitry Muratov. She is fluent in English, French and Peulh. And knows conversational Swahili."

1994-1998 – BA in International Relations, Baku Institute of Political Science and Social Management1998-2000 – MA in International Relations, Public Administration Academy under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan2000-2003 – Ministry of Foreign Affairs2003-2005 – Mission to OSCE, Vienna2005-2008 – Ministry of Foreign Affairs2008-2011 – Mission to EU, Brussels2011-2013 – Ministry of Foreign Affairs2013-2015 – Director, International Cooperation Dept., Ministry of EducationJune 2015-January 2017 – Deputy Chief of Staff, Ministry of EducationJanuary -June 2017– Chief of Staff, Ministry of EducationSince June 2017 – Deputy Chief, Secretariat of the First Vice-President of the Republic of AzerbaijanSince September 2020 - Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Mazen Shaqoura is currently the Regional Representative for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. He has over 25 years of experience with the United Nations in human rights, rule of law, democratic development, good governance and program management. In his previous incarnations, Mr. Shaqoura was deployed in Tunis, Bahrain, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Lebanon and Sudan.He is a Palestinian national, and is fluent in Arabic, English and French. He holds a Master of Arts in Diplomacy.

Dr. Christina Schori Liang is Head of Counter-Terrorism and Preventing Violent Extremism at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) in Geneva, Switzerland. She offers training and strategic policy guidance both in Geneva and for global security actors worldwide including the United Nations, the European Commission, NATO and the OSCE. Dr. Liang is a prolific writer on extremism, terrorism, and transnational organised crime. Since 2002, Dr Liang has taught University courses. In 2016, she became an Adjunct Faculty member of the Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA), Sciences Po where she teaches courses within the Global Risks and Intelligence Studies departments. She holds a doctorate in International Relations and an MA in History and International Politics from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Switzerland.

Omid is a senior cyber security advisor and leader with substantial experience leading cyber security initiatives across commercial and government industries. He holds Global Head of Cyber Security Practice and Managing Director roles at Palantir Technologies. Omid has spent over a decade in the financial services and technology sectors designing and implementing strategies focused on threat intelligence and incident response. He has also held an external doctoral research supervisor role at Kingston University and contributed to multiple security communities in Europe, including ENISA on cyber security best practices and research schemes.

Ruth Margolies Beitler is a Professor of Comparative Politics in the Department of Social Sciences at the United States Military Academy, West Point, where she serves as course director for Comparative Politics, Middle East Politics, and Cultural and Political Anthropology. She has been the director of the Conflict and Human Security Studies Program (CHSS) since its inception in 2006. She is author of four books: Women and the Military: Global Lives in Focus, published by ABC-CLIO, 2021; Women’s Roles in the Middle East and North Africa (coauthored) published by Greenwood Press, 2010; The Fight for Legitimacy: Democracy vs. Terrorism (coauthored) published by Praeger in 2006; and The Path to Mass Rebellion: An Analysis of Two Intifadas published by Lexington Press in 2004. She is the author of numerous book chapters and articles. A graduate of Cornell University with a BA in Near Eastern Studies, Dr. Beitler holds a Master of Arts of Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, where she also received her Ph.D. in International Relations/Middle East Politics. She has lived and traveled extensively in the Middle East.

Safwan M. Masri is Dean of Georgetown University in Qatar and Distinguished Professor of the Practice at Georgetown’s Walsh School of Foreign Service.  Prior to joining Georgetown, Professor Masri was Executive Vice President for Global Centers and Global Development at Columbia University, and a Senior Research Scholar at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. He joined Columbia University in 1988 as a member of the faculty of Columbia Business School, and served as Vice Dean from 1993-2005. He previously taught engineering at Stanford University and was a visiting professor at INSEAD (Institut Européend’Administration des Affaires) in France. Masri is the author of Tunisia: An Arab Anomaly (Columbia University Press, 2017). He is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations and an honorary fellow of the Foreign Policy Association. Masri is also a trustee of International College, serves as a director of AMIDEAST and Endeavor Jordan. He was founding chairman of King’s Academy and the Queen Rania Teacher Academy, and served as an advisor to Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah.

Ambassador Thomas Greminger served as Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) from July 2017 until July 2020. On May 1, 2021, he took over as Executive Director of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP).  As Secretary General, he acted as an effective crisis manager supporting successive Chairmanships in an increasingly polarized environment. In the final months of his term, he dealt with the COVID-19 crisis, working to protect the health and safety of staff while ensuring that the OSCE continued to carry out its critical mandates and maintained business continuity.  Despite the highly polarized political climate, Ambassador Greminger promoted dialogue among the 57 OSCE participating States as one of his key priorities. He sparked informal discussions on emerging challenges and opportunities such as the importance of technology to all dimensions of security or the link between climate change and security.

Dr. Joris Larik is Assistant Professor of Comparative, EU, and International Law at Leiden University in the Netherlands and Senior Advisor at the Stimson Center’s Global Governance, Justice & Security Program. He is an expert in EU external relations and global governance reform. In 2022, he was appointed to the Committee on European Integration of the Dutch Advisory Council on International Affairs and to the European Commission’s pool of arbitrators for disputes in the framework of bilateral trade agreements.  Dr. Larik's work has been acknowledged with several awards, including NATO’s Manfred Wörner Essay Award and the Mauro Cappelletti Prize for the Best Thesis in Comparative Law from the European University Institute. He is a former Fulbright-Schuman Scholar and Fellow at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study.  He is the author and editor of several books, including with Oxford and Cambridge University Press. He has published in leading international journals, including American Journal of International Law, Common Market Law Review, European Foreign Affairs Review, International & Comparative Law Quarterly, and Survival.  Dr. Larik’s international media appearances include Agence France-Presse, Al Jazeera, BBC World Service, CBC, EU Observer, The Hill, The Irish Times, Radio New Zealand, and Volkskrant.

Lise Morjé Howard is Professor of Government and Foreign Service at Georgetown University, where she teaches and conducts research on matters of war and peace. She also serves as President of the Academic Council on the UN System (ACUNS). Dr. Howard earned her A.B. in Soviet Studies from Barnard College of Columbia University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley. She studied Philology and Soviet Constitutional Law at Leningrad State/St. Petersburg State University during the collapse of the constitutional order. She has held yearlong fellowships at Stanford University, Harvard University, and the US Institute of Peace. She is the author of two award-winning books about different aspects of United Nations peacekeeping, both published by Cambridge University Press. She has conducted fieldwork in conflict zones in Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East, and Eurasia. Her scholarly articles have been published in the top scholarly and foreign policy journals such as International Organization, International Security, Foreign Affairs, and Foreign Policy. She is fluent in French and Russian. Prior to beginning graduate school, she served as Acting Director of UN Affairs for the New York City Commission for the United Nations.

Dr. David Passarelli is Director of UN University’s Center for Policy Research (UNU-CPR) which is co-located in New York and Geneva. He has overall responsibility for the direction and administration of the Centre’s research and policy advisory activities. He is a member of UN University’s Senior Management Group, and serves as UN University’s representative to the UN High-Level Committee on Programmes (HLCP).  Between 2022-2023, Dr Passarelli led the Secretariat of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism (HLAB). His research has been commissioned by UNICEF, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the UN Development Coordination Office (DCO), and the UK Ministry of Defence’s Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre (DCDC). Grants from the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and several philanthropic foundations have supported his work. Dr Passarelli focuses predominantly on issues of global governance, migration, strategic foresight, international development, and global finance. He holds a Doctorate in International Development from the University of Oxford. His recent publications include: • 2023. Report of the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism (New York: United Nations University).  • 2022. Stress-testing the UN’s regional prevention approaches (New York: United Nations University).  • 2021. Beyond Opportunism: The UN Development System’s Response to the Triple Planetary Crisis (New York: United Nations University).  • 2021. Governing Uncertainty (New York: United Nations University).

Hesham Youssef is a Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace (2019- present). He was a career diplomat with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt. From 2014-2019, he served as Assistant Secretary General for Humanitarian, Cultural and Social Affairs of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and completed his term in July 2019. From 2001-2014, he served as a senior official in the Arab League, as Official Spokesman and later the Chief of Staff to Secretary General Amr Moussa from 2003- 2011. From 2012-2014, Mr. Youssef was a Senior Advisor to the Secretary General of the Arab League, Dr. Nabil Elaraby, on issues pertaining to crisis management as well as the reform of the Arab League. Mr. Youssef worked extensively on conflict resolution in the Middle East and in particular the Arab Israeli conflict, reconciliation in Iraq as and other regional conflicts and issues. He wrote several papers on conflicts and developments in the Middle East.

Maruan El-Krekshi is the Head of CMI’s Middle East and North Africa programme, which includes, Libya, Palestine, Yemen, Iraq, Maghreb-Sahel. Prior to joining CMI, El-Krekshi served as a Governance Programme Officer with UNDP in Yemen for 3 years, working on elections, human rights, transparency, justice sector and civil society capacity development related projects. He has also worked for the World Food Programme, where he served as a Policy and Programme Support consultant in the Office of the Executive Director, in addition to short assignments with UNHCR and UNDP programmes in Libya. He holds a Master’s Degree in Development Studies from the University of Helsinki.

On 1 April 2022, Mr. Richard Bennett was appointed as the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan.  Mr. Bennett has served in Afghanistan on several occasions in different capacities including as the Chief of the Human Rights Service with UNAMA. He has previously played a role in the promotion and protection of human rights in Afghanistan and supported the UN on human rights issues, such as protection of civilians, transitional justice, child rights, rule of law, rights of people with disabilities, protection of human rights defenders and economic, social and cultural rights.  Mr. Bennett served with the UN as the Representative of OHCHR and head of the human rights components of peacekeeping operations in Sierra Leone, Timor-Leste, and South Sudan, as well as twice in Afghanistan (2003-07; 2018-19). He has been a long-term adviser to the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission.  Mr. Bennett was the Representative of OHCHR and head of OHCHR’s office in Nepal (2007-10), as well as Chief of Staff for the UN Secretary-General’s Panel of Experts on Sri Lanka and Special Adviser to the Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights in New York.  Mr. Bennett worked for Amnesty International (2014–17) as its Asia-Pacific Program Director and later as head of Amnesty’s UN Office in New York. From mid-2019, he worked as a consultant on UN human rights assignments in Afghanistan, Myanmar and New York.  Mr. Bennett is currently a visiting professor at the Raoul Wallenberg Institute in Lund, Sweden.

Since May 2020 Dr. Canan Atilgan the Middle East and North Africa department in the Department of European and International Cooperation. Prior to this, she was head of the Regional Political Dialogue Southern Mediterranean Regional Programme for four years and the South Caucasus Regional Programme in Tbilisi from 2011 to 2015 and the South Caucasus Regional Programme in Tbilisi from 2011. Her stations in the Konrad Adenauer Foundation also included office management in Thailand, the Palestinian territories and Jordan. Between 2005 and 2007 she was coordinator for European policy at the foundation headquarters in Berlin. She holds a PhD in Political Science with a focus on international relations.

Alex Thier is CEO of Lapis, a leading education, media, and communications company working across South and Central Asia, the Middle East, and North and East Africa. Alex was appointed by President Obama as Chief of Policy, Planning, and Learning at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and as the senior official in charge of assistance to Afghanistan and Pakistan. In these roles, he coordinated policy on key priorities including sustainable development, technology and innovation, climate change and renewable energy, gender equality and economic empowerment, development finance, and democracy and governance. Alex managed 1000+ staff with over $10 billion in programs and oversaw the creation of the largest-ever U.S. investment in women’s empowerment and the first-ever U.S. Strategy to End Extreme Poverty. Alex previously served as Executive Director of the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) in London, a preeminent global think tank with programs and over 500 staff, fellows, and associates in 40 countries, and as CEO of a $100m+ global anti-trafficking fund. He was Co-Director of the bi-partisan Task Force on U.S. Strategy to Promote Democracy and Counter Authoritarianism, and has held appointments at Stanford University, Freedom House, the US Institute of Peace, and the United Nations.

Dr. Arnoldo André is the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship of the Republic of Costa Rica. He holds a Doctorate in Law from the University of Hamburg, Germany. Previously, he served as a professor of International Law at the University of Costa Rica. Between 2010 and 2013, he held the position of President at the Costa Rican Chamber of Commerce, and from 1997 to 2022, he acted as the Honorary Consul of Norway in Costa Rica. He is also an attorney and a founding partner of Lexincorp Costa Rica. Dr. Arnoldo André's extensive background spans academia, law, and diplomatic roles, showcasing a breadth of experience in international relations, commerce, and legal practice. His contributions as an educator and a key figure in various organizations highlight his dedication to fostering relationships between countries and promoting legal expertise in Costa Rica and beyond.

Amb, Sani Bala did his NYSC in Imo State from July 1979 - July 1980 and in August of that year, joined the Ministry of External Affairs Lagos. While at headquarters he served in various departments and units beginning with Protocol Dept., (Liaison officer State House Marina, Lagos); Nigeria Pilgrims Board; Discipline Section; Inter African Affairs; Appointment, promotion and Establishment Div (APED); Consular and Immigration Dept; Middle East Division and office of the Hon. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs as Special Assistant from the Ministry and worked with five (5) different Ministers of State in that capacity (Amb. Zakari Ibrahim,Alhaji Saidu Isa, Chief Anthony Ani, Alhaji Hassan Paki and Alhaji Samaila Sambawa). From January, 1995 – December, 1996 Amb. Sani Bala served as an Honourable Commissioner and member of the Katsina State Executive Council on leave of absence on ground of Public Policy. He served as Hon. Commissioner for Trade and Commerce and latter was moved to the Ministry of Health, Social Development, Youth and Sports He also served in several Nigerian diplomatic and Consular missions abroad, between 1982- 86, Nigerian Embassy, Jeddah and later to the Consulate when the Embassy moved to Riyadh; 1988 – 92, Nigerian Embassy Cairo, Egypt as Counsellor and Head of Chancery; Sept,1997- Oct, 1998 Charge d'Affairs  At the Nigerian Embassy Dakar, Senegal; 1998-2001 Minister Counsellor and Head of Chancery in Nigerian Embassy Accra, Ghana; Jan, 2007- June,2008 Appointed Charge d'Affaires ENTITRE of Nigerian Embassy Tunis, Tunisia; June 2008 Appointed Consul General of Nigeria in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; December, 2011 Appointed Ambassador of Nigeria and on 12th June 2012 H.E. President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan presented Ambassador Sani Bala with his letters of credence as Nigeria's first Ambassador to the State of Qatar. Shortly after, in October 2012 Amb. Bala was appointed a Federal Permanent Secretary after successfully passing the rigorous selection examination and interview.  He was posted to the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) and on 24th August, 2013 he was redeployed to the Federal Ministry of Health where he retired on 15thApril, 2014 on the attainment of the mandatory retirement age of 60 years. The next day he started working for the former Chairman of PDP, H.E. Ahmadu Adamu Mu'azu as his Principal Secretary and retired from that post on 20th March, 2015. In February 2018, he joined the savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development (SCDDD), a NGO founded by Professor Ibrahim Gambari, the immediate past Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari. In june 2020, Amb. Bala was appointed the Executive director of the Centre. A position he has been occupying to date.

Thomas West serves as the State Department’s Special Representative and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Afghanistan. In prior roles in government, he served as Special Advisor to the Vice President for South Asia and Director for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the National Security Council from 2012-2015. From 2011-2012, Tom was the State Department’s senior diplomat in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, where he embedded with U.S. military colleagues and managed the civilian staff of a Provincial Reconstruction Team. From 2008-10, Tom served as Special Assistant for South and Central Asia to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, focusing on growing the U.S.-India strategic partnership. Early in his career, Tom was a political officer at U.S. Embassy Islamabad and Pakistan desk officer in Washington. Before rejoining government in January 2021, Tom was a Vice President at The Cohen Group, a global strategic advisory firm, and a non-resident scholar at The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. A native of State College, Pennsylvania, Tom earned an M.A. in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a B.A. in International Studies from Johns Hopkins University.

Samman J. Thapa is the Regional Adviser for Social Policy and Social Protection at UNICEF’s Middle East and North Africa Regional Office. In this function, he is responsible for technical leadership of UNICEF's agenda on Child Poverty, Social Protection and Social Sector Financing covering 20 countries in the Middle East and North Africa. He has previously worked in this area with UNICEF in Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam over the last 15 years. He has also worked briefly with UNDP and the National Democratic Institute focusing on governnance issues.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced on 1 April 2021 the appointment of Joanna Wronecka of Poland as his new Special Coordinator for Lebanon, United Nations Office of the Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL).  Ms. Wronecka succeeds Ján Kubiš of the Slovak Republic to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his commitment and leadership.  Ms. Wronecka brings over 25 years of experience in diplomacy, international security and Middle East affairs, serving since 2017 as the Permanent Representative of Poland to the United Nations, including during Poland’s membership in the Security Council (2018-2019), and as Under Secretary of State for Arab and African countries, development cooperation and Polish-United Nations relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland (2015-2017).  She previously served as Head of the European Union Delegation to Jordan (2011-2015), Ambassador of Poland to Morocco (2005-2010) and Egypt (1999-2003) as well as non-resident Ambassador of Poland to Mauritania (2006-2010) and Sudan (2000-2003). Ms. Wronecka further served as the Director of the Secretariat of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland (2003-2005), Director of the Africa and Middle East Department (1998-1999) and Deputy Director of the United Nations Department at the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1996-1998).   She holds a Ph.D. in Arabic philosophy and a master’s degree in Arabic philology from the University of Warsaw, and conducted research on Middle East and Islamic affairs at the Centre d’Etudes et de Documentation Economique et Juridique in Cairo and at the Polish Academy of Sciences. She is fluent in Arabic, English, French and Polish.

Melissa Bell is a correspondent for CNN based in the network’s Paris bureau, covering European and global news.  Most recently her work has focused on the war in Ukraine, reporting, over much of the last year, from inside the country and from Moscow. Her month’s long investigation with exclusive footage and access to a former Wagner commander revealed the dissatisfaction and demoralization even within Moscow’s elite fighting force. Her recent reports also include the first media access to the frontlines of the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the town of Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region, as the first images emerged of Ukrainian flags being raised once again.  She also travelled to the Georgia-Russia border to document the exodus of tens of thousand of men fleeing Russia and President Vladimir Putin’s military draft.  In September 2021, Bell reported from Haiti where she exclusively interviewed Prime Minister Ariel Henry about the former President Jovenel Moise’s assassination and the migrant crisis. Her work in the region was nominated for Outstanding Live Breaking News Coverage at the News Emmys.  She has also contributed to CNN’s major breaking news coverage of the French presidential elections of 2017 and 2022, the Covid-19 pandemic, the rise of European anti-Semitism due to lockdown, Brexit, the fire at Notre Dame cathedral, the migrant crisis, wildfires and the climate crisis in France and Belgium.  Bell joined CNN in October 2016 from France 24, where she was a political editor before being promoted to international affairs editor and correspondent. She has extensive knowledge of Africa and the Arab world and has covered most major news story for the network’s French and English-speaking channels, from the Haitian earthquake to Egyptian revolution and the war in Mali.  Beginning her career as a journalist in 1996, Bell worked for news wires before joining Granada Television in Manchester in 1999. She then moved to the BBC as a political reporter, where she covered Westminster for seven years.  Bell has a degree in politics from Warwick University and speaks French and English fluently.

In May 2023, the Global Fund Board announced the appointment of Lady Roslyn Morauta and Bience Gawanas as the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Global Fund Board for the 2023-2026 term. Lady Roslyn Morauta took up office as Chair of the Global Fund Board in May 2023. She has deep experience with the Global Fund for many years and from multiple facets: in addition to serving as Vice-Chair of the Board for the last four years, she has also represented the Western Pacific Region constituency as Alternate Board Member and served as Chair of the Papua New Guinea Country Coordinating Mechanism. She has been a long-standing and steadfast champion of health, HIV programs and gender issues. Her role in the Country Coordinating Mechanism has given her close understanding of Global Fund strategies and processes, the working of the Secretariat, and the practical implementation of grants at country level. Lady Roslyn has lived and worked in Papua New Guinea since 1982. Prior to that, she worked in publishing in England, taught Politics at the University of Ghana, the Australian National University and Queensland University, and worked as a research officer in the Defence Department in Canberra and for the Australian Social Welfare Commission.  

Amjad Atallah is managing director of Doha Debates. Amjad previously served in senior editorial and management roles at Al Jazeera English, as bureau chief for the Americas, and at Al Jazeera America as editor-in-chief. He was previously an editor of the Middle East Channel at ForeignPolicy.com. Before that, Amjad worked on human rights causes as a legal advisor and policy expert, focusing on Bosnia and Herzegovina, Palestine and Israel, Darfur and violence against women in wartime. He is also the co-founder and International Board Chair of Women for Women International, a peer-to-peer women’s support organization aiding women survivors of war throughout conflict zones around the world.

Dr. Wu Bingbing is Director of Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Peking University (PKU-CMES), Senior Research Fellow of Institute for International and Strategic Studies, Peking University (IISS-PKU), Director of Department of Arabic Language and Cultures at PKU, as well as State of Qatar Chair Professor in Middle Eastern Studies at Peking University. He received his PhD in Middle Eastern Studies at Peking University in 2003. His research interests focus on politics of contemporary Middle East, China-Middle East relations, Shi’i Islam and Iran studies. He is the author of The Rise of the Modern Shi’i Islamism (CASS Press, 2004) and editor of The Belt and Road Initiative: Cases of Practice and Risk Control in Cultural Affairs (Ocean Press, 2017), and also published a number of academic articles. He is currently a board member of China-Arab Friendship Association, China-Iran Friendship Association, and Chinese Society of Middle Eastern Studies.

Leslie A. Pal is Founding Dean of the College of Public Policy at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar. He is the author, co-author or editor of over thirty books, the most recent of which are Informing Action: Higher Education Countering Violent Extremism (2021), The Future of the Policy Sciences (2021), Global Governance and Muslim Organizations (2019), Policy Transfer: Micro- Dynamics and Macro-Effects (2017), Policy Making in a Transformative State: The Case of Qatar (2016), Frontiers of Governance: The OECD and Global Public Management Reform (2012), and Beyond Policy Analysis: Public Issue Management in Turbulent Times (6th edition, 2020). He has published over ninety articles and book chapters in a wide variety of areas of public policy and administration, and international public management reform. His articles have appeared in the journals Governance, Policy Sciences, Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis, Canadian Political Science Review, Political Studies Review, and Policy and Society. He was the Executive Editor of the Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis from 2015-2020, and is currently a member of the editorial boards of the International Review of Public Policy and the Journal of Economic Policy Reform. In January 2020 he was elected as one of the Vice- Presidents of the International Public Policy Association, and in 2022 as the Treasurer of IPPA. He is also on the Board of the Association for Middle Eastern Public Policy and Administration (AMEPPA). He has served as a consultant to the Open Society Foundations, the World Bank and the OECD, as well as several other international organizations.

Rula is a Palestinian woman human rights advocate and defender. Rula obtains two Master's degrees in human rights and international law in armed conflict. Rula has over 15 years of work experience in the field of human rights, refugee law, mobilization and advocacy. Before joining PIPD she was working at Al-Haq as head of Monitoring and Documentation department, before that Rula worked for five years with the Swedish Migration Agency as a senior analyst on migration, preceded by heading the Protection Department with UNHCR/in Iraq and Kuwait. Rula has extensive networks throughout Europe as she used to be active with Palestinian grassroot movements during her years in Europe.   In her role as Program and Advocacy Director at PIPD, Rula will focus on advocacy efforts including shaping PIPD's strategic direction and to increase PIPD's engagement with the Palestinian liberation movement in general, experts and activists alike.

Victor Zhikai GAO is Chairman of China Energy Security Institute; Chair Professor of Soochow University; Vice President of CCG; and Chairman of Yale Law School Association of China.  Victor Gao has extensive experience in government, diplomacy, securities regulation, legal, investment banking, PE, corporate management and media, and was Deng Xiaoping’s English interpreter in the 1980s. Victor served as the China Policy Advisor at the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission; and worked with Morgan Stanley, CICC and Daiwa Securities in the banking sector. Victor also held senior positions with CNOOC Limited as its Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Company Secretary, Member of the Investment Committee, and Director of CNOOC International.   Victor holds a J.D. from Yale Law School.

Sawsan chebli has served as State Secretary for Civic Engagement and International Relations from 2016-2021. She is a longtime and experienced foreign policy expert, having worked as the spokesperson to former German Foreign Minister and now president Frank-Walter Steinmeier and foreign policy adviser in the parliament to the Social Democratic Party, which she is a member of. Sawsan further is a member of and actively participates in many high-profile think tanks, such as the Koerber Foundation's Foreign Policy Network and Young Leader of the Munich Security Conference. Showing specific interest in promoting young people's engagement in foreign policy, Sawsan co-founded the Young Professional Chapter at the German Council on Foreign Relations. Apart from that, Sawsan is also a member of the Global Citizen Europe Board of Directors and a member of the Apolitical Foundation Global Advisor Network. Sawsan's wide range of expertise spans from identity politics, majority-minority relations, Islam and muslims in Western countries to racism, anti-semitism, and discrimination against minorities as well as international relations and security issues. As a social media influencer herself, Sawsan has experienced sexism, hate speech and digital violence against women, which is why she is so keen on being a strong voice for women's rights.In her role as CFFP Advisory Council member she will thus be particularly focusing on antifeminism in right-wing circles.

Ambassador Gabriel Munuera Viñals is an EU career diplomat. He has an extensive experience in the Middle East and North Africa region, EU Headquarters and in various diplomatic postings overseas. Prior to this appointment, Gabriel served as Head of Division for the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq and Regional Policies at the European External Action Service (EEAS). He served as Deputy Head of EU Delegation to Turkey, First Counsellor at the EU Delegation to Egypt, Desk officer for India, Head of the Economic, Political and Public Affairs Section of the EC/EU Delegation to the Philippines. Earlier in his career, he worked in the Americas Division of the Department of Political Affair, UN Secretariat in New York, as Political Affairs Officer; and as Research Fellow at the Western European Union Institute for Security Studies in Paris. 

Hadi Al-Bahra was born in Damascus in 1959. He obtained a degree in Industrial engineering from Wichita State University, Kansas, United States.  Al-Bahra used his experience in communications to serve the Syrian revolution from its inception in 2011. He co-founded groups for bolstering and coordinating communication between activists inside Syria and media outlets. He has also been involved in a number of political, media, and humanitarian relief activities.

Farea Al-Muslimi is a research fellow at Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa Programme. His research focuses on Yemen and the wider Gulf region.  Prior to joining Chatham House, he was a non-resident fellow at Carnegie Middle East Center and the Middle East Institute in Washington, also working at the National Democratic Institute (NDI), Beyond Reforms and Development, and Resonate! Yemen. He co-founded the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies in 2014, serving as its first chairperson until 2022, and growing the organization into Yemen’s premier think-tank.

Associate professor and founding director of the program of social policy and program evaluation (PROSPER) at the College of Public Policy at Hamad Bin Khalifa University

Mehdi Hasan is an award-winning British-American host and analyst for MSNBC in Washington DC and the author of the New York Times best-selling book ‘Win Every Argument’

Wadih Al-Asmar is a human rights activist from Lebanon. He is the co-founder and President of the CLDH (Lebanese center for human rights) and Board member of the FEMED (euro-Mediterranean federation against enforced disappearance) ¹². He was elected as the President of EuroMed Rights in 2018 for a three-year mandate, renewed in 2021. Wadih has actively participated in the drafting of several laws related to Human Rights in Lebanon, such as the draft Law on the criminalization of torture, on the creation of the National Human Rights Institution and the Law 105 in Lebanon on the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared especially on the part related to the fight against impunity.

Lama Fakih is Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa director and the director of the Beirut office. Prior to her current role, Fakih was the Director of the Crisis and Conflict Division from October 2019 through February 2022 and the Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa Division from September 2016 through September 2019. She was a Senior Crisis Advisor in Amnesty International’s Crisis Response Program and was Human Rights Watch’s Syria and Lebanon researcher from 2011 to 2015.Previously, she worked as the Gender, Human Rights, and Counter-Terrorism Fellow at the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ) at the New York University School of Law. In 2008 to 2009 she was the Center Fellow at CHRGJ, where she worked on a range of human rights issues including corporate accountability and human rights and counter-terrorism. Additionally, Fakih was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to conduct research on the implementation of Islamic law in the Egyptian National Courts.Fakih holds a bachelor’s degree from Sarah Lawrence College and a law degree from New York University, where she was awarded the Ann Petluck Poses Memorial Prize for her work in the university’s International Human Rights Clinic. She speaks English and Arabic.

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.

Her Excellency, Lolwah R M Al-Khater was appointed as the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar as per His Excellency, Mohammad Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs’ Decision number 43 for the Year of 2017. Her Excellency was appointed as Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs per HH the Amir Decision No 56 of 2019, in addition to her duties as Official Spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry.Before her appointment as the Spokesperson, HE Lolwah joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Minister Plenipotentiary. She also served as the Director of Planning and Quality at Qatar Tourism Authority and as a Research Project Manager at Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development.Her Excellency, was appointed as Media City board member as per HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior decision no 20 of 2019, she is the Executive Director of Doha Forum, and vice-Chairman of the Qatar Fund for Development.Besides the official capacity, HE. Al-khater is Member of the Board of Trustees at College of Islamic Studies of Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Member of the Board of Trustees at Georgetown University in Qatar, and Member of the Board of Trustees of Qatar Museums. She has been working as an Independent Policy Analyst participating in conferences and multiple publications, and she is the co-editor of “Policy-making in a Transformative State: the case of Qatar”, a book published by Palgrave Macmillan. Al-Khater also wrote a book titled "Educational Outputs and Labor Market Needs: A study on Labor Market Issues and methods of Addressing Them" and was published through the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

H.E. Erika MouynesChair, Atlantic Council -Arsh Center,Fellow, Leadership Initiative at HarvardFr Minister of Foreign Affairs of PanamaMinister Erika Mouynes, a diplomat and business executive, is the Chair of the Atlantic Council, Latam Center and a Fellow at the Advance Leadership Initiative of Harvard University.   She brings over two decades of high-level government and private sector experience.  She has held several high-ranking governmental positions, practiced as a senior attorney in a top global law firm and been responsible for executive management of the business and legal affairs of a multibillion investment company on Wall Street.  In her role as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Panama, she achieved notable “first female” milestones for the Latam region and earned recognition for empowering women and brokering global alliances to protect biodiversity.   During her roles in the private sector, she provided strategic counsel on intricate corporate transactions, including cross-border infrastructure and investment projects in emerging markets.  As a Fulbright Scholar, she completed her third master’s degree at the University of California at Berkeley.

Dr Hanan Balkhy was appointed Assistant Director-General for Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in 2019, and she was elected as the new Regional Director Elect for the Mediterranean Region in October 2023.In ADG’s role she provides political and technical leadership to curb the devastating health and economic burdens of drug resistance. The work includes focus on both supporting countries to implement AMR National Action Plans and strengthening the global response, including through multi- sectoral collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization, World Organization for Animal Health, and United Nations Environment Programme. Prior to joining WHO, Dr Balkhy was Executive Director for Infection Prevention and Control at Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of National Guard, and the first Chairperson of the Infectious Diseases Research Department at the King Abdullah International Medical Research Center in Riyadh.She also served as Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Infection Prevention and Control and Antimicrobial Resistance at King Abdulaziz Medical City Hospital. A graduate of King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Dr Balkhy completed her paediatric residency training at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, USA, and held a paediatric infectious diseases fellowship with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and Case Western Reserve University, also in the USA.

H.E. Mr. Ahmad Faisal bin Muhamad is a diplomat with over two decades of experience in international relations. He currently serves as Malaysia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York.Born in Kelantan, Malaysia, on May 24, 1970, H.E. Mr. Ahmad Faisal holds a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and International Relations from the University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom. He furthered his education at the London School of Economics and Political Science, earning a Master of Science and a Doctor of Philosophy in International Relations.H.E. Mr. Ahmad Faisal began his diplomatic career in 1994. He has held various positions within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and served as Ambassador of Malaysia to Myanmar and Permanent Representative of Malaysia to the United Nations Office and other International Organisations in Geneva, Switzerland.In 2023, he was appointed Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Malaysia to the United Nations in New York.

Lisa Marie Ullrich is Director of Programs at the Munich Security Conference. In this role, she is developing and overseeing the MSC’s various programs and event formats, and coordinating the main agenda of the annual Munich Security Conference. Additionally, she serves as a Member of the Executive Board of the Munich Security Conference Foundation. Previously, she headed the office of former MSC Chairman Ambassador Ischinger.Before joining the MSC, Lisa gained professional experience as a Carlo Schmid Fellow at the UNICEF MENA Regional Office in Amman, the UNICEF Headquarters in New York, the German Federal Foreign Office’s Middle East division, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation’s regional program Gulf States in Abu Dhabi, and ZDF German Television. She holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Dresden & Université de Nice Sophia-Antipolis, and a Master of Public Policy from the Hertie School of Governance and Georgetown University. She is an Atlantik-Brücke Young Leader, a member of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Goalkeepers Community, and an alumna of the German Academic Scholarship Foundation.

Mr. Luigi Di Maio served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy from September 2019 to October 2022. In 2022 he was President of the of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly. From June 2018 to September 2019 he held the positions of Deputy Prime Minister of Italy, Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Minister of Labour and Social Policies. From March 2013 to March 2018 he was Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies and a Member of the European Union Affairs Committee in the 17th Italian legislature. During his mandate as Foreign Minister he chaired, among others, the G20 Foreign Affairs Ministers meeting, the G20 Trade Ministers meeting, the G20 Ministerial Meeting on Afghanistan, the June 2021 plenary Ministerial Meeting of the International Anti-Daesh Coalition, as well as the first Mediterranean Ministerial Dialogue on the Food Security Crisis in June 2022. He was the chair of three annual editions (2019, 2020, 2021) of the MED Dialogue Conference aiming to develop a positive agenda for the wider Mediterranean region, at a time of pandemic and political and economic transition, based on multilateralism as a strategy for conflict resolution. He was born on 6 July, 1986 in Avellino, Italy.

Dr. Mabel Lu MIAO is the Co-founder and Secretary-General of the Center for China and Globalization (CCG), a leading Chinese non-government think tank ranking in 64th place globally; As the only think tank in China granted “Special Consultative Status” at the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), CCG is also the only non-governmental think tank with the qualification for partnership with Munich Security Conference (MSC) and Paris Peace Forum (PPF). Over theyears under the co-leadership of Dr. Miao, CCG has gained wide international recognition and grown into a significant think tank with global impact that promotes China’s globalization process.Dr. MIAO also serves as Co-founder and Secretary General of Global Young Leaders Dialogue (GYLD) program, Deputy Director General of the Alliance of Global Talent Organizations (AGTO), Secretary General of China Global Talent Society.Dr. MIAO is an experienced public speaker, having delivered keynote speeches, participated and moderated numerous panels at home and abroad. In 2016, she was met by the King of Belgium at his palace as one of seven representatives of young global leaders from Northeast Asia, has been invited to speak at Doha Forum in 2018 and 2019 and at Paris Peace Forum for five consecutive years. In 2020, she was selected as Young Leader for Munich Security Conference (MSC). In 2021, as the representative of Munich Young Leader, she was invited to post questions to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres at the Munich Security Conference Special Edition 2021; at the same year she was also appointed as Co-Chairman of Think20 (G20 Summit 2021 Think Tank) Task Force 8. Led by Dr. Miao, GYLD (Global Young Leaders Dialogue) program has aroused wide attention and received positive responses at home and abroad.

His Excellency Macky Sall, President of the Republic of Sénégal, is a Geological Engineer and Geophysicist trained at Institut des Sciences de la Terre (Institute of Earth Sciences, Sénégal), then Ecole Nationale Supérieure du Pétrole et des Moteurs (Higher National School of Petroleum and Engines-ENSPM) and Institut Français du Pétrole-IFP(French Institute of Petroleum) both in France. He is a Member of several National and International Associations of Geologists and Geophysicists.

Hon. N.P. Saud assumed the office of the Foreign Minister of Nepal on 16th April 2023. He previously served as Minister for Irrigation (2014-2016) and State Minister for Education and Sports (2001-2002).Mr. Saud is currently a Member of Parliament from Kanchanpur-2 constituency of Sudurpaschim Province. Currently, he is a member of the Central Executive Committee and the Central Working Committee of the Nepali Congress Party.Mr. Saud was previously elected as Member of Parliament in 1999 from Kanchanpur-1 and Member of the Constituent Assembly in 2013 from Kanchanpur-2. While in Parliament, he successfully fulfilled his responsibilities as member of the Finance Committee, Parliamentary Hearing Committee and Public Accounts Committee.Hon. Foreign Minister started his political career in the 1980s, playing an active role in student movement as well as Satyagraha, while serving in various positions within the Nepal Student Union (NSU), an important wing of the Nepali Congress Party. He was active in the democratic movement of 1990 and his role in student politics culminated in his election as President of the Central Committee of Nepal Student Union (1991-1996). Mr. Saud was also at the forefront of the most recent People’s Movement of 2006. In the course of his long political career, he has been imprisoned several times for his political beliefs and participation in movements for democracy.Mr. Saud has a Bachelor’s Degree in Humanities & Social Sciences from Tribhuvan University Kathmandu.

Richard Atwood is Crisis Group’s Executive Vice President, based in Brussels.For several years, Richard was Crisis Group’s chief of policy, working with regional programs and other colleagues to develop and promote the organisation’s analysis and prescriptions. Prior to that, he was New York director, representing Crisis Group at the United Nations. He helped pioneer the organisation’s cross-regional work, notably on Islamist militancy. Before moving to New York, he spent five years as Crisis Group’s research director in Brussels.Before Crisis Group, Richard worked for some fifteen years across the Middle East, Africa, South Asia and Latin America for the UN and other organisations, with extended periods in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Nigeria, Kenya, Guatemala, Colombia and Peru. He has a Master’s Degree in public policy from Princeton University.

Rossella Miccio is President of EMERGENCY since 2017.Always driven by the principle of free and high-quality healthcare for all, Rossella has played a pivotal role developing the organisation’s projects around the world.In her previous position as Director of the Field Operations Department, she worked to develop EMERGENCY’s humanitarian programmes in Afghanistan, Sudan, and Uganda, whilst developing key strategic international partnerships.She cooperated with the Sudanese authorities to open the Salam Centre for Cardiac Surgery in Khartoum in 2007, the first free centre for cardiac surgery on the African continent. In 2013, she worked with the Ugandan authorities to promote and facilitate the construction of the first regional Centre of Excellence in Paediatric Surgery in Entebbe.In her role as President, Rossella leads EMERGENCY’s involvement in global events like the Paris Peace Forum and World Innovation Summit for Health, and movements such as the People’s Vaccine Alliance and the European Citizens Initiative’s Right2Cure.Since 2003, she has sat on EMERGENCY’s Executive Committee and she has been a member of the Italian National Council for Development Cooperation since 2015.Rossella holds a postgraduate degree in Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution from Uppsala University, Sweden.

Tim Watts is the Federal Member for Gellibrand and has served as the Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Albanese Government since 2022.Tim was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2013 and for a decade has served one of the most diverse electorates in Australia.Before entering Parliament, Tim worked in the technology sector, as a Senior Manager at Telstra and a Solicitor at Mallesons Stephen Jaques (now King & Wood Mallesons). Tim worked on critical tech issues including the roll out of the National Broadband Network, the auction and distribution of sections of the radio communications spectrum and network pricing regulation. He also worked as the Deputy Chief of Staff for the Minister for Communications and a Senior Adviser to the Victorian Premier.Tim is the author of two books, “The Golden Country: Australia's Changing Identity” and “Two Futures: Australia at a Critical Moment” (along with co-author and fellow MP, Clare O'Neil).Tim holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from Bond University, a Master of Public Policy from Monash University and a Master of Science (Politics and Communications) from the London School of Economics.

Ali Sabry, President's Counsel, received his primary education at Kalutara and Zahira College in Colombo before enrolling at Sri Lanka Law College in 1992. He was a prominent student leader and debater during his time at Law College. He was admitted to the Sri Lankan bar as an Attorney-at-Law in 1995 and went on to build a successful litigation practice.He appeared in a number of high-profile and historic cases, with many of them being covered in the Sri Lanka Law Reports and publications. In 2009, he was named the Outstanding Young Person of the Year for his achievements in the legal field. He was an active member of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, where he served as Deputy President and Treasurer, as well as a member of the Sri Lanka Law Commission.He held executive and consultative positions in a variety of statutory authorities and business sector entities, and he was the Sri Lankan Consul General in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in 1997.Mr. Ali Sabry was bestowed silk and appointed as President's Counsel in 2012, making him one of the youngest ever.He was appointed Minister of Justice of Sri Lanka on August 12, 2020. Mr. Ali Sabry began an unprecedented overhaul of the Sri Lankan justice sector upon gaining office. In honour of his efforts to improve the Sri Lankan judicial system, Mr. Ali Sabry was asked to speak at an event during the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in 2021.Mr. Ali Sabry was appointed Finance Minister of Sri Lanka on April 4, 2022, in the middle of an economic crisis, and was entrusted with initiating debt restructuring and negotiating processes to recover the Sri Lankan economy. As Finance Minister, he initiated broad economic reforms, including discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the implementation of long-overdue processes that established the groundwork for restoring stability to the Sri Lankan economy.Mr. Ali Sabry was appointed as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka on 22nd July 2022.

Sultana Afdhal is the Chief Executive Officer of the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH). An initiative of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development - WISH’s vision is to bring about a healthier world through global collaboration and serves as a platform for health leaders and innovators from around the world. Within Qatar, Sultana has put significant effort into the creation and implementation of innovative health programs and pilot studies, most recently on the concept of protecting health in dry cities, in recognition of Qatar’s desert climate, and the introduction of screening programs for children to measure the impact of COVID-19 and toxic stress related conditions. She has also been instrumental in developing and championing learning programs for children with autism and special needs. In 2019, Sultana was made an honorary nurse and awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal, the highest international accolade a nurse can achieve, in recognition for her work in championing the work of nurses and midwives around the world. Sultana sits on the Boards of both the World Health Organization’s State of the World Nursing Committee, and the State of the World Midwifery Report. Sultana was recently appointed as Board Member of the Renard Academy, a school that provides specialized services for children with autism. She also sits on the Editorial Board of the BMJ Innovation Journal, Terasaki Institute as well as the Carter Center’s Journalism Fellowship Advisory Board. Successfully overseeing three WISH global summits, Sultana has been instrumental in creating fruitful new partnerships with a diverse range of organizations that have an interest in the health and wellbeing of societies.Away from the office, Sultana has a master’s degree in English Literature from Oxford and is a published author. Combining her passion for literacy and global health, she dedicated the proceeds of her first book the to the Fight for Sight charity. 

David Des Roches is an associate professor at the Near East South Asia Center for Security Studies. Prior to this, he was the director responsible for defense policy concerning Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Prior to this assignment, he has served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense as the DoD Liaison to the Department of Homeland Security, as the senior country director for Pakistan, as the NATO operations director, and as the deputy director for peacekeeping. His first job in government was as a special assistant for strategy and later as the international law enforcement analyst in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.A British Marshall Scholar, he has also attended the Federal Executive Institute, the German Staff College’s Higher Officer Seminar, the US Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare School and the US Army Command and General Staff College.An Airborne Ranger in the Army Reserve, he was awarded the Bronze Star for service in Afghanistan. He has commanded conventional and special operations parachute units and has served on the US Special Operations Command staff as well as on the Joint Staff.

HE Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh al-Khulaifi was appointed Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by Amiri Decree No. 5 of 2023.The Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs supervises the implementation of political, regional and international files related to mediation and dispute settlement.Prior to that, Dr. Al-Khulaifi held the position of Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Regional Affairs under Amiri Decree No. 10 of 2022. He also worked as Dean of the Faculty of Law and associate professor of law at the Faculty of law, Qatar University before joining the Ministry. He obtained a BA in Law from Qatar University, as well as an MA and a PhD in Law from the University of California - Berkeley, USA. He has a number of publications and scientific research in the field of law.Dr. Al-Khulaifi has joined several State councils and committees, including the Board of Directors of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, the Board of Directors of the Qatar Financial Markets Authority, the Board of Directors of Doha’s International Center for Interfaith Dialogue, the Permanent Committee on the international Law of the Sea in the Ministry and, the Permanent Committee on Legislative Affairs at the Council of Ministers.Prior to assuming this position, Dr. Alkhulaifi served as a legal advisor to His Excellency Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar in 2018, and Agent of the State of Qatar before the International Court of Justice in The Hague in 2018. He also served as a lawyer before the Qatari Court of Cassation, and an adjudicator at the Qatar Financial Center Regulatory Authority in 2017.

On 2 May 2023, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Edward Chaiban of Lebanon as Assistant Secretary-General to serve as the Deputy Executive Director, Humanitarian Action and Supply Operations, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).Previously Mr. Chaiban was the Global Lead Coordinator for COVID-19 Vaccines Delivery Partnership (CoVDP), since February 2022, heading an inter-agency partnership put together by UNICEF, WHO and Gavi.Working for UNICEF, he has been Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Director of Programmes, Director of Emergency Programmes, Representative in Ethiopia, Sudan and Sri Lanka, Regional Emergency Advisor for the Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office and Deputy Chief of Operations for the Operation Lifeline Sudan consortium based in Nairobi.Prior to joining UNICEF, Mr. Chaiban was Country Representative for Catholic Relief Services in Haiti, Kenya, Uganda and Sudan. He also worked as a Programme Manager focusing on food security and child survival.Mr. Chaiban is a national of both Lebanon and the United States of America. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology and Political Science from Tufts University and a Master of Arts Degree in Development and Arab Studies from Georgetown University, USA.

Dr. Al Meraikhi was appointed as Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Public Private Partnerships and Islamic Social Financing on 1 January 2022. In line with the Secretary-General’s vision and efforts to prevent crises and conflicts, through the advancement of sustainable development, addressing the root causes of conflict and improving the quality of the United Nations’response, the Special Adviser is appointed to support the Secretary-General's ongoing outreach in broadening and strengthening engagement and dialogue with key partners, including private sector and member states, particularly in the Global South and Islamic financing institutions toward meeting these objectives.  In December 2019 he was appointed as the Special Adviser to the UN Secretary General focused on increasing engagement and dialogue with member states, particularly in the Global South, and with the private sector. Dr. Al Meraikhi was appointed by UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon as his Humanitarian Envoy in December 2016. This appointment was reaffirmed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres.As Humanitarian Envoy to the Secretary-General, Dr. Al Meraikhi worked closely with the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs focusing on supporting multilateral humanitarian response efforts by raising the profile of humanitarian crises with Governments and non-governmental organizations and increasing their engagement with the international humanitarian community. Dr. Al Meraikhi's experience includes work with the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an Ambassador. Prior to his appointment, Dr. Al-Meraikhi joined the UN CERF-Advisory Group as a member in November 2013 and elected to be the Vice-Chair in October 2015. Dr. Al-Meraikhi served as Vice President of the Qatar Regulatory Authority for Charitable Activity since 2014. He simultaneously served as the Founding Director of the International Development Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar (2010-2016) and had served as Director General of the Qatar Development Fund (2010-2015). In 2008, Dr. Al-Meraikhi began his association with charitable associations; serving as Vice Chairman of the Qatar Coordination Committee for Charity Associations (2008) whose primary objective was to coordinate activities and assist in developing Qatari civil society. He served as a member of the Executive Committee for the Education Above All Foundation (2011-2016) and served as Vice Chairman for the Standing Committee for the rescue and relief work and humanitarian assistance in the affected areas of sisterly and friendly countries (2010-2016).  He holds a Master's Degree and Doctorate from Sheffield Hallam University in the United Kingdom.

Gustau Alegret is an international broadcast Emmy-award winning journalist and recognized media leader by the World Economic Forum, who works in Washington DC for the international news channel NTN24. He has over 25 years of professional experience working in various media outlets in Spain and in the United States, and currently is the Managing Editor and Anchor of Club de Prensa and Cuestion de Poder — two daily interview broadcast shows.He is committed to fact checking and producing news for social interests, based on the principle that journalism is a public service, especially nowadays when misinformation and fake news are rampant around the world.

Roya Mahboob is Afghanistan's first female tech CEO and an entrepreneur making a significant impact beyond the business world. She uses her success and expertise in technology to educate and empower Afghan women and girls while advocating for their rights. Mahboob founded the Digital Citizen Fund (DCF) to improve the technological and financial literacy of Afghan women. She also co-founded the Afghan Girls Robotics Team and provides support to them. Mahboob is actively involved in promoting robotic education through the Inoura platform and is planning to launch an online platform called Zalla, which aims to amplify the voices of Afghan women and journalists. She consistently emphasizes the importance of STEAM education and economic opportunities for women and girls, particularly in relation to human rights. Mahboob's contributions have been widely recognized. She was named one of TIME's 100 Most Influential People in 2013 and has received prestigious awards, including the Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Award in 2014, the Advancement of Gender Equality through Education Award, and the Young Leader of World Economic Forum in 2015. She was recognized as an Asia Game Changer in 2019 and received the Doha Forum Award in 2022. Additionally, Mahboob has been honored with the Lantos Human Rights Awards and the Presidential Leadership Scholarship. She also received an honorary Doctorate of Science from McMaster University.

Selim Eddé develops and leads public policy campaigns across the full range of policyareas that impact Google and the web. Key issues include technology innovation,economic development and intellectual property.A passionate public policy leader, Selim is a thought leader on building innovationprograms with governments and has a particular expertise in digital transformation at acountry level, labor markets, entrepreneurship and job creation initiatives.Selim advised governments in MENA and Africa as well as Latin America , providingstrategic programs and was previously the Vice President of Government Affairs at SAP,setting strategy, devising and implementing plans in Government Relations at SAPMENA. Formerly, Selim was the Country Development Officer at Cisco, and SeniorRegional Lead at Hewlett-Packard and IBM.A frequent speaker at regional and international events, with appearances in thespecialised media, Selim graduated from Imperial College-London with a mastersdegree in management sciences. He is married, has two adult children and lives inDubai.

Lana Khalaf is the General Manager for Microsoft Qatar. With over 20 years of experience in the industry, she has been instrumental in furthering Microsoft’s mission to transform businesses and industries, redefine learning, and fuel a knowledge-based economy to enhance the country’s global competitiveness. Khalaf began her career with Microsoft in 2006 as Regional Developer evangelist, and has since served as Education Lead and Public Sector Director. In September 2018, she was appointed General Manager of Microsoft Qatar, where she leads a team of 180 employees that spearheads the company’s efforts in supporting the country in its pursuit of the National Vision 2030.Khalaf is dedicated to empowering governments, enterprises, startups, communities, and partners to harness the power of technology to reimagine industries and economies. She has led crucial strategic initiatives, including Smart City initiative, Education elearning initiative, Health Hub initiative, Hosting FIFA world Cup in Qatar for the first time in the MiddleEast and the launch of Microsoft's cloud datacentres in Qatar. These facilities join the company’s Global regions making Qatar 55th region globally before any other region in MiddleEast.Khalaf has also launched first of its kind skills development programs and initiatives called Digital Center of Excellence to provide young people with access to the skills, technology, networks, and opportunities they need to succeed in the digital era. In addition, she has been committed to accelerating the Country’s sustainability agenda, helping governments, businesses, and startups access key tools and solutions to create a more sustainable future. She also drives Microsoft’s objectives in Qatar to promote diversity and inclusion, in order to bridge gender parity gap, as well as encourage the role of women in the ICT sector. Khalaf has been recognized by multiple industry publications for her contributions to the region and industry.Before joining Microsoft, Khalaf has held positions in organizations such as Samsung and Active Mania with involvement in areas such automation of business processes as well connected solutions for Smart Cities. She has an MBA with focus on leadership from the Lebanese American University, and majors in Computer Science from the American University of Beirut.

Tobias Ellwood was born in New York due to his father’s overseas posting as a diplomat. He attended schools in Bonn and Vienna where he completed the International Baccalaureate.He then took his first degree at Loughborough University, where he was elected President of the Students’ Union. He later completed an MBA at City University Business School and finally the senior executive course in national and International Studies at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.Tobias spent six years in the Regular Army with The Royal Green Jackets, head quartered in Winchester, and served in Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Kuwait, Germany, Gibraltar and Bosnia. He now has the rank of Lieutenant Colonel as a reservist in the 77th Brigade.He has worked as a researcher for former Defence Secretary, the Rt Hon Tom King MP (now Lord King), and as a Senior Business Development Manager at the London Stock Exchange and Allen and Overy.Tobias served as Parish and Borough Councillor before being elected Member of Parliament for Bournemouth East in May 2005, and subsequently re-elected in 2010, 2015 and most recently in June 2017.Shortly after first being elected to Parliament in 2005, Tobias was appointedOpposition Whip. In July 2007, he was promoted to the post of Shadow Minister for Culture, Media and Sport. After the May 2010 General Election, he was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary firstly for the Defence Secretary, Rt Hon Liam Fox MP and then for the Minister for Europe, the Rt Hon David Lidington MP.In July 2014 he was promoted to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as Minister for the Middle East and Africa. He was then moved to Ministry of Defence as Minister for Defence People and Veterans.Tobias was elected Chair of the House of Commons Defence Select Committee inJanuary 2020 and served in this position until September 2023.Tobias has written publications on post-conflict stability, Royal Navy aircraft carriers, the future of Afghanistan, the weaponisation on space and daylight saving.Outside of politics Tobias is a keen sportsman and a private pilot. He is frequentvisitor to the United States and the Middle East. He also enjoys the theatre, military history, and is an Eagle Scout.

H.E Eng Abdulrahman Bin Ali Al Malki is holding the position of the President of the National Cyber Security Agency since March 2021.His professional mission includes holding several technical and managerial positions as well as taking part in technical committees and playing a vital role in the development of the business scheme of the Ministry of Interior.Mr. Al Malki held several positions prior to joining the National Cyber Security Agency. One of them is Assistant Director at the General Administration of Information Systems.He was also a member of several committees including the Supreme Committee for Preparation of Third National Development Strategy and the Security Committee of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy.Mr. Al Malki holds a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from Qatar University and several leadership and technical trainings certificates.

Tarek Megerisi is a senior policy fellow with the Middle East and North Africa programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations. His work mainly addresses how European policymaking towards the Maghreb and Mediterranean regions can become more strategic, harmonious, and incisive – with a long-term focus on Libya.For more than a decade, Megerisi has worked with various regional, European, and multilateral authorities on providing reform and stabilisation assistance to transitional states in the Middle East and North Africa. He has been involved in a range of projects, including post-conflict stabilisation, development and democratisation, Libya’s domestic and international political processes, economic reform in Tunisia, and the eastern Mediterranean disputes. His articles have featured in publications such as Foreign Policy magazine and the Guardian newspaper, and he has contributed to think-tank programming across the United States, Europe, and the Middle East and North Africa.

As the first woman President in the history of the Croatian state, H. E. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović held office from 2015 to 2020. She began her career in 1992 in the Ministry of Science and Technology and in 1993 moved on to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where she held various positions, eventually leading Croatia on its path to Euro-Atlantic integration as Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration from 2005-2008. In 2008, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović became Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia to the United States of America, and in 2011 was appointed NATO Assistant Secretary-General for Public Diplomacy, a position she held until 2014, as the first woman Assistant Secretary-General ever in the history of NATO and the highest ranking woman in NATO. She is a frequent guest at the United Nations, promoting the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular with respect to peace and security, reducing inequality and increasing opportunities, and gender equality and education. She was a member of the International Olymipic Committee’s Commission for Public Affairs and Social Development through Sport from 2020-2021, and Since 2021 is Chair of the Future Host Commission for the Games of the Olympiad. She is a Co-Chair of the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board, an independent body in charge of monitoring world's preparedness for pandemics and health emergencies, appointed by the World Health Organization and the World Bank.

Eng. Ahmad Abdulla AlMuslemani is the President of Qatar’s Communications Regulatory Authority, bringing over 18 years of extensive experience in IT and telecom industry to the forefront of ICT regulation.Prior to his current role, he served as the CEO of MEEZA, Qatar's leading IT service provider, demonstrating his adept leadership skills and strategic vision. Eng. AlMuslemani has also held key senior roles at the Qatar National Broadband Company and the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, contributing significantly to the industry’s growth and advancement.His strong educational background is marked by Master’s degrees in Communication Systems from the Swiss Institute of Technology and in Management from HEC Paris. He also holds a Bachelor's degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Ohio State University, USA.His broad expertise covers Big Data, IoT, Cloud Computing, and his current focus on the particulars of ICT regulation. Eng. AlMuslemani's blend of practical industry experience and academic prowess positions him as a leading figure in shaping Qatar's digital future.

His Excellency Mr. Dennis Francis President of the 78th Session of the United Nations General AssemblyAmbassador Dennis Francis has had a career spanning approximately 40 years in the Diplomatic Service of Trinidad and Tobago. For 18 of those years of unbroken service, he held the rank of ambassador until his compulsory retirement from career service in 2016.According to Mr. Francis, he has the distinction of being his country’s longest-serving ambassador. Before demitting office as Director of Multilateral Relations, hefunctioned as Senior Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Affairs on all multilateral-level matters, including climate change and the negotiations on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.His transfer back to Port of Spain in 2011 capped Ambassador Francis’ posting as Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Geneva, as well as Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization and to the UN Human Rights Council. He was also accredited concurrently to the U.N. Specialized Agencies in Vienna and Rome, besides having bilateral accreditation as Ambassador to Austria and Italy. Ambassador Francis was also appointed Permanent Delegate to UNESCO.In 2010 at a period of renewed engagement in Multilateral Trade Negotiations, Ambassador Francis was elected to the sensitive Chairmanship of the Negotiating Group on Rules of the WTO, namely Anti-Dumping, Subsidies and Countervailing Duties and Fisheries Subsidies.He also served as Chairman of the Committee on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights in Regular Session as well as Chairman of the Commonwealth Group of Developing Countries (2007/8).He has led many national delegations including to the First Universal Periodic Review of Trinidad and Tobago in the UN Human Rights Council in October 2011 and to UNCTAD 12, which was held in Accra, Ghana in 2008.Ambassador Francis’ assignment in Geneva in 2006 followed a seven-year tour of duty as High Commissioner of Trinidad and Tobago to Jamaica and Permanent Representative to the International Seabed Authority. During this period, Ambassador Francis was also accredited as Ambassador (non-resident) to the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba. When he demittedoffice in Jamaica, he had held the position of Dean of the Diplomatic Corps for almost two years. Ambassador Francis took an active interest in the issues before the International Seabed Authority, leading to his election to the Chairmanship of the Assembly in 2003.In July of 2021, he completed a three-year assignment as Chairman of the Trinidad and Tobago National Commission for UNESCO.Ambassador Francis co-facilitated a training course entitled “Protocol and Diplomacy: A Guide for the Modern Professional,” at the Diplomatic Academy of the Caribbean; an institution in the conceptualization of which he was intimately involved as Lead Technical Adviser to the Foreign Minister. In 2018, Ambassador Francis also co-authored a book entitled “Heads of Mission-A Handbook,” which has received regional and international acclaim. In 2020, Ambassador Francis returned to The University of the West Indies, his alma mater, as a Visiting Scholar at the Institute of International Relations at the St. Augustine Campus. He is also a graduate of The School of Advanced International Studies, the Johns Hopkins University in Washington DC. (1985).

Jacek Siewiera – Secretary of State, Head of the National Security Bureau of the Republic of Poland. A graduate of the Faculties of Medicine, Law, Administration and Economics. Also graduated with honors from the University of Oxford in “Strategy and Innovation.”He is a specialist in anesthesiology and intensive care. During his military service at the Military Medical Institute he established the Hyperbaric Medicine Clinic – Poland’s first military clinical center dedicated to the treatment of submarine and flying personnel of the Armed Forces.He was twice awarded with the Cross of Merit for Bravery and the Medal for Sacrifice and Courage for his services in saving human lives.Author of the concept of first modular temporary hospitals designed in Poland and several innovative technical solutions in the field of medicine and security. He has been publishing articles on rescue and civil protection, and is the founding father of the Paramedics Centre. Author of the first Polish textbook on the limitations of life–support technology.On October 11, 2022 the President of the Republic of Poland appointed Jacek Siewiera to the position of Secretary of State in the National Security Bureau – Head of the Bureau.

Career:Dr. Al-Ansari was appointed as the Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar on 22 February 2022. His duties include conducting weekly media briefings for various local media outlets and news agencies accredited in Doha as well as interviews with local and international media outlets. Dr. Al-Ansari is actively engaged with various local, regional and international research centers and think tanks. He established and heads the Center for International Policy Research (CIPR), which works on political risk analysis, consulting for the government and commercial sectors, on conflicts, Track Two diplomacy, humanitarian and development issues, and management of events in the Arabian Gulf region and beyond.Previously, Dr. Al-Ansari served as the Director of Policy at the Institute of Social and Economic Survey Research (SERI) at Qatar University (QU). During his work at the university, he also served as an assistant professor at QU’s Department of International Affairs. Al-Ansari started his career as a researcher in international relations at the office of the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2005. He also took various roles in multiple civil society institutions. He wrote regularly in Al Sharq and Al Arab national Newspaper between 2006 and 2022. He has appeared as a political commentator on many media outlets including Al Jazeera, BBC, Sky News, CNN,, Russia Today, Al Araby TV, and Qatar TV. Dr. Al-Ansari serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Center for Strategic Studies of the Qatar Armed Forces and the Advisory Board of the College Humanities and Social Sciences at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU).Experience:Dr. Al-Ansari Specializes on GCC foreign and security policies, MENA regional issues, development/humanitarian aid, international security and conflict resolution. He is author of a book titled “Minority of Citizens: The Effects of religious, social and political values on trust in immigrants in Qatar” published in 2020. He also wrote on “The Unbridgeable Gulf: Applying Bennett’s Model ofAnalysis to the 2017 Gulf Crisis” published in the Journal of Balkans and NearEastern Studies in 2021, “The New Gulf Order: Crisis, Mediation, andReconciliation” in Middle East Policy in 2021 and “Qatar’s Foreign Aid and Least Developed Countries” published in Alternatives: Global, Local, Political in 2022.Education:Dr. Al-Ansari received his bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Leeds University in the UK as well as a MA and PhD in Social Change from the Cathy Marsh Institute at the University of Manchester. 

Kholood Khair is the founder and director of Confluence Advisory, a 'think and do tank' formerly based in Khartoum that works on three priority policy areas: peace and security, economy, and governance. Kholood also hosted and co-produced Spotlight 249, Sudan's first English language political discussion and debate show aimed at young Sudanese. Kholood has a career spanning the fields of research, aid programming and policy in Sudan and across the Horn of Africa. She has also written research and analysis pieces for several international publications and has provided analyses for different research and policy institutions. Kholood holds and MSc from Oxford University and an MSc from the School of Oriental and African Studies.

Brigitte Curmi is an expert on the Arab and Muslim world. She holds a Master’s degree in Arabic and Islamology from the Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales and a doctoral Master’s degree from Sciences Po in Paris.Ms Curmi was a Senior researcher at the Centre d'études et de recherches sur le Moyen-Orient (CERMOC) in Amman between 1991 and 1994. Between 1995 and 2003, she worked extensively for the French Foreign Affairs Ministry, first in Jerusalem as a cooperation attaché for the Palestinian Territories and then in Paris in the development directorate. In 2003, she joined the diplomatic force. After two years as a Special Adviser for the MENA director on cross-cutting issues, she was positioned in Cairo, Beirut and Doha between 2005 and 2013.  Before being appointed Ambassador to Libya (2016-2018) and to Malta (2018-2021), she served as the Middle East and North Africa expert at the Policy Planning in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

H.E. Nassir bin Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, The president of The United Nations General Assembly 66th session, and the former UN high representative of the alliance of civilization.Experience1975 - 1981 First Consul General in Dubai.1981 - 1986 General Office of the Ministry.1986 - 1993 Deputy Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar in New York.1993 - 1998 Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the Kingdom of Jordan.1998 - 2011 Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar in New York and a non-resident ambassador to Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil, Belize, Panama, Canada, Colombia and Nicaragua. He also was the President of the Security Council during Qatar's non-permanent membership in the Security Council.2003-2004 Vice-President of the fifty-seventh session of the United Nations General Assembly.In 2004, he chaired the Group of 77 and China at the United Nations in New York, and his management of the work of the committee paved the way for the group's second South Summit to be held in the second year in the State of Qatar from 12-16 June 2005.2007 - 2009 Chaired the High Level Committee on South-South Cooperation of the General Assembly.2009 - 2010 Chaired the Fourth Special Political and Decolonization Committee of the General Assembly.In 2011, His Highness the Amir awarded him the rank of Minister.2011 - 2012 Presidency of the United Nations General Assembly for its 66th session.2013 - 2019 Assumed the position of High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations.He represented the State of Qatar in many international and regional conferences and forums. Throughout his tenure at the United Nations, he contributed to advancing the multilateral international program of action in the areas of peace, mediation, security, sustainable development and South-South cooperation.Awards and achievements • Honorary fellow of the Foreign Policy Association – New York • Honorary doctorate in International Affairs from the government of China through Chongqing University - China• Honorary doctorate from the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences - Russia• Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Fordham University - United States • Honorary Doctorate in Philosophy from TERI University and Institute - India• Honorary doctorate from the International Islamic University – Malaysia• Honorary doctorate from Candido Mendes University – Brazil • He was awarded by the United Nations Association of New York their 2012 Humanitarian Award• He was awarded the Distinguished Leaders Award in 2013 from the Global Thinkers Forum CenterMedals:• Medal of Independence of the Government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan• Grand Officer, Order of Merit – Italy• Medal of Grand Commander of the Order of Makarios III – Cyprus• National Order of Doctor José Matias Delgado - El Salvador • Commander of the National Order of the Republic - Côte d’Ivoire  • Order of Friendship - Republic of Azerbaijan• Order of Merit - Panama

Alfredo Conte is a career diplomat from the Italian MFA. He has almost three decades of professional experience serving among others in Hong Kong (during the time of the handover to China), Berlin, and as adviser of a number of Italian Foreign Ministers. From 2008 to January 2018, he has been seconded to Brussels – first to the Policy Unit, then to the European External Action Service. In this capacity, he has been a member of HR Javier Solana's team; under Cathy Ashton, he was appointed Head of the Strategic Planning Division in the EEAS. Under Federica Mogherini, he was directly involved in the elaboration of the Global Strategy for the EU's Foreign and Security Policy, presented to the European Council in June 2016. Back to the Italian MFA as of January 2018, he briefly served as Special Adviser to two high-profile Special Representatives of the Italian OSCE CiO, Franco Frattini (for the Transnistria settlement process) and Paola Severino (for international fight against corruption). From November 2018 to May 2021, he has been Head of Coordination at the Secretariat General. In May 2021, Alfredo Conte has been appointed Deputy Director General for Political Affairs and Principal Director for the Mediterranean, Middle East and Gulf Countries.

Galip Dalay is a nonresident senior fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, consulting fellow at Chatham House, and doctoral researcher at Oxford University. He was previously Mercator-IPC Senior Fellow at Istanbul Policy Center and at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) & Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow at Robert Bosch Academy. Dalay’s research focuses on the question of regionalism, regional order and governance in the Middle East, Turkish politics and foreign policy, Middle Eastern politics, Turkish - Russian relations, history and politics of Turkish - Western/European relations, and history of post-colonial and post-imperial forms of internationalism. His work has appeared on Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Al Jazeera, Project Syndicate, CNN, the National Interest, Newsweek, Le Monde, Internationale Politik, DW Opinion, Open Democracy, Middle East Eye and The World Politics Review.

Dr Leslie Vinjamuri is director of the US and Americas programme at Chatham House. She is also Professor of International Relations at SOAS University of London. At Chatham House, Leslie leads research on the U.S. and International Order, and a multi partner initiative on Reimagining Multilateralism. Her recent publications include ‘Why Multilateralism Still Matters’ (Foreign Affairs, October 2023, and Building Global Prosperity: Proposals for Sustainable Growth (Chatham House, 2022). The latter was the result of a multi-authored Chatham House initiative supported by the Rockefeller Foundation that looked at G7 proposals for countering China’s influence in the developing world. She is co-editor and contributing author (with Charles A. Kupchan) of Anchoring the World: International Order in the 21st Century, a publication by members of the Lloyd George Study Group on World Order, a joint Centenary project of Chatham House, the Council on Foreign Relations, and Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, published by Foreign Affairs. Also Human Rights Futures (Cambridge University Press, 2017), US Foreign Policy Priorities (Chatham House, 2020), and ’Trials and Errors: Strategies of International Justice” (with Jack Snyder). She is a regular commentator in the international news media and has contributed pieces in the Financial Times, Guardian, Sunday Times, Telegraph, and the Independent. She is deputy chair of the Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission and a trustee of the Carnegie Council for Ethics and International Affairs.She is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and on the Advisory Board of LSE IDEAS and the LSE Phelan United States Centre, and is vice president of the board for the Institute for Integrated Transitions.From 2014-2016 she was director of the Center on Conflict, Rights and Justice (and previously co-director). She was previously on the academic faculty of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, and a fellow of the John M. Olin Institute at Harvard University.She began her career at Congressional Research Service and also worked in the Asia Bureau at USAID. Leslie received a BA from Wesleyan University (Phi Beta Kappa), an MSc (Distinction) from the London School of Economics, and a PhD from Columbia University.