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BEIRUT 

Samer Abdallah (Nahwa Al Muwatiniya)

Samer Abdallah is the General Coordinator of Nahwa Al Muwatiniya (Towards Citizenship), a non-profit organisation that promotes citizenship education, participation and policy reform. Samer's experience includes development, humanitarian aid, community engagement, and reform. He also served as projects officer and ligistics officer of the Danish Refugee Council, an international NGO that has been operating in Lebanon since 2004. He received a BA degree in graphic design from the American University Beirut and a BS degree in Information Technology and Computing at the Arab Open University.

Nayla Abi Nasr (Sustainable Democracy Center)

Nayla Abi Nasr is a promoter of peace through child and youth initiatives and participation. Through her work with the Sustainable Democracy Center, Nayla has collaborated with youth from different confessional and political backgrounds across Lebanon to enhance their involvement in conflict resolution and prevention processes, empowering them to becomes agents of change in peace building. Moreover, Nayla is part of a youth led advocacy movement to introduce a new model of child and youth participation in the decision making and taking process of civil society organisations and public policy making. 

Youssef Hage Ali (Lebanese Parliament Monitor)

Youssef Hage Ali born in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) in 1982. He lived most of his life there till he finished his school years. Since then he moved to his home country, Lebanon, where he attained a BA certificate in International Affairs from the Lebanese American University (LAU). He is the only son to a six-member family. Youssef has worked for NGOs that have helped the Lebanese people surpass the effects of the July 2006 invasion of Lebanon and, as for the part related to the laws, for three NGOs such as LADE (Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections), where he held the position of Violations officer for the Parliamentary elections of 2009 and Municipal elections of 2010. After that he held the position of Media Officer Assistant for the NGO LTA (Lebanese Transparency Association) and he is responsible for a project titled Lebanese Parliamentary Monitor at the NGO called Nahwa al Muwatiniya (Towards Citizenship).

Zeina Mezher

Zeina Mezher is a development expert with a focus on gender issues and community development. She has been working as a consultant on various themes since 1996, and was proactive in linking development approaches to reconciliation initiatives through various projects that she led in Lebanon. She has worked with Lebanese women on the Foreground in Times of War and post-conflict period, and engaged with municipalities on enhancing the role of women in community development and decision making. She studied international affairs at the Lebanese American University, and is a trainer on different subjects relevant to her field. Zeina aspires to enhance her contributions in promoting the linkage between development and peace and reconciliation, and to strengthen the power of local stakeholders in influencing donors' agendas, based on actual priorities appropriate to local interests and needs. 

BELFAST

Lorraine Dennis (Belfast City Council)

Lorraine Dennis works in Belfast City Council's Good Relations Unit, managing a European PEACE III funded project, 'Growing a Shared City'. Her work aims to develop understanding of inter-agency collaboration and community engagement in the context of conflict transformation. This builds on her doctoral thesis, which focused on the disconnections between macro political decisions and the impact on everyday life. Lorraine moved into local government from the University of Ulster, where she produced a number of media projects that promoted social inclusion. Significant productions included: 'Unheard Voices', a short film of victims' stories from the conflict; and the Prisons' Memory Archive, a collection of narratives from those involved with high-profile prison sites, such as Armagh Gaol and Maze/Long Kesh. Lorraine has presented research throughout the UK, Ireland and the United States.

Hazel Francey (Belfast City Council)

Hazel is originally a chartered town planner and has spent most of her working life with Belfast City Council. She is currently its Good Relations Manager, and is responsible for developing and implementing the equality, community relations, race relations and cultural diversity programmes. This expansive remit incorporates the contentious physical manifestations of conflict, such as flags and bonfires. Hazel also leads the council's PEACE III programme, which includes building positive relations at the local level and developing institutional capacity for service delivery in a shared city. She was previous a senior community development worker and has considerable experience of working closely with the elected members of council from all political parties. She has also worked in policy development and has experience of corporate planning, performance management and undertaking major public surveys.

DERRY-LONDONDERRY

Angela Askin (Derry City Council)

Angela Askin is a Community Relations Officer with Derry City Council, and is one of three Community Relations Officers responsible for the implementation and delivery of the council’s Good Relations Strategy, which incorporates Good Relations training, identity and inclusion, youth, ethnic minorities/anti-racism, shared space, and hard issues. The Good Relations programme in Derry City Council, like all other local municipalities in Northern Ireland, is funded through the Community Relations Unit in the Office of First Minister and deputy First Minister. Angela and her colleagues work with a range of statutory, community, and voluntary sector organisations, to address community relations issues through projects, education programmes, publicity and publications, and advisory assistance.

Colm Cavanagh (North West Regional College)

Colm Cavanagh has worked since the 1970s to help de-segregate the Northern Ireland community. With other Catholic and Protestant parents, he co-founded the Oakgrove Integrated Primary School and Oakgrove Integrated College in Derry-Londonderry. He is now chairperson of the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education. He and others founded London-Derry Connections Ltd, a community response to encourage personal, cultural, educational and business links between Derry and London, in order to help defuse remaining friction in that 400-year relationship between these two cities. He is president of the inter-community political party, Alliance. As Business Development Manager of the North West Regional College in Derry-Londonderry, he is keen to establish links with technical/technology colleges in other cities.

Maurice Devenney (Derry City Council)

Maurice Devenney was elected to the Derry City Council in 2005 and has held the position of Deputy Mayor since June 2008. He is a member of the following standing committees of the Derry City Council: Planning Committee, Environmental Services Committee, Staff Committee, City of Derry Airport Committee, Policy and Resource Committee. He is a member of the Democratic Unionist Party.

Gerard Diver (Derry City Council)

Gerard Diver is a History & Politics and Community Economic Development graduate of the University of Ulster, with almost two decades of experience in the Community & Voluntary sector in the North-West. Gerard has considerable experience of work in the areas of community development, community relations, participative youth work and more recently in employability and training projects. He has been an SDLP member of Derry City Council since 2001 and was the city’s Mayor from 2008-2009. Among the issues that he focused on during his mayoral year were, the initial stages of the Regeneration Plan for the city as developed by Derry City Council and Ilex, the establishment of a Homelessness Forum to which he allocated 12% of the Mayor’s annual budget, and the securing of funding for the City of Hope Collective which took forty-three young performing arts students from every post primary school in the City to the United States to perform for US leaders.

Michael Doherty (Peace and Reconciliation Group)

Michael Doherty has over 30 years experience working in his community and became a full-time community relations activist in 1987. He has been recognised as one of the leading trainers and facilitators in this field of work. He initiated the first ever Community Relations Action Learning Programme in the early 90s and has designed Open College Network Programmes on exploring Diversity — Facilitating Community Relations Work; Group Work and Facilitation Skills as well as Introduction to Conflict Resolution and Mediation Skills.Michael’s development of specialised training programmes in Community Relations and Conflict Resolution work has enabled the Peace and Reconciliation Group (PRG) of which Michael is the Director to maintain its ability of successfully working in the field of Community Relations work.

Brian Dougherty (St Columb's Park House)

Brian Dougherty MBE Bsc (Hons) has a Masters degree in Town Planning. He is currently Director of St Columb’s Park House in L’Derry. He is also currently Chairperson of the Waterside Area Partnership and Trustee member of the Community Foundation N.Ireland and North and West Housing. He is a former independent member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board and community development representative on the Northern Ireland Civic Forum. In January 2007 he was awarded an MBE for services to the community in Northern Ireland. Recently Brian was appointed as an independent member of the UK City of Culture Company.

Mark Hamilton (Police Service of Northern Ireland)

Mark Hamilton has a BA (Hons) degree in French and Latin from Trinity College, Dublin; a Masters in Social Science in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Queens University, Belfast; a Masters in Science in Police Leadership and Management from Leicester University; and a Masters in Human Rights Law at Queens University in Belfast. He joined the Royal Ulster Constabulary in 1994 where he developed extensive experience in policing serious public disorder. As Senior Public Order Commander for Belfast he took active command at public order incidents across the City. In March of 2009 he became Chief Superintendent and took over the role of District Commander, “A” District, North and West Belfast. He is responsible for leading approximately 700 staff, including sworn officers and civilian employees.

Jennifer Hawthorne (Northern Ireland Housing Executive)

Jennifer Hawthorne is the Head of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive's Community Cohesion Unit and is responsible for the delivery of the Housing Executive's Good Relations Strategy, which incorporates Shared Housing, Race Relations, Interfaces and Flags, Emblems, and Sectional Symbols. The Northern Ireland Housing Executive is one of the largest social housing landlords in Europe, with over 100,000 properties and 600 estates across Northern Ireland. Prior to this, Jennifer previously managed the Housing Executive's Public Relations Department in Belfast.

Willie Lamrock (YMCA)

Willie Lamrock is General Secretary YMCA Londonderry, which works with disadvantaged and/or disaffected young people, through programmes that incorporate the YMCA's character values of honesty, caring, respect and responsibility. The Londonderry YMCA is lead partner in an important project to encourage the participation of the Protestant community, by promoting a shared sense of belonging, addressing issues of marginalisation and tackling attitudes to racism and sectarianism. Willie is also a board member of the Ulster Unionist Party (Executive); North West Community Network (Secretary); Easilift (Community Rural Transport); North West Peace III Cluster (delivery of European Peace funds); Derry Local Strategy Board (employment issues); Strategy Board (city regeneration); and Waterside Neighbourhood Renewal Board (Co-Chair). Willie spends his spare time deeply involved in organising the YMCA rugby club.

Neophytos Loizides

Neophytos Loizides received his PhD in political science at the University of Toronto in May 2005. He is currently a lecturer in international politics and ethnic conflict at Queen's University Belfast. He has previously been a research fellow at the Belfer Center at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and he has taught at Princeton University. He studies negotiations and conflict resolution in deeply divided societies, and he is currently completing a British Academy funded project entitled, "Doves against hawks in the framing of peace policies and nationalist mobilization". His research projects focus on human rights and conflict resolution models for conflicts between "settler" vs "indigenous" people, as well as on strategies of using direct democracy (referendums) in peace processes. He has published in Journal of Peace Research, Parliamentary Affairs, Electoral Studies, and Parliamentary Affairs.

Maeve McLaughlin (Derry City Council)

Maeve McLaughlin represents the Northlands ward in the city where she works as Manager of Glen Development Initiative (GDI) – a community development organisation. First elected to Derry City Council in 2001 Maeve is the Sinn Fein Party leader on the council. Maeve became involved in Republican politics at an early age and received a BA honours Degree in Sociology, History and Politics and was active in politics during her time at University College Galway. Maeve has recently being appointed Sinn Fein spokesperson for Tourism has been nominated to the Derry District Policing Partnership and is lead Spokesperson on North West Region Cross Border Group.

Jim Roddy (City Centre Initiatives)

Jim Roddy is Chief Executive of City Centre Initiatives Derry. The CCI Board is made up of senior representatives from Derry City Council, the Department for Social Development, Ilex and other private-sector companies. Jim grew up in Derry in the 1960s and 1970s, left at age 17 because of the Troubles, but soon returned, becoming a fire fighter in 1979, serving for nearly 20 years. Jim got involved with the Derry City Football Club in 1993, where he also served in positions of Chief Executive and Chairman.

Earl Storey

Earl Storey has served as a clergyperson on both sides of the border in Ireland. Formerly Director of the Church of Ireland Hard Gospel Project (an all-Ireland peace building project) he now runs Topstorey Communications (www.topstorey.org), which specializes in PR, community development, reconciliation and leadership training. He is Diocesan Communications Officer for the Dioces of Derry and Raphoe.

Drew Thompson (Derry City Council)

Drew was born and grew up in Londonderry and now lives in Nelson Drive, the largest loyalist estate in the Waterside. Drew is chairman of the Caw/Nelson Drive Action Group, which offers advice services to the community on welfare rights, housing, roads and environmental issues. Drew is an independent member of the Local District Policing Partnership. He also chairs the Waterside Urban Forum and represents the Waterside on both local and area consumer housing advice groups. Drew is secretary of the Boys Brigade Old Boys Football team. He is also match secretary of the North West Junior League. With his vast experience of the issues facing communities today, Drew is a great asset to the existing DUP team of councillors.

Chris Yates (Police Service of Northern Ireland)

Chris Yates joined the Metropolitan Police Service in 1991 and spent 12 years policing London, finishing his career in London as a Response Inspector in Haringey DCU (Tottenham), a busy London borough with its fair share of gun crime, vice and drug problems. In June 2002, he transferred to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). Chris is currently responsible for the day-to-day policing of the North West region, including the city of Derry-Londonderry. since taking his post here in 2006, he has led the engagement process with both Loyalist and Republican communities. This process has brought communities and the police much closer together. Chris also sits on a number of strategic partnerships that are working together to deliver real change in the North West region.

HAIFA

Ron Assaf (Beit-Hagefen)

Ron Assaf holds a BA degree in education and Israel studies, and a Masters of Public Administration, both from the University of Haifa. Since 2006, Ron has been Executive Director of Beit-Hagefen, a non-profit organisation. Beit-Hagefen's mission is to bring Jews and Arabs together through arts and educational activity. Over the past decade he has also directed the education department, Gilboa Regional Council, the boarding home for children at risk -- Tibirias. From 2000-2003, Ron served as the Israeli emissary (Educator) to the Jewish community in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States. In 1990, he established Hevra Aheret, an institute that offers consultant, organisational development, and facilitation to organisations dealing with education, such as schools, municipalities, communities, youth movements, etc., on themes of interpersonal communication, leadership skills, and personal development.

Stav Avraham

Stav Avraham is the Chief Operational Officer of Mey Carmel Ltd. From 2006 to 2009, he was head of the water, sewage, and draining division of the Haifa Municipality and previously served as head of the Industrial Engineering and Energy Division of Tahal Consulting Engineers Ltd. He received a B.Sc. in water and soil engineering from the Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa. He teaches the Local Authorities Directors course at the University of Haifa.

Rula Deeb

Rula Deeb is Executive Director of Kayan, a feminist organization working in the Arab Israeli community. Kayan, which means 'Being' in Arabic, is a feminist organization established by and for Arab women living in Israel. The founders of Kayan came together through their shared experience as women who are minority citizens of Israel and members of an often patriarchal Arab society. Kayan works on two levels - reaching out to individuals to change attitudes about women and intervening in the community and institutional levels to change conditions for Palestinian women and girls.

Khamra Khaireyah (Haifa Municipality)

Khamra Khaireyah holds a Masters degree in organisational sociology, and a BA degree in social work, as well as a BA degree in sociology and anthropology and Arabic language and literature, from Haifa University. Since 2001, she has worked as Manager of the Community Social School department at Haifa Municipality, and has held other positions as a facilitator in cross-cultural problem solving dialogue at the Israel Center for Mediation and Negotiation. Other positions include: Head Team Manager, Welfare Ministry School; and Community Social Worker, Welfare Department, Haifa Municipality.

Fathi Marshood

Fathi Marshood is Director of Shatil Haifa office, New Israel Fund’s capacity building arm and specialises in organisational consultation in general and Israeli Palestinian affairs in particular. The New Israel Fund's Empowerment and Training Center for Social Change Organizations in Israel, was established by NIF in 1982 to provide NGOs with consulting and training in organizational development, advocacy, media and public relations, coalition building, resource development etc. With headquarters in Jerusalem and branches in Beer Sheva, Haifa and the Triangle, Shatil promotes community organizing as a primary strategy for social change.

Shahira Shalabi (Shatil, New Israel Fund)

Shahira Shalabi an organizational consultant in Shatil, the New Israel Fund’s Capacity Building Center for social change. She is a Member of Shatil’s Conflict Transformation and Management Center – and director of the shared society program in Shatil. She consults  for social change in the  areas of: Staff training and development, resident empowerment, resource development, leadership training, societal management, community organization.  She is a group facilitator for women, dialogue groups and conflict management.  Shahira is involved in actions and activities that promote gender issues and  the position of women in society.

Ariella Vraneski (Center for Urban and Regional Studies, Technion)

Ariella Vraneski is an architect and town and regional planning practitioner. She also serves as the head of the Conflict Resolution Research Group at the Center for Urban and Regional Studies, Technion (IIT), and is chairperson of the Qualitative Planning and Development NGO. Her research and practice fields of interest include conflict analysis, prevention and resolution; community participation; sustainable development; and trans-boundary, cross-cultural planning.

Edna Zaretzky-Toledano

Edna holds an MA degree in sociology, from Haifa University (Dean's List) and a BA degree in education, sociology and anthropology. Since 2003, she has been a member of Haifa City Council. Edna has taught and facilitated workshops on issues of multiculturalism, Jewish-Arab relations and gender equality, at the University of Haifa as well as Bretton Hall College of the University of Leeds-Israel Extension, where she served as the academic coordinator of the Haifa branch. In the Ministry of Education and at Givat Haviva-Jewish Arab Center for Peace, she trained teachers, school principals and facilitators of encounters of Jews and Arabs on issues of democracy and equality in co-existence. She began as a youth worker in poor neighbourhoods of Haifa, and developed young leadership programmes and set up a cadre of young Jewish and Arab leaders. She is a social activist. Engaged with groups of Jews and Arabs since the 1960s, she served in the early 1980s as the Jewish co-chairperson of "Partnership", an NGO that promotes conditions for equality between Jews and Arabs, as well as mutual respect. Since 1982, Edna has been an active member of several groups and coalitions of women for a just peace and against wars and occupation. She has served as the Jewish coordinator in "Engendering the Peace Process", an international Palestinian-Israeli initiative that was created to enhance the influence of women in the peace process. As an active feminist, she developed empowerment programmes for women and facilitated groups and staff in shelters for battered women and in stress neighbourhoods.

JERUSALEM

Fuad Abu Hamed (Al Quds Dialogue Center for Community & Cultural Development)

Fuad Abu Hamed is the CEO and the owner of both the Beit Zaffafa and Sur Bahr Medical Centers in Jerusalem. He serves as Chairman of the Al Quds Dialogue Center for Community & Cultural Development, working to improve the quality of life for Jerusalem's Arab residents. He is the founder and director of the Sur Bahr Environmental Center. In addition, he sat on the executive committee of the Jerusalem Inter-Cultural Center and he sits now in the Sur Bahr Neighborhood education Committee. His previous work experience includes several years of field research for B'Tselem, The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories. He has a BA degree in management and public studies, as well as advanced studies in business, and he continues studies for MA degree in public studies in the Hebrew university.

Ez-Adeen Al-Saad (Jerusalem Inter-Cultural Center)

Ez-Adeen Al-Saad is a Jerusalem Inter-Cultural Center (JICC) Projects Coordinator. He is certified in group facilitation by the Zippori Center, Jerusalem. He has worked for over 20 years in community development and cultural management in the Arab sector, including cross-cultural group facilitation/mediation in Israel and Jerusalem.

Aharon Ben-Noun (Municipality of Jerusalem)

Aharon Ben-Noun holds a position at the municipality ff Jerusalem as the director of the Public Building department. Co-founder of the Jerusalem Inter-Cultural Center. A graduate of the Public Policy and Government Management program (MA) at Hebrew University. His role and responsibilities include initiating, planning and construction of public educational institutions in the city of Jerusalem, for all sectors.

Bony Goldberg (Municipality of Jerusalem)

Bony Goldberg serves as the director of community services administration at the Jerusalem municipality. She received her Masters degree (with honors) in social work and criminology from Hebrew University in 1993, and has completed advanced courses in executive training and development through Elka, a programme of Joint Israel. Her other responsibilities at the Jerusalem Municipality are social services, public health, immigrant absorption and employment. Previously she headed the municipality's social services department as well as the Jerusalem and southern district of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services. Bony has represented Israel in three Aliyah fairs in France and the former Soviet Union. She has lectured at professional conferences in Israel and abroad, chairing panel discussions, and taught courses in professional training workshops for managers in social services departments and schools of social work.

Elias Daoud Khourry

Elias Daoud Khourry is a Jerusalem-based Arab-Israeli lawyer. He specializes in real property law. Elias made appeals several times to the Supreme Court of Israel, and has had Palestinian politicians among his clients in Israeli courts. He is the father and son of terrorism victims. Elias gained fame in the 1970s when he led a legal battle against the Israeli settlers of Sebastia and Elon Moreh. Elias Khoury was born in the Galilee. His father has lost the family land to Israel in the 1948 war, took citizenship in Israel and believed he could work patiently through Israeli law to get the land back. Elias studied law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and lived in the Beit Hanina and Shuafat neighborhoods of Jerusalem. He has a practice in Jerusalem.

Tal Kligman (Jerusalem Inter-Cultural Center)

Tal Kligman is a group facilitator and a Project Office Director. She specializes in the fields of dialogue, multi-cultural communication, participatory democracy, coalition building and conflict management. She runs workshops and training in East and West Jerusalem for professionals and residents from diverse sociological and cultural backgrounds: secular, religious and ultra-orthodox Jews as well as secular and religious Palestinians. She currently works at the Jerusalem Inter-Cultural Center (JICC), an organisation that aims to assist the city's residents, of various identities, in becoming active and responsible partners to the development of their communities. In addition to JICC, Tal is involved in a number of organisations and activities as a group facilitator (e.g. Merchavim -- the Institute for Advancement and Shared Citizenship, Gishorim, the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and others). She is currently developing a new initiative that focuses on the psychological patterns of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Tal has an MA degree in special education and an MA degree in education policy and management from the Hebrew University of Jersualem, and a group facilitator diploma from the Zippori Center in Jerusalem.

Itay Tsachar (Municipality of Jerusalem)

Itay Tsachar is a project manager and community mediator and negotiator. He specialises in coordinating and managing conflict zone projects, while mediating and creating conditions for negotiation between leading agents on both sides of the conflict. Itay is involved with various complex projects in East Jerusalem. For the last two years he has worked with the Jerusalem Municipality and the Jerusalem Development Authority, finding solutions to promote the situation of East Jerusalem quarters, in aspects of infrastructures, city planning and different areas of everyday life. In addition, Itay is also involved in writing, designing and developing educational materials for several educational organisations in Israel. Itay has a BA degree in Islam and Mediterranean studies from the Hebrew University. He is a graduate of project management courses by the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, and is currently studying for an MBA degree.

KADUNA

Iman Muhammad Ashafa (Interfaith Mediation Center)

In the 1990s, Pastor James Wuye and Imam Muhammad Ashafa led opposing, armed militias dedicated to defending their respective communities as violence broke out in Kaduna, northern Nigeria. In pitched battles, Pastor James lost his hand and Imam Ashafa's spiritual mentor and two close relatives were killed. Now the two men are co-directors of the Muslim-Christian Interfaith Mediation Centre in their city, leading task forces to resolve conflicts across Nigeria. Ashafa is the co-founder of IMC Nigeria (since 1995).

An Ashoka fellow in 2006, he was conferred with an honorary doctorate degree in alternative medicine in India in 2005. He is the Chief Imam of Ashafa Mosque Foundation, and combines God's work to help serve humanity in the area of peace building. He has received several awards, both nationally and internationally, among which includes: the |Tanenbaum Centre for Inter-Religious Understanding (New York) Peace Activist Award (2000), the Search for Common Ground Award (2002), the Heroes of Peace Award (Inkhingi Amahoro) Burundi (2004), Peace Makers and Preventing Inter-Religious Conflict Award by the Nigeria People's Forum (2005), the Berman Peace Award (2005), the Apostle of Peace Award by the Catholic Youth (Denary, Kaduna, 2005), the Muslim Sisters Award for Peace (Zaria, Kaduna, 2005), and the Ambassadors of Peace by the Inter-Religious and International Federation for World Peace (2005).

One of the projects that has yielded landmark results and is taking him and his colleague James around the world is the documentary film, "The Imam and the Pastor", which is an inspirational presentation on forgiveness, produced by For the Love of Tomorrow Film UK, the famous Kaduna Peace Declaration of Religious Leaders (2002), and the Shendam Peace Affirmation (2003). Ashafa has made several presentations for the promotion of peace. His hobby is to preach and propagate Islam to all.

Rev Joseph John Hayab

Rev Joseph John Hayab is the Special Adviser on Religious Affairs (Christian Matters) to the Executive Governor of Kaduna State, Northern Nigeria. Hayab is a Baptist clergy and was untill December 2010 the Secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Kaduna State chapter, an office he held for 8 years.He also served as the spokesperson of CAN 19 Northern States and the Federal Capital Abuja.

He has actively engaged in issues relating to religious crises and freedom, conflict resolution, human rights and good governance and recently religious perspective on climate change.

The experience Joseph gathered in the course of his work on religious tolarance culminates in his setting up of an NGO; Christian Awareness Initiative of Nigeria (CHAIN),a body which he is CEO, is committed to raising the consiousness of youths in Nigeria towards peaceful coexistence and development.

Father Matthew hassan Kikah (Catholic Archdiocese of Kaduna)

Father Matthew Hassan Kikah (PhD London 1990) is a Catholic priest at St Andrew's Catholic Church, Kaduna, and Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Kaduna. President Obasanjo appointed him a member of the Human Rights Violations Investigations Commission of the federal government of Nigeria from 1999-2002, and Secretary General of the National Political Reform Conference in 2005. Presidents Obasanjo and Yar'Adua also appointed him Chairman of the Ogoni-Shell Reconciliation effort. Previously, Fr Kukah served as the Secretary-General of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria. He is the author of numerous books and articles, most recently Witness to Justice (Bookcraft, 2011).

Alhaji Ahmed Makarfi (National Assembly, Nigeria)

Alhaji Ahmed Makarfi was born in 1956 in Makarfi, Kaduna. He obtained his West African School Certificate at the Federal Government College Enugu and undertook his IJMB for the Ahmadu Bello University (Zaria) in 1982. To enrich his banking career, then he obtained an Msc In Accounting and Finance from the Institute of Administration ABU Zaria. From 1994 to 1997 he was appointed into the Kaduna State Executive Council where he served as the Honourable Commissioner for Finance and Economic Planning. In business, he succeeds in industry and diplomacy providing important private sector services. In politics, he got elected as the Executive Governor of Kaduna State in 1999 with the primary goal of running a government that was dedicated to the service of the collective interests of the state as necessitated by the peculiar socio-political environment on ground. He is now a senator of the Federal Republic in the National Assembly and over the last years has received several national and international honours such as Peace Merit Award of the United Nations.

Pastor James Wuye (Interfaith Mediation Center)

In the 1990s, Pastor James Wuye and Imam Muhammad Ashafa led opposing, armed militias dedicated to defending their respective communities as violence broke out in Kaduna, northern Nigeria. In pitched battles, Pastor James lost his hand and Imam Ashafa's spiritual mentor and two close relatives were killed. Now the two men are co-directors of the Muslim-Christian Interfaith Mediation Centre in their city, leading task forces to resolve conflicts across Nigeria. James is the co-founder of IMC Nigeria (since 1995).

An Ashoka fellow in 2006, James was conferred with an honorary doctorate degree in alternative medicine in India in 2005. He combines God's work to help serve humanity in the area of peace building. Together with his colleague Ashafa, they brought about th growth of IMC. He has received several awards, both nationally and internationally, among which includes: the Tanenbaum Centre for Inter-Religious Understanding (New York) Peace Activist Award (2000), the Search for Common Ground Award (2002), the Kaduna Chambers, Peace Humanitarian Award (2002), the Heroes of Peace Award (Inkhingi Amahoro) Burundi (2004), Peace Makers and Preventing Inter-Religious Conflict Award by the Nigeria People's Forum (2005), the Berman Peace Award (2005), the Apostle of Peace Award by the Catholic Youth (Denary, Kaduna, 2005), the Muslim Sisters Award for Peace (Zaria, Kaduna, 2005), and the Ambassadors of Peace by the Inter-Religious and International Federation for World Peace (2005).

One of the projects that has yielded landmark results and is taking him and his colleague Ashafa around the world is the documentary film, "The Imam and the Pastor", which is an inspirational presentation on forgiveness, produced by For the Love of Tomorrow Film UK, the famous Kaduna Peace Declaration of Religious Leaders (2002), and the Shendam Peace Affirmation (2003). James has made several presentations for the promotion of peace. He enjoys evangelism and has his personal ministry Christian TV programme in Huasa language, "Mu Koma Ga Asali" (Let's Return to the Basics). This programme, which preaches the gospel of Christ, is very popular.

KIRKUK

Awad M. Mohamad Ameen (Kirkuk Provincial Council)

 Awad M. Mohamad Ameen was born in Kirkuk in 1962. He has a B.A. in English and his languages are Kurdish, Arabic, Persian, and English. He is a member of the leadership committee of the Kurdistan Toilers Party, and his current position is as a member of the Kirkuk Provincial Council. Activities: Conference of Iraqi local leaderships organized by UN in Turkey in 2005; Training courses on strategic planning organized by Research Triangle Institute (RTI) in 2007; Conference on Art. 140 and Kirkuk held in Washington D.C in 2007; Workshop on Kirkuk dispute held in Amman in May 2008 organized by Friedrich Naumann Foundation; Workshop on Governance arrangements in Kirkuk organized by Friedrich Naumann Foundation held in Amman, Jordan, December 2008; and the Dead Sea (2011).

Abdullah Sami Assi (Kirkuk Provincial Council)

Abdullah Sami Assi was born in Kirkuk in 1964. He was educated at a military science college. His language is Arabic. His political affiliation is independent. His current position is as a member of the Kirkuk Provincial Council. Activities: Conference of Iraqi local leaderships organized by UN in Turkey in 2005; Workshop on Governance arrangements in Kirkuk organized by Friedrich Naumann Foundation held in Amman, Jordan, December 2008; and Berlin (2009).

Dlish Pirot Aziz (Kirkuk Provincial Council)

Dlishad Pirot Aziz was born in Kirkuk in 1965. He attended the Industrial High School. He speaks Kurdish and Arabic, and is a member of the Kirkuk Provincial Council. Dilshad is a member of Kurdistan Democratic Party. His activities include: workshop of local government administration, organised by IRT in Sulaimaniya-Iraq (2008); conference of Iraqi Chambers of Commerce (Erbil, 2006); and the Conference of Women's Rights, organised by UNICEF (Erbil, 2010).

Rizgar Ali Hama-Jan (Kirkuk Provincial Council)

Rizgar Ali Hama-Jan was born in Kirkuk in 1960. He was educated at a technical institute and a military college. His languages are Kurdish, Arabic, Persian, and English. He is a member of the leadership committee of the Kurdistan Patriotic Union (PUK). His current position is as Chairman of the Kirkuk Provincial Council. Activities: Conferences of Iraqi opposition held outside Iraq before 2003; Workshop on Governance arrangements in Kirkuk organized by Friedrich Naumann Foundation held in Amman, Jordan (December 2008); and Berlin (2009).

Tahseen Mohammedali Weli Kahyiah (Kirkuk Provincial Council)

Tahseen Mohammedali Weli Kahyiah was born in Kirkuk in 1958. He attended the technical institute-electricity. His languages are Turkmani and Arabic. His current position is as a member of Kirkuk Provincial Council. He is a member of leadership committee of Islamic Union for Iraqi Turkman. Activities: Conference of Iraqi local leaderships organized by UN-Habitat in Turkey in 2005; workshops on Kirkuk dispute and administration issues organized by Friedrich Naumann Foundation in Amman 2008, Berlin 2009 and The Dead Sea 2011.

Mohammed Kukur Kharab (Kirkuk Provincial Council)

Mohammed Kudur Kharab was born in Kirkuk in 1956. He was educated at the Military Science College. He speaks Arabic, and his political affiliation is independent. His current position is a member of the Kirkuk Provincial Council. Mohammed's activities include the conference of the Forum for Cities in Transition (Mitrovica, May 2010); the Helsinki Agreement and the Future of Kirkuk conference (Baghdad, 2009).

Sherzad Adil Khorsheed (Kirkuk Provincial Council)

Sherzad Adil Khorsheed was born in Kirkuk in 1966 and holds a diploma in education. His languages are Kurdish, Arabic, Turkmani, and basic English. He is a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and his current position is as a member of Kirkuk Provincial Council. Activities: Conference on Garbage Disposal organized by UNOPS in Amman 2007; Workshop on Governance Arrangements organized by International Republican Institute (NDI) in 2007; Workshop on Governance arrangements in Kirkuk organized by Friedrich Naumann Foundation held in Amman, Jordan, December 2008.

Kalawezh Abjuljabbar Majed (Kirkuk Provnicial Council)

Kalawezh Abduljabbar Majed was born in Kirkuk in 1954. She attended the college of law. Her languages are Kurdish and Arabic. She was a parliament member of Kurdistan Region up to 2004. She is a member of Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party. Her current position is as a member of Kirkuk Provincial Council. Activities include: conference on human rights organized by Iraqi opposition in London in 2000; workshop on gender justice and women rights, organized by International Institute for Human Rights in Amman in 2004; and a conference of Women's Rights, organized by UNICEF in Erbil in 2010.

Silvana Boya Nasir (Kirkuk Provincial Council)

Silvana Boya Nasir was born in Kirkuk in 1968. He graduated from the College of Economy and Administration of the University of Baghdad in 1988. His languages are Chaldean, Assyrian, Arabic, and English. He is a member of the Assyrian National Party and his current position is as a member of Kirkuk Provincial Council. Activities: Training courses on strategic planning organised by Research Triangle Institute (RTI) in 2007.

Ibrahim Khalil Rasheed (Kirkuk Provincial Council)

Ibrahim Khalil Rasheed was born in Kirkuk in 1962. He attended the Technical Institute for Administration and Economics. He speaks Kurdish and Arabic. His current position is member of the Kirkuk Provincial Council, and is a member of the party, Kurdistan Islamic Union. His activities include: workshops on the Kirkuk dispute and administration issues, organised by Friedrich Naumann Foundation (Amman, 2008); Berlin 2009; the Dead Sea (2011); and a study tour on waste disposal, organised by UNOPS (Amman, 2008)

Hasan Turan Bahaulddin Saeed (Kirkuk Provincial Council)

Hasan Turan Bahaulddin Saeed was born in Kirkuk in 1962. He attended the college of agriculture. His languages are Turkmani, Arabic, and Kurdish. He is deputy chairman of Al-Adalah Turkmani Party, and his current position is a member of Kirkuk Provincial Council. Activities: Conference of Iraqi local leaderships organized by UN in Turkey in 2005; Kirkuk conference in Turkey in 2007; Workshop on kirkuk dispute held in Amman in May 2008 organized by Friedrich Naumann Foundation; Workshop on (Governance arrangements in Kirkuk) organized by Friedrich Naumann Foundation held in the Dead Sea, Jordan December 2008 and Berlin 2009.

Imad Yokhanna Yaqo (Kirkuk Provincial Council)

Imad Yokhanna Yaqo was born in Duhok-Iraq in 1966. He was educated at Baghdad University, College of Agriculture. His languages are Assyrian, Arabic, Kurdish, Turkmani, and basic English. He is a leading member of Assyrian Democratic Movement (A.D.M), and his current position is head of Kirkuk branch of (A.D.M). Activities: Workshops organized by IRI (International Republican Institute) and NDI  (National Democratic Institute) in 2007on elections, leadership, political process participation; Workshop on (Governance arrangements in Kirkuk) organized by Friedrich Naumann Foundation held in Amman, Jordan December 2008.

Sweetlen Isttifan Yousif (Kirkuk Provincial Council)

Sweetlen Isttifan Yousif was born in Nainawah in 1957. She attended the Technical Institute for Accounting, and speaks Assyrian and Arabic. She is a member of Kirkuk Provincial Council, and a member of the National Assyrian Party. Her activities include participation in workshops and conferences on finance and accounting, organised by government.

MITROVICA

Arban Abrashi

Arban Abrashi received a Master of Arts, Contemporary European Studies from the University of Sussex and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Sciences and Public Administration from the University of Pristina. His current position is with the World Bank support to the Ministry of Local Government Administration, Pristina, where he is works on Public Relations and Relations with Communities. He has also served as Project Manager – Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kosovo Public Administration International, Support to the Office of Prime Minister, funded by DFID/UK, Prishtina, Kosovo. His languages include spoken and written English, Albanian, and Serbian.

Momcilo Arlov (Center for Civil Society Development)

Momcilo Arlov was born in Glina, Republic of Croatia. He is a student of Social Work and Social Policy, University of Mitrovica north, and he is enrolled at the London School of Economics and Political Sciences (online.) Since July 1999 he has been a resident of Mitrovica north. He has worked with the Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) responsible for administration and distribution of humanitarian aid and he managed communications and assistance to the so-called “enclave settlements” within Mitrovica. From March 2000 to August 2006, Arlov was a programme officer with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Kosovo Office. In September 2006, he became Programme Director within the Center for Civil Society Development (CCSD), where he manages programmes and projects that promote community stabilization and promote interethnic dialogue and reconciliation.

Sadri Ferati

Sadri Ferati was born in Mitrovica in 1957. He graduated from the University of Pristina. In 1997, he was elected a member of the Parliament in Kosovo. In 2004 he was appointed director of the cultural Center “Rexhep Mitrovica.” Ferati was elected CEO of the municipality of Mitrovica in 2005. In the elections of the Assembly of the sixth branch of the Democratic League of Kosova held in January 2007, he was elected vice president of the LDK branch in Mitrovica. In 2008, he was appointed Minister of the Local Government Administration in the Government of Kosovo. Minister Ferati speaks Albanian, Serbian, and English.

Valdete Idrizi

Valdete Idrizi was born in Mitrovica, and in the last decade led Community Building Mitrovica (CBM), a multi-ethnic NGO that seeks to bridge the divide between the different communities living in the Mitrovica region. In 2008, she was the European winner of the International Women of Courage Award, by the US State Department. Valdete is the honoree of the Soroptimist Peace Prize in 2009, for her work and dedication to the people and peace in Mitrovica. She is one of the founders of the Mitrovica Forum, and remains a local activist by serving as a board members of many orgnisations and institutions. Valdete studied geology, and is currently finalising her MA degree studies on conflict transformation at the University of Novi Sad, in cooperation with Responding to Conflict (Birmingham) and Nansen Academy (Norway).

Oliver Ivanovic (Government of the Republic of Serbia)

Oliver Ivanovic has held the position of State Secretary in the Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija, Government of the Republic of Serbia, since 2008. He is a former member of the Provisional Commission for Kosovo, established by the Serbian parliament following elections in October 2000. Since 2001, Oliver has been a member of the Coordination Center for Kosovo and Metohija, established by the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. He has been a member of the Kosovo Parliament, elected in November 2001 in the first parliamentary elections; member of the Presidency of Kosovo Parliament; member of the Commission for Foreign Cooperation; and member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), serving as Vice President. Oliver graduated from the advanced technical school in Kosovska Mitrovica and from the faculty of economics at university.

Avril Kastrati (Municipality of Mitrovica)

Avril Kastrati born in 1948. He finished Technical Faculty-Machinery Section in Prishtina in 1976 and gained the title of the Engineer of Machinery-Production Section. During 20 years he has achieved to organize and manage private and sustainable business. From 1999 and on was general manager and the owner of “Oil-Trade” in Mitrovica. In Public Engagement, he is member of presidency and Steering Group of PDK-branch in Mitrovica since 2002 and member of Steering Council of Kosova Chamber of Commerce. He has also been supporting educational and cultural projects. He lives in Mitrovica with his wife Afërdita and has a son and a daughter.

Ljubisa Petrovic (Municipal Assembly of Kosovska Mitrovica)

Ljubisa Petrovic was born on in 1960 in Kosovska Mitrovica. He studied Law and Administration at the University of Pristina. Mr. Petrovic has been Director of General and Legal Affairs in the SIMEX Company in Srbica and Executive Director of DIJAMANT Company in Kosovska Mitrovica, one of the largest export-import service companies in Kosovo and Metohija. As a community worker and promoter of positive social values, Mr. Petrovic is a member of the Board of “Association of Musicians of Kosovo and Metohija UNIJA M.” He is the founding member of the International Jazz & Blues Festival in Kosovska Mitrovica. Since June 2008, Mr. Petrovic has held the position of Deputy President of the Kosovska Mitrovica Municipal Assembly. He is an active member of Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), one of the largest opposition parties in Serbia. 

Bajram Rexhepi

Bajram Rexhepi is a politician and the first elected postwar Prime Minister of Kosovo. He is a member of the second largest political party in Kosovo, the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK). He graduated in Medicine from the University of Pristina and worked as a doctor for many years. During war time he joined the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) as a field doctor. In the first local elections in October 2000, he was elected as a member of the Mitrovica Municipal Assembly.  In the 2001 and 2004 elections he was elected as a Kosovo Assembly Member. He currently holds the position of mayor in Mitrovica, a position he held before, shortly after the war.

Dragan Spasojevic

Dragan Spasojevic was born in 1972 in Kosovska Mitrovica. He graduated from the University of Pristina in 2000 as a Civil Engineer. From 2000 to 2008 he was a civil engineer in Kosovska Mitrovica Municipality. From 2008 to the present, he has been head of the Urban Planning Department there. Since 2003 he has been a member of the Advisory Board for Mitrovica – a body established by United Nations Kosovo Administration (UNMIK) with the aim to establish a link between the separate municipal authorities of the ethnically divided city of Mitrovica. Begining in 2008 he initiated establishment of the Citizens Movement for Kosovska Mitrovica – a local political party with a focus on improvement of quality of everyday life of citizens of Kosovska, Mitrovica. In the election in May 2008, the Movement won two out of 30 seats at the municipal assembly. With its two delegates, the Movement contributed to the establishment of an existing municipal coalition and serves as a mediator between confronted political parties at the local level.

MITTE

Jeffrey Butler

Jeffrey Butler was born in 1955, in Flint, Michigan (USA). He worked for three years as a social worker for the Michigan Department of Social Services, after studying sociology and German at Michigan State University (BA 1979). Jeffrey came to Berlin with a Fulbright scholarship in 1982, received a Masters degree in sociology from the Free University of Berlin in 1988. He was employed as a research associate at the Technical University Berlin, Institue for Hospital Construction, in the grant project, "The elderly and their living area" (1989-1992). He has also been employed as a research associate at the Technical University Berlin, Institute for Biology, in the public health project, "Integration of healthpromotion and medical measures during pregnancy" (1992-1995). Since 1995, Jeffrey has been responsible for health, reporting to the district office of Berlin-Tiergarten -- after the district reform (2001) in the district office of Berlin-Mitte. His work focus points are: health of children and adolescents, health inequalities, migration and health, dental health, health of the elderly, and health aspects of spousal abuse.

Ayla Erturk (Turkish Heritage, Qualification & Employment Company)

Ayla Ertürk was born in 1965 in Istanbul, Turkey. She spent her childhood in Berlin and Istanbul before finally immigrating to Berlin in 1980. After studying at Technische Universität Berlin she graduated with a Diploma in Business Administration. During her studies Mrs. Ertürk already started to work as a teacher for Turkish and German as a Foreign Language. From 2005 to 2007 she served as German Teacher in Türkisch-Deutsches Zentrum e.V. which is the parent institution of dtz bildung & qualifizierung, a non-profit organisation for further education and integration for which Mrs. Ertürk works in a leading position since 2007. Located in Neukölln and with offices in Wedding and Kreuzberg, Berlin’s so-called problem boroughs with multiethnic population and a high proportion of peoples with Turkish or Arabic migration background, dtz bildung & qualifizierung , a migrant self-organisation, is confronted and occupied with the every-day problems of a multicultural society. Mrs. Ertürk herself gets involved since years as a volunteer and is moreover because of her background particularly sensitive for intra-urban conflicts such as discrimination and marginalization.

Gabriele Gehlen

Gabriele Gehlen worked for 30 years as a teacher (history, politics, economics, and German), mainly at a comprehensive school in Berlin, until her retirement in 2006. She received a grant from the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (1972-1977), and learned social skills for adult education and for the education of children of the working class (1972-1977), voluntarily Turkish. Gabriele was committed to the political education in the Federal Republic of Germany, of the European Union, and for the new social question in a world with immigration. She organised travelling for teachers of Berlin to Poland (1988-1994), and for pupils to the reunited Germany (1989-2006). She graduated from the Technical University of Berlin in social sciences (1987), and published economic education at school (1982-1988). Also, she has published a history of pedagogy (1998-2006) about school reforms in Germany. Since her move from Bonn to Berlin (1977), she did voluntary work as a guide in Berlin -- the history of the city including museums and memorials. She was a delegate in 2011 to the Women's Council of the Federal Republic of Germany, in a working group for "Women, Age and Poverty in a Long-Living Society", by the German Academic Association of Women (Deutscher Akademikerinnenbund).

Volker Hobrack

Volker Hobrack studied mechanical engineering at the Technical University in Magdeburg. He worked as a development engineer in different institutions, including the Building Academy of the former East Berlin. After the fall of the Wall, he joined the Social Democratic Party and became an elected member of the borough parliament in Berlin-Mitte, with his main area of expertise on issues such as Berlin's history and urban development. On several occasions his work on memorial boards and monuments in Berlin has been honoured. He was building engineer on site in one of Berlin's building societies. For the last two years, Volker has perpetually worked in several commissions of the borough parliament. He is chairman of a local citizens' association.

Theresa Uhlig (Commissioner for Integration)

Theresa Uhlig was born in 1985 in the former German Democratic Republic, and grew up in the eastern part of Berlin. In 2004, she finished grammar school and worked a year as an au pair in Maryland (USA). In the autumn of 2006, she started her studies in sociology, psychology and folkloristic sciences/cultural history, with a focus on sociology of migration. In 2009, she went to Valparaiso, Chile, where she spent a semester at the university, PUCV. Her interests include integration, with an emphasis on the sociology of migration. Currently, Theresa is an intern with the Commissioner of Integration in Berlin, Mitte. She will complete her studies in late 2012/early 2013.

MOSTAR

Anja Bogojevic (Abrasevic Youth Cultural Center)

Anja Bogojevic is a project manager and curator for the Abart art production that functions within the Abrasevic Youth Cultural Center. The main project is "Art in Divided Cities", and is being implemented in cooperation with Studio Beirut (Beirut) and Community Development Centre (Kosovska Mitrovica). Anja recently finished her studies at the Faculty of Philosophy in Sarajevo at the Departments of Comparative Literature and History of Art. Anja grew up in Mostar. 

Kristina Coric (Youth Cultural Center of Mostar)

Kristina Coric was born in 1979 in Mostar. Since 2006, she has been the program manager of the Youth Cultural Centre, Abrasevic, in Mostar. In this position, she directs media activities, cultural and artistic productions, advocacy campaigns, youth and community projects, as well as regional and European cooperation projects. Kristina is the former assistant director fo rht Political Resource Center of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Ljubuski, West Herzegovina Canton. In this role, she strengthened the capacities of civil society actors. She was previously the general coordinator of a NGO, MIFOC (Mostar Intercultural Festival Organizing Committee). She organised twelve intercultural festivals and youth artistic exchanges with France and Spain, and engaged in citizen initiatives such as public spaces and conscientious objection campaigns. Kristina was also the assistant director of the Department of Media Development and Public Relations in the Office of the High Representative in Mostar.

Sabina Memic (Mostar City Administration)

Professor Sabina Memic has been an employee of the Mostar City Administration since 1996. Sheholds the position of Senior Independent Officer for the cooperation with NGOs and religious communities of the Mostar city.

Senita Colakovic

Senita Colakovic is employed by the Mostar City Administration in the Department for Social Affairs of the Secretariat for Education, Youth, and Sports, as an advisor to business education. She received her degree from the Faculty of Economics in Mostar in 1984. Colakovic is a native of Mostar. 

Osvit Seferovic

Osvit Seferovic was born in 1976 in Mostar. He holds a BSci degree in psychology and a MA degree in political science, both obtained in France. Osvit is the president of the newly founded union, Civic Front of Others, which aspires to alter the BiH constitution, aiming to establish a civic state, as the nationalist ideologies in BiH and the entire region have proven to be unproductive and fraudulent in the process of the implementation of their projects. An active member of several associations in Mostar whose chief goal is to overpower bias and bigotry that exists among various ethnic groups, Osvit works as a journalist for Abrasmedia.info, writing columns and commentaries on the current political scene in former Yugoslavia, with an emphasis on the divided city of Mostar and Herzegovina as a region facing challenges associated with transition and ethnic divisions.

Anita Simunovic

Anita Simunovic is employed by the Mostar City Administration. She holds the position of Higher Professional Assistant for the Non-Governmental and Youth Organizations issues of the city of Mostar. She received her degree from the Faculty of Journalism at the University of Mostar in 2001. 

Mela Zuljevic (Abrasevic Youth Cultural Center)

Mela Zuljevic was born in Mostar in 1985. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo in 2010. Since 2009, she coordinates the activities of Abart, an art production working within the youth cultural centre, Abrasevic, in Mostar. Abart is an open artistic platform, working on the production of art projects and supporting urban research that engages with the issue of urban polarisation. Mela has so far designed and coordinated two major project: Art in Divided Cities (2009-2010) and (Re)Collecting Mostar (2010-2011). Both projects have been funded by major international organisations, such as the European Cultural Foundation and the MDG-F programme, Culture for Development.

NICOSIA

Mustafa Akinci

Mustafa Akinci was born in Limassol-Cyprus in 1947. He is an architect by profession. He was elected to the Constituent Assembly of Turkish Cypriots which was established after the events of 1974 at the age of 27. At 28, he was elected Mayor of Nicosia (North) by the Turkish Cypriot residents of the northern half of Nicosia. He was reelected twice and served for 14 years. Between 1999 and 2001 he was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Tourism in the Turkish Cypriot Government. He was a member of the Turkish Cypriot Parliament for 15 years until 2009, and is now retired.

Deniz Birinci

Deniz Birinci holds a BS (Hon.) in Communication from Cornell University, a postgraduate Diploma in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University, and an MBA in International Public Sector Management from the University of Birmingham. Her language skills include Turkish, English, Italian, French, Spanish, and Greek. Her present position is Head of the Department/Director, Department of Foreign Relations Nicosia Turkish Municipality, Cyprus.  She has served as the Head of the Department of Public Relations, as Special Assistant/Advisor to the Undersecretary to the President, and as EU Adviser to the Undersecretary to the President and the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Economy and Tourism.

Tolga Cagakan

Tolga Cagakan was born in Nicosia in 1967. He holds a masters degree in Business Administration. He is Municipal Councilor of Nicosia Turkish Municipality. He is working as the Assistant General Manager of Cyprus Vakıf  Bank Ltd. He was a member of the Board of Directors of Cyprus Turkish Banks Association (2006-2008), and a member of Board of Directors of TMSF (FDIC of N. Cyprus) (2006-2008). On December 2004, he attended a banking seminar trip held and organized by USAID and Bearing Point, Inc., in Washington DC.

Lellos Demetriades

Lellos Demetriades was born in Nicosia in 1933. He was called to the Bar by the Hon. Society of Gray's Inn in London, in 1955, and has been a practising Barrister in Nicosia ever since. From 1960 to 1970 he was a member of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Cyprus and served as Clerk of the House and Chairman of a number of committees. From 1966 to 1970 he was the Floor Leader (in the House) of the Government Majority Party — the Patriotic Front and served as the Greek Cypriot member in the Joint Committee. During 1961 and 1963 he participated in the sessions of the Consultative Assembly. Up to 2001 he was a member of the Permanent Conference (now called the Congress) of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and served as the Chairman of its Cultural Committee for four years; he is now an honorary member of the Congress. He was the Mayor of Nicosia for 30 years from 1971 to 2001, and he now holds the honorary title of Mayor for Life and other honorary titles. During his mayorship, he cooperated very closely with his Turkish-Cypriot counterpart in Nicosia, Mr Mustafa Akinci, in very difficult times for the city, and achieved, inter alia, important agreements for the public sewerage system and the Master Plan for the capital of Cyprus, which are still being implemented by both sides, on the same principles.

Maria Hadjipavlou

Maria Hadjipavlou is an associate professor at the Department of Social and Political Sciences, University of Cyprus. She teaches comparative politics, gender studies, conflict resolution, international peace and security, and the Cyprus conflict from a multi-disciplinary perspective. Maria was educated in Cyprus, the UK and the United States. She has a PhD degree in social and political change, from Boston University (1987), and was a post-doctoral student at Harvard University (1991-1993). Maria was also a visiting scholar at the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University (1996-1997), where with Dr Andrea Bartoli she founded the Center of International Conflict Resolution (CICR), and she continues to be a senior research associate and supervisor to graduate students who work on Cyprus. Maria is a founding member and president of Cyprus Peace Center and the Cypriot Women's NGO, Hands Across the Divide. She is a consultant and member of expert teams at the Council for UNFPA and trained women in Afghanistan, Tunisia and Bradislava on gender and conflict resolution, and a trainer for WINPEACE (Women's Initiatives for Peace, Greece and Turkey) for the students' educational peace camps. Her book, "Women and Change in Cyprus: Feminisms and Gender in Conflict", was published in 2010.

Mehmet Harmanci

Mehmet Harmanci is the co-Project Manager of Engage-Do Your Part for Peace project at the Management Centre in North Cyprus. He is responsible for directing all internal control reviews and special projects in the civil society and reconciliation program. He works closely with UNDP advisors and writes weekly columns as part of the project for the Halkin Sesi newspaper. Harmanci graduated from Liverpool John Moores University in 2001 with an M.A. in European studies and politics. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party and was an Undersecretary General of the party from 2008-2010 and is currently acting as an advisor in EU matters for the party's central committee.

Persephone Kollakidou

Persephone Kollakidou was born in Nicosia, Cyprus. She graduated from Hammersmith Polytechnic, London. She speaks English fluently and has fair knowledge of Italian and French. In 1991 she was elected for the first time as a municipal councillor at the Nicosia Municipality. Since then she has been reelected for another mandate. She serves on a number of committees including the European Affairs committee. She attended several conferences abroad, most important of which are: 1987, Commonwealth Conference for Young Leaders in Ottawa, Canada; 1989, Le Mani nel Mondo in Jesolo, Italy; 1994, Westminster Foundation for Democracy / Conference for Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots in London.

Kostas Mavrides

Kostas Mavrides was born and raised in Nicosia. Mavrides studied accounting and worked as an accountant in big firms in Cyprus for ten years until he established his own trading company. During that time he was involved in Cyprus politics. After the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, he was even more actively involved in the politics of his country as one of the senior officers of the governing party in Cyprus at that time (Democratic Party). Since 1996 he has served in the city council of Nicosia. This is his third consecutive term as a city councillor and as the leader of the Democratic Party's Nicosia Council Team.

Eleni Mavrou

Eleni Mavrou was born in Kyrenia in 1961. Ms Mavrou studied Civil Engineering at the Higher Technical Institute in Nicosia and received a BSc degree in Politics and International Relations from the University of London. In the municipal elections of 2006 she ran as the candidate of the municipal Coalition which united the three parties of AKEL, DIKO, and EDEK. She was elected Mayor of Nicosia and took office on 2 January 2007. In 2001 she was elected in Nicosia to be among AKEL’s members of the House of Representatives, and was reelected to the same position in 2006. She served as President of the House Committee on the Environment and a member of the House Committees on Internal Affairs and Human Rights. She was a member of the European Convention on the Future of the European Union, and in 2003 was appointed by the House of Representatives as a Cyprus observer at the European Parliament. After Cyprus’s accession to the European Union and until the elected Cyprus Members of the European Parliament took office, Ms Mavrou represented Cyprus at the European Parliament. Ms Mavrou has been conferred the Knight of the Order of Merit by the Government of France, and has been awarded the Grand Decoration of Honour in Silver with Sash by the Republic of Austria in acknowledgement of her services.

Marios Michaelides

Marios Michaelides is a training officer at the Cyprus Academy of Public Administration (CAPA).  His primary area of interest is Negotiations and Conflict Management.  Also, he has significant experience in the facilitation of groups of stakeholders, on various issues, in structured, consensus building processes. He holds an M.Sc. in Management & Policy Analysis, 1988, Harriman School of Management, New York; a Post-Graduate Diploma, in Production Management, 1986, Mediterranean Institute of Management; and a B.E. Engineering Science, 1984, State University of New York at Stonybrook.

Katerina Papadopoulou

Katerina Papadopoulou is a Researcher for Cyprus 2015, a dialogue and public opinion research initiative implemented by the Joint Programme Unit for United Nations - Interpeace Initiatives (JPU), and supported by UNDP-Action for Cooperation and Trust and the European Commission Representation in Cyprus. Katerina has facilitated meetings with Greek Cypriot Displaced Persons, which discussed issues of property restitution and return. She has also co-facilitated bi-communal stakeholder panels, promoting dialogue between stakeholders from both communities about their views on solving the security, governance and property issues. Prior to that she worked for Politis, a Greek language newspaper in circulated in Cyprus. One of Katerina’s Masters degrees, in Political Science from the University of Southern California, focused on the relationship between media, ethnicity and nationalism with specific reference to Cyprus during the pre-2004 referendum period. She grew up in Nicosia.

RAMALLAH

Ruba Abdalqader (Relief International)

Ruba Abdalqader is from Tulkarem, Palestine, where she lived with her family and grew up under Israeli occupation. She is the youngest of four girls and one boy. Ruba studied accounting at Al Quds Open University, which has campuses all over the West Bank-Palestine. She currently works, volunteers and lives in Ramallah, which is the main city of the West Bank and the center of government. She works with Relief International, which is a humanitarian organisation with projects all over the West Bank. Some of these projects include youth centres throughout the rgion, as well as scholarship funds for poor students who otherwise would be unable to attend university. She cares deeply about her homeland and people, and hopes one day everyone can resolve the conflicts in the region in order to pursue life without threats to anyone.

Johnny Dahu

Johnny Dahu from a Palestinian family and his life as a child was between Ramallah and Jerusalem. He graduated in Computer Information Systems in Jordan, then went on to get a Master's degree in IT Management from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Johnny is a co-owner and the IT Development Manager of Al-Ghassan Informations Systems, a software company, based in Ramallah, which provides IT solutions and support for both the private and public sectors in Palestine. Johnny's goal is to motivate young people in civic participation and democracy practice and to advocate the need for creating civic engagement platforms. He started a website called Real Times in Palestine -- http://www.palrealtimes.com -- in order to talk about many of the untold stories about Palestine and Palestinians. Within the same interest, Johnny co-taught a course at Al Quds University called Media and Society. Most recently, at just 26 years of age, he became the youngest candidate running for municipal elections. He was number 6 on the Ramallah for Everyone list, which is a coalition list of independents and forward-thinking political parties.

Mahmoud Abdulla Darali (Municipality of Ramallah)

Mahmoud Abdulla Darali is a Structural engineer and the Deputy Mayor of Ramallah City, where He formed the electing list from left and independent members in 2006 and won the majority positions in the council. He is responsible for the strategic planning, urban and engineering policies in the council. Usually he represents the Ramallah Municipality in meetings, workshops and conferences concerning on urban development and planning. Social activist in other professional and Civil societies like engineering association, NGO's and pro-democratic movement in Palestine.

Doa Wadi (Business Women Forum-Palestine)

Doa Wadi is the Executive Director of Business Women Forum-Palestine since 2008. BWF is a nonprofit organization established in 2006 with a mission to strengthen the role of businesswomen as leaders in the Palestinian economy through advocacy, networking, and the provision of business services. Doa has over 15 years of experience in the private sector and development fields where she was the Program coordinator for the CWEP/OXFAM-QUEBEC Project which later transformed into what is now known as ASALA, an organization that provides micro-credit to women. She has attended advanced training courses in regional and international NGOs and further developed her capacity in Management for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) by acquiring a professional certificate in business in addition to her BA in Business Administration at the University of Birziet, Ramallah.