Minami Tsubouchi

Minami Tsubouchi is an entrepreneur in the field of leadership development with a particular focus on youth under adversity. She founded BEYOND Tomorrow to support young victims of the devastating earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear accident that hit the northeast coast of Japan in 2011. Believing that great leaders can rise out of adversity, she has supported more than 700 young adults suffering from traumatic experiences to overcome hardship as budding leaders who can make a difference for society.  Minami worked in Afghanistan after the 9/11 terrorist attack, engaging in humanitarian assistance, and she worked in Bahrain during the Arab Spring as a member of the Kingdom’s Economic Development Board. Her…

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Andrei Kureichik

Andrei Kureichik is a Belarusian playwright, director, publicist, and civil activist. As a writer and director prior to 2020, Andrei was especially beloved for his comedies and suspense thrillers. Following the contested presidential elections and brutal aftermath in Belarus in August 2020, Andrei gained an international following as a political playwright. Forced to flee the country as a member of the Coordination Council working with perceived winner Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s transition team, Andrei leveraged his creative energy to produce the documentary play “Insulted. Belarus(sia)” about the 2020 presidential elections, subsequent protests, and violent crackdown by Alexander Lukashenko’s regime in Belarus. The play has been translated into 29 languages and received 200…

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Babatunde Omilola

Babatunde Omilola manages the African Development Bank’s multi-billion-dollar response to the COVID-19 pandemic to save lives and livelihoods throughout Africa and to help African countries strengthen their health systems, stabilize their economies, and alleviate the economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. A global development leader, Babatunde served as Head of Development Planning with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in New York and led the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on the monitoring and implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) globally. He also co-chaired the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Task Force on Global Food and Nutrition Security Technical Team. Babatunde was UNDP’s Regional Practice Leader for poverty…

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Huong Dang

Huong Dang is a social entrepreneur and founder of HopeBox, an NGO based in Vietnam that provides employment, training, and opportunities to victims of gender-based violence. Prior to this she worked as Director of Partnerships and Strategy of KOTO, an organization that aids and empowers at-risk and disadvantaged youth in Vietnam. From a humble beginning as a street kid, Huong made her way to Melbourne via a scholarship and was honored as Victoria’s International Student of the Year. In 2021, Huong was recognized as the winner of Women of the Future under the category of Social Entrepreneur. She is passionate about social enterprise and education and believes that innovative approaches…

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Kirsten Rulf

Kirsten Rulf has been working as a senior advisor for digital, technology, and innovation policy to former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and current Chancellor Olaf Scholz since 2019. She is Head of Division for General Digital Policy Issues and “Nerd-in-Chief” at the Federal Chancellery of Germany in Berlin. In her strategic leadership position, Kirsten is shaping Germany’s and Europe’s role in the geopolitics of tech. What does European digital sovereignty mean in a global context? How should Germany navigate the Great Power competition between USA and China?  Kirsten first started to think about these issues during her decade-long career as an award-winning journalist: as current affairs correspondent for Germany’s flagship…

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Martin InthamoussĂş

Martin InthamoussĂş is a Consultant in Creative Economy and Cultural Public Policy. He is currently working at the Interamerican Development Bank at the Creativity and Culture Unit. He was President of SODRE in Uruguay, the oldest cultural institution in the country dedicated to culture and art promotion, arts education, and growth of traditions, taking its services to the whole country and beyond borders. Within the institution, MartĂ­n was commissioned to create the Contemporary Dance Department of the National Dance School, of which he is the founder. He has also developed different programs working on public policy towards access to culture for citizens in the whole country as a means of…

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Manasi Subramaniam

Manasi Subramaniam is Editor-in-Chief at Penguin Random House India, where she heads the literary division's flagship imprints: Allen Lane, Viking, Hamish Hamilton, Penguin Paperbacks, Penguin Classics. She has published some of the most exciting new voices across South Asia, including two winners of the Booker Prize, one winner of the Pulitzer Prize, and several winners and finalists of international awards including the National Book Awards, Folio, JCB, Andrew Carnegie Medal, Women’s Prize, Desmond Elliott, among others. Manasi has been recognized for her contributions to global publishing and has been invited to the Frankfurt Buchmesse fellowship, the Bureau International de l'Édition Française fellowship, the Australia Council for the Arts Visiting International Publishers…

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Kyriacos Koupparis

Kyriacos Koupparis is Head of the Hunger Monitoring Unit at the United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP) where he and his team utilize data and emerging technologies to track global food security. Previously he was Head of Frontier Innovations at the UNWFP's Innovation Accelerator. In this role, he led a team that explored how emerging technologies – such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, and robotics – can be harnessed to catalyze impact within the context of humanitarian assistance and food security. Previously, he worked for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as Senior Innovation Advisor where he designed and administered multi-million dollar programs to advance social and environmental prosperity…

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Fakhar Durrani

Fakhar Durrani is a journalist with The News International, Pakistan’s leading English language newspaper. He is part of the news organization’s Investigation Cell, which reports in-depth and investigative stories, often in high-risk situations. He focuses on corruption and embezzlement in government departments, misuse of authority by government officials, tax evasion issues, health and education related topics, abuse of human rights, and other social issues. Recently he was part of 600 leading investigative journalists who collaborated with International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in the Pandora Papers investigations. During this collaboration, Durrani, along with one of his colleagues, unearthed millions of dollars offshore holdings of more than 700 Pakistanis which they…

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Solangel Fernández

Solangel Fernández is an architect, urban designer, and urban economist with 15 years of experience. Throughout her career, she has been in charge of directing urban development and sustainable mobility initiatives as well as large infrastructure projects, especially during trying political times. In Peru, Solangel directed the urban planning offices at the municipalities of San Isidro and San Borja where she and her team developed innovative strategies to transform public spaces for the wellness of communities. Additionally, she has participated and coordinated metropolitan urban plans, key for the development of the country, and directed urban regeneration projects in vulnerable human settlements over the hills of Lima. Previously, she worked on…

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