Focus: Democracy
Mustafa Haid
Mustafa Haid is a founding board member of Dawlaty Foundation, a Syrian nonprofit foundation that works with nonviolent activists on capacity-building toward democratic transition and transitional justice in Syria. A Syrian human rights advocate since 2000, Mustafa was under travel bans imposed by the Syrian regime from 2007 until 2011. Mustafa worked as a consultant for Human Rights Watch and for the UN office of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and the Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) from 2011 to 2012. He has written and edited numerous articles and published research and books on issues related to transitional justice, the Syrian uprising and human…
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Gilbert Doumit
Gilbert Doumit is a founding and Managing Partner of Beyond Group Europe, a change-driven international consulting firm that specializes in three integrated practices: Public Policy & Management, Organizational Learning & Development, and Innovation & Technology Integration, with projects in South Asia, Africa, Caucasus, the Middle East and Gulf countries. For the last two decades, Gilbert has been advising policy makers, the United Nations, the World Bank, development partners, and civil society organizations to innovate and transform their social, economic and governance policies, strategies and systems. At the Yale School of Management, Gilbert has facilitated, for three consecutive years, a leadership development seminar within the Master’s of Advanced Management at the…
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Ann Iyonu
Ann Iyonu is Executive Director of the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation. At the heart of the Foundation’s mandate is the protection of democratic integrity, the prevention of violent conflicts, and the promotion of the peaceful resolution of disputes across Africa. In her role she is involved in high-level mediation and conflict resolution in democratic emergencies and political transitions. Ann is also the coordinator of the West African Elders Forum (WAEF), a platform of former heads of state that draws on the experience and standing of its members to bring non-partisan insights and skills for defusing tension and reconciling positions for the sake of the sustenance and advancement of democracy in West…
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Amira Yahyaoui
Amira Yahyaoui is a Tunisian human rights advocate and founder of the award-winning Al Bawsala, a public policy and accountability NGO. Al Baswala monitors the work of the Tunisian Parliament, the Constitutional Assembly, and Tunisian city halls, using technology to make information accessible to citizens. When she was a teenager, Amira was banned from her homeland for her human rights activism and fled to Paris as a refugee. After the Arab Spring, Amira returned to Tunisia for the political transition and writing of the new Tunisian constitution. She won a Vital Voices Global Trailblazer award in 2012 for women transforming the Middle East and was named top 100 most powerful…
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Pilar Velasco
Pilar Velasco is a Spanish journalist currently working at Cadena SER (Prisa Group), the radio network leader in Spain. Specializing in investigative and data journalism, she has exposed political and economic malpractices in Spain and uncovered high profile international corruption cases. Her reports have focused on revealing unlawful and unethical activities of the powerful against the public interest. Pilar is the author of two books, one about social change in Spain; and another one about the rise of indignados (Occupy) movement, both of which have been translated into several languages. She has also published two essays in Germany about the challenges of democracy in Europe in the context of the…
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Pablo AmĂlcar Sandoval Ballesteros
Pablo AmĂlcar Sandoval Ballesteros is a Mexican politician and activist serving as State Coordinator of the Development Programs of the State of Guerrero. He was previously Coordinator of the Morena Parliamentary group and President of the Political Coordination Board (2018). He was a member of the Party of the Democratic Revolution, serving as Secretary of national organization. He was national delegate of the CEN of the PRD in the campaign for the government of Guerrero and the state of Mexico in 2005. In the public sector, Pablo has served as director of Control and Evaluation in the Federal District Government and was part of the AndrĂ©s Manuel LĂłpez Obrador Advisory…
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Maria Corina Machado
MarĂa Corina Machado is National Coordinator of Vente Venezuela, the party of freedom and a liberal political organization born in 2013 and of which she is a founding member. She was the Member of the National Assembly of Venezuela elected with the highest number of votes of all the candidates for that electoral contest (2010-2015) and is one of the main opposition leaders in the country. Since 2017, she is a founding member, along with Antonio Ledezma and Diego Arria, and accompanied by an extensive National Council, of the SoyVenezuela platform, an alliance of large sectors of the country, with international projection, committed to the rescue of the Republic and…
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Mohamed ElFayoumy
Mohamed ElFayoumy is an Egyptian diplomat with extensive experience in the Middle East. He currently serves as Political Adviser for the United Nations Special Envoy to Syria. Mohamed served as his government’s representative to the Syrian Opposition and he was the Consul in the Egyptian Embassy in Syria where he was instrumental in evacuating thousands of Egyptian nationals from Syria during the conflict in 2011-13. He is also active in a number of civil society organizations working toward the political development of Egypt.
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Alberto de Belaunde
Alberto de Belaunde is a former congressman from the Republic of Peru. He chaired the Congressional Climate Change Committee and was part of the Justice and Human Rights Committee and the Foreign Relations Committee. Alberto was the second openly LGBTQ+ congressman in Peru's history. In 2019, he received the Victory Institute Tammy Baldwin Breakthrough Award for his work for equality. Alberto is a lawyer and teaches Legal Ethics at Pacific University. He has a master's degree in Environmental Management and completed an executive program in Economics of Sustainable Development and Climate Change. He was part of the Global Competitiveness Leadership Program at Georgetown University and part of the Global Shapers…
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Olena Sotnyk
Olena Sotnyk is a Ukrainian politician, lawyer, and human rights defender and currently serves at Advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine. As a former member of the Ukrainian Parliament, she is a well-known legislator and public policy maker in areas such as rule of law, judicial system reform, anticorruption, and youth policy. Olena also represents Ukraine in the international arena and is one of the leading the voices of Ukrainians against Russian aggression. She holds prominent positions in the working bodies of several international organizations, including the Council of Europe, and focuses on issues including Euro-integration of Ukraine and female empowerment. Prior to her political career, Olena was…
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