Focus: NGO/Social Activism

Sally Abi Khalil

Sally Abi Khalil is a humanitarian and development practitioner with twenty years of experience in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Tunisia, Egypt, and Syria. She is currently Middle East and North Africa Director of Oxfam International and has served as chair of the Lebanon Humanitarian INGO Forum. As the first Lebanese woman to run a major international NGO within the Syria Response in Lebanon, she has led humanitarian response programming, programs supporting youth and women with social innovation and social entrepreneurship initiatives, promoted the right to decent work, worked for the establishment of civil society networks, and promoted feminist approaches towards leadership and collective action. Sally’s career has followed the trajectory of…

Thembi Xulu

Dr. Thembi Xulu is a health care and health policy professional serving as Senior Technical Specialist at Right to Care (RTC) Health Services, a company focused on the delivery of holistic health and wellness solutions for employers. In this role, Tehmbi is leading the organization's response and delivery of services pertaining to COVID-19. Right to Care is one of the largest HIV and TB treatment and prevention centers in South Africa. RTC partners with the government, private sector, and NGOs in improving access to safe, effective, and affordable treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS and TB. The organization operates at more than 170 sites providing comprehensive HIV services and supports…

Arif Zamhari

Arif Zamhari is a social activist based in Indonesia working to promote moderate and progressive Islam. He is committed to engaging civil society in countering terrorism and promoting tolerance through dialogue and education. Serving as Deputy Director of the International Conference of Islamic Scholars, Arif is devoted to interfaith discourse and is involved in Track II diplomacy through leadership of the International Conference of Islamic Scholars Forum. Arif is also a lecturer in theology and psychology at the State Islamic University in Jakarta and the State Islamic Institute in Surabaya.

Neide Maria da Silva

Neide Maria da Silva is Founder and Executive Director of Equipe Técnica de Assessoria Pesquisa e Ação Social, one of Brazil's most important non-governmental organizations. She has played a crucial role in building community organizations and civil society especially in the context of resistance to military rule. The organization's activities focus on gender, violence, human rights, and land security issues and is active in monitoring state and municipal government urban policy. They work to protect children, youth, and families in slums, monitoring orphanages and protecting urban squatters from being evicted and brutalized. Neide has also been involved in global youth projects meant to encourage the social inclusion of vulnerable children…

José Luis Chicoma

José Luis Chicoma is the Minister of Production of Peru. He previously served as executive director of Ethos Public Policy Lab, a Mexican think tank that promotes development and sustainable food systems. He was the editor and coordinator of the publication “Transforming our food systems: Inspirational stories and proposals” and has served as a core member of the Tortilla Alliance, the Mexican AgTech network, as well as other coalitions that advocate for sustainable and healthy food systems. He also frequently writes and speaks internationally about the intersection of food and politics. He previously held several high-level positions in the Peruvian government, including serving as Vice Minister of Small and Medium…

Abdul-Rehman Malik

Abdul-Rehman Malik is an award winning London-based journalist, educator, and cultural organizer. He is Programs Manager for the Radical Middle Way, which offers powerful, faith-inspired guidance and tools to enable change, combat exclusion and violence and promote social justice for all. His work has spanned the UK, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sudan, Mali, Morocco, Singapore, Canada and Malaysia. In January 2015, he became director of the Insight Film Festival, a unique year-round festival that celebrates the intersection between faith and film. Abdul-Rehman is a regular contributor to BBC Radio, offering contemporary perspectives on spirituality and presenting documentaries and programs for Radio 4, Radio 2 and the World Service. His recent documentary work…

Philip Gain

Philip Gain works on human rights and environmental issues in Bangladesh, combining investigative journalism with a systematic pursuit of policy change. The outputs of his research and investigations–books, monographs, special reports, documentary films, and photographic works are widely used as readings in general and in classrooms. He is also an adjunct faculty member at a private university in Dhaka where he teaches environmental communication, development communication, and advanced reporting. With a number of reporting guides and resource books he has authored and edited he also teaches working journalists skills of in-depth reporting. For the past decade his work with tea plantation workers, indigenous peoples, and other excluded communities of Bangladesh…

Marianne Camerer

Marianne Camerer is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Cape Town (UCT) where she focuses on ethics, leadership, and accountability. She previously directed the Building Bridges Programme, a leadership development platform, at The Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, also at the University of Cape Town. In 2014 she initiated the flagship Emerging African Leaders Programme which now has over 100 alumnus from ten African countries. Beyond research and teaching she works with a team of facilitators to develop innovative executive training for senior public officials and social entrepreneurs in Africa, with a particular focus on ethical leadership and accountability. Prior to joining UCT, Marianne co-founded the international anti-corruption…

Artist-activist Tania Bruguera named to Newsweek’s Creative Class of 2019