|
Conference Speakers
Welcoming Dinner Thursday,
September 25, 6:30pm Michael
Marshall
(Master of Ceremonies) Michael
Marshall serves as Executive Director of
the World Media Association (WMA). The World Media Association is an
international forum for media professionals and opinion leaders
dedicated to
advancing the highest standards of journalistic ethics, promotion of
press
freedom in places where it does not exist, and encourages the
responsible use
of that freedom where it does. Since its founding in 1978, the WMA has
conducted fact-finding tours to numerous hotspots around the world, as
well as
19 major World Media Conferences and numerous symposia which have
examined the
media’s role in the larger context of society. Mr. Marshall also serves
as
Executive Editor of The World & I, a monthly, scholarly
periodical
with a 16-year history in publishing articles in the fields of current
issues,
the arts, life, natural science, culture, and currents in modern
thought. Tageldin “Taj” Hamad
Mr. Taj Hamad
is Secretary General of the World
Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (WANGO), having assumed
this position
in 2001. This post previously had been held by Dr. Wally N’Dow, former
United
Nations Assistant Secretary General and Secretary General of Habitat
II. Prior
to becoming WANGO Secretary General, Mr. Hamad served as WANGO’s
International
Executive Director. Mr. Hamad has also served as Secretary of the
Executive
Committee of DPI-NGOs at the United Nations, Executive Director of the
Interreligious Leadership Seminar, and Executive Director for the
Interdenominational Christians for Unity and Social Action. He also serves as Chair of the Middle East
Alliance for World Peace, and is a member of the board of several other
international organizations. In his work with NGOs and projects related
to
world peace, security, women, youth and sustainable development, Mr.
Hamad has
traveled extensively worldwide, especially throughout Africa and Middle
East.
For his efforts, Mr. Hamad has received many honors, including being
awarded an
honorary doctorate from the Technical Institute of Biblical Studies in
1990. Dr. Pradit
Chareonthaitawee Professor
Pradit Chareonthaitawee serves as Vice
President for the Foundation for Development and Peace and as
Commissioner for
the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand. He has also served as
a
Member of the Constitutional Drafting Assembly, a Member of the Civil
Service
Commission of the Ministry of Public Health, a Member of the Civil
Service
Commission of the Ministry of Urban Affairs, and President of Mahidol
University. A medical doctor, Professor Pradit was Dean of the Faculty
of
Medicine of Siriraj Hosptial, and Chairman of the
Department of Anesthesiology of the Faculty of
Medicine of Siriraj
Hospital. He holds degrees from The Royal College of Surgeons of
England, the
Royal College of Physicians of London, and the Faculty of Medicine of
Siriraj
Hospital University of Medical Science. Dr. Pradit serves as a
Physician
attached to the Office of the Royal Household. His professional
association
service includes being President of the Thai Society of Anesthesiology,
President
of the Council of the University Faculty Senate of Thailand, President
of
Mahidol University Faculty Senate, Secretary and Advisory to the
Minister of
Health, a member of the National Representative Assembly and member of
the
Standing Committee of the National Representative Assembly on Science,
Technology, and Energy, and other prestigious positions. He has
received
numerous awards, including the Order of the Royal White Elephant, the
Order of
the Crown of Thailand, the Order of the Chulacnomkloa, among others.
Opening
Plenary Session: Friday,
September 26, 9:00am Tageldin “Taj”
Hamad (Chair) Mr. Taj Hamad
is Secretary General of the World
Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (WANGO), having assumed
this
position in 2001. This post previously had been held by Dr. Wally
N’Dow, former
United Nations Assistant Secretary General and Secretary General of
Habitat II.
Prior to becoming WANGO Secretary General, Mr. Hamad served as WANGO’s
International Executive Director. Mr. Hamad has also served as
Secretary of the
Executive Committee of DPI-NGOs at the United Nations, Executive
Director of
the Interreligious Leadership Seminar, and Executive Director for the
Interdenominational Christians for Unity and Social Action. He also serves as Chair of the Middle East
Alliance for World Peace, and is a member of the board of several other
international organizations. In his work with NGOs and projects related
to
world peace, security, women, youth and sustainable development, Mr.
Hamad has
traveled extensively worldwide, especially throughout Africa and Middle
East.
For his efforts, Mr. Hamad has received many honors, including being
awarded an
honorary doctorate from the Technical Institute of Biblical Studies in
1990.. Dr. Juree
Vichit-Vadakan Dr. Juree
Vichit-Vadakan serves as Chairperson
of the Center for Philanthropy and Civil Society (CPCS). CPCS is an
autonomous,
nonprofit center under the National Institute for Development
Administration
(NIDA), a government institution of learning at the post-graduate
level. The
Center aims Rev. Chung Hwan Kwak Rev. Dr.
Chung Hwan Kwak serves as Chair of
WANGO’s International Council. He also holds a number of prominent
positions in
the worlds of academia and media, as well as in non-profit and
religious
organizations. In academia, Rev. Kwak serves as Chairman of the Board
for the Mechai Viravaidya Mr. Mechai
Viravaidya is a Member of the Senate
of Thailand’s Parliament, the National Assembly of Thailand. As
Senator, he serves
on the Committee on Privatisation of the State Enterprises and on the
Committee
on Public Participation. Previously, he has held positions of Deputy
Minister
of Industry, Spokesman of the Prime Minister’s Office, Minister of the
Prime
Minister’s Office, and Advisor to the Deputy Minister of Foreign
Affairs. In
1991 and 1992, as a Minister to the Office of the Prime Minister, he
assisted
Prime Minister Anand Panyarachun in establishing a comprehensive
national
HIV/AIDS prevention policy and program. He has also served as Governor
of the
Provincial Waterworks Authority, Chairman of Krung Thai Bank Public
Company
Limited and Telephone Organization of Thailand. He was appointed as the
Ambassador for UNAIDS in 1999. Mr. Viravaidya also is the founder and
Chairman
of the Population and Community Development Association (PDA), a
nongovernmental organization dedicated to serving and assisting the
rural poor
of Thailand. Founded in 1974, PDA is one of Thailand’s most well
established
and diverse non-profit organizations, and is headquartered in Bangkok,
with 16
regional development centers and branch offices in rural Thailand.
PDA’s
programs are based on the belief that local people are best suited to
shape and
sustain their own development. From its beginning point in promoting
family
planning in urban and rural areas of Thailand, PDA has branched out to
include
integrated rural development, water resource development and
sanitation,
medical and health services, population control and AIDS care
activities, income
generation and training and technical expertise assistance, promotion
of
women’s and children’s rights, forestry, and environmental
conservation. For
his service to the public, Mr. Viravaidya has received numerous awards,
including four honorary doctorates, the 1997 United Nations Population
Award,
the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service, the United Nations Gold
Peace
Medal and the Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of the Most Exalted
Order of
the White Elephant. He has been granted decorations from the
Governments of
Thailand, Australia and the Federal Republic of Germany.
Plenary
Session II: Friday,
September 26, 11:00am Dr. Noel
Brown (Chair) Dr. Noel
Brown is President of Friends of the
United Nations. Previously, he served as Director of the United Nations
Environment Program Dr. Sarah
Michael Dr. Sarah
Michael serves as a Research Fellow
for the Global Equity Initiative of Harvard University’s John F.
Kennedy School
of Government. The Francois
Fouinat Mr. Francois
Fouinat is Executive Director of
the Commission on Human Security. The Commission on Human Security was
established in January, 2001 by the initiative of the Government of
Japan,
which was inspired with the United Nations Secretary General’s call at
the 2000
Millennium Summit. The Commission held official meetings in New York,
Tokyo,
Stockholm, and Bangkok, and presented its 159-page Final Report, Human
Security Now: Protecting and Empowering People, to the UN
Secretary-General
on May 1, 2003. The Commission also engaged in two major research
projects,
focusing on conflict and development. Previous to becoming Executive
Director
of the Commission on Human Security, Mr. Fouinat held a number of posts
with
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Among these, he
served as
Director of the Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, Head of Operations for
Kosovo
Emergency, Chief of the Cabinet of the High Commissioner, Coordinator
of the
UNHCR Special Operation in the former Yugoslavia, UNHCR Representative
in
Honduras, Djibouti, and Cambodia, Senior Programme Officer in Somalia,
Chief of
Mission in Brazil, and other positions within the United Nations
Commissioner
for Refugees. He has also served as Programme Officer for the
International
Secretariat for Volunteer Service. Dana Robert
Dillon Dana R.
Dillon is Senior Policy Analyst for the
Heritage Foundation Asian Studies Center. The Heritage Foundation is
one of the
United State’s premier public policy research institutes. Dana Dillon
served 20
years in the U.S. Army, the last six years at the Pentagon, where he
specialized in
Interactive
Sessions: Friday,
September 26, 1:45pm Session
Chairs
Dr. Thomas J.
Ward (Chair) Dr. Thomas
Ward is Vice President for
International Programs and Dean of the International College of the
University
of Bridgeport. Prior to this, he served
as Assistant to the Provost and as a Visiting Professor of
International
Studies. Dr. Ward assisted Dr. Stoyan
Ganev, 47th President of the United Nations General
Assembly, in
creating the University’s New England Center for International and
Regional
Studies. Dr. Ward has also served as an Human Rights Commissioner in
Dutchess
County, New York. Dr. Ward began his career in International Banking.
He worked
as an International Representative for Equibank, and later for the Bank
of
America. He did his doctoral studies at the Catholic Institute of Paris
and at
De La Salle University in the Philippines. Dr. Ward has been a guest
lecturer
on comparative political systems at institutions of higher learning in
Latin
America and Asia. Conflict
Resolution, Peace and Security
Dr. Nicholas
Kittrie Dr. Nicholas
Kittrie has spent over a quarter of
a century as a leader of international non-governmental organizations –
articulating the voices of civil society before international agencies
and
national governments. Dr. Kittrie is Chairman of the Eleanor Roosevelt
Institute for Justice and Peace. He Families,
Women and Youth
Ms. Yvonne
Hinds (Chair) Mrs. Yvonne
Zereder Hinds nee Burnett is the
wife of the Honorable Prime Minister of Guyana. For
the past nine years, she has also been the head of the Guyana
Relief Council, a non-profit, non-governmental charitable organization
established to render assistance to persons in Guyana affected Environmental
Affairs
Dr. Frederick
A. Swarts (Chair) Dr. Frederick
Swarts is WANGO’s Assistant
Secretary General for Administration and Finance. He
is also President and Senior Research Scientist for Aquatic
Ecology with the Waterland Research Institute for Water and Land
Resources, a
non-profit, inter-disciplinary, research, education, and conservation
organization primarily active in the Paraguay River Basin in Brazil,
Bolivia
and Paraguay. Dr. Swarts has served as Secretary General of the World
Conference on Preservation and Sustainable Development in the Pantanal
(2000),
and Secretary General of the International Conference on Agriculture
and the
Environment in the Paraguay River Basin (2001). A
Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Bucknell University, with a B.S. in
Biology, Dr. Swarts received his M.S. in Zoology from Pennsylvania
State
University. He completed his doctoral studies at Columbia University
Teacher’s
College and the Graduate School of the Union Institute, graduating with
a Ph.D.
in Biology and Education. Dr. Swarts has published widely in the fields
of
aquatic ecology, education, and environmental biology. His
environmental
research endeavors include an extensive field study of brook trout in
streams
affected by acid-mine drainage in Pennsylvania and an exceptional
tolerance of
some tropical blackwater fish to low pH. Dr. Swarts
is the editor of The Pantanal: Understanding and Preserving the
World’s
Largest Wetland (Paragon House Publishers), the most comprehensive,
English-language text on this region. He serves and has served on the
board of
directors of several non-profit organizations. Development
Issues (Poverty, Health, Education,
Trade) Dr. Kathy
Winnings (Chair) Dr. Kathy
Winnings is Vice President of the
Board and former Executive Director of the International Relief
Friendship
Foundation (IRFF), a non-profit agency working to eliminate poverty,
malnutrition, and disease. IRFF seeks to accomplish these goals by
creating and
sponsoring development projects that stimulate an exchange of
knowledge,
skills, and service between developed and developing countries. Since
its
founding in 1975, IRFF has provided humanitarian aid in the form of
food,
medical supplies, school supplies and clothing to people hit by
catastrophe
around the world, as a result of wars, natural disasters, and famine.
IRFF has
also focused on long-term development projects in the areas of health
care and
nutrition, literacy, and vocational and agricultural education.
The IRFF
networks and cooperates with other NGOs and agencies that provide some
level of
humanitarian aid and assistance worldwide. Dr. Winnings also serves as
President of Educare, an educational consulting firm and teaching
training
service. She is the author of Building Character through
Service
Learning.
Plenary
Session III: Saturday,
September 27, 9:00am William D. Lay
(Chair) William D.
Lay has a distinguished background in
law, non-profit organization, and academia. He holds a J.D. degree from
Columbia University School of Law, where he also served as Senior
Editor of the Columbia Law Review. His legal practice for a New
York
City law firm
includes complex multi-state litigation as well as alternative dispute
resolution, commercial law, international transactions, and corporate
finance,
among other matters. He also teaches courses in Business and
International Law
and Settlement of International Business Disputes at the University of
Bridgeport. In the non-profit sector,
Mr. Lay served as Vice President and Director of Research for the
American
Leadership Institute, a think-tank involved in study of competing
political and
economic systems, as well as national and international security. He
has
lectured throughout Latin America and traveled to over 40 nations in
his
responsibilities with the non-profit sector. Recently,
Mr. Lay also assumed the responsibility of
serving as Chair of
WANGO’s NGO Code of Ethics Initiative. Dr.
Alan
Fowler Dr. Alan
Fowler is President of the
International Society for Third Sector Research (ISTR), a major
international
association promoting research Robert John
Dobias
Mr. Tunku
Abdul Aziz Ibrahim serves as Vice
Chairman of Transparency International (TI) and President of TI’s Malaysian Chapter. Transparency
International is the only international non-governmental organization
exclusively
devoted to combating corruption. With its International Secretariat and
more
than 90 independent national chapters around the world, TI brings civil
society, business and governments together in a powerful global
coalition to
curb both the supply and demand of corruption. Rather
than expose individual cases, TI focuses its effort
on prevention
and reforming systems, in order to make long-term gains against
corruption. In addition to his position
with TI, Mr. Aziz has held senior management positions in a number of
large
private and public sector organizations in Malaysia, Hong Kong and the
UK. He has worked with the Guthrie
Corporation,
the Central Bank of Malaysia, Dunlop Malaysian Industries, Sime Darby
Limited,
and as a director with Commonwealth Secretariat. He
was for two terms Chairman of the
Asian Chambers of Commerce and Industry Working Group on Industrial
Complementation. He initiated, with the
support of like-minded individuals, the setting up in Malaysia of the
Malaysian
Chapter of Transparency International, known locally as The Kuala
Lumpur
Society for Transparency & Integrity. In
October 1997, he was elected to the international board
of
Transparency International and in March the following year, he became
Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of Transparency International. He was re-elected Vice-Chairman of the Board
of Directors in October 1999. Mr. Aziz
is also a member of the World Bank High Level Advisory Group on
Anti-Corruption
in the East Asia and Pacific Region, and a member of the Advisory Board
of
Global Public Policy Networks, a project of “Visioning the UN,”an
initiative of
the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the United Nations
Foundation. He also serves as a member
of the Asian Pacific Advisory Panel on Good Urban Governance, and is a
member of
the Board of the International Institute of Public Ethics.
He has just been appointed to the UNDP
Advisory Panel for the Human Development Report 2002. Special
Symposia A: Saturday,
September 27, 11:00am Sudarat
Sereewat (Chair) Sudarat
Sereewat is Founder and Director of
FACE, “Fight Against Child Exploitation,” as well as serving as the
organization’s Secretary General of the Executive Committee. FACE is
involved
in such activities as monitoring the cases of arrested pedophiles in
order to
help victimized children obtain justice; advocacy for laws and closing
of
loopholes in the legal apparatus; advocacy for mechanisms that deal
more
appropriately and effectively in Dr. Jyotsna
Chatterji Dr. Jyotsna
Chatterji serves as Director of the
William Carey Study and Research Center (Calcutta), as well as director
of the
center’s Joint Women’s Programme (JWP). JWP was started in 1977, and is
a
movement of women for their freedom and the creation of a new society
with
equal partnership of women and men. Since it is open to all those who
believe
its objectives, it includes men as part of the struggle for women’s
human
rights. Dr. Chatterji has served as the Director of JWP since 1978. JWP
works
in 14 cities and areas in India. Its activity encompasses such concerns
as
violence against women and children, human trafficking, law, health,
education,
socio-economic programs, political participation, gender sensitization,
and the
rights of the girl child (including issues such as child marriage,
violence,
and sexual abuse, and female foeticide). JWP pioneered action in India
on the
issue of Human Trafficking. Beginning with studies conducted in 1981,
it has taken
up the issue of trafficking in women and girls for commercial sexual
exploitation in different parts of the country. Activities include
research
studies, prevention of second generation prostitution, providing
services like
early childhood care and education, health facilities, and protection
of
victims rights in red light areas, advocacy for legal reform and rights
of
trafficked persons and networking for positive action. JWP is part of
several
national and international networks such as Coalition Against
Trafficking in
Women, Campaign Against Child Trafficking, and so forth. JWP has also
initiated
Anti-Trafficking Network in Delhi. In
addition to serving as Director of JWP, Dr. Chatterji serves as Vice
President
of the YWCA of India, and Chairperson of Madhyam, Bangalore and
Initiatives:
Women in Development, Madras. Dr.
Chatterji was a professor of English Literature at the University of
Calcutta
until 1978. Dr. Chatterji has taken up
several issues related to women, where there has been a denial of
justice --
questions of property rights, equal pay for equal work, changes in
personal
laws, dowry-related questions and other atrocities on women, questions
of
bonded labor, especially where the girl children are involved,
questions of
prostitution, and so forth. Among Dr.
Chatterji’s edited books are Good News for Women, Authority
of the
Religions and the Status of Women, Status of Single Women, Status
of Rural Women, Trafficking of Women and Girls for Sexual
Exploitation,
and Partnership of Women and Men in Church and Society. Nop Sarin
Sreyroth Ms. Nop Sarin
Sreyroth is Monitoring Coordinator
for the Cambodian Women’s Crisis Centre (CWCC). CWCC is a non-profit
organization based in Phnom Penh, and founded with the objective of
providing
assistance services to victims of gender-based abuse and their children. Its vision is to eliminate all forms of
violence against women, such as trafficking, rape and domestic
violence, in
order to achieve peace, development and well-being. CWCC has three
regional
offices and shelters. CWCC provides such services as a drop-in center,
a
confidential crisis shelter, a counseling program, vocational training,
services for children and youth, health care, and legal representation.
It also
monitors violence against women, does community organizing, and
advocacy
activities, among other initiatives. Previous to taking the post of
Monitoring
Coordinator, Ms. Sreyroth served as the Provincial Coordinator in Siem
Reap
province for the Cambodian Women’s Crisis Centre. She has also served
as
Administrative Staff at the Association of Human Rights for Cham-Khmer
Islam,
and Women’s Rights Trainer at Kampuchea Krom Human Rights Association. Special
Symposia B:
“Toward an Inter-religious Council at the United Nations” Saturday,
September 27, 11:00am Dr.
Christopher B. W. Kim (Chair) Dr.
Christopher Kim serves as the Chairman of
the Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace, Asia (IIFWP-Asia). The IIFWP is a worldwide, not-for-profit
organization and
global peace movement consisting of volunteers, activists and leaders
from
diverse religions, nations, and professional fields joined together to
build a
worldwide culture of peace rooted in the moral and spiritual
transformation of
individuals, families, societies, civic institutions, nations and
international
organizations. The proposal to establish an inter-religious council at
the
United Nations is a central goal of IIFWP. Dr. Kim received his
doctorate from
De LaSalle University in the Philippines, where the offices for
IIFWP-Asia are
headquartered. He has received numerous awards for his over two decades
work in
Asia, and his accomplishments in the fields of education, culture,
media and
public service, including the Asian Father and Mother Award from the
Philippines government, the Peace Award from President Ramos of the
Philippines, and the U.S. Congress Award for Public Service. H.E. James R.
Mancham Sir James R.
Mancham became Seychelles first
president when the country gained its independence on June 29, 1976.
But he was
overthrown a year later by a Marxist coup while attending the
Conference of
Heads of Government of the Commonwealth in London. In 1992, at the
invitation
of the current president, Sir James returned to Seychelles as the
“Apostle of
National Reconciliation,” where his position as Seychelles first
president was
constitutionally recognized. Educated in both Seychelles and England,
Sir James
was called to the bar of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple,
London,
1961. After having attended law faculty of the University of Paris, he
returned
to the Seychelles and served as barrister and attorney-at-large at the
Supreme
Court of Seychelles from 1963-1970. Besides being a Knight of the
British
Empire (KBE), Sir James is also an Officer de la Legion d”Honneur of
France. He
also has been awarded other medals, such as Medal of the City of Pusan
in the
Republic of Korea and the Quaid-I Azam of Pakistan. He is co-editor of The
Future of Peace in the Twenty-First Century. Dr. Nicholas
Kittrie Dr. Nicholas
Kittrie has spent over a quarter of
a century as a leader of international non-governmental organizations –
articulating the voices of civil society before international agencies
and
national governments. Dr. Kittrie is Chairman of the Eleanor Roosevelt
Institute
for Justice and Peace. He is also University Professor and Edwin A.
Mooers
Scholar at American University's Washington College of Law. Dr. Kittrie
formerly served as counsel to the United States Judiciary Committee and
Vice
Chairman of the United Nations Alliance of Non-Governmental
Organizations on
Crime and Justice. Founder and chair of the American Society of
International
Law's Interest Group on the Status of Minorities and other Communities,
Dr.
Kittrie has also served as director of research for the American Bar
Association and past President of the American Society of Criminology,
and is
currently chair of the executive committee of KVK Communications
Ltd. Dr.
Kittrie has served as a consultant to the United States Vice
President's Task
Force on Combating Terrorism, and a consulting delegate to the Interpol
General
Assembly. He was designated a Senior Fellow by the National Endowment
on the
Humanities in 1974, and 1979-80 Visiting Fellow at the National
Institute of
Justice, US Department. Dr. Kittrie is the author of numerous books,
including The
War Against Authority: From the Crisis of Legitimacy To a New Social
Contract, Rebels With A Cause: The Political Offender and the
Rules of
Resistance,
and International Crimes and Punishments: Selected Documents on
International and Transnational Criminal Law and Procedure.
Kittrie's other
works include The Right To Be Different: Deviance and Enforced
Therapy, Crescent
and Star: Arab and Israeli Perspectives on the Middle East Conflict,
Sanctions,
Sentencing and Corrections: Policy, Law and Practice and The
Tree of
Liberty: Rebellion and Political Crime in America. Dr. Kittrie's
writings
have earned him two nominations for the Pulitzer Prize, and a 1987
award for
The Best Book in Law from the Association of American Publishers. Imam Ameer
Salahuddin A member of
the American Society of Muslims,
Imam Ameer Salahuddin is Cofounder of the Islamic Center of Passaic,
the oldest
Islamic Institution in the City of Paterson, New Jersey. He also serves
as
President of Sadaqa Community Development Corporation, Taqwah Investors
Corporation, and Sadaqa OutReach Corporation, a charitable organization
with a
focus on feeding and clothing the needy. Imam Salahuddin is also a
Commissioner
on the Martin Luther King Commemorative Commission, appointed by New
Jersey
Governor Whitman. He sits on the executive board of The Paterson
Village
Initiative Program in partnership with The Superior Court of New
Jersey. He is the
Vice Chair of the 4th Ward CDC in partnership with Christian clergy,
the Mayor
of the City of Paterson, and the department of Community Development,
with
focus on revitalizing the City of Paterson. Imam Salahuddin has
received many
honors and awards from government, and non-Government organizations,
including
faith-based organizations, and the former mayor of the city of
Paterson, Bill
Pasccrelli, who now holds the office of United States Congressman,
designated
February 28, Imam Ameer P. Salahuddin day. Special Symposia C: Saturday,
September 27, 11:00am Dr. V. Mohini
Giri (chair) Dr. V. Mohini
Giri has been serving as
Chairperson of the Guild of Service since 1979. Guild of Service
is a
social service organization, which among its projects is helping the
displaced
widows of India. Dr. Giri has also been serving as Founder President of
the War
Widow Association since 1971 and as Founder Trustee of the Women’s
Initiative
for Peace in South Asia since 2000. A social activist and leader
in the
women's movement, specializing in human rights and gender justice, Dr.
Giri is
renowned both nationally and internationally for her committed work in
empowering women politically, socially, legally and economically.
She has
held many public positions such as Chair of the National Commission for
Women
(1994-1998) and Chair of the Delhi State Social Welfare Advisory Board
(1987-1990). As Chair of the National Commission for Women, Dr. Mohini
gave a
new direction to NCW and successfully implemented several schemes for
empowering women. Belonging to an illustrious family of scholars, civil
servants and musicians, Mohini Giri is the daughter-in-law of Late Shri
V.V.
Giri, former President of India. Proficient in nine languages, Dr. Giri
holds
the doctorate from G.B. Pant University and a post graduate degree in
Ancient
Indian History, University of Delhi. Her publications include Kanya:
Exploitation of Little Angles (1998) and Emancipation and
Empowerment of
Women (1996). She has received many awards including the Rajiv
Gandhi
Excellence Award in 1996 and the Mahila Siromani Award in 1998. Dr. D. S. K.
Rao Dr. D. S. K.
Rao serves as Asia Organizer for
the Microcredit Summit Campaign, a position he has held since July,
2000. The
Microcredit Summit Campaign has the goal of reaching 100 million of the
poorest
families by 2005. Soon after joining the Summit Campaign, Dr. Rao was
closely
involved in organizing the mega event of the Asia-Pacific Regional
Microcredit
Summit Meeting of Councils at New Delhi in February 2001. Since then he
has
visited Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka,
Thailand,
and Bangladesh, besides almost all the states of India, and interacted
with
100s of NGOs, with the objective to expose the NGO practitioners of
microcredit
to the cutting edge work of the Summit Campaign and to acquaint himself
with
the environment in which these non-governmental organizations were
operating.
Dr. Rao has practiced Cashpor House Index (CHI) and Participatory
Wealth
Ranking (PWR), the two efficient and cost-effective tools of
identifying the
poor and poorest, in different developing countries. He has so far
introduced
the concept of these two tools to more than 1500 NGOs in Asia. Before
joining
the Microcredit Summit campaign as their Asia Organizer, Dr. Rao worked
for
more than two decades in the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural
Development. He also worked as a Faculty member in Bankers Institute of
Rural
Development, the apex institute for training, research, and consultancy
in
rural development banking, and he was actively involved in training and
action
research in microfinance. His research findings have been published and
he is
co-author of New Middle Women. He has also served as a Visiting
Scholar
at the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington,
D.C., where
he compared the cost of NGOs and banks promoting and monitoring the
SHGs, and
served as Secretary of the Lucknow Chapter of India Collective for
Microfinance. He also has more than three years experience of working
as a
consultant to NGOs on different projects of empowering farmers in
managing
irrigation projects on their own. Sheila Rao Shiela Rao is
a technical assistant
in the office of Regional Organiser for Asia, Microcredit Summit
Campaign. Her
work mainly involves collection and analysis of data from nearly 2000
NGO
practitioners of microcredit in the Asia Pacific region. One purpose
for this
is in order to monitor the progress of these members in achieving the
four core
themes of the campaign: reaching the poorest families, reaching and
empowering
women, building financially self sufficient institutions, and ensuring
a
positive and measurable impact on the lives of clients and their
families. Mrs.
Rao is also a qualified teacher of special education for the mentally
challenged. Besides her involvement with Microcredit Summit Campaign,
she works
as a coordinator of Nirman Association
for the Mentally Handicapped, an NGO involved in training mentally
challenged
wards, who are being trained for various vocations and also for
holistic
development. As the Coordinator of Nirman, she works closely with
different
parent groups to empower them. She is also making efforts to integrate
mentally
challenged individuals into the mainstream by planning activities that
will
bring them into informal contact with other boys and girls. Panel Session
Chairs Saturday,
September 27, 4:30pm Development
and Environment Dr. Matthew
Kuofie (Chair) Dr. Matthew
Kuofie is the CEO of Motivational
Centers International, Inc. (MCII), a non-profit organization in the
United
States. MCII was founded in 2002 as a non-governmental organization to
address
poverty and unemployment in developing countries as well as the
economically
depressed areas (inner cities) of the USA. Dr. Kuofie is also a
professor: he
teaches business, computer science, and engineering subjects at The
University
of Michigan and Lawrence Technological University. He received his
Ph.D. in Systems
Engineering form the Oakland University, Michigan in 1999, and earned
his
Master’s in Computer Science from the Old Dominion University, VA, in
1984. He
also earned a Graduate Diploma in Computer Science and a B.S. in
Statistics
from the University of Ghana. He has worked o a number of projects for
companies such as General Motors and Daimler Chrysler. Children
& Youth
Charles Abbey
(Chair) Mr. Charles
Abbey is the Executive Director of
the African Development Programme, a non-governmental organization in
Ghana. He has held this position since
1993. In 2002, Mr. Abbey also was elected to the position of Chairman
of the
Executive Council for the Ghana Association of Private Voluntary
Organizations
in Development (GAPVOD), a network of NGOs in Ghana. In 2002, he also
became
Chairman of the National Consultative Group on Draft National Policy
for
Strategic Partnership with NGOs, as well as a member of the Conflict
Prevention
Working Group’s Steering Group for the Canadian Peacebuilding
Coordinating
Committee (Canada). Mr. Abbey has
served as WANGO’s representative in Ghana since 2001. He served as
Associate
Organizer for the First West Africa Sub-regional Meeting of Africa
Network on
Education for All. He also is affiliated with the Children’s Rights
Information
Network (United Kingdom), Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition,
the
International Institute for Democracy (France), the Society for
International
Development – World Food Programme Project (Italy), the Inter-NGO
Consortium
for Relief and Rehabilitation (Ghana), and USAID.
Among his publications are Preliminary Study on Civil
Society
and Good Governance and “A Comment on NGOs, Ownership and
Participation in
Ghana” in The Reality of Aid. Women in the
21st Century Dr. Zenaida
Pangandaman-Gania (Chair) Dr.
Pangandaman-Gania is Senior Faculty of
Mindanao State University and Director of MSU System Manila Office, and
serves
in positions with a number of non-governmental organizations in the
Philippines. She is Secretary General of the prestigious Royal
Mindanao-Malaysia Friendship Society, and President of three women’s
organizations. She also works with the Women’s Federation for World
Peace,
Philippine Chapter, and All Nations Women’s Group. A Muslim scholar,
Dr.
Pangandaman-Gania holds a Doctorate of Education on Comparative
University
Management from the University of the Philippines, as well as a Masters
of
Education and Master of Home Economics from the same institution, and a
Bachelor of Science in Education from the Philippine Women’s
University. She is
the author of The Making of Filipino Muslim Women Leaders in
Contemporary
Society, as well as the book The Art of Maranao Cookery.
Her father,
Hon. Mohammad Abdel Col. Sambulayang T. Pangandaman is the only Muslim
military
official elected member of the Unicameral Legislative Assembly. NGO Networking
Mohammed B.
Attah (Chair) Mr. Mohammed
Attah is Executive Director of NGO
Guide 2000, a Nigeria based NGO-Service Consortium and organizer of the
Annual
All Nigeria NGO Summit & Exposition. He
also serves as Chairman of the Editorial Board of NGO
Network,
a general interest magazine for the third sector in Nigeria and
sub-Saharan
Africa. Mr. Attah also is the Nigeria National Representative for the
World
Association of Non-Governmental Organizations. He has served in various
capacities in the private and non-profit sector in Nigeria and abroad,
among
which are State Chairman of the Association of Nigerian Authors, and
Associate
Member of the Institute of Management Consultant of Nigeria; he also is
a
member of several international networks of NGOs. A poet and
playwright, he won
the Europe 1998 Contemporary Poet of the Year, and authored Ordeal
of
Innocence. Mr. Attah served as a
delegate to the UN/University of Amman Leadership seminar in June 1998.
Mr.
Attah is the holder of many international awards and is listed in Who’s
Who
Historical Society. He is a recipient of the Distinguished Citizen
Award for
Excellence in Service to Humanity. Human
Security I: Peace, Conflict Resolution,
and Human Rights
Anne R. Smart
(Chair) Anne Ranniste
Smart is the WANGO
Regional Coordinator for Africa and the Director of Publications.
Formerly she
worked as the Creative Projects Director of Bridges to Community, a
US-based
nonprofit that takes volunteers from the United States to the
developing world
for community development and relief projects. Together with her
husband
Robert, they serve on a volunteer basis as the North American
consultants of
the Family Federation for World Peace in Guinea, West Africa. Human
Security II: Health Issues, Crime, and
Miscellaneous
Hon. Phyllis
Bennett (Chair) A former
Judge and government administrator, Ms.
Phyllis Bennett now serves the non-governmental community as National
Spokesperson for The Empowerment Network, Founder and Director of
F.E.E.D, and
on the board of directors of the American Family Coalition. She is also
an
on-air radio personality for over ten years. Ms. Bennett has also held
the
position of Special Assistant to the Deputy Secretary
of Income Maintenance in the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare.
As
Director of the Office of Hearings and Appeals, she was the Chief
Administrative Law Judge for the Pennsylvania Department of Public
Welfare. Ms.
Bennett also was Director of the Susquehanna District Office of the
Allegheny
County Assistance Office. Ms. Bennett holds a Masters of Public
Administration
from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and
International
Affairs. Ms. Bennett attended the National Judicial College in Reno,
Nevada,
where she also worked as part time faculty and taught an Administrative
Law
Fair Hearings Course. Ms. Bennett has received many awards for
outstanding
leadership, including the prestigious Distinguished Woman of Color in
the Judiciary
from the American Bar Association in l992, and the 1993 Outstanding
Woman of
the Year Award given by the Alleghenians, a social action organization.
Ms.
Bennett is former President of the National Association of Hearing
Officials,
and the former Vice President of the American Society of Public
Administrators
and Vice President of the Conference of Minority Public Administrators.
Ms.
Bennett also is a member of former U.S. Vice President Albert Gore's
Welfare To
Work Coalition to Sustain Success. In January 1998, Ms. Bennett
was
appointed by the Deputy Secretary on behalf of the Governor’s office as
Pennsylvania's liaison to the faith community. Awards Banquet Saturday,
September 27, 6:30pm Dr. Noel
Brown (Master of Ceremonies) Dr. Noel
Brown is President of Friends of the
United Nations. Previously, he served as Director of the United Nations
Environment Program (UNEP), North American Regional Office. Among other
positions currently held by Dr. Brown are Chairman of the International
Institute for Peace Through Tourism, and Vice Chair of the
International
Council of the World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations. He
is a
founding member of the Aspen Global Change Institute and the
International
Council for Local Environment Issues, is Chairman of the Rene Dubos
Center for
Human Environments, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Global
Rivers
Environmental Educational Network, the Climate Institute, the Earth
Communications Office, the Rainforest Alliance, Global Education
Associates,
Trust for the Americas, and other environmental and educational
organizations.
Dr. Brown holds a B.A. in Political Science and Economics from Seattle
University, an M.A. in International Law and Organization from
Georgetown
University, and a Ph.D. in International Law and Relations from Yale
University. He has been a Visiting Professor at both U.S. and foreign
universities, and has a number of publications to his credit, including
serving
as Editor of Ethics and Agenda 21: Moral Implications of a Global
Consensus. Among the numerous awards acknowledging Dr. Brown’s
service
to the
environment is his being honored with the 1998 World Academy of Arts
and
Science for Distinguished Public Service.
Special
Symposia:
“Humanitarian Efforts and NGOs” Sunday,
September 28, 8:30am John Dickson (Chair) Co-founder of
the World Trade Center Kabul, Mr.
John Dickson is the Vice President of the Afghan Development and
Reconstruction
Group and a Director of the Afghan Institute for Peace. Mr. Dickson was
a
Founding Director of the World Trade Center Okinawa and consulted for
several
companies and government agencies there, including the Governor’s
Tourism Task
Force. He currently serves on the Committee on Tourism and Cultural
Exchange
for the World Trade Centers Association. He initiated the Committee’s Forum
on Globalization and Cultural Identity in 1999 which has developed
into a
series of conferences held throughout the world. Mr. Dickson has taught
at
several universities in Japan and was Vice President of the American
University
Extension, Okinawa. He is the Program Director of the Oregon
Multicultural
Education Association and Chairs the Committee on Education for the
Refugee and
Immigrant Consortium of Oregon. He is
also the Director of the American Family Coalition of Oregon. John has
a
Bachelor Degree in Architecture and Masters Degrees in Theology and in
Human
Relations. Zia Rizvi Mr. Zia Rizvi
is Director General of the
Independent Bureau for Humanitarian Issues (IBHI), and was formerly Secretary General of the Independent
Commission for International Humanitarian Issues (ICIHI). The United
Nations
General Assembly adopted a resolution in 1981 calling for the promotion
of a “new
international humanitarian order” and the following year the General
Assembly
referred to the desirability of an independent body to look into the
question
of the proposed order. In 1983, the ICIHI was established, being
composed of
eminent persons of world renown in the humanitarian field or having
wide
experience of government or world affairs. The ICIHI completed its
mandate in
1987 and issued its final report. The Independent Bureau for
Humanitarian
Issues was established in 1988 as the successor body to the Commission.
The
IBHI studies specific humanitarian issues that have been inadequately
dealt
with to date, or call for solutions in line with new realities, and it
works to
enhance public awareness of the conditions that create and perpetuate
human
suffering, and to strengthen efforts, at the governmental and
non-governmental
level, to bring about changes that will help make the world a more
humane
place. Ochoro E.
Otunnu Ochoro E.
Otunnu is the Executive Director and a
founding member of Africa AIDS Initiative (AAI), a New York-based
not-for-profit
organization founded in 1999 to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa. Mr. Otunnu has played an important role in
mobilizing international public awareness about the HIV/AIDS epidemic
in
Africa. He
has advocated for the creation of a special AIDS fund for Africa
similar to the
$15 billion fund that U.S. President George Bush recently established.,
including publishing an article on “The AIDS Fund for Africa” for the Connecticut
Journal of International Law in Spring 2002. Mr. Otunno called for
the
establishment of a market-driven community health care system in Africa
that
combines elements of micro-credit financing and health reinsurance. He initiated and worked closely with the
Lowenstein Human Rights Center at Yale Law School to draft model
HIV/AIDS
legislation for Africa, with active participation from African civil
society
leaders, lawyers, and parliamentarians. He is also working with a group
of
African scholars, international journalists, and documentarians to
develop a
unique Internet-based multimedia project to document the HIV/AIDS
epidemic in
Africa and to promote best practices. As
part of his advocacy work, Mr. Otunnu has given
presentations at the
United Nations, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Brookings
Institution,
the World Health Organization, the Arco Forum at Harvard University,
and the
Global Citizens Circle, among others. He
has appeared on radio and television,
including on Africa Journal (Voice of
America), Radio Africa
International, WLIB, and National Public Radio (NPR).
Previous to his work for AAI, Mr. Otunnu worked for Oxfam
America
in Boston, where he was the program coordinator for development and
relief work
in Southern Africa. He has also
practiced corporate law in New York, with specific focus on Africa, and
has
been a consultant to many international organizations, including the
United
Nations Development Fund (UNDP) and the International Council for
Voluntary
Agencies (ICVA) in Geneva, Switzerland. Born
in Uganda, Mr. Otunnu received his university
education at
Dartmouth College, Oxford University, and Columbia Law School. Closing
Luncheon Sunday,
September 28, 12:00pm Tageldin
“Taj” Hamad (Master of Ceremonies) Mr. Taj Hamad
is Secretary General of the World
Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (WANGO), having assumed
this
position in 2001. This post previously had been held by Dr. Wally
N’Dow, former
United Nations Assistant Secretary General and Secretary General of
Habitat II.
Prior to becoming WANGO Secretary General, Mr. Hamad served as WANGO’s
International Executive Director. Mr. Hamad has also served as
Secretary of the
Executive Committee of DPI-NGOs at the United Nations, Executive
Director of the
Interreligious Leadership Seminar, and Executive Director for the
Interdenominational Christians for Unity and Social Action. He also serves as Chair of the Middle East
Alliance for World Peace. Hon. Roy Innis The Honorable
Roy Innis serves as National
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for the Congress of Racial
Equality.
Founded in 1942, CORE is the third oldest and one of the “Big Four”
civil
rights groups in the United States. As the “shock troops” and pioneers
of the
civil rights movement, from the protests against “Jim Crow” laws of the
40’s to
the “Sit-ins” of the 50’s and the “Freedom Rides” of the 60’s, through
the
cries for “Self-determination” in the 70’s and “Equal Opportunity” in
the 80’s,
to the struggle for community development in the 90’s, CORE has
championed true
equality for all people. Mr.
Innis’ involvement with CORE began in 1963, when he joined CORE’s
Harlem
chapter. In 1964, he was elected
Chairman of the chapter’s education committee and led CORE’s fight for
an
independent Police Review Board to address cases of police brutality.
In 1965,
he was elected Chairman of Harlem CORE, after which he mounted a
vigorous
campaign for establishment of an independent Board of Education for
Harlem. In the spring of 1967, Mr.
Innis was appointed the first resident fellow at the Metropolitan
Applied
Research Center (MARC), headed by Dr. Kenneth Clark. In the summer of
1967, he
was elected Second National Vice-Chairman of CORE. Also, in 1967, Mr.
Innis and
nine other black men formed the Harlem Commonwealth Council (HCC), an
investment corporation whose long-term goal was to create independence
and
stability in Harlem. As the first Executive Director at HCC, Mr. Innis
laid the
ground work for what has become a highly successful model of economic
development in a black community. Mr. Innis was
elected National Director of CORE
in 1968. In the same year, he drafted the Community Self -
Determination Bill
of 1968 and garnered bipartisan sponsorship of this bill by one-third
of the
Senate and over 50 congressmen. This was the first time in U.S. history
that a
bill drafted by a black organization was introduced into Congress. Seeking to enhance and build on the black
pride movement of the mid-60’s, Innis and a CORE delegation toured
seven
African countries in 1971, meeting with several Heads of State,
including
Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta, Tanzania’s Julius Nyerere and Liberia’s William
Tolbert.
In 1973, Mr. Innis became the first American to attend the Organization
of
African Unity (OAU) in an official capacity. In 1973, he
participated in
a televised debate with Nobel Physicist William Shockley on the topic
of black
genetic inferiority.
|
to strengthen the third sector as a significant force for
the
promotion of balanced and sustainable development and the achievement
of a
civil society characterized by equity and a shared concern for the
common good.
Dr. Vichit-Vadakan also teaches at the School of Public Administration
of the
National Institute of Development Administration. She had served as
Dean, Vice
President and President of the same institution. Dr. Vichit-Vadakan
also serves
as Secretary-General for Transparency Thailand, a chapter of
Transparency
International. She further serves as chair of Women for the Promotion
of
Democracy. Recently, Dr. Vichit-Vadakan was appointed as Chair of the
Organizing Committee for Women Leaders Network Conference for 2003,
which the
Thai Government hosts in conjunction with APEC meetings in the same
year. She
also serves as Chair of APEC’s Gender Focal Point Network for 2003. In
addition, she has been appointed to be the Head of the Thai delegation
to the
United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.
University of Bridgeport (Bridgeport, CT), Chairman of the Board for
the World
University Federation, and Chairman of the Professors World Peace
Academy, an
international association of university and college scholars. Previous
to these
positions, he served as Secretary-General of the Professors World Peace
Academy. In the media realm, Rev. Kwak is the former Publisher and
President of
the daily newspaper Segye Times of Seoul, Korea. He is also
former
Chairman of the Segye Times daily of New York City, and former
Publisher
of The New York City Tribune. More recently, he became Chairman
of the
Board of News World Communications, the parent company that publishes The
Washington Times. Rev. Kwak serves as Chairman of the
Interreligious and
International Federation for World Peace, Chairman of the Citizen=s
Federation
for the Unification of North and South Korea, and Chairman of the Board
for
both the International Cultural Foundation and for the International
Religious
Foundation. Since 1978, he has served as President of the Holy Spirit
Association for the Unification of World Christianity. Rev. Kwak
completed his
B.S. in Law from Kyungbuk University and Sangui University in Korea,
and his
M.A. in Western Philosophy at Kungook University in Korea. He has been
widely
recognized for his distinguished career and charitable work, receiving
a number
of Honorary Doctorates from universities in the United States and Asia.
(UNEP), North American Regional Office. Among other
positions currently held by Dr. Brown are Chairman of the International
Institute for Peace Through Tourism, and Vice Chair of the
International
Council of the World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations. He
is a
founding member of the Aspen Global Change Institute and the
International
Council for Local Environment Issues, is Chairman of the Rene Dubos
Center for
Human Environments, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Global
Rivers
Environmental Educational Network, the Climate Institute, the Earth
Communications Office, the Rainforest Alliance, Global Education
Associates,
Trust for the Americas, and other environmental and educational
organizations.
Dr. Brown holds a B.A. in Political Science and Economics from Seattle
University, an M.A. in International Law and Organization from
Georgetown
University, and a Ph.D. in International Law and Relations from Yale
University.
He has been a Visiting Professor at both U.S. and foreign universities,
and has
a number of publications to his credit, including serving as Editor of Ethics
and Agenda 21: Moral Implications of a Global Consensus. Among the
numerous
awards acknowledging Dr. Brown’s service to the environment is his
being
honored with the 1998 World Academy of Arts and Science for
Distinguished
Public Service.
Global Equity Initiative conducts basic and applied
research
into all aspects dealing with global equity or “fairness,” with a Human
Security Program as one of its three main programs. Dr. Michael is a
political
scientist with a special interest in the role of non-governmental
organizations
in development. She has conducted field research on the organizational
and
operational strengths and weaknesses of NGOs in Bangladesh, Senegal,
Tanzania,
and Zimbabwe, and has written on power structures within the African
NGO
community. Her Master’s thesis took her to South Africa, where she
researched
the importance of credit to female entrepreneurs in the Eastern Cape
province.
Dr. Michael has also worked as part of a rural medical team in northern
Ghana
and as a community development planner with the Vuntut Gwitchin in Old
Crow,
the northernmost settlement in the Yukon Territory, Canada. More
recently, she
provided research support to the Commission on Human Security and is
currently
working with the Joint Learning Initiative on Human Resources for
Health and
Development. Within the realm of philanthropy, she has worked for
Toronto’s
Maytree and Walter and Duncan Gordan Foundations. Dr. Michael received
her
Ph.D. from Trinity College, University of Cambridge. She is the author
of The
Role of NGOs in Human Security.
Army intelligence and Army foreign affairs.
is also University Professor and
Edwin A.
Mooers Scholar at American University's Washington College of Law. Dr.
Kittrie
formerly served as counsel to the United States Judiciary Committee and
Vice
Chairman of the United Nations Alliance of Non-Governmental
Organizations on
Crime and Justice. Founder and chair of the American Society of
International
Law's Interest Group on the Status of Minorities and other Communities,
Dr.
Kittrie has also served as director of research for the American Bar
Association and past President of the American Society of Criminology,
and is
currently chair of the executive committee of KVK Communications
Ltd. Dr.
Kittrie has served as a consultant to the United States Vice
President's Task
Force on Combating Terrorism, and a consulting delegate to the Interpol
General
Assembly. He was designated a Senior Fellow by the National Endowment
on the
Humanities in 1974, and 1979-80 Visiting Fellow at the National
Institute of
Justice, US Department. Dr. Kittrie is the author of numerous books,
including The
War Against Authority: From the Crisis of Legitimacy To a New Social
Contract, Rebels With A Cause: The Political Offender and the
Rules of
Resistance,
and International Crimes and Punishments: Selected Documents on
International and Transnational Criminal Law and Procedure.
Kittrie's other
works include The Right To Be Different: Deviance and Enforced
Therapy, Crescent
and Star: Arab and Israeli Perspectives on the Middle East Conflict,
Sanctions,
Sentencing and Corrections: Policy, Law and Practice and The
Tree of
Liberty: Rebellion and Political Crime in America. Dr. Kittrie's
writings
have earned him two nominations for the Pulitzer Prize, and a 1987
award for
The Best Book in Law from the Association of American Publishers.
by
man-made or
natural disasters. In August 2003, the Guyana Relief Council completed
the
establishment of the Guyana Relief Council Temporary Shelter, a
facility to
house temporarily families and persons made homeless as a result of a
disaster.
This shelter is the first of its kind in Guyana. Mrs. Hinds is someone
who
cares deeply about the strengthening of families and the uplifting of
women and
children in Guyana. For over 25 years she has been intensely involved
in
voluntary community work, including early childhood education,
charitable work,
and community development. In 1990, she and her husband, Samuel Hinds,
joined
the campaign for free and fair elections in Guyana. In 1992, the
PPP/CIVIC won
the general elections with her husband becoming Prime Minister. After
the death
of the President, Cheddi Jagan, Mr. Hinds then became the President of
Guyana.
Following the 1997 elections, her husband was once again elected as
Prime
Minister. As wife of a Head of Government, Mrs. Hinds has represented
her country
at numerous functions, including the Spouses of Heads of Government of
the
Americas, Wives of Heads of Government of the Caribbean, and the Annual
Meeting
of the Board of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank.
Despite a
full schedule of social activities, Mrs. Hinds remains very active in
charitable work. In addition to serving as Chairperson of the Guyana
Relief
Council, she is also a Committee Member of the Guyana Chapter of St.
John’s
Ambulance Brigade. 
and education in the fields of civil
society,
the nonprofit sector, and philanthropy. ISTR publishes an
interdisciplinary
academic journal, Voluntas, the International Journal of
Voluntary and
Non-Profit Organizations, conducts international conferences, conducts
research, and publishes reports, among other activities. Dr. Fowler is
also
Co-Founder of the International NGO Training and Research Centre in
Oxford,
Great Britain, and Honorary Professor for the Centre for Civil Society
of the
University of Natal, South Africa. Dr. Fowler has published extensively
on
civil society, non-governmental organizations and the international aid
system,
and is author of the acclaimed book Striking a Balance: A Guide to
Enhancing
the Effectiveness of Non-Governmental Organizations in International
Development.
Mr. Robert
Dobias serves as NGO Administrator
for the NGO Center of the Asian Development Bank. He has lived and
worked in
Asia for 25 years, beginning as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in
Thailand in
1978. During the following years, he spent most of his time in rural
Asia
working for governments and national and international NGOs to promote
integration of economic development with environmental conservation and
social
protection. Mr. Dobias joined the Asian Development Bank in 1994 as an
Environmental Specialist. He was selected to head the Asian Development
Bank’s
newly established NGO Center at the end of February 2001.
terms of child abuse and trafficking
in
children and women, and raising awareness of the issues among the
general
public and authorities involved in tackling these kind of problems.
Prior to
this position, Ms. Sereewat served as Founding member and First
Executive
Secretary of the well-known organization, End Child Prostitution in
Asian
Tourism (ECPAT).