Dr. Kathy Winnings (Master of Ceremonies)
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. She serves as WANGO’s Secretary of the
Association.
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, Executive Director for the Interdenominational Christians for Unity and Social Action, and was the Organizing Chair for the Summit of World Muslim Leaders conferences held in the Middle East. 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. He is co-editor of the books Culture of Responsibility and the Role of NGOs (Paragon House 2003), Islam and the Future of World Peace (Paragon House 2001), and State of the Muslim World Today (Paragon House 2003).
Dénes
Bank
Mr.
Dénes Bank serves as Vice President of the Hungarian Children and Youth
Parliament, an umbrella organization with over 100 children and youth NGOs as
members. He has held this position since 1999. He also is Founder, and
President in Deputy, of the Board Members of Broadcasting Companies
Association, President of the Hungarian Youth Telecommunications Association,
and serves as Hungarian National Representative for the World Association of
Non-Governmental Organizations. In the for-profit world, Mr. Bank serves as CEO
of Arion Silver Consulting and Service LTd. and deputy CFO of Közlekedés
Consulting and Planning Engineers, Ltd.
In 1996, at the age of 17, Mr. Bank founded the Youth Integration
Society, and by 1998 he was an ambassador for the European Youth Parliament and
co-editor and anchor of Repeta TV Programme. He is also a founding member of
the Student Consulting Body for the Ministry of Finance, and was co-president
of the Hungarian Children and Youth Convention, among other positions. Mr. Bank
received a degree from the Budapest University of Economic Sciences and Public
Administration. Among his many talents, he also was a chair umpire for the
International Tennis Federation and Hungarian Tennis Association.
Friday, October 22, 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, Executive Director for the Interdenominational Christians for Unity and Social Action, and was the Organizing Chair for the Summit of World Muslim Leaders conferences held in the Middle East. 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. He is co-editor of the books Culture of Responsibility and the Role of NGOs (Paragon House 2003), Islam and the Future of World Peace (Paragon House 2001), and State of the Muslim World Today (Paragon House 2003).
Dr.
Katalin Szili serves as President of the Parliament of Hungary and as Deputy
Head of State. She has held the position of President of the Parliament since
May of 2002. A member of the Hungarian Socialist Party, she was elected as a
member of Parliament in 1994, 1998 and 2002, and was elected as Vice President
of the Hungarian Socialist Party in 2000. Previously, Dr. Szili served on the
City Council of Pécs, and is a member of the ground organization of the
Hungarian Socialist Party at Pécs. Also active on environmental issues, Dr.
Szili was head of the South-Danube Region Environmental Protection Conservancy,
and former Political State Secretary at the Ministry of Environmental
Protection and Land Development. She also is an advisor on environmental issues
to the Hungarian Socialist Party. Dr. Szili has played an important role in the
formulation of laws on environmental protection. Dr. Szili graduated from the
Law Faculty at Janus Pannonius University, as well as the Faculty of Human
Ecology of ELTE University, and the Political Faculty of Pécs University.
Alfredo Sfeir-Younis, Ph.D., is
Senior Adviser to the Managing Directors Office of the World Bank. In this
capacity, he focuses mainly on human rights and the social aspects of
globalization. He has also served as Special Representative of the World Bank to
the United Nations and the World Trade Organization. During his nearly 29 years
at the World Bank, Dr. Sfeir-Younis also has served as Director of the World
Bank Office in Switzerland and Director of the World Conference on
Environmentally Sustainable Development, representing the World Bank. Earlier
in his career he served as President of the School of Economics at the
University of Chile. Dr. Sfeir-Younis has also worked as an assistant professor
at the University of Chile, the Catholic University of Santiago, and the
Catholic University of Valparaiso, served as Regent of the Catholic University
of Valparaiso, and was a macroeconomist with the Research Department of the
Central Bank of Chile. Dr. Sfeir-Younis publishes articles and lectures
internationally on global issues and spirituality. He is currently involved in
developing a new paradigm based on the non-material and spiritual dimensions of
economic and social development. He is particularly interested in developing
approaches that include the spiritual dimension of sustainable development, the
role that human values play in national and global policy, and the elements
that enliven the soul of business. He has received numerous awards including
Lifetime Ambassador of Peace, World Healer Award, 2002 Peace, Merci and
Tolerance Award, and the Social Corporate Responsibility Award. Dr.
Sfeir-Younis is an economist graduate of the University of Chile, and holds a
Master and a Doctorate from the University of Wisconsin and the University of
Rhode Island (USA).
Mr.
Thomas Glaser is Head of Representation for the Representation of the European
Commission in Hungary. Previously, he served as Head of the Press and
Information Section of the European Commission Delegation in Budapest
(2001-2004), and as Head of the Enlargement Information Office for DG
(Directorates-General) Enlargement (1993-2001).
His roles with the European Commission, where he has worked since 1975,
also include running the Information Unit in DG XVI, Assistant Editor, and working
with the Management and Organization Division, among other posts. He has also
served as Deputy Editor of Esso Magazine for Esso Petroleum, Director of a PR
company specializing in musical public relations, and Assistant Principal with
the UK Home Civil Service of the Ministry of Defence. He holds a M.A. in
International Relations and Political Sciences form the University of
Pennsylvania, and a B.A. in History form the University of Cambridge.
Rev.
Chung Hwan Kwak
Friday, October 22, 2:00pm
1. Conflict Resolutions, Peace and
Security
Dr.
Nicholas Kittrie (Moderator)
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.
Dr.
Elsadig Abdalla serves as Press and Cultural Counselor for the Sudan Embassy in
London, UK. In this role, he supervises all media functions at the Embassy in
London. He also is media and information advisor to the Sudan embassies in
Europe and North America. Previously, Dr. Abdalla served as Director of the
Asia Department for the Council for International People’s Friendship (CPIF),
which was founded in 1990 to strengthen the role of popular, civil society
organizations, and friendship societies.
From 1997 to 2000, he served as Press Advisor to the President of the
Sudan, and the Director of the President’s Office for Media and Information.
Dr. Abdalla’s distinguished career also includes posts as a Diplomat,
Information Attaché with the Embassy of the Republic to the United States,
Information Advisor to the President of Sudan, and Director of the Political
Studies Center of the National Congress in Khartoum, Sudan. He has also served
as Information Director for the Prime Minister’s Office in Sudan, Director of
the Political and Information Department for the Council of Ministers, Director
of the President of the Republic’s Office, and a Research Assistant with the
International Institute of Islamic Thought. Dr. Abdalla received his Ph.D. from
the Political Science Department of the University of Khartoum, Sudan, doing
his doctoral work on “Globalism: Media and Foreign Policy.” He also holds a
Masters of Arts degree in Journalism from the School of Journalism of the
University of Missouri in the United States, and did doctoral work in the
Political Science Department of the University of Missouri-Columbia, USA. He
has also studied at Georgetown University, the University of Khartoum, and
Cairo University. He has represented Sudan at the United Nations General
Assembly meetings, and led delegations to represent Sudan in several countries.
Dr. Addalla has published numerous article on issues related to Sudan, media
and foreign policy.
2.
Human Rights
Dr.
Kashinath Pandita is General Secretary of the Asian-Eurasian Human Rights
Forum. Dr. Pandita received his Ph.D. from Teheran University in the field of
history and civilization of Central Asian peoples. He taught at the University
of Kashmir (India) for over 32 years and had risen to be a Director and
Professor of the Centre of Central Asian Studies. He has numerous publications
to his credit. With a long-term interest in human rights, Dr. Pandita has been
involved with the Commission on Human Rights, and actively participating in
various briefings of U.N. bodies, NGOs and other organizations at the UN Human
Rights Commission. He also has been participating in the Working Group on
Minorities, Indigenous Peoples and Refugees. The African Commission for Health
and Human Rights Promoters, an NGO with ECOSOC status, has made him in charge
of its Asian chapter, and he regularly contributes in that capacity. Dr.
Pandita will be the editor of the first volume of Asian Commentary, a new
quarterly journal to be published by the Asian-Eurasian Human Rights Forum.
Dr. Muhammad Habib Chirzin serves as
Commissioner of Indonesia’s National Commission on Human Rights. He also serves
as President of the Islamic Millennium Forum for Peace and Dialogue, Indonesia.
Dr. Chirzin is on the board of directors of the South East Asia Regional
Institute for Community Education (SEA-RICE), Manila, of which he is a Founding
Member. In addition, Dr. Chirzin serves on the International Advisory Panel for
the International Movement for a Just World, the International Advisory Board
for Global Citizen Diplomats, and the International Advisory Board for the
Global Ethics and Religion Forum, among other board responsibilities.
Previously, he was a member of the Steering Committee for the International
NGOs Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID), a Member of the Coordinating Team
for the Asian Cultural Forum on Development (ACFOD), and served as a Consultant
for the Netherlands Organization for International Development Cooperation
(NOVIB). Furthermore, Dr. Chirzin was a
member of the Commission of Peace Human Rights Education of the Asia and South
Pacific Bureau for Adult Education (ASPBAE).
3. Families, Women and Youth
Dr. Gordon Anderson (Moderator)
Dr. Gordon Anderson serves as Secretary
General for the Professors World Peace Academy, an international association of
university and college scholars. He is
also the Executive Director of Paragon House Publishers, and publisher of the International
Journal on World Peace. Dr. Anderson has published numerous articles and
books related to religion and society, including The Family in Global
Transition, and Morality and Religion in Liberal Democratic Societies.
He earned his Master of Divinity degree in Christian Ethics at Union
Theological Seminary and his Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religion from the Claremont
Graduate School.
The Honorable Dr. Teodoro Ulsino
Reyes (Discussant)
Dr. Teodoro Reyes is serving his second
term as a Deputy of Congress (Diputado Al Congreso) in the Dominican Republic,
representing Provincia la Romana. He was
first elected to the House of Deputies in 1998 and was reelected to a second
four-year term in 2002. Dr. Reyes is one of the most prestigious political
leaders of Romana and is a leader of the Partido de la Liberación Dominicana
(PLD), which currently heads the Dominican government. He has also served as
President of Romana’s Municipal House (Presidente de la Sala Municipal). Dr.
Reyes has also been prominent in civil society, being President of the
Francisco del Rosario Sanchez Sports and Cultural Club, Secretary General of the
Asociación de Est. Romanences de la Universidad Central del Este, and President
of Avanzada Estudiantil Romanence (AVERO), among other roles with NGOs. Dr. Reyes holds a doctorate in law, with a
postgraduate degree in criminal law.
4. Environmental Affairs
Mr. Karl Opperman serves as President of ANDECO
(International Network of Promoters of Ecotourism in Andalucia), a non-profit,
non-governmental organization located in Spain, and with a national and
international membership. The mission of ANDECO is to preserve the living
heritage of Andalucia, its biological, cultural and ethnic diversity,
demonstrating that it is possible to live harmoniously with the environment,
and its principle focus is through the promotion of ecotourism. Andalucía is
situated at the south of the Iberian Peninsula between two seas, the
Mediterranean and the Atlantic, and two continents, Europe and Africa. Twenty
percent of its territory is protected in natural reserves of extraordinary
value and beauty. The richness of its natural diversity is unique and
exceptional. The regions of Andalucía have a very wide range of flora and fauna
thanks to their geographical position, climatic variety and geological history.
In Andalucía
it is possible to pass from high, snow covered mountains where there exist
glacial lakes to a North African style desert. Prior to serving as President of
ANDECO, Mr. Opperman served as Director of
Studies of English American College in Malaga, Spain. A native of Ireland, he
graduated from Trinity College in Dublin, and has eighteen years of experience
working as a software engineer in Ireland, Germany and Spain.
5. Development Issues (Poverty, Health,
Education, Trade)
Charles Abbey (Moderator)
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.
Vincent W. S. Yang
(Discussant)
Mr. Vincent W. S. Yang is Assistant
Director General of the NGO Affairs Committee for the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of the Republic of China. Previously, he served as Director of the
Taipei Representative Office in Edinburgh, Scotland, and First Secretary of the
Taiwan Embassy in the Gambia. He has also served as Special Assistant on Home
Assignment for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Second Secretary for the Taipei
Economic and Cultural Office in Honolulu, Hawaii, and Third Secretary in the
Taiwan Embassy in South Korea. Before his diplomatic career, Mr. Yang worked as
an Investigator with the Criminal Investigation Bureau in Taiwan, and as a
Lieutenant for the Taiwan Provincial Police Administration. He studied at the
Central Police University in Taiwan, Dong-Koo University in South Korea, and
Hawaii Pacific University in the United States.
Saturday, October 23, 4:00pm
Dr.
Frederick Swarts is WANGO’s Assistant Secretary General for Administration and
Finance, and Chair of the Technical Program Committee for WANGO Annual
Conference 2004. He is a co-editor of Culture of Responsibility and the Role
of NGOs (Paragon House 2003), and one of the architects of WANGO’s Code
of Ethics and Conduct for NGOs. An aquatic biologist, Dr. Swarts also
serves as President of 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). He presented the keynote address at the 1999
Society of Wetland Scientists Annual Conference. 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 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.
Mr. Cyril Muller serves as Vice President for Products and Strategy for Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS), the global leader in inspection, testing and certification services. Founded in 1878, SGS now has 37,000 employees and operates a network of almost 840 offices and subsidiaries and over 320 laboratories around the world. Recently, SGS launched an NGO Benchmarking product to provide an independent assessment of an NGO’s performance. Previous to this position, Mr. Muller was the World Bank’s Lead Country Officer for the Caucasus countries, coordinating World Bank programs in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. He has also served as Senior Country Officer and Economist for the World Bank, with responsibility for identification and supervision of institutional building projects and structural adjustment loans (Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, as well as country assistant strategies and donor relations. Mr. Muller has also served the World Bank in the capacity of building support from donors to newly independent, former Soviet Union countries. He has also served as Senior Economist in the Development Policy Service of Switzerland’s Ministry of the Economy (Federal Office for Foreign Economic Affairs, Berne). In this capacity, he represented Switzerland in international organizations such as UNIDO, UNCTAD, and OECD. Mr. Muller holds a M.A. in economics (international trade and finance) from New York University, and a degree from the Université de Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
Saturday, October 23, 9:00am
Michael Marshall (Master
of Ceremonies)
Michael
Marshall serves as Editor-in-Chief for United Press International’s worldwide
editorial operations. UPI is a global news provider headquartered in
Washington, DC with offices in Beirut, Hong Kong, London, Santiago, Seoul and
Tokyo. Founded in 1907 by E.W. Scripps as the United Press (UP), it became
known as UPI when UP merged with the International News Service in 1958, which
was founded in 1909 by William Randolph Hearst. Mr. Marshall is also Executive
Director of the World Media Association (WMA), 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 encouragement of 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 has also served 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. He was also editor of The London
Rising Tide, a biweekly publication of social and political commentary,
and The New Tomorrow, a monthly general interest magazine. A native of
England, Marshall is a graduate of Christ’s College in Cambridge
Mr. Jerome Glenn serves as Executive Director of the
American Council for the United Nations University. He also serves as director
of the Millennium Project. The American Council for the United Nations
University (AC/UNU) is a U.S. non-profit organization that provides a point of
contact between Americans and the primary research organ of the United Nations,
the United Nations University, which focuses intellectual resources from all
nations on world problems. The AC/UNU is the non-profit organization
that helps support the UNU in the United States. The Millennium Project of the
AC/UNU is a global network and futures research think tank of over 500
futurists, scholars, business planners, and policy makers from 50 countries,
who work for international organizations, governments, corporations, NGOs, and
universities. These futurists and scholars assist in organizing futures
research to continuously update and improve humanity's thinking about the
future, and make that thinking available through a variety of media for consideration
in public policy, advanced training, public education, and systematic feedback.
The Millennium Project produces an annual State of the Future, a Future
Research Methodology series, and specialized works, such as Scenarios
for Africa, Lessons of History, and Environmental Security.
Natalie
Ambrose.
Ms.
Natalie Ambrose is Director of Emerging Issues and Strategic Planning for the
Council on Foundations. Before joining the Council, Ms. Ambrose worked
extensively in international sales and marketing management. She has lived,
traveled and worked in Canada, Western Europe, the Caribbean and South America.
Ms. Ambrose worked in Puerto Rico as Marketing Director for SkyTel
International, as part of their start-up team in the launch of paging services
in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Before Skytel, she worked in
international and special sales for the National Academy Press. She has worked
with the A.T. Cross writing instrument manufacturer in Providence, Rhode
Island, first as Regional Sales Manager for Canada, the Caribbean, and Latin
America and later as their Manager of Intellectual Property Protection. Ms. Ambrose has an MBA from the American
Graduate School of International Management ("Thunderbird") in
Phoenix, Arizona and a BA in International Relations and Political Science from
Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. She has obtained continuing
education certificates in e-Commerce Management and Entrepreneurship.Her
professional affiliations include the Society of Competitive Intelligence
Professionals and the World Future Society (Board Member, DC Chapter).
Ms.
Ellen Hayakawa is author of The Inspired Organization: Spirituality and
Energy at Work, and a Director of The Centre for Spirituality and
Sustainability, an NGO that co-sponsored The 2001 Summit on Spirituality and
Sustainability, a global peace summit that took place in Vancouver,
Canada. For over a decade she has
coached executives and employees in both the public and private sectors to
uncover spirituality at work. Ellen
Hayakawa, who is also President of Spirit Unlimited, has been featured on
national radio and television shows. Ms. Hayakawa coaches “children and youth
of peace,” helping them to discover their psychic, intuitive and healing
abilities for the purpose of achieving global peace. Trained as a wildlife biologist, she worked
with the Canadian Wildlife Service prior to working in the area of spirituality
and sustainability. She was an initiator of the Conference on Ethical and
Spiritual Values and the Promotion of Environmental Sustainable Development
held at the World Bank, and was on the Steering Committee of the Spirituality
in Sustainable Development Conference held by the Canadian International
Development Agency.
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.
Saturday, October 23, 11:00am
Miklos
Barabas (chair and speaker)
Miklos Barabas is Director of European House, a Hungarian civil society organization based in Budapest, promoting European integration and providing various services to NGOs . He is the initiator of the European House project and has served as its director since its founding in March 1990. Mr Barabas is also the Director of the CIVICUS European Regional Office. In addition, he is the Organizer of Civiliada, an annual showcase of Hungarian civil society organizations, a platform to promote dialogue on the national level. Mr Barabas graduated from the University of Debrecen where he studied history and international relations. His hobby is the comparative analysis of airline companies' timetables.
Dr.
Aurora Martin
Dr.
Aurora Martin is a Professor in the International Relations and European
Studies Department of the Faculty of Political Science, University of
Bucharest. She also serves as President
of the Association Euro-Atlantic Partnership for a Sustainable Development, and
is a member of the Romanian Association for European Integration and
Development and the association Romanian Women’s Future. Dr. Martin did her
Ph.D. studies at the Research Institute of History and Literary Theory, and
received a Masters Degree in Public Policies and NGO Management at the
University of Bucharest. She has a number of publication to her credit and has
spoke at many international conferences.
Dr.
Alain Calmes
Dr. Alain Calmes serves as General Secretary of the Union of European Federalists Luxembourg (UEFL) and is a member of the UEF (Union européenne des fédéderalistes) federal committee. He is also expert in charge of technical assistance for European Social Fund in Luxembourg at the Ministry of Labour. Previously, he served as a member of the executive committee of ALTA (Association Luxembourgeoise pour les Télé-Activités). He has also served as an information development manager at CEPS/INSTEAD research center in Luxembourg, and “Attaché d’administration” with CLT Multi Media (RTL radio and TV). Dr. Calmes holds a doctorate in econmics from Paris X University, and a baccalaureate in mathematics from Lycée Chateaubriand Rome.
Saturday, October 23, 11:00am
Dr.
Thomas Walsh is Secretary General of the Interreligious and International
Federation for World Peace. With academic training in the field of
Religious Ethics, Dr. Walsh has been a teacher, author and editor, with
specialization in areas of theology, character ethics, social theory, and
religious studies. He has served in a number of administrative capacities
and serves on the board of several non-profit organizations that work to
promote international understanding and peace. His current responsibility
as Secretary General of the IIFWP has him involved in guiding and supervising
its worldwide activities. Among his many works for which he is the Editor or
Co-Editor are included Governance and the Role of Religion in Peace and
Security, Renewing the United Nations and Building a Culture of Peace,
Religion and Social Transformation in Southern Africa, Middle East
Peace Initiative, Global Violence: Crisis and Hope, and Establishing
a Culture of Peace: Worldviews, Institutions, Leadership and Practices.
Dr.
Wajeeha Al-Baharna is President of the Bahrain Women’s Society, which focuses
on women empowerment programs, environmental awareness, and anti-child abuse
programs. She is also Vice President of the Innovation Cultural and Social
Society, and is a member of the Arab Thought Forum of Jordan. Dr. Al-Baharna
holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Management from Madison University in the United
States. She also holds a MSc in Environmental Science from Madison University,
a BSc in Biology and Chemistry from the University of Kuwait, and a
Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration from Bahrain University. Among
her publications, Dr. Al-Baharna is author of Fishes of Bahrain, a
comprehensive taxonomy of fishes found in the regional waters of Bahrain, and Dangerous Fishes of Bahrain,
a taxonomy of dangerous fish species in the regional waters of Bahrain.
Cheryl
Wetzstein
Ms.
Wetzstein is a national reporter for The Washington Times, covering
welfare, family and social issues. She has been a reporter for more than two
decades, working in New York City and Washington, D.C. She's been with The
Washington Times since 1985. Since
1994, Mrs. Wetzstein has worked exclusively on welfare and family issues,
covering the United States’ successful 1996 welfare law, including its
fundamental changes to the 60-year-old social services program, its broad
changes in child support enforcement and introduction of abstinence education
grant program. Mrs. Wetzstein also writes frequently on adoption, foster care,
poverty, responsible fatherhood, faith-based social services, teen pregnancy,
sex education, sexually transmitted diseases, marriage, divorce, cohabiting,
same-sex marriage, and some education issues. She has won several newspaper
awards, including 1977 Cub Reporter of the Year and 1983 Heart of New York
award, both from the New York Press Club.
Dr. Tom Christensen is co-Founder of United Families International (UFI), one of the world’s leading, non-governmental organizations devoted to maintaining and strengthening the family. He has also served as Chairman of the board of UFI. Currently, he is also a 20-year veteran in the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office in Utah, United States. Dr. Christensen received juris doctorate from the University of Arizona. He was twice elected to the city council. Dr. Christensen has spoke at UN conferences in New York, Istanbul, Geneva, the Hague, Nairobi and Lisbon. He and his wife of 23 years are parents of 14 children, including two sets of identical twins.
Saturday, October 23, 11:00am
Dr.
Nicholas Kittrie (Chair)
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.
Nancy G. Bermeo
Dr. Huma Ahmed-Ghosh is a Professor with the Department of Women’s Studies of San Diego State University (United States). She received her Ph.D. in Anthropology and Women's Studies from Syracuse University, New York. She received her M.A. and M.Phil from Jawaharlal University in New Delhi. She has done research in the areas of women in development in India and now in Afghanistan. She is also doing research on immigrant Muslim women from South Asia to the USA, and on Islam and feminism. Her current interests are in the deconstruction of the human rights discourse and the inclusion of Afghan women in such a discourse. She has received numerous grants to travel to Afghanistan, to conduct workshops for Afghan women, and to engage in research in that area. She has also published in the areas of women and development, Muslim immigrant women, domestic violence in India, and human rights as women's rights in Afghanistan.
Saturday, October 23, 11:00am
Dénes
Bank
Mr. Dénes Bank serves as Vice President of the Hungarian Children and Youth Parliament, an umbrella organization with over 100 children and youth NGOs as members. He has held this position since 1999. He also is Founder, and President in Deputy, of the Board Members of Broadcasting Companies Association, President of the Hungarian Youth Telecommunications Association, and serves as Hungarian National Representative for the World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations. In the for-profit world, Mr. Bank serves as CEO of Arion Silver Consulting and Service LTd. and deputy CFO of Közlekedés Consulting and Planning Engineers, Ltd. In 1996, at the age of 17, Mr. Bank founded the Youth Integration Society, and by 1998 he was an ambassador for the European Youth Parliament and co-editor and anchor of Repeta TV Programme. He is also a founding member of the Student Consulting Body for the Ministry of Finance, and was co-president of the Hungarian Children and Youth Convention, among other positions. Mr. Bank received a degree from the Budapest University of Economic Sciences and Public Administration. Among his many talents, he also was a chair umpire for the International Tennis Federation and Hungarian Tennis Association.
László Prácser
Mr. László Prácser serves as Co-President of the Hungarian Children and Youth Convention. This is an umbrella organization for children and youth organizations, having 278 NGO members. The Convention was founded to provide services and research for the different stakeholders in order to facilitate development in living standard and the general situation of youth. Mr. Prácser previously served as President of Around 18 Foundation, President of Hungarian Children and Youth Parliament, and President of Alliance of Christian Students. He was president of Hungarian Children and Youth Parliament at the age of 20. Mr. Prácser graduated from Budapest University of Economic Sciences and Eötvös Lóránd University.
László Földi
Mr. László Földi serves as Director of Research and Training
of Mobilitás. Mobilitás is a service and research center in the field of youth
work, drug prevention, and sport under the supervision of the Ministry of Youth
and Sports. A major service of Mobilitás is to manage funds to support national
and international programs including national projects of the Children and
Youth Fund; projects of the Ministry of Youth & Sports in the field of drug
prevention, sport and youth programs; and the Youth Programme of the European
Commission. Mr. Földi also coordinates the Youth Programme of the European
Commission in Hungary. He has also served as Acting Director General of the
Youth Programme of the European Commission and as the Director of International
Affairs for Mobilitas. Mr. Földi has also worked as a Vice Chairman with the
National Children and Youth council, with responsibility for international
relations. His extensive education background includes a Master of Arts .
Mr. András F. Tóth serves as Director of the Volunteer
Centre Foundation. He also serves as President of Youth Action for Peace. Previously, Mr. Tóth served as Program
Officer at the Nonprofit Information and Training Center (NIOK) Foundation, and
as Office Manager and Program Assistant at NIOK Foundation. He has also served
as President of the CEE-wide VolunteerNet Volunteer Center Network, on the
Steering Committee for Youth Action for Peace, and as a member of the Advisory
Committee for the Democratic Youth Foundation and a member of the Hungarian
National Committee for the International Year of Volunteers. Mr. Tóth holds a
B.A. for Ferenc Kölcsey Teacher Training College, and did the Masters Course in
Social Policy and Nonprofit Management at Debrecen University.
Saturday, October 23, 4:00pm
Culture of Peace
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 Dignity
Marian Barnes (Chair)
Ms. Marian Barnes serves as Co-Founder and
Secretary General of ANDECO (International Network of Promoters of Ecotourism
in Andalucia). ANDECO is an NGO with a national and international
membership whose principal objective is the promotion of ecotourism in
Andalucía, a region of great ecological diversity and natural beauty located in
the south of the Iberian Peninsula. Ms. Barnes was responsible for the creation
of an “International Ecotourism Centre” for Spain, and for the “Discovery Trail
of Natural Andalucia in the Sierra de las Nieves,” an ecotourism program that
is developing a model ecological trail in the region. Ms. Barnes also serves as
WANGO’s National Representative in Spain. She previously served as an
ecotourism guide for IUSC: Centro de Estudios Superiores in Barcelona, Spain.
She studied Tourism and Hotel Management at the University of Navarra in Spain,
as well as Family Counselling at that University.
Children and Youth
Sheri Reuter (Chair)
Ms. Sheri Reuter serves as Vice President
of the Women’s Federation for World Peace, USA. She also serves as National
Director of the Interracial Sisterhood Project, coordinating projects that
promote racial harmony and “sisterhood” among diverse women across our nation. A public health nurse for many years, Ms.
Reuter worked in several states as health educator and administrator for
Project Volunteer and the National Council for Church and Social Action. She
has also served as an instructor in the community education department of
Pasadena City College and she is currently employed as a School Nurse for the
Alhambra School District. Ms. Reuter graduated from the University of Michigan
(Ann Arbor, United States) with a degree in nursing and psychology.
Saturday, September 27, 6:30pm
Dr.
Noel Brown (Master of Ceremonies)
Dr. Noel
Brown is Chair of the WANGO Awards Committee and 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.
Dr.
Mihaela Dimitrescu serves as Vice President of the Romanian Association for
European Integration Democracy. She is also a professor at Technic College
Buchares, a position she has held since 1995. Previously, she served as an
Associate Professor at Athenaeum University, and was a Administrative
Specialist for a USAID Project for Governmental and Parliamentary Assistant, a
Consultant for the Parliamentary Commission for Human Rights and Equal Chances,
and a Project Manager for Political Dialogue Between Youth and Central
Administration. A specialist trainer on Educational Management, she is also
completing a manual for women political candidates on the theme of a
step-by-step international successful guide for women entering politics. She received her DrD in Human Resources
Management for Romanian Academy.
Ms. Sylwia Spurek serves as Expert in the Secretariat of the Government Plenipotentiary for Equal Status for Women and Men, in the Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland. In this position, she works on cooperation with NGOs, on women’s health issues, and provides opinions on government projects. Previously, she worked with the Women’s Rights Center Foundation in Lodz, Poland. Among her publications is the book Women, Parties, Elections. She is a graduate of the Legal Department of Lodz University, completing her MA thesis in “Participation of Women’s NGOs in Civil Proceedings.”
Liliana Pagu
Ms. Liliana Pagu is President of the Women’s Association of
Romania, and National Coordinator of the Women’s NGOs Network of Romania. She
also is an initiator of The Women’s Democratic Movement in Romania, organizing
the Women’s Democratic Front in December of 1989. A participant in the December
1989 Revolution, she has been certified with the Diploma for Fighter with
Distinguished Merits. The Rochester New York Project recognized her as one of
the “100 Heroines of the World” – one of the 100 fighters for women’s rights in
the world. Prior to the 1989 revolution, Ms. Pagu was the first opera singer as
soprano of the Opera and Ballet Theatres in Braslov, National Opera House in
Bucharest and Volksoper and Riamund Theater in Vienna. For political reasons,
she was forbidden to continue her artistic activity abroad from 1979 to 1984.
After 1989, she became a “trainer of trainers” for civil society, and the owner
and manager of the Alhambra Musical Theatre and Artistic Agency, in addition to
her work with women’s organizations. She has also served as Vice President for
the Alliance for Peace in Romania.
Ms. Elisabeth Riedl serves as International Liaison for the
Women’s Federation for World Peace, Europe (WFWP, Europe), as well as the Vice
President of the Austrian Chapter of Women’s Federation for World Peace (WFWP,
Austria). WFWP is an international women’s organization, with chapters in over
150 countries, and holding General Consultative Status at the United Nations.
Previous to these positions, Ms. Riedl served as President of the German
chapter of WFWP. She is a member of the founding parents group for Platform for
Quality in Education and Integration. She has also worked as a freelance
journalist traveling extensively in East Africa: Tanzania, Kenya, Somalia and
Djibouti. Recent projects of Ms. Riedle include a medical project for Albania
and a Charity Project for Rwanda.
Sunday, October 24, 12:00pm
Dr. Gordon Anderson (Rapporteur)
Dr. Gordon Anderson serves as Secretary
General for the Professors World Peace Academy, an international association of
university and college scholars. He is
also the Executive Director of Paragon House Publishers, and publisher of the International
Journal on World Peace. Dr. Anderson has published numerous articles and
books related to religion and society, including The Family in Global
Transition, and Morality and Religion in Liberal Democratic Societies.
He earned his Master of Divinity degree in Christian Ethics at Union
Theological Seminary and his Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religion from the Claremont
Graduate School.
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.
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.