Towards More Sustainable Development II

Luis-Javier Capote-Pérez holds a PhD in Law and is Civil Law Lecturer at the University of La Laguna, Teneriffa/Spain. He was visiting professor at the Universitiy of Sassari (Italy) and Opole (Poland) where he is Member of the UNESCO Cultural Chair "Cultural Property Law". Furthermore, he is a member of the "Francisco Tomás y Valiente" Cultural Cathedra of the University of La Laguna and alternate judge at the Provincial Court of Appeal of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

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Benjamin Hampe‘s work with the „Association of Southeast Asian Nations“ (ASEAN) started in 2017 when he organised ASEAN's 50-year anniversary exhibition at the ASEAN Gallery in Jakarta. He went on to provide strategic planning, curatorial, and training services for the ASEAN Community Relations Division. In 2020 he was appointed as Project Director of KONNECT ASEAN, a USD 2 million development project supported by the Republic of Korea and the ASEAN Foundation’s flagship arts programme. 

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Magda Janiszewska, originally from Poland, has a background in Psychology from the University of East London and a master’s degree in Migration, Mobility, and Development from SOAS, University of London. Previously she worked with the British Refugee Council as an Integration Adviser, and at the University of the Arts, London as a Student Adviser. She also worked with organizations such as British Red Cross, Age UK and Old Alleynians Rugby club. Currently, she serves as a youth project and MEAL analyst with UNDP's regional youth team, focusing on monitoring, evaluation, reporting, and project coordination.

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Geetika Khanduja is Project Officer at „Southern Voice“, a renowned network of think tanks from the Global South. She possesses diverse expertise in research, public policy and project management spanning across national and international development sectors. Her academic journey is marked by a multidisciplinary background- holding degrees in mechanical engineering, public policy and an MPhil in inclusive policies.

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Thomas Legler  is Research Professor of International Relations at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City and a member of the National System of Researchers (SNI), Level II. His research has focused on regional governance and institutions in Latin America. He is currently preparing a book project on the rise of inter-presidentialism as Latin America’s dominant mode of regional governance.

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Dr Federico Lenzerini is Ph.D. of International Law and Full Professor of Public International Law and International Human Rights Law at the University of Siena (Italy). He is Consultant to UNESCO (Paris) and has been Counsel to the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for international negotiations related to cultural heritage.

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Nikki Locke is Senior Relationship Manager on Culture Responds at the British Council and has over 15 years' experience in developing and delivering cultural programmes in the UK and internationally. She led the Cultural Heritage for Inclusive Growth project which explored the integration of cultural heritage into local communities. Nikki is also co-author of the Heritage for Inclusive Growth report in collaboration with RSA and the British Council. She previously was managing programmes and festivals and strategies in the North East of England aiming to increase local engagement and ownership in the arts and heritages. This included East Durham Creates, a project funded by Arts Council England as part of the 'Creative People and Places' programme.

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Mercè Monje Cano is the Secretary General of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization. She has extensive experience working in civil society organizations, NGOs, and international organizations in several countries, including Brazil, Mexico, Mali, Italy, Spain, France, and Switzerland.

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Karalyn Monteil is the Head of Programmes & Stakeholders Outreach for the Diversity of Cultural Expressions Entity in the UNESCO Culture Sector. She has extensive experience working in developing and post-conflict countries supporting historic and cultural preservation; national culture strategies, policies, and legislation; museums; the cultural and creative industries; and intangible cultural heritage.

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Kimani Njogu is Excutive Director of Twaweza Communications Limited in Nairobi. Twaweza Communications works in the areas of public policy, media and culture for sustainable development. Kimani Njogu holds a PhD in Linguistics from Yale University and has taught at Kenyatta University in Nairobi. He has published widely on art, culture and politics.

A selection of books:

• Black Orwell: Essays on the Scholarship of Ali A. Mazrui (ed.). Africa World Press, Trenton, NJ 2018
• Youth and Peaceful Elections in Kenya (ed.). Twaweza Communications, 2013
• Citizen Participation in Decision Making: Towards Inclusive Development in Kenya (ed.). Twaweza Communications, 2013
• Media and Identity in Africa (ed.). Edinburgh University Press 2009

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Prof Mandi Rukuni is the author of “Being Afrikan and Leading Afrika” (Penguin) as well as several works on agricultural issues such as land tenure and food security. He is founder and trustee of the Barefoot Educational Trust for Afrika (BEAT) and former Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture Environment and Food Systems at the University of Zimbabwe.

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Dr Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu is the founder Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA). He currently is a member of the Board and Bureau of South Asians for Human Rights and a member of the Board of the South Asia Regional Office of Amnesty International.

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Manojna Yeluri is the Asia Regional Representative for PEN America's Artists at Risk Connection program. She is also the founder of ' Artistik License ' and co-founder of the initiative 'Contracts for Creators'. Manojna holds a Master of Laws (LLM) degree in Entertainment, Media, and Intellectual Property Rights Law from the UCLA School of Law in Los Angeles, USA.

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Anita Budziszewska is a lecturer and member of the Department of Diplomacy and International Institution at the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Warsaw, Poland. She is currently a Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship Holder at the University of Geneva, Geneva Centre for Philanthropy (2023/2024) and a Swiss based Annelise and Mieczysław Koćwin Foundation Scholarship Holder (2023/2024).

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Carla Figueira is an academic and consultant in the field of international cultural relations and creative industries. She did her PhD on external language spread policies in Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau at City University London, with a Praxis XXI Scholarship.

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Ximena Zapata is a researcher in the fields of global political economy and international relations with a focus on Latin America. She is a PhD researcher in Political Science at the University of Hamburg and the GIGA Institute, Germany. She holds a master’s degree in International Relations from FLACSO-Ecuador. Her research interests include cultural diplomacy, political economy of development, regionalism, and China’s engagement in Latin America.  

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