Ghulam Rasoul Rasouli has over 19 years of development experience in Afghanistan, working with international NGOS and the UN before joining the National Solidarity Program (NSP) of the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. He is currently the Director of Operations for NSP.
Karim Merchant spent 14 years in Afghanistan working at regional level with international NGOs, then as a Chief Technical Advisor for the UN, and as a project formulator, programme director, and senior advisor to several ministers for the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. He is currently a freelance consultant in rural development and a lecturer in conflict-sensitive development.
Doreen Khoury is Middle East Liaison Officer at Hivos International. She was previously a research fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Studies, where she focused on the Syrian civilian grassroots movement, and has worked at the Heinrich Boell Foundation in their Middle East Office.
Bipin Adhikari is a constitutional expert from Nepal, and heads the Nepal Constitution Foundation in Kathmandu. He has particular interests in constitution-building processes, design options, democratisation and justice sector reforms. His latest publication in English is Nepal Constituent Assembly Impasse: Comments on a Failed process (Kathmandu: Nepal Consulting Lawyers Inc, 2010).
Virisila Buadromo is Executive Director of the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement (FWRM). In this role since 2001, Virisila has helped FWRM to advocate and lobby for gender equality and legal and policy reform. She is also chairperson of the Fiji NGO Coalition on Human Rights, and is a vocal presence on human rights issues in the country, particularly since the 2006 coup d’état.
Abdihakim Ainte is an independent consultant who has advised various UN and international agencies on a range of issues related to Somalia. His writing has appeared in major publications and contributed to multi-disciplinary research on Somalia. He regularly blogs at www.africanarguments.org
Cheryl Saunders is a laureate professor at the University of Melbourne, specialising in public law. She has particular interests in comparative constitutional law and method, constitution making and design, federalism and intergovernmental relations. She is vice-chair of the Advisory Board of International IDEA and a president emeritus of the International Association of Constitutional Law.
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Ali Saif Hassan is Founder and Director of Political Development Forum in Yemen. An expert in political dialogue and informal negotiations, he is also Co-Director of the National Dialogue Support Programme in Yemen, which is a partnership initiative between Political Development Forum and the Berghof Foundation.
Harn Yawnghwe is the founder and Executive Director of the Euro-Burma Office established in 1997. Harn holds a mining engineering degree and an MBA in International Business and Finance. After 48 years in exile, Harn was asked by the Government of Burma to return and assist with the peace process.
Paul Rios is the founder of Lokarri, a citizen network for peace in the Basque Country. Lokarri has played a significant role in mobilising citizen support for the resolution of the Basque conflict, organising key conferences that influenced ETA to announce a definitive end to violence in 2011. Paul holds a law degree from the University of Deusto, Bilbao.
