Executive Director of WHO Office at the United Nations, New York

Dr Nata Menabde is Executive Director of WHO Office at the United Nations, New York since May 2015, where she promotes WHO’s engagement with the United Nations system and a broad range of stakeholders to anchor health in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development agenda.

Prior to her current role, Dr Menabde was Head of Mission and WHO Representative to India, leading a large team with thousands of dedicated professionals in over 250 offices across the country. Most notably, her tenure saw one of the biggest achievements in public health: a polio-free India.

As Deputy Regional Director at the WHO Regional Office for Europe (2006-2010) she successfully led the Region’s work on strengthening health systems, which culminated in the development and adoption of the European Tallinn Charter: Health Systems for Health and Wealth, a decade ago. During this period she was also in charge of WHO’s extensive operations in 35 European countries, including emergency response and post-conflict recovery and rehabilitation.

With a solid academic background and an exemplary track record of over 30 years of experience in regional and global health, health diplomacy and health systems, Dr Nata Menabde has shown unwavering commitment to the goal of Health for All. Her current interests are linked to universal health coverage and sustainable development, health and foreign policies, global health governance, emergency preparedness and crises response, health systems performance, as well as addressing public health in other sector policies.

Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Portugal

Francisco André was born in Leiria, Portugal, in 1976.

He holds a degree in Law by the University of Lisbon, with focus in legal-economic areas, and started his professional career as a lawyer.

Among other positions, in public offices, he was Head of Cabinet of the Secretary of State for the Presidency of the Council of Ministers (2005/2008), Counsellor at the Permanent Representation of Portugal to the European Union in Brussels (2009/2013) and Head of Cabinet of the Portuguese Prime Minister (2018/2020).

Chair of Peace Building Commission, Permanent Representative of Egypt to the UN

H.E. Mr. Mohamed Fathi Ahmed Edrees, Chair of Peacebuilding Commission, Permanent Representative of Egypt: Mr. Mohamed Fathi Ahmed Edrees has served as the Permanent Representative of Egypt to the United Nations since February 2018. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Edrees was the Assistant Foreign Minister for African Affairs from 2015 to January 2018. He served as Ambassador of Egypt to Ethiopia, as well as his country’s Permanent Representative to the African Union and to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, from 2011 to 2015. From 2010 to 2011, Mr. Edrees was Deputy Assistant Minister for Arab-Orient Affairs, while from 2007 to 2010, he was Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. He previously served as Minister Plenipotentiary to the United Nations in New York from 2006 to 2007 and as Deputy Chief of Mission at Egypt’s Embassy in Damascus, Syria, from 2001 to 2005. Prior to his diplomatic service, he was a resident doctor within the Ministry of Health. Mr. Edrees holds a Master of Arts in political science from the University of London and a Bachelor of Science in medicine and surgery from Cairo University.

Vice Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy

She was born in Foligno (PG) in 1960.
At a very young age she was active in student organizations and the Movement for Peace.

She was elected to the Regional Council of Umbria in 1985.

From 1993 to 2001 she was Councillor for Budget, Human Resources and Social Policies.

She was elected for the first time to Parliament in 2001 in the Umbria constituency and from December 2001 she was member of the National Secretariat of the Left Democrats in charge of Foreign Affairs until 2005. In 2005 she became Head of the Organisation Office and contributed to the birth of the Democratic Party. She was member of the Foreign and EU Affairs Committee until 2006.

She was re-elected to Parliament in 2006 and held the position of Vice-President of the Olive Tree Group until April 28, 2008.

She led the party list in her region at the early elections held in 2008 and she became Vice-President of the Democratic Party Group until November 2009.

At the Congress of the Democratic Party in 2009, she took up the position of Vice-President of the Party’s National Assembly.

At the 2013 parliamentary elections for the Umbria constituency. In the parliamentary sitting of March 21, she was elected deputy Vice-Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies and was a member of the Foreign and EU Affairs Committee.

She was a member of the Democratic Party’s National Secretariat from July 2018 to September 2019. He is currently a member of the Democratic Party’s National Direction.

Since 16 September 2019, she has been Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Conte II Government.

Since 1 March 2021, she has been Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Draghi Government.

Senior Fellow at the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst

James K. Boyce is an economist and senior fellow at the Political Economy Research Institute of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is co-editor, with Léonce Ndikumana, of On the Trail of Capital Flight from Africa: The Takers and the Enablers (forthcoming from Oxford University Press). His previous books include Economics for People and the Planet: Inequality in the Era of Climate Change (Anthem 2019); Economics, the Environment and Our Common Wealth (Edward Elgar, 2013); and Peace and the Public Purse: Economic Policies for Postwar Statebuilding (Lynne Rienner 2007). Dr. Boyce is the recipient of the 2017 Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought.

Comptroller General of Chile

Mr. Jorge Bermúdez is a lawyer with extensive experience in academia, public and private organizations. He holds a degree in Legal Sciences, a Master in European Community Law, and a Ph.D. in Law from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (1998). He was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Giessen (2002-2003) and the University of Heidelberg (2012), both in Germany. He has participated in important forums, seminars, and international conferences, and has published numerous books and articles related to environmental and administrative law.

Since December 17th, 2015, Mr. Bermúdez is the Comptroller General of the Republic of Chile. He currently is the Executive Secretary of OLACEFS and holds the chair of the Working Group on Gender Equality and Non-Discrimination of OLACEFS, of the Working Group on Public Works and of the United Nations Board of Auditors.

Executive Secretary of ESCAP

Prior to joining ESCAP, Ms. Alisjahbana was Professor of Economics at Universitas Padjadjaran in Bandung, Indonesia, a position she assumed in 2005. She joined Universitas Padjadjaran as a lecturer in 1988. Since 2016, she has served as Director for the Center for Sustainable Development Goals Studies at Universitas Padjadjaran and Vice Chair of the Indonesian Academy of Sciences.

She also serves on the Governing Board of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), and member of the Indonesian Academy of Sciences (Akademi Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia - AIPI), the Forum of Statistics Community (Forum Masyarakat Statistik or Advisory Council of the Indonesian Statistics), the International Advisory Board of the Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies and Council Member of the Regional Science Association International (RSAI).

From 2009 to 2014, she was Minister of National Development Planning and the Head of the National Development Planning Agency (BAPPENAS), Indonesia. She served as Co-chair of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation from 2012 to 2014. From 2009 to 2014, she was Alternate Governor of the World Bank and Alternate Governor of the Asian Development Bank representing the government of Indonesia. In 2016, she was a member of the High Level Independent Team of Advisors to support the ECOSOC Dialogue on the longer term positioning of the United Nations Development System in the context of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development.

Ms. Alisjahbana has been involved in various research projects and consultancies to the United Nations University/Institute for Advanced Study in Tokyo, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Australia, the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), the European Commission, and the International Labor Organization (ILO).

Ms. Alisjahbana earned her Bachelor degree in Economics and Development Studies from Universitas Indonesia, Indonesia, a Masters degree in Economics from Northwestern University, USA and a Ph.D in Economics from University of Washington, USA. She was awarded the Mahaputra Adipradana Order (Bintang Mahaputra Adipradana) from the Republic of Indonesia, honorary brevet from the Indonesian Navy and honorary flight wing from the Indonesian Air Force.

Executive Director of Oxfam International

Gabriela Bucher is Executive Director of Oxfam International, a global network which fights inequality to end poverty and injustice. Ms Bucher is an experienced social justice leader and deeply committed to gender equality and human rights, and to tackling economic inequality.

Ms Bucher, who grew up in Cali, Colombia, is a champion for feminist leadership and believes in the power of collaboration. She worked alongside children and communities affected by Colombia’s decades-long armed conflict and contributed to peace building and youth active citizenship, influencing the country’s approach on restorative justice for children. Prior to Oxfam, Ms. Bucher was the Chief Operating Officer at Plan International, and led Fundación Plan Colombia.

Member of Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Mexico

Ms. Irma Pineda Santiago was born in Juchitán, Oaxaca, Mexico. She is a professor at the National Pedagogical University and advises in the Chamber of Deputies of the Congress of the Union. Her interest and activism in the human rights of indigenous peoples stems from the fact that her father, a Zapotec leader is a victim of enforced disappearance by the Mexican army since 1978. She has assisted indigenous peoples in Mexico with strengthening their linguistic and cultural development. She has participated in academic events in forums and at universities in North America and Europe, giving lectures and workshops on languages, culture and the rights of indigenous peoples. Currently, Ms. Pineda Santiago is Vice-Chair and Member of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

Director-General of the International Development Law Organization (IDLO)

Jan Beagle is a diplomat from New Zealand. She was elected as Director-General of the International Development Law Organization (IDLO) in November 2019. She has some forty years of experience in multilateral diplomacy, working on peace and security, development, human rights, management, gender and organizational reform issues. Throughout her career she has been a committed advocate for gender equality and the empowerment of women.

Ms. Beagle has served as United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance; Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on System-wide Implementation of Chief Executives Board (CEB) decisions; Deputy Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS); Deputy Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva; and Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management, as well as in other senior positions in the United Nations system.

Secretary-General of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI)

Dr. Kraker assumed office as President of the Austrian Court of Audit (ACA) on July 1, 2016. In this capacity, she is also the Secretary General of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI).

She has long-standing experience in national and international government auditing as the former director of the Court of Audit of the Province of Styria (Austria) and vice member of the Management Committee of the European Organization of Regional External Public Finance Audit Institutions (EURORAI). She held these functions until assuming office in the ACA.

Dr. Kraker also gained extensive experience as a legal expert at the Austrian Parliament, as vice director of the Styrian Government's Office and as member of the steering group on administrative reform in Styria.

Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children

Dr. Maalla M'jid is a medical doctor in paediatrics and took up her position as Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Violence against Children on 1st July 2019. She served previously as Head of the Paediatric Department and Director of the Hay Hassani Mother-Child hospital in Casablanca. She was a member of the Moroccan National Council on Human Rights and founded the first programme addressing the situation of children living and working in the streets of Morocco. Dr. Maalla M’jid also served as United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography from 2008 to 2014.

Associate Scientific Director, Centre for the AIDS Programme

Quarraisha Abdool Karim, PhD, DSc h.c (UJ), DSc h.c. (SU) is a South African epidemiologist and NRF A-rated scientist who has made pioneering contributions over the past 32 years to preventing HIV prevention in adolescent girls and young women including the landmark CAPRISA 004 trial that demonstrated for the first time that anti-retrovirals can prevent HIV infection. Through the Columbia University -Southern African Fogarty AIDS International Training and Research Programme (CU-SA Fogarty AITRP) she played a central role in training over 600 scientists enabling a strong science base to be established to enhance responses to HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis through discovery and implementation science research. She is a strong advocate for the rights of people living with, and affected, by HIV and for women to pursue careers in science and technology. She is co-Founder and Associate Scientific Director of CAPRISA; Professor in Clinical Epidemiology, Columbia University; Pro-Vice Chancellor for African Health, University of KwaZulu-Natal and UNAIDS Special Ambassador for Adolescents and HIV. She is a Fellow of the AAS; National Academy of Medicine (USA), The World Academy of Science, Royal Society of South Africa, and Academy of Science of South Africa.

Director, NYU Center on International Cooperation

Sarah F. Cliffe is currently the director of New York University’s Center on International Cooperation. Prior to that, she was the Special Representative for the World Bank’s World Development Report on Conflict, Security and Development, and the Special Adviser and Assistant Secretary-General of Civilian Capacities to the United Nations.

Ms. Cliffe has worked for the last twenty years in countries emerging from conflict and political transition, including Afghanistan, Burundi, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea Bissau, Ethiopia, Haiti, Indonesia, Liberia, Mali, Rwanda, South Sudan, South Africa, Somalia, and Timor-Leste. At the World Bank, her work has covered post-conflict reconstruction, community driven development, and civil service reform. Ms. Cliffe was the chief of mission for the Bank’s program in Timor-Leste from 1999 to 2002; led the Bank’s Fragile and Conflict-Affected Countries Group from 2002-2007; and was the Director of Strategy and Operations for the East Asia and Pacific Region from 2007-2009.

Ms. Cliffe has also worked for the United Nations Development Programme in Rwanda, the Government of South Africa, and the Congress of South African Trade Unions, as well as for a major management consultancy company in the United Kingdom on public sector reform issues.

Ms. Cliffe has a Bachelor’s degree in history from Cambridge University and a Master’s degree in international relations and international economic policy from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.