#NoWar2024 Speakers
Gabriel Aguirre
Gabriel Aguirre is Latin America Organizer for World BEYOND War, is from Venezuela, and is currently based in Bógota. He has been an activist and advocate for peace, social justice, international solidarity and human rights, and has more than 13 years of experience in social and community work. He has participated in multiple international events and activities on five continents, always in defense of a stable and lasting peace. He has been a representative to the United Nations to defend the foundations of a more just world without wars or sanctions. His work experience includes participation in several international missions of solidarity to countries that have had military, economic, political, and social conflicts. He has also been an organizer of various campaigns for the closure of military bases, and the lifting of sanctions on countries that suffer their consequences. He holds a degree in Political Science, with a specialization in International Relations, and a master’s degree in Public Policy.
Ricardo Armando Patiño Aroca
Ricardo Armando Patiño Aroca is Ecuadorian and Mexican. He is an economist with a Master's in Economic Development from universities in Mexico and Spain. He was head of economic planning at the Agrarian Reform Institute in the early years of the Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua. He has been a university professor, advisor to workers' and urban residents' organizations, promoter of citizen initiatives to denounce illegitimate debts and creator of a microfinance entity in his country. He is co-author of the book “Construir poder transformador” (Building transforming power). In the government of Rafael Correa he served as Minister of Economy and Finance, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Defense. He chaired the Commission for the Integral Audit of Ecuador's Foreign Debt. He actively participated in the creation of UNASUR and CELAC and was responsible for granting political asylum and protection to Julian Assange in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. He currently collaborates at the Institute of Economic and Technological Studies of Venezuela.
Lilli Barto
Lilli Barto has been organising for over seven years across a variety of movement spaces, most recently having spent the last two and a half years as an organiser for Wage Peace || Disrupt Wars. When she is not stuffing potatoes into the exhaust pipes of the war machine, she enjoys growing vegetables and crocheting socks.
Laura Benítez
Laura Benítez is a biologist with a degree from the Universidad del Valle and a scientific researcher with a Master's degree in Environment and Marine Resources from the University of the Basque Country (Spain), University of Bordeaux (France) and University of Liege (Belgium). Laura's area of research interest is the ecology and conservation of marine mammals, focused on the study of the humpback whale population that breeds in the southern Colombian Pacific, especially in the Gorgona National Natural Park. Laura is currently the Environmental Justice professional at Baobab - Center for Innovation in Ethnic-Racial, Gender and Environmental Justice. Laura is also part of the Scientific Committee of the Gorgona National Natural Park and the activist group Colectivo Unidos por Gorgona.
Medea Benjamin
Medea Benjamin is the co-founder of the women-led peace group CODEPINK. She is also co-founder of the human rights group Global Exchange, the Peace in Ukraine Coalition, Unfreeze Afghanistan (which advocates for returning the $7 billion of Afghan funds frozen in U.S. banks), ACERE: The Alliance for Cuba Engagement and Respect, and the Nobel Peace Prize for Cuban Doctors Campaign.
Medea has been an advocate for social justice for 50 years. Described as "one of America's most committed -- and most effective -- fighters for human rights" by New York Newsday, and "one of the high profile leaders of the peace movement" by the Los Angeles Times, she was one of 1,000 exemplary women from 140 countries nominated to receive the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the millions of women who do the essential work of peace worldwide.
She is the author of 11 books, including Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control, Kingdom of the Unjust: Behind the U.S.-Saudi Connection, Inside Iran: The Real History and Politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran and War in Ukraine: Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict, coauthored with Nicolas J.S. Davies. Her most recent book, coauthored with David Swanson, is NATO: What You Need to Know.
Her articles appear regularly in outlets such as The Hill, Salon, CommonDreams and The Progressive. Her twitter handle is @medeabenjamin.
Black and White
After the attacks on refugees, the music group Black and White spent 25 years organising project days in schools across Germany, reaching 500,000 pupils. In workshops such as dancing, drumming and singing, the German pupils experienced Africa's joie de vivre. Prejudices were broken down through personal encounters. The pupils learned that humanity originated in Africa and that we are therefore all sisters and brothers, regardless of our skin colour: One human family, as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights puts it. The pupils also learned why living conditions in Africa and Europe are so different. The slave trade and colonial subjugation have blocked Africa's development in the interests of Europe. Today, it is important to finally overcome the legacies of this time and establish peaceful, equal and solidary cooperation. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the group lost all its performances and had to give up. For WBW, some of the members are coming together once again to sing and play for you.
Reiner Braun
Reiner Braun, born in 1952, studied German literature, history and journalism. He was actively involved in the 'Krefeld Appeal' of the peace movement in the 1980s. Braun is on the board of the 'NaturwissenschaftlerInnen-Initiatve - Verantwortung für Frieden und Zukunftsfähigkeit' and was Managing Director of IALANA as well as Co-President of the International Peace Bureau and Executive Director from 2013 to 2022. He is active in various peace movement projects such as the Ukraine Initiative and Stop Ramstein Air Base.
Alison Broinowski
Alison Broinowski is a Member of the Board of Directors of World BEYOND War. She is based in Australia. Broinowski was an Australian diplomat until 1996. Her last overseas assignment was at the Australian Mission to the UN in New York. Her PhD is in Asian Studies at ANU. She has written or edited 14 books and many articles on Australia’s interface with Asia, with the United Nations, and the world. Four of her latest books are About Face: Asian Accounts of Australia 2003, Howard’s War 2003, Allied and Addicted 2007, and with David Stephens, The Honest History Book 2017. She is a Visiting Fellow in the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs at ANU, and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of International Affairs. She is President of Australians for War Powers Reform.
Alicia Cabezudo
Alicia Cabezudo is an international specialist in education for the construction of cultures of peace, citizenship and human rights. She is General Coordinator for Latin America & the Caribbean for the Global Alliance for Missions & Infrastructures for Peace (GAMIP). She is a member and former Vice President of the International Peace Bureau (IPB Berlin). She is part of the Allies team of the Colombian Truth Commission-CEV. Alicia is a member of the International Association of Peace Educators as well as the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Education for Human Rights. She is a consultant to the Council of Europe on Education for Global Citizenship and a UNESCO Consultant on Peace Education. She is also a Professor at the National University of Rosario - Rosario, Argentina and Professor at the University of Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, as well as a Judge for the International Court of Human Rights – TRINO.
Bob Carr
Professor the Hon Bob Carr was the longest continuously serving premier in the history of New South Wales. He then entered the federal Senate in 2012 and served as Australia's foreign minister for eighteen months. Since leaving politics Bob has led a distinguished career as an author and academic. He was Director of the Australia-China Relations Institute (ACRI) at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) from 2014-2019.
Maria Cernat
Maria Cernat is a co-coordinator of the World BEYOND War Romania chapter. She is the president of the Institute for Media Research and Human Rights and an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Educational Sciences, Communication and Public Relations of Titu Maiorescu University and at the Faculty of Communications and Public Relations of SNPSA, the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration. Since 2011 she has published numerous articles on Romanian websites for political debates (The Barricade, Critic Atac, Cealaltă Agendă, România Curată, Gazeta de Artă Politică, etc.). Maria is a passionate advocate for peace and cooperation and she has written numerous articles supporting a nuanced analysis of geopolitics.
Peter Cronau
Peter Cronau is an award-winning investigative journalist, writer, and film-maker. His documentary, The Base: Pine Gap’s Role in US Warfighting, featured on Australian ABC. He is co-editor of the book A Secret Australia - Revealed by the WikiLeaks Exposés.
Glenn Diesen
Glenn Diesen is a professor at the University of Southeast Norway (USN) and an associate editor at the Russia in Global Affairs journal. Diesen is a board member at the International Institute for Peace (IPP) in Vienna, the Centre for Nationalism Studies (CNS) in Sarajevo, and Contemporary World Economy in Moscow. His main research focus is Russian foreign policy, geoeconomics, and Eurasian integration. Diesen has published 11 books translated into a multitude of languages, many journal articles and book chapters. Diesen is frequently a keynote speaker around the world and a regular contributor to international media.
Pat Elder
Pat Elder (pelder@militarypoisons.org) is known for his work on per-and poly fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). He has written 300 articles on PFAS. Many may be found at www.militarypoisons.org.
Since 2019, Pat has been focused on the understudied role of PFAS exposure from food. He believes there is too much emphasis on PFAS levels in drinking water, with too limited a focus on PFAS exposure from food, particularly seafood.
Elder and his associates have tested surface waters flowing from 50 U.S. military bases worldwide and have reported dangerous levels of the toxins in the rivers. PFAS is used in hundreds of products and applications by the military and is recklessly discarded into the environment without oversight.
Pat has tested seawater, crabs, oysters, and fish and found levels of the carcinogenic compounds that are orders of magnitude greater than the levels allowed in drinking water. The compounds bio accumulate in aquatic life, poisoning the food chain. They do not break down in nature.
Elder argues that the DOD dictates environmental policy in the United States and around the world while relying on a robust propaganda campaign to dispel resistance and avoid staggering financial liability for its ongoing environmental crimes.
Cynthia Enloe
Cynthia Enloe is a Research Professor in the Department of Sustainability and Social Justice at Clark University, and is affiliated with Clark's Women's and Gender Studies and Political Science Programs.
Cynthia Enloe’s career has included Fulbrights in Malaysia and Guyana, guest professorships in Japan, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Iceland, as well as The Middlebrook/Djerassi Visiting Professor of Gender Studies at University of Cambridge, UK. She has presented lectures in Sweden, Norway, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Chile, Vietnam, Korea, Cambodia, Colombia, Bosnia, Turkey, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Austria, Finland, Ukraine and at universities around the U.S. Her writings have been translated into Ukrainian, Spanish, Turkish, French, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Swedish, Czech, Icelandic, Finnish, German and Chinese. She has published in Ms. Magazine and The Village Voice, and appeared on National Public Radio, Al Jazeera, C-Span and the BBC.
Professor Enloe’s fifteen books include Maneuvers: The International Politics of Militarizing Women’s Lives (2000), The Curious Feminist (2004), Nimo’s War, Emma’s War: Making Feminist Sense of the Iraq War (2010), The Real State of America: Mapping the Myths and Truths about the United States (co-authored with Joni Seager; 2011, revised 2014); Seriously! Investigating Crashes and Crises as if Women Mattered (2013). Enloe’s thoroughly updated edition of Bananas, Beaches and Bases was published by University of California Press, 2014. Her updated edition of Globalization and Militarism: Feminists Make the Link was published in English and French in 2016, and Spanish in 2022. Enloe’s The Big Push: Exposing and Challenging Persistent Patriarchy, is published in English, Japanese and Spanish (originally: Myriad Editions, UK; University of California Press, US, 2017).
Her newest book is Twelve Feminist Lessons of War (London: Footnote Press; Berkeley: University of California Press) 2023.
Victor Gaute
Victor Gaute is the Vice President of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, defender of Friendship, Solidarity, Cooperation, Peace and Sovereignty of the Peoples (ICAP).
Heike Hänsel
Heike Hänsel served as a member of the German Bundestag from 2005 to 2021 for the Left Party. She was a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and vice-chairwoman of her parliamentary group and spokeswoman for international relations. Heike Hänsel has been active in the peace movement since 1988. Now she is speaker of the German-based Society Culture of Peace which she co-founded with artists and scientists in 1988 in Tübingen. Society Culture of Peace works on the US-EUCOM and US-AFRICOM in the framework of campaigns to shut down these military bases in Stuttgart.
Jared Hayes
Jared Hayes is Environmental Working Group (EWG)'s Senior Policy Analyst with extensive experience on PFAS contamination at U.S. military installations. Jared provides research, data analysis and event support to the government affairs team. After graduating from college, Hayes volunteered with various Massachusetts-based veterans’ charities as a fundraising events organizer.
Persida Jovanovic
Persida Jovanovic is a political science graduate currently working at the European Patent Office in Munich. With a strong commitment to environmental and social causes, Persida also serves as the Secretary General of the Save Sinjajevina Civic Initiative, a movement dedicated to protecting the Sinjajevina mountain region from harmful developments.
Kathy Kelly
Kathy Kelly has been President of the Board of World BEYOND War since March 2022, prior to which time she served as a member of the Advisory Board. She is based in the United States, but is often elsewhere. Kathy’s efforts to end wars have led her to living in war zones and prisons over the past 35 years. In 2009 and 2010, Kathy was part of two Voices for Creative Nonviolence delegations which visited Pakistan to learn more about the consequences of U.S. drone attacks. From 2010 – 2019, the group organized dozens of delegations to visit Afghanistan, where they continued learning about casualties of U.S. drone attacks. Voices also helped organize protests at U.S. military bases operating weaponized drone attacks. She is now a co-coordinator of the Ban Killer Drones campaign and the Merchants of Death War Crimes Tribunal.
Karina Lester
Ms Karina Lester is a Yankunytjatjara Anangu woman from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands (APY Lands) in the far North West of South Australia. Karina grew up in the remote community of Mimili in the beautiful Everard Ranges.
Karina currently works for the Mobile Language Team (MLT) as Aboriginal Co-Manager and Senior Aboriginal Language Worker at The University of Adelaide, supporting the Aboriginal languages of South Australia in revival, maintenance and reclamation programs.
Karina is also a keen anti-nuclear activist, sharing not only her late father’s (Yami Lester) story but her grandmother’s story of the British Nuclear Tests in the 1950’s – 1960’s and speaks strongly about the impacts felt by her people. Her recent works have been with the Noble Peace Prize Award Recipients iCAN (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons) UN Treaty Negotiations (Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons); SA Royal Commission into International Waste Storage facility and the National Waste Storage facility – WE SAY NO! Campaign. In 2018 Karina joined the list of iCAN Ambassadors.
Wolfgang Lieberknecht
Wolfgang Lieberknecht is a co-coordinator of the World BEYOND War International Peace Factory Wanfried chapter. He is in favour of seeing ourselves worldwide as a human family that works together to ensure that all its members can live in dignity. This is also the philosophy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The previous generation in Germany waged an imperialist war that cost the lives of over 60 million people; Germans engaged in slave trading and brutal colonisation. As part of the Western alliance, the German state does everything it can to maintain the unjust world order. Many people in Germany don't know about it, others don't care. Wolfgang learnt about this as a teenager and has spent his whole life trying to contribute to change. For many years in the African-European Black and White Initiative. Today, he is working with others to set up the International PeaceFactory Wanfried in his home town as a space where people from different countries, religions and skin colours can get to know each other and train to create peace, because we don't get it for free: we have to work hard for it. But anyone who has experienced the suffering of war knows that we are all responsible for it because we did not commit ourselves in time to finding peaceful solutions.
Diana Salcedo López
Diana Salcedo López is a political scientist from the National University of Colombia, with a Master's in Women, Gender and Citizenship Studies from the University of Barcelona and a Master's in Human Rights, Rule of Law and Democratization from the University of Alcalá de Henares in Madrid. She is an anti-militarist feminist. She is a representative to the Intersectoral Commission of Security Guarantees for women defenders and leaders in Colombia, and representative for national organizations in the Special Women's Instance for the follow-up of the Peace Agreement. Currently, she leads the Colombian section of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), which positions issues related to the socio-emotional recovery of victims, the strengthening of their social leadership, guarantees for the defense of human rights, the accompaniment of women in reincorporation processes, the strengthening of territorial processes of social and political advocacy and the implementation of the agenda of women, peace and security in Colombia.
Alejandro Parra Macías
Alejandro Parra Macías is a teacher with a master's degree in education. He is a social researcher, human rights defender, conscientious objector, and board game designer. Alejandro is a member of the founding team of the Collective Action of Conscientious Objectors ACOOC.
La Tata Mendoza
La Tata Mendoza, a leading figure in Colombian contemporary music, has forged a career rich in exploration and fusion of traditional rhythms with electronic and contemporary influences. Originally from Bogotá, this artist, composer and researcher has dedicated her career to studying and reinterpreting the traditional music of Colombia's coastal regions, transforming them into a unique sound experience that evokes the spirit of the sea, the breeze and the celebration. Since the beginning of her career, La Tata Mendoza has been recognized for her significant contribution to the musical panorama. In 2019, she was awarded the Estímulo Distrital de Bandas Emerging Bands of IDARTES, standing out as one of the best emerging bands in Bogotá. This recognition was just the beginning of a series of notable achievements that have marked her rise in the industry. In the following years, La Tata Mendoza has consolidated her presence in the international arena, being named a Dig It Artist by the French label Chinese Man Records in 2021 and participating as a guest artist in the Showcase for URA; Mercado Cultural de la Música de Central America and the Caribbean. In addition, she has won the Circulation Grant for Emerging Soloists and Groups, standing out for her ability to combine tradition with innovation in her compositions. She has also been invited as a guest speaker at academic and cultural events. In 2024, she was a speaker at the academic component of the Encuentro de Gaitas en la Capital, reaffirming her role as an influential voice in the field of traditional and contemporary music.
Pastor Ray Minniecon
Pastor Ray Minniecon is an executive member of the Indigenous People’s Organization, Director of Bunji Consultancies, and descendant of the Kabi Kabi nation and the Gureng Gureng nation of South-East Queensland. Ray is also a descendant of the South Sea Islander people with deep and abiding connections to the people of Ambrym Island.
As a pastor and educator, Ray’s current work includes roles as Honorary Indigenous Minister for Scarred Tree Indigenous Ministries, St. John’s Anglican Church, Glebe; Board Member for Babana Aboriginal Men’s Group, Red Dust Role Models, NAIITS Indigenous University, and Annecto aged Care Services; Founding member of Gawura Aboriginal Christian School; and Founding Member of the Coloured Digger Project, Kinchela Boys Home Aboriginal Corporation, and Children of the Bomaderry Aboriginal Children’s Home Corporation.
Pastor Ray has a BA in Theology from Murdoch University in Western Australia. At Murdoch, Ray helped establish the Aboriginal Education Unit and graduate degree program in Aboriginal Studies, as well as the Aboriginal Employment Strategy for Murdoch University and the first Veterinary Studies for Aboriginal people.
Ray is the father of three children and he has two grandchildren. In his free time, Ray enjoys writing, singing and songwriting. He also loves music, sport, public speaking, and travel.
Melanie Morrison
Melanie Morrison is Director of the Sydney Peace Foundation, a human rights advocate who leads the Foundation’s governance, strategic, stakeholder outreach and communications programs. She has led communications and research programs across the corporate, non-profit, government and university sectors. She is an award-winning journalist, researcher and producer for her work in Australia and overseas.
Marjan Naderi
Marjan Naderi is an Afghan-American poet, performer, and educator based in Washington, D.C. As the former D.C. Youth Poet Laureate (2020), Naderi is a seven-time National Poetry Slam Master. Her work has been featured throughout American media including The Washington Post, NPR, NBC News, and more. In 2020, Marjan's writing was honored by The National YoungArts Foundation and was nominated for the U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts Award. Her first chapbook, Bloodline, was released and sold out shortly after. Marjan's poetry is now featured in curricula including Fairfax County Public Schools, Bryant University, The University of Virginia, The University of Wisconsin Madison, and L.M.S. Voice. As an educator, Naderi has facilitated writing workshops and crafted curriculums across the nation. She is the founder of The Washington International Academy Library and now works to establish libraries across the U.S. as a student of The University of Virginia.
Kazuyuki “Kaz” Nakazato
Kazuyuki “Kaz” Nakazato is the Director of the Okinawa Prefectural Government (OPG) Washington D.C. Office. The office plays a key role in gathering information and reaching out to relevant officials, organizations and individuals in the U.S.; providing them with accurate information and facilitating discussion about Okinawa, a host to the majority of the U.S. military presence in Japan, to resolve various issues the prefecture faces. It also promotes the history, culture and industries of the prefecture that was an independent kingdom until the late 19th century.
Mr. Nakazato joined OPG in 1996 and has been in D.C. since April 2021. Before this assignment, he was responsible for promoting the prefecture in the fields of commerce and industry, as well as tourism. He also served as head of OPG’s Shanghai office from 2007 to 2010 and has extensive international experience.
Mr. Nakazato earned his B.A. in international politics and economy from Aoyama Gakuin University, and his M.A. in public policy from the University of Southern California.
Myrna Pagán
Myrna Pagán was born in the colony of Puerto Rico, was raised in the diaspora community of New York City, and resides in the colony of Vieques, which for more than six decades was used by the U.S. Navy and its NATO allies as a military theater for training exercises and experimentation with conventional and non-conventional weapons including napalm, agent orange, and depleted uranium. The effects of devastation of land, sea, and air continues to affect Viequenses' health and environment to this day. She is a cancer survivor and widow of a cancer victim, a mother of five and grandmother of 10. She is the founder of the Vieques Conservation and Historical Trust, and Vidas Viequenses Valen, a grassroots movement working for peace and justice. She serves on the steering committee of the Ceasefire Campaign to Ban OB/OD of military UXO as practiced in impact areas. As a member of the National Council of Elders she is committed to creating a Beloved Community where all can thrive and enjoy their God given rights and privileges. She holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. As an artist, activist and environmentalist she has travelled worldwide defending human rights, and has spoken on eight occasions at the United Nations denouncing the colonial realities of oppression on communities of color and low-income economies.
Albert Palazzo
Dr. Albert Palazzo is an Adjunct Professor at University of New South Wales –Canberra in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. He was formerly the long-serving Director of War Studies for the Australian Army. He completed his PhD in military history at The Ohio State University, his dissertation subsequently published as Seeking Victory on The Western Front: The British Army and Chemical Warfare in World War I. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, he migrated to Australia in 1996 and commenced his career in the School of History at the Australian Defence Force Academy. He is the author of more than twenty books and monographs on the art of war, including The Australian Army: A History of its Organisation, 1901–2001, The Australian Army and the War in Iraq, The Battle of Crete, From Moltke to Bin Laden: The Relevance of Doctrine in the Contemporary Military Environment, and The Future of War Debate in Australia. Last year the US Army published his climate change security study, Climate Change and National Security: The Implications for the Military. His next book is due out early next year — The Big Fix: Transforming Australia’s Defence Policy which will explain what is wrong with current defence policy and how to make it right.
Karl-Heinz Peil
Karl-Heinz Peil is active in the German campaign "Stopp Air Base Ramstein." He participates in the annual organization of the "International Congress against Military Bases". He created and maintains the website Visualbases.org, which is a database, visualization tool and collection of relevant articles. It contains almost 400 geographical locations with military bases worldwide, especially in Europe.
Paola Renata Gallo Pelaez
Paola Renata Gallo Pelaez is a lawyer with a Master's Degree in National Defense at the School of Defense, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2014. She is a graduate of the International Diploma in Truth and Peace Building, Universidad Pedagógica Nacional, Bogotá, 2024. Paola is the Co-President of Mopassol, President of the worker cooperative Ltda, Y si lo contamos, and member of Ediciones Luxemburg. She is the co-author of the book Malvinas, Decolonization, Peace and Sovereignty, Editions CTERA, 2024. Paola is a member of the production team of the film Tarará, the story of Chernobyl in Cuba (2021), and a director of the virtual festival Somos Antidoto.
Alejandra Rodríguez Peña
Alejandra Rodríguez Peña is a writer and volunteer with the Corporación Mujer Denuncia y Muévete. She is also a volunteer with the World Network for the Declaration of Women's Rights (WDI) and a member of the Olga Castillo Collective.
Megan Russell
Megan Russell is the Coordinator of CODEPINK'S China is Not Our Enemy Campaign, where she advocates against war with China and increased US militarization of the Asia Pacific, and instead to redirect resources toward environmental protection and global cooperation. She graduated from the London School of Economics with a Master's Degree in Conflict Studies. Prior to that, she attended NYU where she studied Conflict, Culture, and International Law. Megan spent one year studying in Shanghai, and over eight years studying Chinese Mandarin. Her research focuses on the intersection between US-China affairs, peacebuilding, and international development.
Milan Sekulović
Milan Sekulović is a Montenegrin journalist and civic-environmental activist, the founder of the Save Sinjajevina movement, which has existed since 2018 and which began to develop from an informal group of citizens into an organization that is intensively fighting to protect the second largest pasture in Europe. Milan is the founder of the Civic Initiative Save Sinjajevina and its current President. Follow Save Sinjajevina on Facebook.
Edgar Jay Stephens
Edgar Jay Stephens was born on Providencias Island. He studied Law and Philosophy in the city of Cali and has been a fisherman for 23 years. He is president of the Federation of Fishermen, representative of the fishermen of Providencia, and delegate to the table of fishermen of Providencia. Edgar is an activist for the rights of the land and its resources of the population of Providencia.
Jessica Sun
Jessica Sun (she/they) is a young adult holding a B.S. in Computer Science from the Virginia Tech College of Engineering. She is a queer-identifying, 2nd generation Chinese American, and is currently in formation for consecrated religious life as a Catholic Sister. Previously, she had worked full-time for 5 years in the banking industry as a backend software engineer. She is an experienced local volunteer community organizer of 8 years and is on the Leadership Team for the Pax Christi Young Adult Caucus.
Keith Suter
Dr Keith Suter is an experienced, professional and awarded presenter renowned for explaining complex global and business issues in a way his audiences can digest and understand. He has also been a member of the prestigious Club of Rome since 1993. The Club is “an informal association of independent leading personalities from politics, business and science, men and women who are long-term thinkers interested in contributing in a systemic interdisciplinary and holistic manner to a better world. The Club of Rome members share a common concern for the future of humanity and the planet.” Keith is a Life Member of the United Nations Association of Australia in recognition of his service. At various times from 1978 to 1999, he served as the national president of the organisation and took on the roles of the WA and NSW state president.
David Swanson
David Swanson is Co-Founder, Executive Director, and a Board Member of World BEYOND War. He is based in Virginia in the United States. David is an author, activist, journalist, and radio host. He is campaign coordinator for RootsAction.org. Swanson’s books include War Is A Lie. He blogs at DavidSwanson.org and WarIsACrime.org. He hosts Talk World Radio. He is a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, and was awarded the 2018 Peace Prize by the U.S. Peace Memorial Foundation. Longer bio and photos and videos here. Follow him on Twitter: @davidcnswanson and FaceBook. Sample videos.
Jan Tamáš
Jan Tamáš has been an active participant in the nonviolent Humanist movement since 1997. Over the years, he has dedicated significant time and effort to helping transform society, particularly in Kenya, where he has played a key role in launching several development projects. In 2005, he was elected Chairman of the Humanist Party, furthering his commitment to social justice and human rights. In 2006, he became the spokesperson for the "No to Bases Initiative," a coalition of over sixty organizations that successfully mobilized against the U.S. plan to establish a National Missile Defense (NMD) military base in the Czech Republic. He holds a Ph.D. in Technical Cybernetics and applies his expertise as an IT consultant, combining his technical skills with his passion for social causes.
Bernhard Trautvetter
Bernhard Trautvetter is a spokesman for the Essen Peace Forum, member of the Federal Peace Council Committee, and initiator of the appeal against the U.S. medium-range missiles in Germany. He is a peace ecologist with experience in the peace and ecology movement, and is active as a journalist, including for the Nachdenkseiten and 'Ossietzky' and 'Friedensforum'. Bernhard is also a socially committed image creator and poet.
Florina Tufescu
Florina Tufescu is a co-coordinator of the World BEYOND War Romania chapter. She is a translator and a literary scholar with a PhD in English from the University of Exeter. She is passionate about preserving the beauty and diversity of our world and she has recently embarked on an interdisciplinary research project whose thesis is that world peace is achievable in our lifetime.
Rev Dr Chris Walker
Rev. Dr Christopher Walker is a sessional lecturer at the United Theological College and an ordained minister of the Uniting Church. He holds a PhD in theology from Claremont University in California and has served in a range of positions and places in the Uniting Church, including as principal of the Uniting Church theological college in South Australia, and for the Assembly as national consultant: Christian unity, doctrine and worship.
Chris taught at Murdoch University and served the Western Australia synod for a semester. He lives in Sydney with his wife Dell. They have two adult children and three grandchildren. He likes to keep fit.
Chris has written or edited a dozen books, most recently Being and Doing Church, A Uniting Church Perspective (2015), Thinking the Faith, Living the Faith: An Introduction to Christian Theology (2017) and Jesus Still The One, the Christian message for a postmodern world (2019).
Sue Wareham
Dr Sue Wareham OAM has spoken and written widely on peace and disarmament issues and is President of the Medical Association for Prevention of War (Australia) and a board member of ICAN (the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons) Australia. Dr Wareham is a former Canberra GP.
