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Anastasiia has 8 years of experience working on executive positions for governmental institutions, NGOs and international organizations. She took an active part in the reform of the patrol police of Ukraine in 2015-2017. As a governmental official, she implemented the first comprehensive gender equality policy at the Ministry of Interior of Ukraine and created an innovative mechanism combating domestic violence (mobile tactical police units POLINA). She has extensive knowledge in the work of law enforcement agencies in Ukraine. As a national coordinator for empowerment of women, she launched an international movement on promotion of gender equality in Ukraine - HeForShe (supported by UN Women). As a CEO of the biggest community based organization in Ukraine, she implemented the new standards of performance management, talent development and introduced new CSR approaches. She acts as a mentor in several projects aiming to support women’s leadership and sustainable development in Ukraine and Eastern Europe.

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Anjana is currently serving as the Director for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for American Red Cross, National Headquarters. In the last 20 years, she has had the opportunity to work with the International Red Cross and Save the Children US. She has worked in over 30 countries in humanitarian and development settings where she conducted situational analysis, designed and managed programs, developed training curricula and built the capacity of the local teams. She has developed program guidance and strategy pertaining to Community based Psychosocial Support, Child Protection, Gender, Diversity and Inclusion. She has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, a master’s degree in Sustainable Peace, and a Diploma in Humanitarian Diplomacy. In addition to her two books, Gudia: A Defiant Doll (English) and Papa ke Joote (Hindi), her work has been published in various peer reviewed journals. She's a polyglot, speaks English, Hindi/Urdu and Spanish.

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Dani has been engaging on the issues of youth, interreligious-intercultural dialogue, peace education, social cohesion, and preventing violent extremism for more than 10 years. He has been working with local, national and international entities, particularly in Asia. He is currently holding a consultant position for the UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development. He graduated from the UN-Mandated University for Peace (Asia Leaders Programme, dual campus with Ateneo de Manila University) with a degree in International Peace Studies. Dani enjoys encounters and engagement with people from different worldviews, cultures, and walks of life.

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Dima comes from Damascus, Syria. She was born in London, UK and has been based in Berlin, Germany since 2012. She is a social justice advocate and a migrant and refugee’s rights activist with experience spanning more than a decade working in Germany and Syria. She’s a member of Network4Dialogue/KAICIID that advocates for Interfaith Intercultural Dialogue for all migrants and refugees and inclusive society for all. Academically, she’s a researcher at the Chair of Peace Studies at JLU Giessen, Germany. She’s passionate about colourful food and fashion. She’s eager to highlight some of the challenges for showcasing innovative tools and solutions for conflict transformations and create the culture for a globe of everyday peace.

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Husna Zakariyya is an aspiring writer and activist from India, also trained in journalism, and currently works in digital marketing as a content specialist. She is currently involved with organizations URI and Ecopeace Teen Cafe. She comes from a minority community in India, and has been striving hard to achieve what others got easily, and her dream is to work for and with minority women in India, especially among the Muslim community. She wants to work for their empowerment, and inspire young girls to make them realize their potential and help them achieve their dreams. She wants to connect them with a global community and make them realize what they can do for the world. She wants each of them to know that their life isn't made to evolve around a kitchen, or a home alone. She wants them to know that they can run a family, have a job, find time for their passion and do more meaningful things for the world. Husna is a graduate in English language and literature from University of Kerala. She also holds an advanced diploma in TV news Journalism and a Pg diploma in Journalism from institute of Journalism, press club, Trivandrum, Kerala.

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Jean Bizimana is a Rwandan photographer and videographer who learned this art from Through The Eyes of the Children, an organization that teaches photography to children in vulnerable communities. He became part of the organization at a very young age when he was still living at an orphanage in Rwanda, the place where he grew up. Following his training with Through the Eyes of Children, Jean Bizimana attended other professional photography workshops to improve his skills. His passion for photography drove him to pour all of his efforts into the art and made it his career.

After graduating from University, Jean Bizimana chose to focus his career into documentary photojournalism to highlight some of the social issues he was seeing in his home country. Jean Bizimana has extended his photography services to other countries. He has taught photography to various underprivileged kids in refugee camps and foster fare systems in countries such as Haiti, the United States, and Nepal. Photography has taught him that in life, people will always be in disagreements and differences. However, these disagreements and differences should not be an excuse for continued hatred or conflicts among people.

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Kaleem Hussain is a multi-disciplinary change management consultant, international relations; geo-political observer, research-risk analyst, mentor, and volunteer with a keen interest in the intersection and role of sports, culture, heritage, and religion in public life along with programmes and initiatives that foster peaceful coexistence and reconciliation between communities and nation states at a national and international level. Kaleem has worked on transformation programmes in central and local government in the UK and for private sector companies that have a presence in the UK and globally for more than 15 years. Kaleem has been a proactive volunteer for various faith-based charities and community organizations along with being a passionate advocate of protecting our environment via environmentally sustainable development projects and initiatives.

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Mykola has a Bachelors and Masters degree in Journalism. He is engaged in social activities, working in a youth center and coordinating a project titled "Understanding Peace" in Ukraine. He implements socially useful projects in his community. He is passionate about psychology and charity work. He likes to help people as it motivates and gives him energy. Mykola is looking for new experience: methods, practices, inspiration for further, more global initiatives that he will be able to implement over time.

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Nicholas Irwin is a third year Ph.D. student at Chapman University and currently teaches leadership courses in their undergraduate program including Emotional Intelligence, Mindfulness, Leadership Ethics, and Intro to Leadership. In addition to his student and teaching life, he is also currently publishing theoretical and empirical peace leadership scholarship with his advisor, Dr. Whitney McIntyre Miller, and other colleagues. Between periods of writing, Nick is a drilling reservist with the United States Navy and will be retiring this June. Throughout his tenure, he served as a jet mechanic and IT services manager on six deployments supporting Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. After serving 12 years of active-duty service, Nick discovered his passion for teaching leadership development so he can help the next generation reach their fullest potential. He particularly enjoys building a culture of peace in the classroom through peace circle keeping, democratic practices, and self- and co-regulating techniques. His inspiration to engage in peacebuilding is to extend these practices to veterans so they can learn how to heal from any adversities experienced in service or after service. He is looking forward to building community with others who also want to emanate positive peace into their environments and communities.

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Owaiz is an entrepreneur and a passionate interfaith activist and the founder of an interfaith organization working at the grassroots level to promote interreligious dialogue, education and interfaith activities amongst the rising generation of youth at various schools & colleges. He is also a qualified audio engineer. His passions include adventure sports, enjoying cycling tours, trekking, listening to classic rock & Western classical music & spending time with youth in organizing interfaith service activities.

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Rashidah is a peace advocate who is passionate about helping and creating harmony in the society she lives in. She attained up to secondary education and is looking forward towards a bachelors in peace building and harmony so as to apply the concepts in solving the conflicts in her society. She would like to know of the different techniques peace advocates from all over the world apply, so that she can try using them in creating harmony. She believes together we can promote a peaceful environment.

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Sahlim Charles is a Master Peacebuilding Trainer, Community Organizer, Participatory Action Researcher and Filmmaker. He is a Peace Fellow, Research Fellow and ToT with the United States Institute of Peace, An alumnus of The Creative Enterprise Programme by British Council East Africa,, and A Political Leadership and Governance Fellow with Friedrich Ebert Foundation. Sahlim is the founder and executive director of Re-Imagining New Communities (RNC), is a peacebuilding and communication organization based in Nairobi, Kenya. RNC uses storytelling, art and art based approaches as a tool to tell and showcase stories of impact from communities, organizations and entities working towards attainment of sustainable development goals and other interventions. The organization works with primary schools, community based organizations, grassroot communities to build their capacity and knowledge on peace and related topics. Sahlim believes in building relationships and connections in order to bring sustainable solutions.

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Mohammad Edriss studied journalism and international relations. From 2013 until now, he has worked as a human rights activist, continuously with international and national institutions for women, children, youth, education, environment and peace building in human rights sectors and for human rights values. He believes that peace, in the sense of getting along and accepting other people with different interests, is one of the important global phenomena that plays an important role in mutual acceptance at small and large levels. Many words and concepts inspire and encourage him to join the peace building; particularly, the political and social necessity of this concept that to achieve it, one must start from individual peace to the political and social sectors.

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Salome works as a full-time Corrections Officer with Nigeria's Correctional Service. They found their passion for gender advocacy in 2008. As a final year student of Christian Religious Studies and Philosophy. They were curious about the differences in male and female socializations and gender roles, and wrote their thesis on "Ethical Analysis on Gender Inequality: A case study of the Buji people, Bassa" - Plateau State. This research helped them make sense of the place of women in the society, it also contrasted so many teachings from the pulpit. They have been a gender advocate since. They hold a bachelor's degree in Christian Religious Studies and Philosophy from the prestigious University of Jos, Nigeria. Their passions and interests revolve around gender advocacy and technology. They are inspired to engage in peacebuilding because of their research and personal experiences.

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Joseph is a social worker. He is involved in youth advocacy and empowerment skills like culture and arts, farming, gara tie-dying, and groundnut paste making. He is very much passionate about community peacebuilding and is striving to get more knowledge and be of help in rendering peace practice all around him personally and interpersonally. He is looking forward to gaining more knowledge in community peacebuilding, to further strengthen his interpersonal peacebuilding skills from other participants, and the program as a whole. As a youth advocate, he loves putting smiles on the faces of people, especially kids and the aged.

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Karolin has been working in the field of Education for 15 years and has a diverse experience with different schools (democratic, UWC, vocational) and governmental institutions. She is a junior researcher at Tallinn University, pursuing a PhD in Multicultural Education. She is also working as a Uganda Country director for NGO Mondo. She genuinely believes that Education has the power to transform our society and build upon a more sustainable tomorrow. As a mother of two, she feels a strong responsibility to create a more peaceful world for them.

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Nhật Anh Vỹ is currently pursuing a Masters in International Affairs. His family background and Human Services major have inspired him to engage in peacebuilding. As he observes events enfolding in his personal life and in the world, his interest for peace seeking keeps growing over the years. He is looking forward to learning, thinking, and connecting in order to maintain genuine friendships, healthy relationships, and to create peaceful communities locally and globally.

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Nickson O. Magak is an ardent change maker and transformationist through participatory methodologies. With a background in Development Studies and Communication, he has served in diverse community development programmes spanning over 14 years. Peace building is an ingrained theme; passionate about domestic and gender based violence, and resource related peace initiatives for development. Peace is an embodiment of personal satisfaction. Peace is a panacea of development.

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Patricia was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and is currently based in Bogotá where she moved with her husband a few years back. She majored in psychology at a school that tries to be very context-aware, which has shaped the way she views psychology and human nature where wellness is more than an individual state, disposition, or characteristic and more the result of opportunities and shared experiences. She has devoted her clinical-community practice to interventions that try to integrate solutions considering individual but also systemic sources of pain in people's lives. Her interest in peacebuilding comes from the understanding that peaceful relationships, families, and communities are a basic condition we all need to thrive.

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Bintang has been working in peacebuilding practices since high school via her initiative in interfaith dialogue with her friends. Despite her experience, it was not until a member of the local Muslim Student Association exhibited sympathy to violent extremist groups that Bintang began to take peacebuilding, as theory and practice, seriously. As a member of the religious community, Bintang aspires to put her knowledge from Euphrates Institute into her local Muslim community. In her free time, Bintang loves dissecting media - from anime, to novels, to Lana Del Rey songs. Bintang currently works at Ashoka Indonesia as Venture & Fellowship Associate.

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Dr. Sara Safari is an author, speaker, mountain climber, college professor, Electrical Engineer and advocate for women empowerment. She is the founder and president of a nonprofit called Climb Your Everest that focuses on empowering marginalized Young women through educational programs. She has received the award for The Global Citizen from the United Nations Association in 2015. She is a board member and director of development in Empower Nepali Girls foundation. She also has received the award for Outstanding Practice with Broad Impact in the area of women and leadership from International Leadership Association in 2017. Sara is the first Iranian in history to climb the Seven Summits, the seven highest peaks in each continent.

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Glory is an entrepreneur and studied computer science. Her peacebuilding experience came to light when she started work with a PPA alumna, Oluchi Uzodinma. She has joined work with girls who have been affected by Boko Haram insurgency and Fulani herdsmen. She helps these girls come out of the trauma they have passed through and helps them to build interpersonal peace. She has also worked in training girls on peacebuilding experiences. The specific skill she would like to develop is her deep listening skills. She loves having an impact and volunteering for humanity.

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Isti is a peace educator, human rights activist, and English teacher. She began peace activism in high school back in 2009 when she left an intolerant Muslim group in her hometown in East Borneo, Indonesia. She’s looking forward to broader networking, experience sharing, and skills and knowledge improvement.

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Joy is an ordained Minister of Religion with the Assemblies of God Church in South Africa. She has been in the ministry for the past 42 years. She has studied theology, commerce, various counseling and train-the-trainer courses, and chaplaincy. Presently, she is a 4th year Social Psychology student. She was born during the apartheid regime in South Africa, and was always intentional about being a peace builder in the religious sector and communities. Being a peace witness of justice inspires her, particularly during national elections in South Africa, or student unrest at universities. She has seen how a peace witness for justice can have a strategic role to play in hostile situations.

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Mahdia is a political science student at American University of Afghanistan. She had been living in a country that has been constantly in war during the past decades which made her dream about peace day and night her whole life. She lost her dear friends at different explosions and attacks by the Taliban only because a group of people with a different ideology thought war and killing is the solution for the conflicts. But she believes peace and acceptance is the solution. As seen through the history of humankind, no war can separate humans from each other. In the end humanity and togetherness wins always and that inspires her to work for what will be a small contribution towards what will last.

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Nelly holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology and Security Studies and is currently finalizing her Masters of Arts degree in Peace and Conflict Management from higher education institutions in Kenya. Her current assignment is an Advisor in Peacebuilding and Conflict Management with GIZ Kenya. The main focus is working with grassroots peace and security community structures, by building and strengthening their capacities on non-violent and participatory peacebuilding and conflict transformation approaches. Through her work, she would like to contribute to advancing home grown, and community driven solutions to improve community security in Kenya, and also advance collaborative efforts between the security sector agencies, civil society organizations and the community members as joint stakeholders in security.

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Obi Onyeigwe is a graduate of Human Relations and Religion, Post Graduate Diploma in Political Science and International Relations. He is a Co-founder at Youths for Peace Building & Development in Africa (YOUPEDA), an organization that is his passion and inspiration in peace building as it promotes peace, interfaith dialogue action, youth, non-violence, and gender-based violence, women’s rights, governance, democracy, youth inclusion and research. He has participated in both local and international engagements during the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR 2250) sessions and proposals leading to its adoption in 2015. He is looking forward to learning processes, principles and tools in peace leadership and innovation.

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Peninah is a fourth year medical student. She is passionate about becoming an inspiration for peace to all youth and elders in her community. She is interested in expanding her knowledge about peace building, and is inspired by her friends and the love to change her community to be peaceful. She is looking forward to learning and engaging in peacebuilding in her community and other communities globally.

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Rukhsar is an Afghan Journalist and Social Activist. She pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Communication from Kabul University. She then began working as a news reporter and news producer with the National Radio Television of Afghanistan for a year and a half and then I worked as a Press Secretary for the Minister of Education until Kabul fell. She has worked as a social activist with different organizations, and is currently on the board of directors of "Smile for Afghan Children and Youth Organization," where they work for street and orphanage kids. She also serves as a translator and a freelance journalist. She is multilingual and can communicate with 5 languages (Persian, English, Turkish, Urdo and Pashtoo). Currently, she is pursuing her second bachelor's degree at American University of Afghanistan. Growing up in a country which has been in war for several years inspires her to learn more about peace and work for peace building in her country. She also wishes to talk more about her country and introduce her country to others and tell them how eager they are for peace, education and making good bonds worldwide.

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Sharon is in Kibera, Nairobi and works with adolescent girls. Some of the girls are young mothers who are in very toxic relationships, not only with their boyfriends but also with their fellow girls and community. When it comes to peacebuilding, she is motivated by the fact that someone was there for her when she really needed help and that's why she is currently working with adolescent girls.

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Tamana Slathia is a development professional in India, based out of Jammu & Kashmir. She has been a youth activist and gender equality advocate for over a decade, having also co-led the impactful award-winning #IWillGoOut feminist movement in India which works towards reclaiming public spaces for women. She uses the art of storytelling to foster dialogue and harmony in vulnerable border communities through her youth-led organization called The Daffodils Project. Her core interest areas in peacebuilding are UNSCRs 2250 and 1325, negotiation and mediation. Having grown up amid war and cross-border terrorism, Tamana’s passion to build peace is fueled by the collective dream of her community to have sustained peace in their region.

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Tatiana is a psychologist and an educator. Her work focuses on developing meaningful opportunities for participation and educational enrichment accessible to local students, developing leadership skills and multicultural empathy through experiential learning in a non-profit organization in Guanacaste, Costa Rica called La Paz Community School. She loves reading, exploring and being connected with nature and her community. Learning personal peace practices and being congruent between her principles, practices, and professional and personal objectives inspires her in peacebuilding. Guanacaste is an area with high levels of gender violence and many social differences. Conversations and actions must take place to start transforming beliefs and practices and she would like to be able to be part of these conversations that are uncomfortable within a respectful and peaceful framework.

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Zahra is a Hazara from Afghanistan. She has a Bachelor of Law and Political Science from Balkh University. After graduation, she started working with different organizations in the field of women capacity building, migration, and peacebuilding. She believes every human has stepped to this world to fulfill a responsibility. To know her/himself, educate themselves and then to do something to make the world a better place and prove that no one comes to this world without a purpose.

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Wesley has built his personal and professional career around international education and community building, because he believes so much of the power of peace comes from education and the communities surrounding learning. He has an undergraduate degree in International Relations from Wheaton College, and a Master's in Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding at American University. He finds that peacebuilding is something he needs to do internally so often, he can't help but see the ways the world itself can also benefit from the same ideas to constantly practice within as well. He loves asking hard questions - questions about the paradigm and the way the "world works" and asking, why can't it work differently? He cannot wait to learn from others in the PPA program, to learn about other's passions and distinct work, as well as to just continue to learn to sit and let others bring their unique ideas and stories to the table before always trying to go into a natural “problem solving" tendency.