Alghanesh Fessaha

President of the “Gandhi Association”, Eritrea.

Lecturer form Milan with Eritrean origin, she has been cooperating with “Gandhi” NGO for years. This association works on the Israeli-Egyptian border to aid refugees that cross the desert fleeing the Horn of Africa and seeking asylum. Thanks to her association, hundreds of refugees have been saved from Sinai traffickers, and the cooperation of sheik Awwad Mohamed Ali Hassan has been essential in this achievement. The “Gandhi” Association was established in 2003 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, by a group of African professionals (physicians, professors, self-employed workers). Its aim is making public opinion aware on the abandoned children issue, women condition in Sub-Saharan Africa and human trafficking.

 

 

 

 

Rinaldo Marmara 

President of Caritas Turkey.

He was born in Istanbul in 1949 and is a member of the Turkish Latin community. Currently, he is the speaker for the Turkish Episcopal Conference and president of Caritas Turkey. He was official of the Istanbul Apostolic Vicariate and director of the Vicariate’s Archive. He wrote several essays and publications on the Istanbul Latin community.

 

 

 

 

Kheit Abdelhafid 

He obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Business in Algeria and he has been imam of the Catania mosque since 1997. He is president of the Sicilian Islamic community, member of the Council of the Wise (Italian association of Imams and religious leaders) and founding member of the Italian association for the Koran teaching. Furthermore, he is member of the U.CO.I.I. board.

 

 

 

 

Diane Barradu

Shepherd of the Canton of Vaud’s Evangelical Reformed Church, Diane practiced her ministry in the Jorat parish and in the Paris Evangelical Popular Mission. She began working as mediator for the Eglise Migration on July, 1st 2011 in the Canton Vaud and Lausanne.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Karim Wasfi

Conductor Karim Wasfi was born in Cairo and has been directing the Iraqi National Symphonic Orchestra since 2007. Ever since, this orchestra considerably grew: it had 52 members and now accounts for 126. He is the creator and the very life of “Peace Through Arts”, the first private sector promoted program that, by cooperating with many important international institutions, fosters integration and reconciliation through music education of young people coming from different backgrounds and ethnical groups.

 

 

 

 

Pierfrancesco Majorino

Pierfrancesco Majorino is a politician and a writer. He was born in 1973 in Milan, where he has been living and working.

Since 2011, he has been Municipality of Milan’s council member for Social Policies and Health Culture in Pisapia government and national vice-president of the “Healthy Cities” network.

He is member of the Democratic Party National Assembly.

 

 

 

 

Marco Tarquinio

He has been director of Avvenire newspaper since September 2009. He is a journalist and an expert of domestic and international politics. He was born in Foligno in 1958. 

 

 

 

 

 

EMMA for Peace

Euro-Mediterranean Music Academy for Peace is a non-profit international organization that fosters music diplomacy and education in the Mediterranean and Middle-East areas. Thanks to the cooperation of national institutions and international organizations, EMMA for Peace promotes initiatives for peace and dialogue among peoples and cultures: concerts, masterclasses, etc. Conductor Riccardo Muti is its honorary president. EMMA for Peace was founded by Paolo Petrocelli, a young cultural manager, and it is peculiar since it is the first itinerant music academy in the Mediterranean area, the heart of a global network that is able to connect different continents and create dialogue and cooperation among different organizations.