COPENHAGEN PEOPLE POWER CONFERENCE

Teldah Mawarire is a former editor and human rights advocate from Southern Africa. She supports social movements, civil society and human rights defenders, and where possible helps governments to create enabling environments for civic space. She has carried out pioneering work in advancing digital democracy and media development, in particular community media and mentoring female journalists. She has extensive experience in carrying out research, advocacy and training in civic space globally inclusive of digital rights and the impact of artificial intelligence on human rights. She is resident in Zambia and is moderating the People Power Conference for the second time.

Jamila Raqib is the Executive Director of the Albert Einstein Institution (AEI), a leading organization promoting nonviolent action for political and social change. Born in Afghanistan, she fled Soviet oppression as a child and later became a key figure in nonviolent resistance. Jamila Raqib works globally to support pro-democracy movements and has advised activists from countries like Iran, Nicaragua, and Zimbabwe. She collaborated with AEI's founder, Gene Sharp, to produce the influential guide Self-Liberation. Through her leadership, Raqib continues to champion human rights, political freedom, and social justice worldwide, making her a prominent figure in global nonviolent resistance. 

Mary Lawlor is the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, a position she has held since May 2020. In this role, she monitors and reports on the conditions affecting individuals who promote and protect human rights worldwide. Lawlor advocates for the safety and rights of human rights defenders, engaging with governments and non-state actors to implement effective protection strategies. She also serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Centre for Social Innovation at Trinity College Dublin, focusing on Business and Human Rights. Prior to her current roles, she founded Front Line Defenders in 2001, an organization dedicated to protecting human rights defenders at risk. Lawlor's extensive career includes leadership positions in Amnesty International and numerous accolades for her human rights work.

Shreen Abdul Saroor is a Sri Lankan human rights activist and writer, born in 1969. In 1990, as a result of the civil war in northern Sri Lanka, she and her community were forcibly removed from their homes in Mannar Island by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, and the entire Muslim community of the north was placed in refugee camps. After experiencing the tragedies of ethnic cleansing, Saroor was motivated to work for peace and women's rights. In 1999, she founded the Mannar Women's Development Federation to amplify the voices of war-affected women and promote their economic empowerment. In the aftermath of the civil war, she co-founded the Women's Action Network to address mass atrocities committed against ethnic minorities and improve victims' access to justice. 

Lailas Alboni is a human rights advocate with extensive experience in Syrian civil society, shaped by the Syrian revolution and the struggle against dictatorship. She has spent over a decade documenting human rights violations through open-source research and creating spaces for women affected by these abuses. Her work in documentation, research, and training has given her a deep understanding of the complexities of the Syrian context and the sensitivity required when working with victims. Guided by a feminist and victim-centered approach, she is committed to fighting oppression and pushing for justice and accountability as essential steps toward a better future.

Nada Al-Nashif was appointed United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights on 6 December 2019, assuming the position in 10 February 2020. She brings to the role close to 30 years of experience within the United Nations system around the world. As an economist and development practitioner, Ms. Al-Nashif has taken on increasingly complex management roles during her career within the United Nations, including leading strategic organisational transformation processes. From 2015-2020, Ms. Al-Nashif served as Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences at UNESCO in Paris, leading a portfolio that targets the mobilisation of knowledge for inclusive, just and sustainable societies. Prior to joining UNESCO, she also worked with ILO and UNDP in different countries. 

Anne-Sophie Schaeffer is the Programme Director of the Euro-Mediterranean Foundation of Support to Human Rights Defenders, a regional foundation that allocates flexible resources and accompanies civil society actors with care to catalyse the protection, emergence, innovation and sustainability of local human rights ecosystems in the southern Mediterranean region. Prior to joining EMHRF, she worked for EuroMed Rights and conducted research for Amnesty International as part of a global campaign to end violence against women. Ms Schaeffer was also a member of the Advisory Board of Mama Cash for the MENA region, and of the Board of the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression.

Roselyn Akombe is Chief of the Peacebuilding Strategy and Partnerships Branch of PBSO. She has over twenty years of leadership experience at the national, regional and international levels. Prior to joining PBSO, she was working as the Regional Governance and Peacebuilding Coordinator, UNDP, based in Addis Ababa. Roselyn has also served as Deputy Director in the Policy and Mediation Division of DPPA. Her expertise cover conflict prevention, governance, peacebuilding, and economic issues. Roselyn has extensive knowledge of the African region, including serving as Commissioner with the IEBC of Kenya and as an Economist with the African Union. Roselyn also served as Senior Electoral Officer at the UN Election Observation Mission in Burundi. She holds a PhD in Global Affairs from Rutgers University, US.

Darmawan Triwibowo is the Executive Director of Kurawal Foundation, an Indonesia-based intermediary agency that works to support civil society and movement actors in strengthening democracy in Southeast Asia. He is an organizational development specialist with twenty years of experience working in various issues from poverty reduction to protection of human rights defenders at risk. In 2004, Darmawan co-founded The Prakarsa, a think tank that supports movements to promote social welfare reform in Indonesia. He is serving as a panel member for the Collective Action Assistance Fund (CAAF) that provides funding and support to nonviolent social movements through a participatory grant making mechanism.

Yomna Ahmed is a community organizer dedicated to empowering communities. After learning Community Organizing and Public Narrative at Harvard Kennedy School, she has worked to develop leadership and solidarity among activists. Her journey began with public health campaigns and organizing university students, leading her to co-build and lead the Athar Network - a coalition of activists and organizers from seven Arab countries. Over four years, she helped bring together 200 members, fostering leadership development, cross-movement support, and collective action for freedom and justice. Yomna now teaches and coaches organizers and movements globally. Her work spans elections, cooperative social movements, and pressure campaigns targeting governments and institutions, helping activists harness storytelling to drive meaningful change.

Diana Quirschfeld is a Slovak feminist currently based in The Netherlands. Through her work as a Regional Coordinator Eastern Europe/Central Asia at Het Actiefonds she supports activists and social movements with emergency funding. She focuses specifically on radical direct actions, social movements, civil disobedience, and civil resistance. In line with her work, she is working towards power shifts in grantmaking through applying participatory and trust-based principles that challenge traditional philanthropy processes. Furthermore, Diana is the Founder of the Iron Sky Film Festival which focused on the corruption and misuse of political power in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

Mohammed Al-Maskati is the Digital Security Helpline Director at Access Now and the founder and former president of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR). Before joining Access Now, he was a Digital protection coordinator at Front Line Defenders, focusing on the Middle East and North Africa, and he was shortlisted in Index on Censorship’s Freedom of Expression Awards 2019 and Security Serious Unsung Heroes Awards 2020. He was a member of the panel of experts for the Dutch Government Tulip Prize for Human Rights 2021, and he discovered phone hacking of human rights defenders and journalists in Palestine, Bahrain and Jordan.

Aseel AlBajeh is an advocacy and campaigns officer at the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy (PIPD), an independent non-governmental Palestinian organization focusing on international advocacy and campaigning for the liberation of the Palestinian people. From 2018 to 2023, she worked as a senior legal researcher and advocacy officer at Al-Haq. She holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in International Human Rights Law from the University of Galway, Ireland, and her academic research has focused on issues regarding transitional justice and decolonisation in Palestine.

Ben Naimark-Rowse most recently served as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID’s) Social Movements Advisor, the first such position anywhere in the U.S. government. Ben’s expertise in social movements and resourcing of movements draws on two decades of work in the donor, NGO, and academic worlds. His publications include “Nonviolent Collective Action in Democratic Development,” “Dollars and Dissent,” and “The Founding Myth of the United States.” He is a Ph.D. candidate at Tufts University’s Fletcher School, a Term Member in the Council on Foreign Relations, a Truman National Security Fellow, and a U.S. Board Member of Peace Direct. He is currently advising Action Aid on resourcing social movements.

Juan Garrigues is a member of the United Nations Standby Team of Senior Mediation Advisors, where he has provided support in Libya, Guatemala, Haiti etc. He was previously the Deputy Director of the Dialogue Advisory Group (DAG), where he facilitated political dialogues in contexts of armed conflict and political transition including in the DRC, Libya, Venezuela and the Basque Country. From 2008 to 2011, he served as a foreign policy advisor in the Spanish Prime Minister’s office. Amongst other positions, he has also served as a UN Volunteer in Niger and worked in ACTED Afghanistan.

David Habba is Humanitarian and Resilience Programme Specialist at ActionAid Nigeria. His leadership is marked by a holistic approach to humanitarian action that emphasizes empowering local communities, especially women and young people. With a passion for addressing social injustices and promoting peace and resilience, his career has been defined by a commitment to advocating for marginalized communities and aiding those in need, particularly in regions affected by conflict, poverty, and natural disasters. His journey began with grassroots organizations, where he gained insight into the challenges faced by vulnerable communities, and he has expertise in emergency response, climate change advocacy, disaster risk reduction, and community development strategies. 

Haifaa Awad is a Danish-Syrian doctor, activist, and chairwoman of ActionAid Denmark. She has gained recognition for her work as a volunteer doctor at a Syrian field hospital in 2013 and 2015, providing care under extreme conditions. A strong advocate for human rights and global justice, she raises awareness of war and displacement. Awad actively engages in media debates and international forums and has received multiple awards for her humanitarian efforts. As chairwoman of ActionAid Denmark, she continues to fight for a more just and inclusive world.

Rand Sayej is a humanitarian and youth advocate from Palestine. She is deeply committed to humanitarian work and ensuring meaningful youth participation in decision-making spaces. She is an establishing member of the Humanitarian Youth Group Palestine (HYGP), where she led initiatives to secure funding for youth-driven humanitarian projects, including emergency food distribution and community resilience programs. She also played a key role in conducting needs assessments for displaced Palestinian workers, directly influencing resource allocation and humanitarian response strategies. Rand is currently earning her post graduate degree in Humanitarian work within international conflict, with a focus on policy change and influence.

Jamaica Maxwell is the Civil Society and Leadership director at the Packard Foundation where she oversees grantmaking in support of strong leaders, organizations, and movements, and a thriving civil society across Asia, Africa, South America, and North America. Jamaica has worked to support civil society leaders and organizations for over 20 years and joined the Packard Foundation in 2013. She is passionate about shifting systems and power to improve outcomes for people and the environment. She believes that durable progress on the critical issues of our day will only occur when we apply a systems approach and invest deeply in the people closest to the problem. 

Ilse Wermink is a Policy Advisor on Gender, Peace and Security at PAX, where she coordinates the Revolution is Female programme with partners in Iraq and Sudan and is involved in lobby and advocacy work related to women’s leadership in NVA. She co-chairs the Community of Practice on Engaging Men towards Feminist Peace and co-organizes the Feminist March in the Netherlands. Ilse has been involved in gender programming in conflict affected areas since 2010, when she worked at WILPF. She has spent over 10 years working in and on Sudan and South Sudan, living in South Sudan parts of the time, where she was humbled by the community held wisdom in times of injustice.

Lubna Al Kanawati is an inspiring leader, civil society actor, and women’s rights advocate. For over a decade, she has fearlessly occupied male-dominated spaces, challenging systemic exclusion and advocating for women’s rightful place in decision-making. At the intersection of feminist activism and political advocacy, Lubna works to elevate the voices of Syrian women—not as victims, but as powerful agents of social and political change. Her work as Executive Director of Women Now for Development (WND) has been instrumental in supporting women-led initiatives inside Syria, helping them articulate their political messages, navigate power structures, and engage with decision-making spaces.

Jinan Chehade, a Georgetown Law graduate, is an human rights attorney and organizer specializing in litigation and advocacy. She has worked at the DOJ Civil Rights Division, CAIR, and the ACLU, handling cases on religious freedom, free speech, and government accountability. A leading organizer for Palestinian liberation, she co-founded Law Students for Justice in Palestine at Georgetown and co-founded and previously chaired SJP Chicago. In Chicago, she has led protests, actions, and campaigns against the genocide in Gaza. In her role as an attorney she also defends students and activists targeted for their advocacy. Jinan founded a nonprofit that raised over $1M for global humanitarian aid.

Melani Gunathilaka is a climate and political activist from Sri Lanka. She is the co-founder of Climate Action Now Sri Lanka – #cansrilanka – and she is also a member of the Extinction Rebellion and Debt For Climate global movements.  In addition, she is a research collaborator with the Institute of Political Economy, Sri Lanka, and works with the Law and Society Trust as a researcher. Her actions for human rights are shaped by her experiences in the 2022 protest movement, that led to the removal of Sri Lanka’s president, which have further strengthened her mobilization against climate change and inequality.

Fatima Al-Obeid has been a volunteer with the Syrian Civil Defense since 2017 and is a nursing graduate with high distinction. Throughout the years of war, she witnessed unimaginable suffering and dedicated her efforts to providing humanitarian aid and healthcare to war victims, particularly women and children - two groups most affected by the dire conditions. She also worked to amplify the voices of victims and share their stories with the world through media and social media platforms and participated in several meetings aimed at highlighting the humanitarian situation in Syria and advocating for the urgent support of affected communities.

Martina John Kani is a South Sudanese national and works with peace movement PAX in South Sudan as a Gender Project Officer focusing on empowering female parliamentarians, female led civil society and women advocates to influence legislation and judiciary reforms at national level, including promoting the women peace and security agenda to subnational level, addressing harmful gender practices, and initiating peace activities where armed actors use nonviolent approaches. Martina has 17 years of experience with peace and gender programming and training of trainers including with CAFOD, the South Sudan Democratic Monitoring and Observation Programme (SUDEMOP) and the South Sudan Bishop’s conference.

Nitchakarn Rakwongrit (Memee) is a young feminist activist based in Bangkok, Thailand. She was actively involved in the youth pro-democracy movement from 2020 to 2021 and has faced prosecution in at least seven cases, five of which occurred while she was still a minor. Currently, she is engaged with the Milk Tea Alliance Thailand and she is an advocate for gender justice and feminist collective movements within the youth movement.

Le Sen is a Rotary Peace Fellow at Uppsala University, and co-creator of the Peace Starts Here Campaign. She specialises in gender and minorities and has led Women Peace Makers (WPM) projects focusing on the issue of multiple intersectionality in Cambodia. From a minority Cham Muslim community, she has been inspired by working with ethnic, religious, and cultural minority girls and young women. She also works with the LGBTIQ+ community and women with disabilities engaged in participatory action research, art-based interventions on identity, and collective advocacy. Le is lead author of “Making the Space”, which shares three years of research on the lived experiences of girls from four minority groups in Cambodia. 

Katya Gritseva is a Ukrainian graphic artist and a left-wing political activist. She is co-founder and active member of the IV generation of the independent student union "Priama diia"(Direct action). She has been a student organizer since 2021, and is an illustrator for the Ukrainian left-wing journal "Commons". Katya was born in Mariupol and is now based in Lviv since she has been internally displaced because of the full scale invasion in Ukraine.

Thomas Mandrup is an Associate Professor at the Center for Stabilization, Institute for Strategy and War Studies, specializing in security policy, conflict management, gender, and defense policy, particularly related to Africa. He researches African-led military operations against IS, stabilization efforts in the Sahel, Lake Chad, Mozambique, and Somalia, and is completing a monograph on South Africa’s defense policy. With extensive fieldwork experience in Africa and a Ph.D. in Political Science, he has advised Danish authorities, the UN, AU, EU, and other international organizations. Mandrup was editor of the South African Journal of Military Studies (2018-2020).

Octopizzo is an award-winning hip hop artist and activist, born and raised in the Kibera slums of Nairobi. He is a Prominent Supporter of UNHCR Kenya and has lead initiatives such as UNHCR’s Artists for Refugees and Refugeenius programs, which nurture the talents of refugee and Kenyan youth. He also launched the Umechukua Voter Registration campaign to promote civic engagement, and founded the Food Bank Program during the COVID-19 pandemic to support vulnerable families in informal settlements. He holds a certificate in Social Impact Strategy from the University of Pennsylvania and is a graduate of the Leadership, Organizing, and Action program at Harvard Kennedy School. A TEDx speaker, he is recognized for his commitment to social justice and youth empowerment.

Bryan Sims is Director of Peacebuilding and Partnerships at Humanity United, where he leads Humanity United’s strategies on non-violent collective action and inclusive peace processes. He has 20 years-experience supporting programming to promote peace in countries affected by authoritarianism and violent conflict. By blending support for collective action and peacebuilding, Humanity United seeks to include marginalized groups at the negotiation table. Before joining Humanity United, Bryan managed democracy support initiatives in southern Africa - coordinating human rights, conflict mitigation, and governance programs. He holds a PhD from Stellenbosch University in South Africa, where he worked on the intersection between xenophobia, migration and violence.

Lisbeth Pilegaard is a seasoned democracy expert and civil society leader with more than 25 years of professional experience with inclusion and representation, primarily from conflict affected countries. She has been a member of the European Endowment for Democracy (EED) Board of Governors since its establishment in 2013 and has served as chair of the Executive Committee since 2018. She has undertaken missions to Ukraine, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Turkey, Syria, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Moldova to engage with democracy activists. From 2019 to 2023, she was the Executive Director of the Danish Institute for Parties and Democracy, and she was previously the Executive Director of the Danish Fund "Outside".

Micheline Mwendike is a writer and author of the book "La guerre a échoué" (The war has failed). She is also the initiator of the civic movement Lucha, Lutte pour le Changement. LUCHA is a non-partisan and non-violent Congolese citizens' movement launched in 2012 in Goma, DR Congo, by young people shocked and revolted by the situation in the country: general chaos and war, lack of state response to access to basic goods, biased responses from non-governmental organisations, and a population tired of carrying the burden of life alone. Micheline is also the Programme Manager of Afrikki, the network of African and African diaspora activists.

As Executive Director of The Malian Initiative for Local Development Support (IMADEL), Mamoudou Abdoulaye Diallo has over 30 years of experience in development and humanitarian work. He began as a community development officer, working across Mali. Repeatedly targeted for abduction by armed groups in Mopti, near Burkina Faso’s border, he successfully negotiated his own release multiple times. Using these experiences, he now leads communal peace efforts, facilitating local agreements in conflict-affected areas. IMADEL also ensures humanitarian access in Mopti and has expanded to over ten regional offices across Mali, from north to south, strengthening aid delivery and conflict resolution efforts nationwide.