Issakhojayev Rustam graduated from the University of Southern California (USC) in 2010 with bachelor’s degree in Political Science. During his studies at the USC, he was engaged in directed reading with Dr. Anthony Kammas on the topic “Power Struggle in the Religion, within the context of politics, religion and violence”. In 2015 he defended his thesis “Management of Cash Flow System in the Enterprise” for his Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the Turar Ryskulov New Economic University. He is currently studying at the Central European University at the Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy, with the focus on transboundary water management in Central Asia. He worked as full time staff for the UNESCAP (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific) and was engaged with projects focused on Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR).

Jonathan has studied Political Science and Economics at Lund University, where he recently graduated in the top of his class with a two-year Master’s degree in Political Science. He has practical experience from the Earth System Governance Project, where he conducted research on the Sustainable Development Goals and the Post-2015 Development Agenda. Among other things, he wrote a well-liked opinion piece on Public-Private Partnerships and the SDGs.He was also responsible for the project’s different social media channels and the website linked to the SDGs. Furthermore, Jonathan has gathered experience from the UNFCCC secretariat in Bonn where he worked as an intern for six months in the Mitigation, Data & Analysis (MDA) Programme. During his time in Bonn he supported the MDA programme in preparing for the first Multilateral Assessment process, which was finalized at the SBI41 session in Lima 2014. Jonathan prepared and presented a praised presentation to the secretariat containing his analysis of the Multilateral Assessment process. Jonathan also supported the work on the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP) process and its related multilateral negotiations held in Bonn October 2014. Before that, he was working as an assisting project manager for a national health care project, initiated by Region Skåne, aiming to improve different processes within the Swedish health care system. The project was the first of its kind and enhanced the interregional collaboration within this sector.

Ays is currently working towards her PhD at Ghent University, Faculty of Law, Department of European Public and International Law. Her PhD topic concerns the legal protection of urban biodiversity. Ays also works as a consultant on biosafety regulations and WTO at the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations.

Irene Zugasti is a journalist and a political scientist from Madrid, who conducted her studies of Political Sciences and Public Administration in Complutense University in Madrid and Charles University in Prague. She holds an MA in International Relations and Diplomacy of the Diplomat School of Spain, where she focused her research on Gender and IR studies. Nowadays she works in the Government Office for Gender Based Violence in Spain, while she continues researching Gender issues in the European arena.

Justine graduated with a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Geneva, and a M.A. in International Politics of the Internet (Dist.) from Aberystwyth University. Her studies focused on emerging security challenges – in particular cyber security – and new technologies’ impact on social movements. After interning at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), assisting in preparing and executing an international forum on ICTs (Telecom World 2014), she worked at the associate level at Access, an international human rights organization defending digital rights.

Ahmad Shariq holds a Bachelor in Business Management from Bangalore University, India and is currently in his second year of the Public Policy Masters program at ADA University, Azerbaijan. He is interested in environmental policies, green solutions to different environmental issues and sustainable development of natural resources.

Camila Azevedo is a Brazilian/Portuguese graduate with extensive international experience. Currently based in Sweden, she has also lived in Brazil, Norway, England and Jamaica. Camila holds a Master of Science degree in International Development and Management from Lund University, Sweden. She also holds a Bachelor’s in Media and Communication Studies from Santos Catholic University, Brazil. Camila has four years of professional experience in program management support, communications, research, marketing and education. Originally a journalist, Camila is interested in the intersection of communications and development, especially concerning policy, communications, research and advocacy services. Her main research interests include agrarian and environmental issues, forced labor, inequality, corporate accountability and migration. Camila’s fieldwork-based master’s thesis deals with the question of access to land in Southern Brazil and the Landless Rural Workers’ Movement (MST), the largest peasant movement in Latin America. It has been nominated for the Hydén Award for best thesis in socioeconomic and political issues in developing countries by Lund University, Sweden.

Bert R.G. Segier holds a Master degree in History and a Minor degree in Political Science. Professionally, Bert worked as a Political Adviser to a member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives in Brussels, as a Head of Cabinet of a Regional Government in Bruges and as a Communications Officer at the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) in Stockholm. After a brief experience at the Consulate-General of Belgium in London, he took the opportunity to work for the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), The Hague, initially as Consultant and currently as Projects Officer. Bert has been politically active on different levels. He focuses on international affairs, human rights and the rule of law. He enjoys history and moral philosophy. Bert is a correspondent for the Belgian-American newspaper the Gazette van Detroit and strongly supports the work of the NGO Eyes for the World. Twitter: @bgravitas; LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/in/bertsegier

Alex obtained his Bachelor’s degree in International Relations in Bucharest, and has recently graduated from a Master’s programme at University of Amsterdam where his main focus was EU’s external migration policy. Momentarily he is enrolled in another Master track that deals with gender studies and human rights issues. In the professional realm; he is a research assistant at Amsterdam’s Institute for Social Science Research, being involved in a project related to medical anthropology. Moreover, since he is passionate about migration issues, he worked for a brief period of time for Romania’s General Inspectorate for Immigration (Asylum and Integration Directorate) and as a (volunteer) lecturer for ARCA - Romanian Forum of Refugees and Migrants, teaching grammar and history. He is co-author of the book ”A grain of thought”, succinctly analyzing perceptions and issues surrounding the right to vote in Romania.