Michele Giovanardi is a researcher and project manager of the Global PeaceTech Hub at the School of Transnational Governance of the EUI. He graduated in strategic studies from the University of Bologna, he studied international relations at the University of Antwerp and political psychology of international relations at the University of Birmingham. He previously worked as a research fellow at the Institute for Conflict, Cooperation and Security at the University of Birmingham.

Michele Giovanardi will join our session ‘PeaceTech: Exploring the intersection between technology and peacebuilding’ during our event ‘digital technologies for peace and mediation’ on May 15.

Marianna Lunardini has a PhD in Political Studies, with a thesis on development cooperation in Africa, and graduated in Law from La Sapienza University. She works with CeSPI on human rights and regional and national protection systems for migrant minors. She supports CeSPI’s planning activities in Latin America.

Marianna Lunardini will join our session ‘PeaceTech: Exploring the intersection between technology and peacebuilding’ on 15 May as part of the ‘Digital techologies for peace and mediation’ event.

Kristoffer Lidén is a Senior researcher at PRIO and the Norwegian Centre for Humanitarian Studies (NCHS). Holding a PhD in Philosophy and MA in Peace and Conflict Studies, his research centres on the ethics of international affairs, with a focus on the fields of peacemaking, humanitarian action, security and digital technologies.
Lidén heads the PRIO Research Group on Law and Ethics and currently leads the RCN funded projects Red Lines and Grey Zones: exploring the ethics of humanitarian negotiations and On Fair Terms: the ethics of peace negotiations and mediation. He has initiated, coordinated and worked on several NRC, Nordforsk and EU funded projects, including Liberal Peace and the Ethics of Peacebuilding; Protection of Civilians: from principle to practice; and CORE: Cultures of governance and conflict resolution in Europe and India. He was responsible for work packages on ethics, law and human rights in SOURCE: Virtual Centre of Excellence on Societal Security in Europe and NordSTEVA: Nordic Centre of Excellence on Security Technology and Societal Values. Lidén coordinated the UiO-NTNU-PRIO Research School on Peace and Conflict from its inception in 2011 until 2017.

Kristoffer Lidén will join our session ‘PeaceTech: Exploring the intersection between technology and peacebuilding’ on 15 May as part of the ‘Digital techologies for peace and mediation’ event.

Mikhail Silvestro Sustersic, AP’s Director, is a peacebuilding expert with a transdisciplinary background and an holistic approach to the complexities of our world. With expertise in peace and security, conflict management, human rights, gender equality and more, Mikhail is dedicated to fostering inclusivity, equality and meaningful dialogue. He holds a Master’s degree in Modern Philology from the University of Padova, followed by a European Master’s Degree in Human Rights and Democratisation (E.Ma) from EIUC and Maastricht University and a Master’s degree in Cultural Diplomacy. Strongly committed to championing youth, women, LGBTI+ and minorities participation in peace and security, he is passionated about preventing and countering violent extremism (P\CVE), transitional justice and supranational criminology. Monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) expert, trainer, facilitator and researcher, Mikhail has made successful contributions to impactful projects and evaluations for esteemed international organizations such as the United Nations, OSCE and ODIHR, Council of Europe, and civil society organizations including Search for Common Ground, USIP, UNOY, Kofi Annan Foundation, and GCERF. But Mikhail’s vision goes beyond conventional approaches. As a LARP (Live-Action Roleplaying) and experience designer with the association Chaos League, he creates immersive scenarios for personal and social transformation, challenging participants to think differently and inspiring profound change.

Mikhail will join as a speaker during the event ‘Digital Technologies for Peace and Mediation’ on 15 May.

“Johanna Poutanen is Head for Women in Peacemaking at the Crisis Management Initiative (CMI). In her current role, Johanna Poutanen leads CMI’s work on strengthening women’s inclusion in peace mediation. This entails both tailored support to women’s participation in specific conflict prevention and conflict resolution processes, as well as enhancing gender sensitive mediation capacities of key actors in the field globally.
Johanna Poutanen has extensive experience in peace mediation and conflict management, with specialist expertise in women and youth participation in peace processes.

Johanna Poutanen will join our session ‘Digital technology and mediation: fostering inclusion in conflict resolution’ on 15 May as part of the ‘Digital techologies for peace and mediation’ event. “

Luca Fratini is the Coordinator for Women Peace and Security (WPS), Youth Peace and Security (YPS) and Mediation Policies and is the Director General for Political Affairs at the Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale.

Luca Fratini will present amongst the panel ‘A world at war: peace mediation and the role of Italy’ on the 15 May, from 15:30-17.00.

Loredana Teodorescu is head of European and International Affairs at the Luigi Sturzo Institute, coordinator of the Secretariat of the Global Alliance of Regional Networks of Women Mediators, and co-founder of WIIS Italy’s “Global Women Leaders” mentoring program. She is an expert on European and immigration policies and has always been involved in gender issues. She focuses on EU immigration policy; governance, foreign and neighborhood policy of the Union; link between internal security and external action; women’s leadership and women in international relations.

Loredana Teodorescu will present amongst the panel ‘A world at war: peace mediation and the role of Italy’ on the 15 May, from 15:30-17.00.

Bernardo Venturi, AP’s co-founder and Head of Research and Policy, has 20 years of experience in research, training, policy work and programme management mainly on peacebuilding, conflict resolution, EU external relations, good governance and international cooperation. Bernardo is also Adjunct Professor at the University of Bologna, an Associate Researcher for the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) and lectures in several MA courses and training programmes in different countries. Bernardo obtained his PhD in 2009 from the University of Bologna, where he also held a post-doctoral research fellowship.Bernardo consulted for several regional and international organizations including the European Commission, EEAS, European Parliament, IGAD, OSCE, the Italian MFA and several international NGOs and platforms.

Bernardo will speak during our event ‘A world at war: Peace mediation and the role of Italy’ on 15 May.

Janna Greve is a PhD researcher specializing in Transitional Justice at KU Leuven’s Institute of Criminology. Additionally, she serves as a policy officer at the Peace Mediation and Dialogue Support Team of the European External Action Service. With over 15 years of international experience, including field missions, Janna excels in analyzing and developing context-sensitive programs. Her expertise lies in designing inclusive mediation and dialogue initiatives for cross-border conflict resolution and prevention, as well as in transitional justice and local peacebuilding efforts.

Janna Greve will join our International conference on May 16, during the session, ‘A changing landscape for peacemakers’.

Mmathari Jacobeth Mashao is Minister Plenipotentiary for the Republic of South Africa Embassy in Rome and Chief Director of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of South Africa. She is a lawyer who strayed from legal practice to being a programme manager responsible for overseeing labour relations, performance management and development, as well as employee wellness-related programmes since January 2014.

Mmathari Mashao will join our International conference on May 16, during the session, ‘A changing landscape for peacemakers’.

Luxshi Vimalarajah is a Senior Peace Mediation Advisor at the Berghof Foundation. Since 2003, she has been both conceptually and practically involved in designing, leading, and facilitating dialogue and mediation processes and providing negotiation training and on-demand support for negotiators, advisors, special envoys, and mediators involved in peace negotiations. As a scholar-practitioner in mediation, providing mediation support to third-party mediators is a strong pillar of Luxshi’s work, ranging from policy advice to knowledge provision, capacity-building, technical and thematic support.

Luxshi Vimalarajah will join our International conference on May 16, during the session, ‘A changing landscape for peacemakers’.

Dr Evelyn Pauls is the Impact Manager of the UKRI GCRF Gender, Justice and Security Hub based at the LSE Centre for Women, Peace and Security and a Researcher at the Berghof Foundation. Her participatory action research project examines the reintegration of female ex-combatants in Colombia and Uganda as well as Burundi, Indonesia, Nepal and the Philippines through documentary filmmaking. Her research interests include gender and conflict, participatory and visual methods and research impact.

Evelyn Pauls will join our International conference on May 16, during the session, ‘Mediating with who? Inclusiveness beyond rhetoric’.

Francesca Caruso is an independent researcher focusing on Central African Peace and Security issues. Since 2019, she has been working for the Community of Sant’Egidio within the International Relations team with a focus on conflict mediation. From 2017 to December 2023, Francesca also worked as a researcher for the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) within the North Africa, Middle East and Africa team. Her main areas of expertise include the impact of the EU foreign and security policy in the Sahel and the Horn regions, as well as regional dynamics in the Central Africa region. She regularly contributes with La Stampa covering sub-Sahara security and political issues.

Francesca Caruso will join our International conference on May 16, during the session, ‘Mediating with who? Inclusiveness beyond rhetoric’.

Mabel has developed her career through a series of positions related to peace and security: trends in armed conflict and organized violence; illicit economies and violence; mediation, conflict resolution and peacebuilding.Currently, she advises various governments and international institutions on matters of mediation, conflict resolution, and peacebuilding.

Mabel González Bustelo will join our International conference on May 16, during the session, ‘The future of (contested) peace mediation’.

Julián Arévalo is a Senior Fellow in swisspeace’s Mediation team and teaches Political Science at the University of Basel’s Department of Social Sciences.
Julián has worked for four years as the Dean of the Faculty of Economics at the Universidad Externado de Colombia and as an Associate at the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT) in Spain. Before that, Julián worked at the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace of Colombia and was an advisor to the Minister of the Interior of Colombia.

Julián Arévalo, will join our International conference on May 16, during the session, ‘The future of (contested) peace mediation’.

Tarila Marclint Ebiede is a Political Scientist. He is Director of the Conflict Research Network West Africa, Abuja, Nigeria, a multi-disciplinary network for peace and conflict studies scholars based in West Africa. He conducts academic and policy research on political violence, intra-state armed conflict, peacebuilding, (in)security in Nigeria. He works on the long-term socio-political consequences of violent conflicts, especially the reintegration of ex-combatants, into people and communities. He has conducted policy research and advisory for the European Union, United Nations Office on Drug and Crime, British Council, Saferworld, United States Institute for Peace (USIP) and European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM). He holds a Ph.D. in Social Sciences from KU Leuven, Belgium.

Tarila Marclint Ebiede will join our International conference on May 16, during the session, ‘The future of (contested) peace mediation’.

Bert Koenders holds the Kooijmans Chair in Peace, Security and Justice at Leiden University and is Chairman of the Dutch Advisory Council on International Affairs.Mr Koenders served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands from October 2014 to October 2017. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1997 to 2007 and served as Minister for Development Cooperation from 2007 until 2010. He was the Under Secretary General of the United Nations and served as the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Operation in the Ivory Coast (2011-2013), and Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (2013-2014).

Bert Koenders will speak during our international conference on 16 May.

Donata Garrasi is a political scientist with 25 years’ experience leading research, policy, and programmatic initiatives on peace, security, and conflict related issues.
Between 2018-2021 Ms Garrasi served as Director of Political Affairs for the United Nations for which she led sensitive political engagements and peace initiatives in Africa’s Great Lakes sub-region. She previously held senior positions with the World Bank, the OECD, the UK Government, and consulting firms for which she developed and managed successful multi-million US$ engagements in support to peacebuilding, political transitions, and stabilisation operations in West, Central Southern and East Africa, the Middle East, Central and South-East Asia, and globally. A trained mediator, Ms Garrasi has been directly involved in negotiations in national and sub-national crisis contexts.

Donata Garrasi will speak during our international conference on 16 May.