Mr. Ziad Abdel Samad,
Executive Director of the Arab NGO Network for Development

"The changing role of Global Civil Society: From protests to influence in policy making"
Mr. Abdel Samad is the Executive Director of the Arab NGO Network for Development, a network that brings together NGOs from across the Arab World. He is also the Regional Coordinator of Social Watch, an international monitoring network of citizen coalitions that track commitments to the 1995 World Summit on Social Development in Copenhagen as well as Co-Founder and chair of the Euro-Mediterranean NGO Platform. In addition, Mr. Abdel Samad is a member of the Policy Forum for Development, the advisory board of the Asia Pacific Research Network andthe advisory board of the Reality of Aid Network (RoA).

He is also a member of the Coordination Committee of the Civil Society Platform for Development Effectiveness and the Civil Society Organizations Advisory Committee to the Administrator of the United Nations Development Program.

Dr. Fahad Al-Fadalah,
Education Expert, Arab Planning Institute

"The Opportunities and Challenges of Global Education in the Gulf Cooperation Council States"
Dr. Al-Fadalah is an Education Expert and member of the Scientific Committee of the Arab Planning Institute in Kuwait. Previously, he taught at and headed the Education Department at the Arab Open University and at the Faculty and Colleges of the General Organization of Training and Technical Education in Kuwait and served as a member of the Management of Social Transformations Program at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Dr. Al-Fadalah holds a doctorate degree from Cairo University.

Mr. Ghaleb Nawwaf Al-Qudah,
Director General and CEO or the Jordan River Foundation (JRF)

"NGOs and Advocacy in Jordan: the JRF Experience"
Mr. Al-Qudah is the Director General and CEO of the Jordan River Foundation, a social development foundation. Prior to his current position, Mr. Al-Qudah served on Jordan’s Advisory Centre for Science and Technology as well as the country’s Economic and Social Council, Development Zones Commission and the Royal Court Economic Department. Mr. Al-Qudah has also contributed to previous United Naitons Human Development Reports.

Ms. Michele Wucker,
President of the World Policy Institute

"Avoiding Groupthink: Bringing New Voices to the Table"
Michele Wucker is the President of the World Policy Institute, a center for global thought focused on emerging challenges, thinkers, and solutions which also publishes the World Policy Journal. Ms. Wucker is an Adjunct Associate at the Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, the author of Lockout: Why America Keeps Getting Immigration Wrong When Our Prosperity Depends on Getting It Right. She is also an advisor to the Dominican Republic Education and Mentoring Project, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank.

Formerly Latin America Bureau Chief for International Financing Review, Ms. Wucker has written for several major publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. Ms. Wucker was educated at Rice University and Columbia University.