Background embracing international and national public policymaking and UN diplomacy. Expertise in strategic public sector engagement & philanthropy in humanitarian affairs, peacebuilding, social & ecological policy, cities & cultural diplomacy, 'UN Women, Peace & Security' Agenda. Formerly; Deputy Speaker and Member of the Turkish Parliament representing Istanbul. Served as the Vice-Chair of Turkey-EU Accession Committee, NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Vice-Chair of CHP Party for Nature Rights and Social Policy. UN Independent Expert. Head of Secretariat, UN Human Rights and on appointments with the UN Refugee Agency at Geneva HQs and Middle East, SouthWest Asia and Central Europe. Bachelor's in International Relations & post-grad in London School of Economics. Board member of Women Political Leaders, 2015 Young Global Leader /World Economic Forum, 2016 Munich Young Leader/Munich Security Conference. Selected Awards: 2012 International Woman of Courage Award by US State Department, 2014 Secularist of the Year Award by British Secular Society, 2012 Izmir City EXPO Ambassador & Izmir City Human Rights Memorial Award, 2014 Izmir City Şafak Pavey Youth Centre, 2011 Ten Outstanding Young Person of the World Award (Children, World Peace &/ Human Rights) by Junior Chamber International.

Rolph Antoine Payet, with a PhD in Environmental Science, is currently Executive Secretary of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Convention Secretariat based in Geneva, Switzerland. Prior he was Minister for Environment and Energy in the Government of Seychelles. He has also held the position of President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Seychelles and Special Adviser to the President of Seychelles. Payet is founding member/trustee of the Global Island Partnership, the Sea Level Rise Foundation, the Seychelles University Foundation, the Seychelles Centre for Marine Research and Technology, the Island Conservation Society and the Silhouette Foundation. In November 2007, he shared the Nobel Peace Prize as an IPCC Lead Author.

Rafael Paz is currently the executive director of the National Competitiveness Council, where he develops the strategic agenda to strengthen the competitiveness of the Dominican Republic. He has extensive training in areas such as governance, public management, business, leadership and political communication. Paz served for six years as Executive Vice President of the National Council of Private Enterprise (CONEP), was a member of the National Social Security Council (CNSS), and on the Board of Directors of the Patrimonial Fund of the Reformed Companies (Fonper). He was the first secretary of the National School of Electoral Training and Civil Status (EFEC) of the Central Electoral Board.

After only seven years in the Indian film industry, Bhumi Pednekar has won 26 acting awards, making her one of the best actors the country has ever seen. Through her films, she has aimed at changing society for the better. She has championed representation of women in cinema and fought for gender inclusivity, including batting for the LGBTQIA+ community. Pednekar has earned her place in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Most Impactful People of India in 2018. She runs one of India’s biggest non-profit advocacy platform on climate change, Climate Warrior, which aims to raise awareness of climate change. She is a passionate voice for environmental conservation and has collaborated with organizations and individuals across the globe. The United Nations Development Programme, India, has appointed Pednekar as national advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals and she is also the Goodwill Ambassador of Healing Himalayas, an organization dedicated to the protection and preservation of the Himalayas.

Uche Pedro is a Nigerian entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of BellaNaija, a media tech brand known for entertainment and lifestyle content. Under her leadership, BellaNaijas social footprint has grown through its collective brands - BellaNaija.com, BellaNaija Weddings and BellaNaija Style - to be the largest on the African continent with more than 200 million impressions each month. In March 2019, Uche was honoured with the Forbes Woman Africa New Media Award for her innovative impact on media in Africa.
Uche is passionate about progress of youth in Nigeria and across Africa. Uche holds a Bachelors degree – Honours Business Administration (HBA) from the Ivey Business School at Western University in Canada where she graduated with distinction.

Yana Peel is CEO of Intelligence Squared Group, the world’s leading forum for live debate. Having co-founded Outset Contemporary Art Fund as a cultural foundation in 2003, Yana maintains board and advisory positions across the arts that include: Tate Executive Council, British Fashion Council, V&A, V-A-C Foundation Moscow, Para/Site Art Space and Asia Art Archive. Most recently, she authored the third in her series of best-selling children’s books to benefit the National Society for the Protection against Cruelty to Children (Art for Baby), was selected as the recipient of the Mont Blanc Award for Arts Patronage and joined the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on the Role of Arts in Society.

Yana was born in St Petersburg, Russia. She attended McGill University, completed her post-graduate studies in Economics at LSE and started her career at Goldman Sachs.

Liang Pei, Deputy Director at the Department of Climate Change of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China, has played a pivotal role in the country’s engagement with the multilateral processes on climate change negotiations. With a track record of 12 consecutive Conference of Parties (COP) participation during his career in the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the National Development and Reform Commission, including witnessing the success of the Paris Agreement, he has actively contributed to combating climate change globally. Liang has spearheaded the drafting of critical joint statements, agreements and major outcome documents. He has also been instrumental in driving high-level cooperation and dialogues with key partners including the United States, European Union, France, India, Brazil, South Africa and Saudi Arabia. Liang is dedicated to promoting China's ecological civilization and advancing the nation's commitment to achieving the 3060 goal. With a strong mission-driven approach and extensive experience in climate change and low-carbon development, he possesses a deep understanding of global climate governance and international cooperation on carbon neutrality.

Liang holds Bachelor and Master’s degrees in International Relations from Peking University. He was a visiting scholar at John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

Efrat Peled is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Arison Investments, a privately owned investment company that delivers solid business and financial performance by investing in companies and projects with sustainability at their core. Peled is a Board Member of Bank Hapoalim and the real estate and infrastructure group Shikun & Binui, both traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. She also serves on the boards of the Ted Arison Family Foundation, Salt of the Earth and Miya, a global water efficiency company, as well as a Member on the Investment Committee for the Weizmann Global Endowment Management Trust and a Member of the Clinton Global Initiative LEAD group. A licensed CPA, Peled holds an MBA from the Kellogg-Recanati executive programme, and a BA in Accounting and Economics and a post-graduate diploma in Real Estate Appraisal and Management from Tel Aviv University. Peled was listed in Forbes “World's 100 Most Powerful Women” in 2009 and ranked as one of the “50 Most Powerful Women in Business” by Fortune Magazine in 2011.

Josef Penninger is the Founding Director of IMBA, a research initiative of the Austrian Academy of Sciences that promotes excellence in molecular biology and genetic research. Penninger is one of the world's leading mouse geneticists. In 2006, he received the Descartes Prize from the EU, the Ernst Jung Prize in Medicine and the Carus Medal for his work on finding genes that control life and disease. He is also the youngest Member of the Academy of Sciences in Austria and holds professorships in Toronto, Vienna and Beijing. Penninger has published more than 300 scientific articles; he was the first to identify the key function of a gene that controls bone loss in osteoporosis, arthritis, bone metastases, AIDS patients and in children with leukaemia and also found genes that regulate pain, heart disease, the circadian clock and, recently, lung failure involved in bird flu and bioterrorism. He has a degree in Medicine, studied Art History and worked for many years in Toronto.

Mia Perdomo is an entrepreneur, activist and feminist. She is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Aequales, a company that provides tools for organizations to close their gender gaps through measurement, consultancy and technology. She is also the Co-Creator of Par Ranking, the largest corporate gender equality ranking in Latin America. She was named one of the 100 transforming women of Colombia, one of the 101 people that are changing the world of work by the BBC, and one of the most creative people in business in 2020 by Fast Company. She received a degree in Psychology from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Colombia and an MSc in human rights from the London School of Economics. She is also a Global Competitive Leadership Program Fellow at Georgetown University and an ECLA Program Fellow at Columbia University's Business School. She loves nature, dancing, and is curious about anything that brings passion to people's lives.

Aaron is excited about the interplay between our inner lives and the broader world. Aaron Pereira is currently Project Lead for The Wellbeing Project. The Wellbeing Project is catalysing a culture of inner wellbeing for all changemakers. The Wellbeing Project is co-created with Ashoka, Georgetown, Impact Hub, Porticus, the Skoll Foundation, and Synergos. The Project emerged from a 7 year sabbatical ending in 2012. Aaron has also worked with the Guggenheim on an urban labs project, co-founded a pilot social enterprise to address the inequity and the housing issues in Mumbai slums, and on exploring different threads of how neighbourhood life happens especially in Paris. Pre-sabbatical, Aaron was co-founder of CanadaHelps and Vartana. CanadaHelps engages over 4 million Canadians to raise over CAD$400 million a year to support causes in their community and around the world. CanadaHelps also works with over 20,000 charities on capacity related issues. Vartana was one of the pioneers of the Canadian field of social finance. Aaron is an Ashoka Fellow and a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. Aaron completed a degree with a minor in Economics from Queen's University, studied at Oxford University as a Skoll Scholar, and completed an executive education program at Harvard.

Founder and President, OneChild, empowering a movement of children and youth to combat child sex trafficking. Her career in child protection began at age 17, after playing the main role of the decoy in a STING operation with Sri Lankan authorities to apprehend a child sex perpetrator. Today, her career spans over a decade where she has investigated child sex tourism (CST) cases; lobbied across private, public, and civil society organizations to increase action against CST legislation; and provided shelter and long-term comprehensive care to hundreds of victims in Asia.

Canadian Youth Ambassador, UN Secretary General’s Global Education First Initiative. Youth Advocate, Global Partnership for Education. Adjudicator, Canada’s Top 20 Under 20 and World of Children Awards. Former Board Member, Canadians Addressing Sexual Exploitation. Youth Ambassador, Free the Children and Me to We. Mentor, Women’s Executive Network. Youth Volunteer, National Child Protection Authority of Sri Lanka.

Recipient: Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 (2006), World of Children Honouree (2006) and Canada's Top 20 Under 20.