Abdoulaye Bâ
Anaël Jambers
Abubakar Francis Kabwogi
Abdel-Fattah Mady
Kheira Tarif
Regional Adviser for Humanitarian Affairs at the ICRC
Abdoulaye Bâ
Abdoulaye Bâ is currently Regional Adviser for Humanitarian Affairs at the ICRC, based in Niamey. Abdoulaye has worked as a consultant-researcher with CPI since 2012, on the themes of conflict in the Sahel, social cohesion and conflict transformation. Between 2017 and 2020 he assumed the role of representative of CPI in the Sahel region and in the countries of the Lake Chad basin, and is based in Nouakchott. Between August 2015 and April 2017, Abdoulaye was part of the African Union Observer Mission for Human Rights in Burundi, with the role of Deputy Coordinator. He has written a number of published articles on the situation in the Sahel and is co-author of the collective work entitled “Inter-Ethnic Relations in Mali”, published in 2014 in Doha, Qatar.
Between 2007 and 2008, he served as Communications Advisor to the Presidency of the Republic of Mauritania and Spokesman for the President. From 1995 to 2007 and from 2009 to 2014, he worked as Communication Assistant in charge of Public Relations at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Mauritania, and concurrently taught Civil Liberties and Fundamental Rights at the Faculty of Law at the University of Nouakchott, while conducting research on conflicts in Africa, especially in the Sahel. From 1987 to 1995 he worked as a journalist in Mauritania for several agencies and editorial offices. Abdoulaye Bâ holds a Masters degree in Human Rights and Peace from the University of Dakar.
Mediator by training and is the managing director of “Trijalog. Mediation and Transformation. GmbH
Anaël Jambers
Anaël Jambers is a mediator by training and is the managing director of “Trijalog. Mediation and Transformation. GmbH” (www.trijalog.ch). She worked in peace policy and international development for the last 10 years both for the FDFA and NGOs. She has specialised on the role of religion and religious actors in cooperation development and conflict transformation and has accompanied and facilitated dialogue processes with actors from Southeast Asia, the Middle East, the Sahel, and North Africa. See for example Mediating the Space: Women and Religion in Morocco or Five tips for Western governments on a religion-sensitive approach to the Prevention of Violent Extremism.
After 10 years of work experience outside the academic world, she is currently writing her dissertation in socio anthropology at the University of Zurich with a focus on the relation of faith, religion, politics, and the state. Additionally, she is an activist for peace and dialogue, and against torture and atrocities. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in social anthropology, bible sciences and political sciences at UZH before completing her Master’s degree in Conflict and Development Studies at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. Her Master’s thesis was entitled “Presence Evangelism in the Land of the Pure: A Case Study of the Role of Spirituality in Development Practices”.
Active peacebuilding practitioner from Tanzania
Abubakar Francis Kabwogi
Abubakar Francis Kabwogi is an active peacebuilding practitioner from Tanzania, who has made significant contributions to inter-religious cooperation around the world, particularly in Africa, with a focus on fostering deeper and closer inter-religious and intercultural understanding between different faith communities. He has 20 years of progressive hands-on experience in working with religious leaders, including interfaith platforms, networks, and organizations, and excellent networking and mobilization skills in working with religious leaders and elders across religious lines. With CPI, Abubakar has been responsible for the local leadership of our projects in Tanzania since 2016, working with all parts of society and with a particular focus on efforts for the prevention of violence in Zanzibar.
Since 2016 Abubakar has been Secretary General of “Friends of Zanzibar”. Previously he was Representative of the “World Assembly of Muslim Youth” in Namibia (1992–2000), Member of the International Youth Committee of the “World Conference on Religions for Peace” (1994–2006), Special Envoy of the Secretary General in Africa of the “World Conference on Religions for Peace” (2001–2006), First and Founding Secretary General of the “Africa Council of Religious Leaders” (2003–2006), and Secretary General of the Fourth Forum of the “Global Networks on Religion for Children” (2011–2012). Abubakar holds a Master of art (MA) in comparative Religions from the University of South Africa (1995) and a Bachelor of art BA (Hons) Principal of Religions from the International Islamic university Islamabad (1992).
Professor of political science at Egypt’s Alexandria University
Abdel-Fattah Mady
Abdel-Fattah Mady is Professor of political science at Egypt’s Alexandria University, editor-in-Chief, Hikama for Public Administration and Policy and Chair of Democratic Transition Project, Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies. In 2016-2017, he coordinated a research project on preventing extremism and violence through the promotion of wasatiya and the avoidance of ghulu for CPI. He joined the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars as a visiting scholar in Washington D.C. (Sept. 2015 – May 2016). He also served as an expert at UNDP (2007/2008) and a visiting scholar at University of Denver, spring 2015. He was a recipient of the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Fellowship for social research in 2004.
His research focuses on regime transitions and democratization in the Middle East, civil education and human rights in the Arab region and academic freedoms. He is the author and editor of several books, including “Pitfalls in Tahrir Square: Why the Egyptian Revolution Stumbled” (2020), “Towards a Historical Democratic Front in the Arab Countries,” (2010), “Arab Regime Transitions” (2009) and “Religion and Politics in Israel” (1999), as well as numerous refereed articles. Abdel-Fattah Mady was trained in the study of politics at Alexandria University, Egypt (B.A., 1991 and M.A. 1997) and Claremont Graduate University, USA (M.A. 2004 and Ph.D., 2005).
Research Assistant in the Climate Change and Risk Programme at SIPRI
Kheira Tarif
Kheira Tarif is Research Assistant in the Climate Change and Risk Programme at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), where her research focuses on the ways in which climate change affects the root causes and dynamics of violent conflict. She previously worked as Dialogue Coordinator (2019-2020) at the International Crisis Group in Brussels, on a new initiative for convening conflict parties and stakeholders across the organisation’s regional programs. Kheira was Project Officer (2015-2018) at the Cordoba Peace Institute – Geneva, where she worked in partnership with the Swiss Federal Department for Foreign Affairs in coordinating projects for alleviating tensions between secular and religious political parties and other groups in Morocco and Tunisia.
Kheira holds a MA in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of St. Andrews, and BA in Middle Eastern Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. She speaks English, French, Arabic and Spanish.