Mediators

Chiara Segrado is an Italian national with almost 20 years of experience in International Development and Diplomacy, passionate about gender issues and women’s rights.

A graduate in International Relations and Diplomacy from the University of Trieste with a final thesis on the Empowerment of Women through Microcredit, she holds a Master-Degree in Microfinance from the University of Bergamo, Italy.

Her extensive experience in development spans from field work with Italian NGOs in Brazil and India to the UN Fellowship at the Italian Embassy in Cairo, Egypt and regional work in the Middle East with the International Finance Corporation (IFC, World Bank Group). She has worked as Regional Representative for the Middle East, South East Europe, Asia and Latin America for Save the Children Italy for 8 years, gaining strong field experience through extensive travel in all four regions and expertise in rights-based approaches, in particular for children and women.

In 2015 she has joined the United Kingdom Representation to the United Nations Agencies based in Rome as Deputy Permanent Representative to the World Food Programme (WFP); she has since increased her skills in multilateral diplomacy, intergovernmental processes and humanitarian affairs.

Chiara has joined the Mediterranean Women Mediators Network (MWMN) in 2020.

Dalal Iriqat is the Vice President for International Relations and Assistant Professor of Conflict Resolution, Diplomacy and Strategic Planning at the Arab American University in Palestine since 2015. Since 2016, she has been a weekly columnist at AlQuds Newspaper. She has served as advisor of Strategic Communications at the PMO in 2017 and 2018, and as the senior policy consultant for writing the Human Development Report UNDP for Palestine in 2015. Prior to joining the Arab American University in Palestine, she taught at the faculty of law and Public Administration at Birzeit University. Throughout her academic career she has always been engaged being elected President of the Diplomatic Academy of London Students’ Association and a member of the students’ council at the University of Jordan. She is passionate about bringing change into the Palestinian society through education, and about improving Palestinian Diplomacy and better brand Palestine. She holds a PhD in Public Administration from Paris I Sorbonne 2011, a Masters degree in Diplomatic Studies from Westminster University in London 2004 and a Bachelor Degree in Political Science from the University of Jordan 2003. Being a strong believer in the individual role in bringing change and being very passionate about bringing change through education and especially through her background in conflict resolution, mediation and diplomacy, she joined the MWMN.

Laura Bologna is a Political Affairs Officer at the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) at UNHQ in New York since 2000, after having served in the diplomatic service at the Permanent Mission of San Marino to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg where she focused on human rights and gender. Laura is part of the Network as Member from the Mediterranean region and can contribute thanks to her extensive and direct experience in mediation processes as well as her wide network of contacts in the region and in Africa. She brings over 20 years of experience in diplomacy, international relations in the field of peace and security, intergovernmental processes, conflict prevention, mediation, elections and gender. For several years, she focused on Africa, in particular the Great Lakes region, Eastern and Southern Africa and Sudan. She served in UN peace operations including Nepal in 2007, in Sudan in the Office of the Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel for the Sudan Referenda in 2011, and in Nicosia in the Office of the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Cyprus where she assisted during the negotiations in 2016. Over the last few years, she focused on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the relative peace process. She has extensive knowledge on UNSR 1325 and women peace and security issues as well as gender parity. She holds a master degree in Political Science and International Affairs from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan.