Mediators

Kalliope Agapiou Josephides is Jean Monnet Chair Holder at the University of Cyprus, and elected Council Member of the Global Campus of Human Rights, Venice. She served as Chair of the European Institute for Gender Equality, Vilnius, and Vice-President of the European Inter University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation, Venice. She holds a PhD in Political Science from Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne University, and has extensive national, regional, and international experience in Gender Equality, Human Rights, Women, Peace and Security, Constitution-Building, and International Negotiations. She is regular Convener of the Venice School of Human Rights, on Women, Peace and Security and CEDAW, Conflict-Related Sexual Violence, Gender-Based Violence, Human Rights Defenders… She is the lead author for the European Parliament study on Women in Democratic Transitions, lead expert for the gender dimension in the UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty, and national expert for Cyprus’s National Action Plan for the UN Security Council Resolution 1325. Her vision for women’s role and empowerment in transforming, substantiating and sustaining democracy, preventing conflicts and securing peace and security, motivated her to join the group of founding members of the MWMN, and to co-initiate the establishment of the MWMN/Cyprus Antenna, with a view to strengthen the role of women as drivers of peace and active agents in all areas of life.

Katarina Kresal is President and Founder of the European Centre for Dispute Resolution, a regional institutional provider of alternative dispute resolution procedures and consulting institution for the Rule of Law projects, based in Ljubljana, Slovenia. A specific expertise of Ms. Kresal as an ADR expert is in designing mediation systems and various ADR schemes, their capacities, including the integration of women, and she is engaged in various international projects as an international consultant. Ms. Kresal is also Managing Partner and Head of the Dispute Resolution Department at the Law Firm Miro Senica and Attorneys, Ltd. Prior to her work as an attorney she gained her experience in dispute resolution and corporate commercial matters as an independent advisor, director of the legal department and member of supervisory boards in various Slovenian companies as well as a judicial clerk in the biggest court in Slovenia – the District Court of Ljubljana. Apart from her extensive legal career, Ms Kresal is a prominent political figure, having served as Minister of the Interior, member of the National Assembly (MP) and president of the parliamentary party Liberal Democracy of Slovenia as well as vice-president of the Liberal International.

Sarah Abdelgelil is a Senior Advisor on Gender Equality at NAMA Women Advancement Establishment. Between 2015-2018, she was the Program Officer for the Women, Peace and Security program at the Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping, and Peacebuilding (CCCPA) and has been engaged in mediation support activities in Africa and the Middle East. She also led the design and development of several peer-coaching workshops for African and Arab professionals and community leaders. She is an experienced trainer on conflict mediation, gender mainstreaming in peacebuilding and supporting national reconciliation. She also provided technical support to Track II processes with regards to women’s participation and the integration of the women, peace and security agenda in Libya and Syria. She has joined the Mediterranean Women Mediators Network since its foundation with the view to influence current peacemaking and peacebuilding efforts in the region and provide a voice to Mediterranean women during and after peace processes to ensure sustainable peace and development. She holds a master’s degree in Global Governance and Diplomacy from the University of Oxford, United Kingdom.