Francesca Caruso  is a Junior Researcher and Communication Officer at the Istituto Affari Internazionali. As part of the MWMN Secretariat, she coordinates the activities of the Cyprus Antenna and works on the development of initiatives in the Southern shore of the Mediterranean. Additionally, she is in charge of the organization of the webinars and coordinates the publication of the newsletters. Her other research projects mainly deal with the EU-MENA region relations and its geopolitical shifts, regional order and domestic transformations. Her main areas of interests are Political Islam and State-society relations in North Africa (and in particular in Algeria), and peace and security in Sub-saharan Africa. Since December 2019, Francesca has been working as a Consultant for the Community of Sant’Egidio in the Peace Division. Within the Community of Sant’Egidio, she has recently worked for a peace-building project in the Central African Republic. She speaks Italia, French and English fluently, and has an intermediate level of Arabic.

Nathalie Champion is a Programme Assistant of the Mediterranean & Middle East Programme at the Istituto Affari Internazionali. As part of the MWMN Secretariat, she is in charge of the organizational aspects of the activities and oversees and coordinates the logistics of the project’s activities. She speaks French, Italian and English fluently. She provides administrative and logistics support to all activities conducted within the numerous projects of the Mediterranean & Middle East Programme.

Dafne Carletti is a project officer of the Mediterranean Women Mediators Network, for which she is in charge of the local Antennas in Cyprus, Kosovo, and Turkey. She follows the developments of local projects and initiatives, and bridges the Antennas and the Secretariat of the MWMN. She is also a member of Women In International Security (WIIS) Italy, and collaborates also with the organizations Agency for Peacebuilding and EgyptWide.
Dafne holds a Master Degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, where she concentrated in International Law and International Economics. Her interests lie in social movements and civil disobedience, specifically in revolutionary processes that lead to radical democratic transformations, focusing on the role women play in such processes. She speaks Italian, English, Spanish and French fluently, and Intermediate Arabic.

Irene Fellin has been the Head of the MWMN Secretariat until December 2021. She has been working at the establishment of the MWMN since early 2017 and is currently conducting research on women and mediation. As project coordinator of the Network, she oversaw the general outlook of the activities and maintained relations with the institutional and international partners of the initiative as well as  the networks’ members. Additionally, she was the Network’s representative and contact person within the Global Alliance of Regional Women Mediator Networks. She was a Senior Fellow on Gender and Security issues at the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI). Her research mainly focuses on the implementation of UNSCR 1325 “Women, Peace and Security” in the Mediterranean area and in the framework of international organizations such as the EU, NATO, OSCE and the UN. She is the Co-founder and Honorary President (President 2016-2021) of the Italian antenna of WIIS – Women in International Security. As of 2022, she has been appointed NATO Secretary General Special Representative on Women, Peace and Security. She speaks Italian, English and French fluently.

Giorgia Santamaria was a Project Assistant at the Istituto Affari Internazionali and is active member of the Italian antenna of WIIS – Women in International Security as project assistant and membership officer. She provided support to the MWMN Secretariat in the conduct of daily activities and general management and provides logistical support to the activities carried out by the Network. Additionally, she was the contact person for the Turkey Antenna and initially worked on the development of initiatives in the Balkans to then become the contact person for the Kosovo Antenna. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Human Rights and a Master’s degree in International Conflict Studies. She speaks Italian, English and French fluently and has some knowledge of Spanish and German. 

Patrizia Di Micco is a project assistant at Women in International Security (WIIS) Italy, where she supported the Global Alliance of Regional Women Mediator Networks secretariat. She holds a degree in Political Science (BA) and International Affairs (MA) from LUISS University, Rome. Her main research areas include the EU’s external policies, the nexus between women, peace and security, and the role of hate speech as a global justice issue. Patrizia has gained experience working in various capacities at the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry for International Cooperation, and the Department for European Policies of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. She is also involved in an NGO in the Netherlands and the Italian No Hate Speech Movement supported by the Council of Europe. She speaks Italian, Spanish, and English fluently and has a basic understanding of Finnish.