Ömer Arısoy was born in 1974 in Çamlıhemşin, Rize. He completed his primary, elementary and high school education in his hometown. In 1989, he started his college education at Marmara University, Faculty of Communication, College of Press. After three years, in 1992, he quit his education at Marmara University for Law School at İstanbul University. He graduated from Law School in 1997. Following his graduation and a period of working as an independent lawyer, Mr. Arısoy serves as Advisor to the Mayor of Zeytinburnu from 1999 to 2004. Between 2004 and 2014, he worked as Deputy Mayor of Zeytinburnu, responsible for Legal, Cultural, Information Processing, Editorial Office and Human Rights Affairs. He also performed the duties of President of Council and of Tender Committee as well as managed the Zeytinburnu Municipality Culture Publications. From October 2014 to September 2016, Mr. Arısoy worked as the President of the Mass Housing Administration’s Strategy Development Department. Between September 2016 and July 2018, he was the Undersecretary for the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. On July 21, 2018, Mr. Arısoy was appointed as the Deputy Minister for the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. On November 30, 2018, he quit his role for candidacy for the Mayoral elections. On  March 31, 2019, He was elected as the Mayor of Zeytinburnu Municipality. Mr. Arısoy is married and father of two children. He speakers English.

Meryem Aslan has been the Oxfam Country Director in Turkey since 2013. She has more than 30 years of international experience working with United Nations and civil society organisations, in program coordination, policy design and management positions in a range of countries and fragile states in South and Central Asia, Africa, Middle East and Latin America.

Khaled Bablli was born in 1966 in Aleppo, Syria. He graduated from University of Aleppo in 1989 as civil engineer. Mr. Bablli is the is the Chairman of the Syrian businessmen and entrepreneurs Organization (SIAD). His work aims to spread the culture of entrepreneurship to Syrian entrepreneurs and provide job opportunities for fresh graduate students through entrepreneurship programs. Besides, Mr. Bablli has also been the Director of Arak Construction since 2013. He is married and father of four children.

Arda Batu completed his high school education at The Browning High School, he then studied Political Science and International Relations at Bosphorus University. He completed his internship at the European Parliament and attained his MA degree from Marmara University European Studies Institute. Arda Batu’s career began in 2004 at Yeditepe University’s Political Science & International Relations Department where he served as a research assistant. He transitioned to the corporate sector when he joined HB Consultancy Group in 2007 whilst continuing his affiliation with the university as a research assistant and lecturer. His keen interests in government relations and strategic communications led him to Istanbul-based regional corporate communications firm, StratejiCo. He joined Turkish Enterprise and Business Confederation on June 2014 where he manages, promotes and advances the Confederation’s strategic interests. Arda Batu serves as an independent board member at Federal Mogul Izmit Piston, on the executive board of Centre for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies (EDAM), advisory board of Co-opinoin, and the editorial board of Turkish Policy Quarterly.

Cai Baodi was born in 1968 in Shanghai, China. He has spent most of his career in the immigration system, and is currently the director of Foreigners’ Visa Department of Exit-Entry Administration Bureau of Shanghai PSB. He is now responsible for foreigners’ visa and permanent residence application, issues concerning nationality and immigrants’ integration. After years of perseverance and study, He is now an expert in immigration area in Shanghai. Mr. Cai holds a BA in English Literature from Shanghai International Studies University and an LLM degree from Shanghai Jiaotong University.

Mehmet Abdi Bulut was born in 20 Ekim 1967. After completed primary school and high school in Kilis, he studied law at the İstanbul University Faculty of Law. Following his law internship, Mr. Bulut completed his military service in 1991 as sub-lieutenant at Konya School of Personnel of Ministry of National Defense Department of Construction Real Estate. In 1993, he started working as attorney at law. Between 2004 and 2014, Mr. Bulut performed the duty of Mayor for two terms. After five years, he was elected as Mayor for the third time in 2019. Mr. Bulut is married and has three children. He speaks English fluently.

Dalia Rosa Delgado Burbano is a Sociologist and Social Management Specialist with master’s in educational and Social Development. With experience in the field of development planning, project formulation, public policies, politics and governance, socioeconomic inclusion of migrant population, she has experience and 15 years of work in International Cooperation. She is recently Territorial Coordinator of UNDP in the Northeast area that includes the departments of Norte de Santander, Santander and Arauca.

Zinnur Büyükgöz was born in 1964 in Erzurum. He graduated from Primary School of Bakırköy Kocasinan in 1975, Secondary School of Kadıköy İmam Hatip in 1978 and Highschool of Gebze İmam Hatip in 1983. Mr. Büyükgöz graduated from graduated from Yıldız Technical University, Faculty of Architecture as City and Regional Planner in 1987. Between 1987 and 1989, he completed his master’s degree at the same university on the same area. Mr. Büyükgöz served in different parts of the country as city planner since then. He started his political career as Head of Town of Darıca and Member of Gebze Board of Management from Welfare Party and Member of Executive Board of Kocaeli City Branch of Virtue Party. He served in several posts since the foundation of the Justice and Development Party (JDP). Mr. Büyükgöz worked as Technical Deputy Mayor of Gebze Municipality, Alderman at the Gebze Municipality, Alderman at the Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality and Member of Board of Zoning between 2004 and 2009. Besides his political roles, he also took active role in various civil society organizations and different platforms. He became a Member of İstanbul, Bursa and Kocaeli Regional Councils for the Conservation of Cultural Property in 2004. Mr. Büyükgöz worked as expert in Turkey’s different Administrative Courts. He took place in several projects and represented our country. Since 2014, he is a Member of Project Advisory Board in the Technopark İstanbul Technology Region. In      2019, he quit his Membership in Regional Councils for the Conservation of Cultural Property due to his candidacy for being the Mayor of Gebze. On 31^st of March 2019, Mr. Büyükgöz became the Mayor of Gebze. He is married and has four children.

Mehmet Murat Çalık was born in 1972, in Maçka, Trabzon. Çalık who is the third child of a mother from Rize and a father from Trabzon completed his primary education in Maçka and his high school education in Trabzon. In 1997, Mr. Çalık graduated from City and Regional Planning Department, Faculty of Architecture of Istanbul Technical University. In 1998, he became a founding partner of a company which operated in the city planning sector.  Between 2008 and 2014, Mr. Çalık performed various duties at the management and president levels in the Istanbul Branch of Chamber of City Planners. Mr. Çalık who has made various contributions to Beylikdüzü since 1999 worked as Technical Coordinator and Deputy Mayor at the Beylikdüzü Municipality. Aiming for the sky, advocating for “happiness in the city needs planning” and with the dream of making Beylikdüzü breath of Istanbul, Mr. Çalık won the favor of people and became the Mayor of Beylikdüzü on 31 March 2019. He is Member of several civil society organizations such as Trabzonspor Club, Beylikdüzü Volleyball Specialization Club and West Istanbul Foundation. He is married and father of two children.

Tony is an innovative senior executive with a background that includes executive leadership roles with one of Australia’s largest financial services companies, working in Australia and the United Kingdom, and more recently in Local Government. His finance experience has seen him work in partnership with large corporate businesses through to small enterprises, developing deep commercial acumen. This, overlaid with a strong commitment to community development, has meant his impact in Local Government has been significant, including developing community programs that not only transform community engagement and wellbeing, but also create economic security. His educational background includes a Bachelor of Economics and an MBA. A particular strength, skill and passion is building safe, engaging, inclusive and sustainable communities. A dedicated advocate for refugees and the benefits of immigration.

Abdurrahman Dursun was born in 1972 in Adıyaman. He completed his primary, elementary and high school education in his hometown. Mr. Dursun who graduated from Adıyaman İmam Hatip High School completed Law School at İstnabul University in 1996. He married Tuba Büyükaslan. Mr. Dursun is the father of two boys and speaks English fluently. Mr. Dursun started his Professional career in 1997. He worked as legal advisor for various firms and as lawyer independently. Mr. Dursun also performed the duties of the President of Lawyers’ Club of Unity Foundation, President of Adıyaman Foundations Federation and Turkey Swimming Federation Board of Management Member. He also worked in Turkey Football Federation Council of Conflict Resolution. Mr. Dursun started his active political career as Member of City Discipline Council of Ak Parti İstanbul Branch in 2006. He was selected as Member of Board of Management for the AK Parti İstanbul Board of Management in 2009, 2012 and 2015. During this period, he managed duty of the President for Organization, Election Affairs, Political and Legal Affairs and Local Governance Units. Mr. Dursun managed the İstanbul 3rd Region, Election Coordination Center in June 7 and November 1, 2015 General Election. Between 2009 and 2018, he worked as Member of İstanbul Governorate Human Rights Council as the AK Parti City Branch Representative. Mr. Dursun who was elected as the District Head for AK Parti Branch in Sultangazi on March 30, 2018 became the Mayor of Sultangazi at the local elections of March 31, 2019.

Ayşegül Yalçın Eriş is Deputy General Coordinator of the Association for Solidarity with Asylum Seekers and Migrants (SGDD-ASAM) which was established in 1995 in Ankara as an independent, impartial and non-profit association to assist refugees and asylum seekers living in Turkey. She is also General Secretary and Member of the Refugee Rights Working Group of Union of Turkish Bar Association. She graduated from the Ankara University School of Law. Before starting work with SGDD- ASAM, Ayşegül spent 15 years as a freelance lawyer for companies on intellectual property rights and as well as for the individuals on human rights. She started to work as a lawyer in the Protection Department at SGDD-ASAM and was then appointed as a project coordinator for the projects named ” Education Campus and Integrated Protection For The Syrian Refugees” and “Improve The Protection Mechanisms For Non-Syrian Asylum Seekers And Refugees Through Continuation Of Protection”. As of 2018, she took the role of Deputy General Coordinator for the Association for Solidarity with Asylum Seekers and Migrants (SGDD-ASAM). Ayşegül enjoys travelling and getting in touch with different cultures. She is a mother of two aged 13 and 9.

Šuhret Fazlić was born on 17^th April 1961 in Bihac. He graduated from the Political Science Department of the Faculty of Political Science in Sarajevo in 1985. He holds a master’s degree in human resources management and the title of Certified Human Resources Specialist from the Michigan State University. As part of his residency in the United States, he did internships at the Michigan State Department of the Office of Grait Workplace Development, where he did research in the area of pay models, that is, motivating civil servants, workplace stress issues, and succession in government and small and medium-sized family businesses. So far, he has published two scientific papers in the field of management. During the war 1992 – 1995 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Fazlić was a member of the 5th Corps Command of the BiH Army. He has an extensive work and management experience in private and public companies and international organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Head of the OHR Regional Office, Advisor to the Mayor of Bihac, Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Una Sana Canton, Director of the FBiH Privatization Agency, etc.). In the term of 1998 – 2000 he was a Member of the Assembly of the Una Sana Canton, and in the term of 2000 – 2002 he was a Member of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of BiH. In the 2008 local elections, as well as in 2012, he was elected a municipal councilor in the Bihać Municipal Council. At the local elections in 2016 he was elected the Mayor of Bihac.

Susana Garrido Gandullo is the current mayor of Villamanrique de la Condesa (Province of Seville, Spain) since June 2019. She was previously deputy mayor of the same consistory for 12 years. Specialized in Society, Administration and Politics at the School of High Public Management of Andalusia, and with training in Leadership, Local Politics and Strategic Territorial Planning. Throughout her professional career, she has specialized in economics and the third sector and in international humanitarian law, as well as in International and Municipal Cooperation and Action, having participated in different missions in Palestine, Colombia, and also in European countries. She has a degree in law since 2006 and also has experience in private law and in the field of neurodevelopment.

Ms. Dušanka Golubović was born in Sombor, where she finished elementary school and Gymnasium. She graduated from the Faculty of Law from the University of Belgrade in 2005. After two years of internship in the law office, since 2007, she has been employed in the City Administration of the City of Sombor. She worked in the City Administration as an expert associate in the area of social and health care, Head of the Department for General Affairs in Public Services and Financial Support to the Families with Children, Assistant Mayor and Head of the Department for Social Activities. She was appointed Chief of the City Administration in 2015 and performed these duties until her election for the Mayor of the City of Sombor. She was elected as Mayor on the constitutive session of the Assembly of the City of Sombor on June 8, 2016. In the period from 2016 to the end of 2017, she was a member of the Board of Directors of the National Alliance for Local Economic Development (NALED). She was elected President of the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities (SCTM) with a two-year mandate in December 2017. Ms. Golubović still performs the duties of Vice-President for the Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South-East Europe. She speaks English and German. Ms. Golubović is married and a mother of two children, Dunja and Luka.

Kenan Gültürk is a counselor of Bağcılar Municipality Mayor who was born in Sivas, in 1964. After completing secondery and high school in Istanbul, Mr.Gültürk graduated from Faculty of Theology and had a Master Degree on “ Educational Sociology” from Sakarya University Institute of Social Sciences. After working as a manager in private sector, Mr.Gültürk started to work as a teacher in the Ministry of National Education and worked in Trabzon and Sakarya provincial centers. In the beginning of 1997, he became a Deputy Manager in Istanbul Municipality in Provincial Directorate for National Education. In 25^th October,1998, he was assigned to Directorate of Archives and in 3th October 1999, he assigned to the Directorate of Social and Touristic Facilities and continued his work in here until the end of 2005. In 2006, he was appointed as the Director of the Directorate of Culture and Social Affairs at Bağcılar Municipality. After the 2014 local elections, he served as Deputy Mayor. Mr.Gültürk is married and has one child.

Mehmet Harmancı was born in 1977 in Nicosia and he graduated from the Turkish Maarif College. Harmancı completed the Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) International Relations Department. During his university education, he fulfilled active missions in EMU-KOB (EMU Cypriot Students Union). Harmancı completed his master’s degree in EU and Politics in Liverpool from the John Moores University. Harmancı has been actively involved in both Political groups and Civil Society Organizations moreover he has had vast experience with the private sector especially with regards to the management sector. He started his political life in the Social Liberation Party (TKP) where he undertook the responsibility of President of the Youth Section of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDH) and TKP. He worked as the General Director of a private tourism company between the years 2005 – 2008. In 2008 Harmancı was selected for the Young European Leaders programme by the US Embassy in Cyprus. Between June 2013 and September 2013 Harmancı served as the Minister of Tourism, Environment and Culture. Fulfilling Deputy Secretary General missions, Mehmet Harmancı was then elected as the Secretary General of the Social Democratic Party (TDP). He worked as the Project Manager for the UNDP funded ‘Engage-Do Your Part for Peace’ project for which he completed the required deliverables of the project on behalf of the Management Centre of the Mediterranean. He has also been heavily involved in multicultural environments both as an activist of peace and reconciliation and at an organizational level. Mehmet Harmancı  was elected as the Mayor of the Nicosia Turkish Municipality in the elections which took place in June 2014 and he was re-elected in 2018 as the Mayor of Nicosia Turkish Municipality. He is married and has one child.

For 25 years Paul Clements-Hunt has been central to break-through developmeents in responsible investment and sustainable finance. In 2011-2012, as a United Nations official he supported Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown in his work on financial stability and sustainability for the UN Secretary General ahead of the 2012 World Summit on Sustainable Development ( WSSD). While Head of www.unepfi.org from 2000-2012 his team conceived and delivered: the Principles for Responsible Investment (2006); the Principles for Sustainable Insurance (2011); and the Natural Capital Declaration (2012). In 2019 the PRI is backed by 2500 investors (AuM USD 80 trillion). Clements-Hunt was a UNPRI Board member for six years (2006-2012).Paul’s career has spanned business, the UN, and the media. He has been embedded in global policy discussions around climate change, biodiversity, and human rights since the early 1990s. After leaving the UN in 2012, he established The Blended Capital Group (TBCG), an advisory and private equity firm focused on deals in frontier economies. Since 2014, TBCG has been working closely with the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSWF) and their participant Funds to help drive their climate related work, such as the One Planet Initiative. Since its inception in 2017, Paul has been Partner in FenElpi Partners, a boutique firm focusing on infrastructure delivery in frontier economies. FenElpi Partners hosted its premier event, Infrastructure Investment Frontiers, in London in 2019. Paul still works closely with the various organisations of the UN, including the Executive Office of the Secretary General, UNDP and UNHCR for moderation of their high level fora. He is also Chair of the International Advisory Committee for SOS Sahel, an NGO focused on food security across North Africa.Clements-Hunt established one of the first environmental strategy and technology consultancies for Southeast Asia while based in Bangkok (1991-1998). During this period he worked to promote greater environmental & social disclosure on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) . In 1994 Paul took his business inside the world’s largest testing, inspection and verification group, the Swiss multinational SGS. From 1998 to 2000 he was the Senior Energy and Environment Policy Manager for the Paris-based global business organisation, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).In the mid-1980s he was a UK-based journalist specialising in environmental business issues.

Nuray Karaoğlu was born in 1960. She studied International Relations and Administrative Sciences. Ms. Karaoğlu who has been a member of several civil society organizations was the President of Göztepe Rotary Club between 2002 and 2003. Used to be a Member of KAGİDER, Ms. Karaoğlu became a Member of KA.DER in 2004. Ms. Karaoğlu who is married and the mother of three children is also Member of Board of Management at Nesa Broadcasting and Media Production. She participated in Women Entrepreneurship, inter-organizational communication, Gender Equality trainings and Kota Training, Bahçeşehir University Political Science, Erickson Denge Merkezi NLP Practitioner Certificate Programs. She has been the Chairwoman of KA.DER since 2017.  KA.DER is a foundation which works for women to be represented equally in decision making mechanisms and member of various international organizations such as European Women’s Lobby and ECOSOC. The Foundation also takes active role in the Coordination Council of Checks and Balances Network which operates in Turkey and is consisted of almost 300 civil society organizations.

Hüseyin Keskin was born in 1972 in Erzincan. He completed his college education in Theology and his master’s in management. Mr. Keskin started his political career in Welfare Party’s neighborhood organization and continued with AK Party as Founding Member of Board in Sultanbeyli Branch in 2002. Mr. Keskin who performed the duties of Head of Public Relations, Head of Organization and Head of Political and Legal Affairs. In the Congress which was held in March 4, 2006, he was elected as Head of AK Party Sultanbeyli Branch. Mr. Keskin who kept this post until the next congress was elected as the Mayor of Sultanbeyli for the 2009-2014 period. In 2009, Mr. Keskin was re-nominated by the AK Party for the Mayorship and re-elected as the Mayor of Sultanbeyli. He is married and father of four children.

Muammer Keskin was born in 1954 in Ardahan. He completed his primary and secondary education in Ardahan. Mr.Keskin came to Istanbul for his university education and graduated from the Department of Social Studies at Atatürk Education Institute. After his military service, he worked as a teacher for 3 years. Mr.Keskin started to work at the Directorate of Science Affairs in 1972 during the Mayor of Fahri Atabay. Between 1974-1978, he worked with Istanbul Mayor Ahmet İsvan at the Istanbul Side Asphalt Branch. In the next two years, Mr.Keskin served as Sisli Branch Manager under the CHP Mayor Aytekin Kotil. District President. In 1985, he played an active role in the establishment of the Association of Financial Advisors. Mr. Keskin contributed to the publication of the Social Democratic Change Magazine in the 1990s. Between 1998 and 2006, he was a member of the board of directors of Istanbul Chamber of Independent Accountant and Financial Advisors. Mr.Keskin also has served as the General Secretary of Social, Economic and Political Research Foundation of Turkey (TUSES). He has actively worked in many civil society platforms such as Şişli Democracy Assembly, Özgür Şişli and Özgür İstanbul Platform. Mr.Keskin, who continues to serve civil society as a member of the Board of Directors of the Turkish Oncology Foundation, is married to Hülya Keskin and has two children, Derya and Volkan.

Ali Haidar Khalifeh is the Mayor of Sarafand Municipality in Lebanon. Mr. Khalifeh is also the Vice President of the Arab Volleyball Federation and Vice President of the Lebanese Volleyball Federation. In addition to his role as Mayor, Mr. Khalifeh is an electrical engineer. He holds a Degree in Political and Administrative Sciences and Diploma in Educational Administration. Mr. Khalifeh also holds two master’s degrees in Planning and Management and Hospital Management.

Asim Khan has done master’s in business administration from University of Peshawar in 2005. Before joining politics, he started as an entrepreneur and his business experience includes publishing, agriculture, distribution & real estate. He was elected as Mayor of Peshawar in 2014 local government elections. He was the CEO of Mass transit system for the city. He also remained the focal person for mega projects in City District Government of Peshawar. He served as member of different provincial government boards. He is a very active member of the ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and served on several party positions. He was also the Provincial President of Mayors of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. As Peshawar holds the record of hosting the refugees for the longest time and still has a big number of refugees, he played a major role in integrating and facilitating the refugees in the city of Peshawar.

Iris Bjorg Kristjansdottir Regional Migration and Humanitarian Specialist for UN Women Europe and Central Asia Regional Office has over 16 years of professional experience in field of migration, integration, humanitarian action and refugee resettlement on international, national and local government level, on policy, strategy, advocacy, programme implementation and in liaising with government authorities and relevant stakeholders. With special emphasis on gender responsive approach, Iris has years of experience in engaging stakeholders and actors on the ground, including representatives from the affected population and fostering meaningful engagement and participation.  Prior to taking on the role of regional migration and humanitarian specialist, Iris was based in Ankara for over two years where she was building up UN Women Syria response portfolio. UN Women is the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women.

Gordon Noble is Head of Policy and Advocacy at the Australian Sustainable Finance Initiative. Previously Gordon was Director of Investments and Economy at the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia, and was responsible for investment strategy and stakeholder relations, focusing on issues such as financial system stability, infrastructure, innovation, capital markets and fixed interest markets. Gordon worked for the secretariat of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment and founded the Responsible Investment Academy with the Responsible Investment Association Australasia, an online training platform that educates investors on incorporating environmental, social and governance issues into investment processes that is now the PRI Academy. As Managing Director Asia Pacific for Inflection Point Capital Management, a sustainability focused investment management business, Gordon was responsible for client engagement, research and communications. Gordon is a member of UNHCR for Australia’s Program Committee.

Ruslan Martsinkiv is the Mayor of Ivano-Frankivsk City. He was the Deputy of Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Council (the fifth convocation). Mr. Ruslan moved up from the member of the National Scout Organization of Ukraine to the head of the very establishment, located in Ivano-Frankivsk and Chernivtsi Regions (2007-2010). He also held the positions of the Assistant Deputy Mayor (2005) and the Chairman of the Standing Commission on Youth, Physical Education, and Sport of Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Council (2006-2010). In 2010, he was elected the Head of the Secretariat of the Ivano-Frankivsk Office of the All-Ukraine Svoboda Party. Since November 2010, he had been both the Secretary and Deputy of Ivano-Frankivsk City Council. In 2012, he became the Member of the Ukrainian Parliament (the seventh convocation) in compliance with the multi-mandate constituency lists of the All-Ukraine Svoboda Party. In addition, he became the Member of the Committee on Construction, Urban Development, Utilities, and Regional Policy. In November 2015, Ruslan Martsinkiv won the local elections and became the Mayor of Ivano-Frankivsk City. During the Mayor’s cadence, the city has received the 2018 Europe Prize – awarded annually by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to the city most active in promoting the European ideal. Another accomplishment is that Ivano-Frankivsk has become one of the city-capitals where international blacksmith festivals are traditionally held.

Dr. Rouba Mhaissen is a Syrian-Lebanese economist, community mobiliser, and development practitioner who works on development issues particularly forced migration and the Syrian refugee crisis. She is an activist, public speaker and is engaged in workshops trainings and facilitating. Mhaissen received her BA in Economics from the American University of Beirut, her MSc in International Development from the London School of Economics, and an MPhil/PhD in Gender and Economic Development from the School of Oriental and African Studies. She holds two degrees in Exponential technologies from Singularity University (Silicon Valley). She has taught at SOAS, University of London and at the American University of Beirut. She is the Founder and Director of Sawa for Development and Aid (a Civil Society Organisation that supports Syrian refugees in Lebanon, and the internally displaced in Syria, focusing on protection, education, capacity building, skills and advocacy; and Sawa Foundation UK (founded in 2016), that supports forced migrants in Europe and the Middle East. Mhaissen is the recipient of numerous awards relating to her work; of which Queen Elizabeth Award (2011), the FCO Marsh Award for Peacemaking and Peacekeeping (2016), The Agha Khan Pluralism Honorable Mention (2017), The AUB Most Distinguished Alumni Award (2017), the Forbes 30Under30 list for Policy and Law (2017), the Vital Voices Global leadership Award for Human Rights (2019), and the Rafto Award for Human Rights (2019)

Burak Oğuz was born in 1972. He completed his primary education in Urla İskele Primary School and his secondary education in Urla High School. After graduating from the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences at Dokuz Eylül University, he received his MA degree in the Department of Finance of the same university and his thesis on the Financial Structure of Free Zones Dok. He still continues her PhD work in her dissertation phase. Burak OĞUZ started his professional career in the tax, accounting and finance departments of companies with international capital. In 2003, he became a Certified Public Accountant. Burak OĞUZ, who continues her career in her own company, is also an Independent Auditor from Public Oversight Authority. Burak OĞUZ is fluent in English. He is married and has two children.

Dinçer Orkan was born in Hisariçi Neighborhood of Karesi in Balıkesir. Mr. Orkan studied Civil Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture of Uludağ University and Management at the Anatolian University. Mr. Orkan who started his career at the private sector continued his business life as a freelance contractor. He performed various duties in public services including the first place Balıkesir Metropolitan Municipality Council Member, Karesi Commission of Reconstruction Member, Metropolitan Plan Budget Commission Member, Metropolitan Municipality Sports Club Deputy President Responsible for Disabled Basketball Players, President of the Commission for Social Services, Disabled and Public Relations, Metropolitan Committee Member, Acting Mayor of Metropolitan Municipality and Marmara Union of Municipalities Council Member. In addition, he took several roles within the Justice and Development Party including the Provincial Head of the Party in Balıkesir Central District and in general Balıkesir. Mr. Orkan was also the candidate for nomination for the Parliament Membership from Balıkesir. He is married and father of two children.

Antonio Rodríguez Osuna has been the Mayor of Mérida since 2015. Mr. Osuna was born in Mérida on March 6, 1975. He has a master’s in business administration and Management, executive MBA from the ITAE Business School and a Diploma in Physical Education (Badajoz School of Education) from the University of Extremadura. He is married. During his career, Mr. Osuna was Councillor of the City of Mérida by the PSOE (1999-2004), Chief of Staff of the Minister of Industry, Energy and Environment of the Junta de Extremadura (2007-2011), Advisor to the Vice President (2004-2007) and Parliamentary for the PSOE in the Assembly (2011-2015) serving as the Energy, Environment and Sports Spokesman. Besides his public sector experience, having been entrepreneur in the hospitality sector, Mr. Osuna owned a restaurant in Cáceres until May 2018 and currently has it in Mérida. He worked as a waiter for two years, lighting technician, tent installer, leisure and leisure monitor, sports monitor for two years in the beach service of the City of Vélez-Málaga and monitor complementary training activities in Extremadura. In addition, from a young age, Mr. Osuna has been very involved in youth and political union activism since it is part of his way of understanding his personal commitment to improve the society in which he lives and fights for equality. Mr. Osuna presented himself as a candidate of the PSOE to the municipal elections of May 2015, and since June 13, 2015, he is the Mayor of Mérida which he wants to be a reference city of values ​​at national and international level. Transparency, Equality, solidarity, diversity, social inclusion and sustainable development are some of the most important principles which Mr. Osuna wants to include and share with citizens.

M. Sinan Özden graduated from Middle East Technical University, Department of City and Regional Planning in 1995. He has a master degree from Sweden Blekinge Institute of Technology and degree of specialization from Israel Development Studies Center on Rural Region Development. Sinan took part in Southeast Anatolia Project (GAP) Regional Development Administration’s resettlement projects and coordinated GIZ’s projects and programmes in Turkey. In 2006, he joined İstanbul Metropolitan Planning Center’s (IMP) planners team preparing İstanbul Environmental Plans and worked on the interactions between İstanbul and Marmara Region. Sinan took an effective role in the preparation of Environmental Plans in Thrace Region. He played part in establishment of the Department of Environmental Management under Marmara Municipalities Union. Sinan developed methods to improve the participation of local governments within the context of Support to Local Governance Project (LAR-2) and worked with city councils. He worked with UMT on Local Diplomacy and Sister City relations. While working as the Key Expert at TULIP Project, Sinan developed ‘’Ermazon’’ training based on status simulation and role playing. Training was applied in cooperation with 13 governorship staff. Sinan developed Local Environmental Action Plan together with REC (Regional Environment Center). He prepared Aksaray Local Environmental Action Plan and provided support for Trabzon Local Environmental Action Plan preparation. Sinan worked as the Senior Expert in internationally and EU funded projects carried out by UNDP, GIZ (GTZ), KfW, SALAR, VNG, REC and provided consultancy to Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Environment and Urbanization and the municipalities. His focus started turning towards migration and development following the Syrian migration crisis when he became involved in ICMPD’s Support the Implementation of Development Sensitive Migration Policies (SIDEM) and the Project on Asylum Capacity Building in Turkey (ASCAP). M. Sinan Özden developed the Turkish component for the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions’ (SALAR) Resilience of Local Governance in the Face of Migration (RESLOG) project, and is currently National Project Manager for RESLOG, which is being implemented with the Union of Municipalities of Turkey, Çukurova Municipalities Union and Marmara Municipalities Union.

Şenay Özden is trained in sociology and cultural anthropology and her work focuses on migration and the impact of local governance structures and civil society actors on refugee communities. With a specialization in qualitative research methods, she has conducted extensive qualitative research on urban refugees in Syria, Turkey and Lebanon for the past 15 years. Between 2003-2009, she has conducted fieldwork on Palestinian refugee camp dynamics and Iraqi refugee communities in Syria. She has taught at various universities in Damascus and Istanbul. She has worked as a research-informed consultant for various national and international organizations and research companies. She is one of the founders of Hamisch Syrian Cultural Center in Istanbul. She is currently working on her book on narratives of state, uprising and displacement by Syrian women in Turkey and Lebanon.

Teodor Petkov has been the Mayor of Vitosha since 2015. Mr. Petkov has been re-elected for the Mayor’s post in October 2019. He is an engineer. He is married and father of one daughter.

Bojan Randjelovic was born on February 17, 1971 in Pirot. Prior to his involvement in local government, he worked at the Pirot General Hospital, and since June 2016 he has served as Assistant Mayor for non-business activities in the fields of health care, sports, religious communities, gender equality and tourism.

Since the end of 2016, he has cooperated with UN agencies: UNDP, WHO, IOM on coordinating the management challenges of the migrant crisis. The City of Pirot, together with the City of Vranje and the Municipality of Sid participated in the development of the Local Action Plan for Action in the Migrant Crisis, with a focus on the psycho-social and health management component of the migrant crisis. Bojan Randjelovic cooperates with IOM in front of the Pirot City Administration in solving communal problems in the Migrant Reception Center “Fourth kilometer” near Pirot.

Maria is a journalist and news anchor at TRT World in Istanbul. She also presents the channel’s flagship news programme ‘News Hour with Maria Ramos’. Her recent work includes hosting the Turkish local, Presidential and Parliamentary elections, becoming the first person to use Augmented Reality at TRT World. Maria has spent most her career in the Middle East, Africa and Europe reporting for the BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Le Monde and Bahrain TV. Fluent in French, Spanish, Italian, she also speaks Arabic and is learning Turkish. In the business world, she worked as an advisor to the CEO of Formula E and founded her own international media consultancy for European blue chip companies. Maria graduated from King’s College London.

Gayed Sened is a member Tomorrow’s Women Committee in Gaziantep. Tomorrow’s Women Committee, an independent initiative of Syrian Women living in Gaziantep, which has been active for 4 years, has been the representative of Syrian Women on refugee women’s rights and social cohesion. Due to the war occurred in her country, Ms. Sened sought asylum in Turkey 3.5 years ago, and therefore she could not finish her study in Psychology. During her presence in Turkey, Ms. Sened has experienced both Temporary Shelter and life in cities. Ms. Sened, mother of 3 children, is also conducting awareness-raising activities on refugee and women’s rights at Tomorrow’s Women Committee for the future of Syrian women and children. Ms. Sened aims to heal by touching the lives of other women and girls, not only for herself. Ms. Sened, aiming to be a strong woman, sees giving power to other women as one of her goals. Ms. Sened, the representative of the Tomorrow’s Women Committee, continues to work to ensure the voice of women in all areas.

Ms. Seya is the President of Japan Center for Conflict Prevention (JCCP), an NGO specialised in peacebuilding, capacity building and gender mainstreaming, currently operating in Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan and Turkey. In her previous carrier, she worked in post-conflict countries in Africa, Asia and Middle East including Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Cote d’Ivoire, Rwanda etc as United Nations Peacekeeping mission, diplomat and NGO. She is specialised in Security Sector Reform, Community Security, Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration of ex-combatants (DDR), Confidence Building, Capacity building. She worked also as an Election Observers in Indonesia, Rwanda and Afghanistan. She has been a lecturer / facilitator for the International Peace Support Training Centre (IPSTC) in Kenya, Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Center (KAIPTC) in Ghana, UN/African Union peacekeeping missions and Japanese Ministry of Defense / Foreign Affairs / Finance. She was also a Research Fellow on Peacebuilding at Hiroshima University. She obtained BA in Policy Studies from Chuo University and then MA in Conflict Resolution from Bradford University. The Honors and Awards she received include; Edward Lynn Award Fund (UK, 2000), Akino Yutaka Research Fellowship (Japan, 2000), UN21 Award (United Nations, 2003), Nikkei Woman of the Year 2012 (Japan), AVON Award 2012 (Japan), International Leaders Programme (UK, 2015) etc.

Mehmet Tahmazoğlu was born in 1959 in Şahinbey, Gaziantep. Mr. Tahmazoğlu studied in Şehreküstü Ahmet Çelebi Primary School and Atatürk High School in Gaziantep. He graduated from Erzurum Atatürk University Faculty of Management in 1982 and acquired two master’s in Management at Gaziantep University Faculty of Social Sciences and in Political Science and International Relations at Hasan Kalyoncu University Faculty of Social Sciences. Mr. Tahmazoğlu who completed his military service as reserve officer between 1983 and 1984 started his professional career as certified accountant in 1984. After having involved in trade, he continued working as certified accountant. Mr. Tahmazoğlu who have taken place in various civil society organizations in different roles between 1984 and 2009. He started his political career as Member of Justice and Development Party’s (JDP) Founding Executive Board in Gaziantep. After having worked as Deputy Head of JDP’s Gaziantep Office and Head of Political and Legal Affairs, in 2007, Mr. Tahmazoğu became a candidate for parliament from JDP at the 8^th place. He was elected as the Mayor of Şahinbey Municipality in 2009 and re-elected in 2014 and 2019 consecutively. Mr. Tahmazoğlu has also been Member of Executive Committee of Union of Turkish World Municipalities since 2014. He is married and father of seven children.

With more than 16 years of experience, out of which 7 years in UNDP, Sertaç Turhal’s focus was environment, local development and resilience. With UNDP Turkey, he is currently working as Project Manager of Turkey Resilience Project, Municipal Service Delivery Component. The Project aims give infrastructure and technical support Municipalities which is heavily affected by large number of refugees.

Harold Logie Tucker is currently the Mayor of Bo City, Southern Sierra Leone. He is also currently serving his second five years term. Mr.Tucker was involved in grassroots youth empowerment and entrepreneurship which graduated him into a community politician belonging to the Sierra Leone People’s Party. He served in senior project management positions in both local and international organisations for over 15 years before setting up his own Local Non- Governmental Organisation with interventions in Child and maternal issues, telemedicine, youth development, women’s development and empowerment and financial services training as a professional business coach.  He was nominated to represent all local NGO’S on the World Bank projects approval committee, a fund managed by the National Commission for Resettlement, reconstruction and rehabilitation after the end of the eleven years war in Sierra Leone. He studied Geography and Linguistics and several post graduate interventions in Project Development and management, Community Psychosocial development, Leadership Trainings for Chief Executives in the private sector. He taught for one year as an outstanding teacher at Saint Andrews Secondary school Bo City and pursued Business and fish farming. He was honoured best Mayor’s award for 2016 and 2017 among 19 chairpersons and Mayors in Sierra Leone. His Council has constantly won the best Council of the year. He has presented professional papers in leadership and development in institutions of higher learning in and out of Sierra Leone. His Council is in collaboration with Lamington and Warwick Cities in UK for waste Management research and implementation. He is 49 years old and married with four children.

Adnan Ünverdi was born in 1962 in Gaziantep. He graduated from middle school and high school in Gaziantep. In 1983, he completed the Department of Business at Cukurova University’s Economics and Administrative Sciences Faculty.

He started his career in 1986 with cotton trade. He and his team achieved the production of first plastic door and window with the brand of Plaspen Plastic Co. Ldt. In 1990. He continued the production of plastic doors and windows since 2006 with his company named Ünplast. Since 2006, he has been continuing the production with chemical blend granules.

Between the years 1997-1999, He became a Board Member of Gaziantep Young Businessmen Association. Between 2004-2009, he served as Accounting Member of Gaziantep Free Trade Zone. Since 1999, Mr. Ünverdi has been serving in the Gaziantep Chamber of Industry where he performed the duties of Board Member and Accounting Member and he recently works as the Chairperson of the Board. Mr. Ünverdi is also a Member of Council at The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey and Gaziantep Tennis Club.

Carmen Vélez is the Head of the Planning and Evaluation Unit of the Andalusian Agency for International Development Cooperationsince 2008. She also teaches economy at the University of Seville. Specialized in evaluation, before jointed the Agency, she carried out several evaluation work for both the European Union and the Spanish Central Administration, the regional government of Andalusia and various Local Administrations (Town Halls, Associations and Provincials), related to various programs, projects and initiatives. Among them, it is worth noting the Monitoring and Evaluation of the Equal Iniciative in Andalusia and the direct participation in the elaboration of three evaluation handbooks: “Managing Evaluation Handbook for the Spanish International Cooperation Policy”, “Guide for the Evaluation of Public Policies” and “Planning and Evaluation Guide for Local Development Agents ” He also has extensive experience in the organization and delivery of courses and seminars on Monitoring and Evaluation in Spain and Latin America.

Born in 1987 in Barcelona, Spain, Carlos Vilar is an advocacy, projects & urban affairs professional. As a political scientist with M.A in European Affairs and International Studies, he has 8+ years of experience in public affairs, consultancy and integrated urban development, and engagements with governmental and non-governmental stakeholders to influence policy and legislation through research, advocacy, project management and city-to-city cooperation. Currently working at the Council of European Municipalities and Regions, as the Policy and Projects Coordinator on Migration and Integration, Carlos is a Member of the Jury of the European Youth Capital since 2014. He provides advice on EU decision-making and knowledge exchange working in the fields of migration and integration, local governance, smart cities, territorial reforms, decentralization, multilevel governance, better regulation and citizenship. He contributes to various media outlets, such as opinion articles for El País or Agenda Pública (El País), political analyst with France 24. He was also a collaborator with the Smart City World Expo Congress to select speakers and award winners for the 2019 edition.