Mondli Makhanya

Editor-In-Chief City Press South Africa

Mondli Makhanya, who is currently the Editor-in-Chief of City Press, has been in the media industry for more than 26 years. He is one of South Africa’s most respected editors and an influential columnist. Makhanya’s insights into South Africa’s political and social developments are much sought after. He is a regular speaker at public and private events and is frequently invited to speak on panels across a range of topics.
Makhanya began his career at the Weekly Mail where he covered the transition to democracy and reported on business and economic debates. During this time, he also served a stint at Newsweek magazine in New York. After the Weekly Mail, he worked for The Star as political writer and later as Deputy News Editor and Executive Editor.
He was one of the founding editors of Sunday World before moving on to the Sunday Times, where he worked as political editor. Makhanya has served as Editor of the Mail and Guardian, Editor-in-Chief of the Sunday Times, and Editor-in-Chief of the Times Media Group.
Makhanya has also served as Chairperson of the South African National Editors Forum and as Treasurer of The African Editors’ Forum (TAEF).

Ms. Saša JUREČKO

Deputy Permanent Representative Permanent Mission of Slovenia to the UN Slovenia

· Joined the Permanent Mission of Slovenia to the United Nations as Deputy Permanent Representative on 14 September 2020.
· April to August 2020: Advisor to the Director-General for Multilateral Affairs and Development Cooperation; Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
· July 2018 – march 2020: Advisor to the Political Director/Director-General for Common Foreign and Security Policy; Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
· 2014-2018: UN General Assembly Second Committee Expert, Permanent Mission of Slovenia to the United Nations in New York; head of advisors to the Chair of the Second Committee during the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly.
· 2013-2014: Desk Officer for the United Nations (Department for International Organisations); Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
· 2007-2013: Desk Officer for Subsaharan Africa (Department for Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Oceania); Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
· Joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia in 2007; after obtaining a University Degree in Political Science (International Relations) at the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Sciences.

Charlotta Schlyter

Ambassador, Head of Section for Sustainable Development Permanent Mission of Sweden to the UN Sweden

Charlotta Schlyter is Ambassador for Sustainable Development at the Mission of Sweden to the United Nations in New York since 1 September 2020. From 2017 to 2020 she was Ambassador of Sweden to Bangladesh.
Charlotta Schlyter joined the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1997. Earlier postings abroad include the Embassy in New Delhi, India, the Permanent Mission of Sweden to the United Nations in New York, and the Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand. In addition, she has worked for the European Union Delegation to the United Nations in New York, for the UNHCR in Ankara, Turkey, and for the ILO in Geneva, Switzerland and in New Delhi, India.

Charlotta Schlyter holds Master of Laws (LL.M) degrees from Uppsala University, Sweden (1989) and from the University of Toronto, Canada (1990).
She is married and has two children.

Sofia Voultepsi

Deputy Minister of Migration and Asylum in charge of Integration Member of the Greek Parliament, New Democracy Greece

Curriculum Vitae

Parliamentarian activity:

• Served as President of the Special Permanent Committee on Equality, Youth and Human Rights and • Of the Subcommittee for people with disabilities and • Of the Subcommittee against Human Trafficking • Served as Member of the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs • Served as Member of the Economic, Commercial, Technological and Environmental Affairs Committee of Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation –PABSEC. • Elected Member of the Hellenic Parliament (from 2004) • Served as Parliamentary Spokeswoman of the New Democracy Party (2012 until June 2014) • Served as Secretary of the Parliamentary Committees for National Defense, Foreign Affairs, Macedonia-Thrace and Aegean regions. • Served as Delegate of the Parliamentarian Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe –OSCE.
Professional career:
• Journalist with long career in daily newspapers and magazines. • Editor-in-chief in daily newspapers as well as radio and television programs. • Fields of expertise: International Politics, research, interviews, analysis and reporting. • Director of the “Eleftheri Zoni” (Free Zone) daily web newspaper (2010 until 2014).

Michael Busch

Director of Public Programs The Polis Project USA

Michael Busch teaches in the graduate program in Human Rights at John Jay College, CUNY. He also serves as Senior Editor of Warscapes magazine, and Director of Public Programs at The Polis Project — a New York City-based research and journalism non-profit working with communities in resistance. Busch previously taught political science, sociology and international studies at The City College of New York, where he was also the Associate Director of the Office of Student Success. Among other duties in that role he managed and developed curricula for the college’s flagship Powell Fellowship programs for students interested in careers in public service.

Michael Busch was also previously Research Associate at the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies where he worked on human rights, political economy and global governance, and co-authored Sustainable Global Governance for the 21st Century: The United Nations Confronts Economic and Environmental Crises amidst Changing Geopolitics (Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, 2009) with Thomas G. Weiss and Tapio Kanninen. Michael’s other writing has appeared in dozens of journals, magazines and newspapers, as well as in several edited volumes. His most recent publication appears in Public Purpose: Industrial Policy’s Comeback and Government’s Role in Shared Prosperity (Boston Review/MIT Press: 2021).