World Forum for Democracy 2026: speakers

Abrar AHMED Youth Engagement Coordinator, Welfare Association for New Generation (WANG) Pakistan

Aleida ALAVEZ RUIZ Mayor of Iztapalapa Mexico

Liz ALDERMAN Journalist, Former New York Times European Business Correspondent

Miguel ALOR FLORES Executive Director, Plaza Cívica Peru

Ève-Lorie AUGER-GAUTHIER International Studies graduate, Office franco-québécois pour la jeunesse Canada

Samia BADANI Co-Founder and Chief Executive, The SPACE United Kingdom

Sally BAILEY-RAVET Chief Interpreter and Head of Conferences and Travel, Council of Europe

Petra BAYR President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

Alain BERSET Secretary General of the Council of Europe

Matias BIANCHI Founder and Director, Asuntos del Sur Argentina

Frédéric BIERRY President of the European Collectivity of Alsace France

Marie BOHNER Head of Development and Partnerships, Digital Investigation, AFP France

Felipe BOSCH Cross-Practice Lead, School of International Futures (SOIF)

Helfried CARL Founder & CEO, European Capital of Democracy (ECoD) Austria

Arthur CHAPMAN Professor of History Education at University College London and Vice-Chair of the Scientific Advisory Council of the OHTE United Kingdom

Martina CHAPMAN Independent consultant specialised in media literacy policy and strategy development Ireland

Ambassador Nathalie CHUARD Director of Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance

Natalia COLOMBO Institutional Development Manager, Factchequeado

Enno COORDES European Movement Germany

Liz CORBIN Director of News, European Broadcasting Union

Sabine CULLMANN University of Strasbourg France

Prof. Olivier DE SCHUTTER Catholic University of Leuven, former UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights

Daniele DEL BIANCO Institute of International Sociology of Gorizia

Ambassador Delphine DELIEUX President of Rapporteur Group on Democracy of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers (GR-DEM)

Renzo DIAZ GIUNTA President & Founder of the International Institute for Liberty, Democracy & Progress (IILDP) Peru

Laure DONWAHI Mayor of Mayo Ivory Coast

Oche Precious EDEH Executive Director, YES Africa Nigeria

Wojciech FIREK Founder and president of the Polish Democracy in Practice Association Poland

Marie-No GANDZION Deputy Mayor of Strasbourg responsible for equality, combating discrimination, and women's rights France

Natalia GAVRILIȚA Former Prime Minister Republic of Moldova

Wim GEERTS Ambassador for Human Rights the Netherlands

Gerardo GÓMEZ CRESPO Project Manager, Diversit Spain

Fabian GOMOND Journalist France

Tanja GONGGRIJP Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe

Michèle GRIFFIN Director of Electoral Assistance, UN Department for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs

Mattias GUYOMAR President of the European Court of Human Rights

Anace HEDDAN Chief Executive Officer, Les Citoyens Morocco

Gunn Marit HELGESEN President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities

Eirik HOLMØYVIK Vice-President of the Venice Commission

Jeffry JEARTY Youth civil society representative to present the “Youth Innovating Democracy: A powerful Manifesto for a democratic Europe in 2049”

Věra JOUROVÁ Chair of the Task Force Democracy27, former Vice-President of the European Commission

Reda JUTELIAVICIUTE Co-founder, Ribologija Lithuania

Prof. Mary KALDOR Director of the Civil Society and Human Security Research Unit, London School of Economics and Political Science

Oleksandra KEUDEL Founding Director of the Center for Democratic Resilience, Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) Ukraine

Omar KHALED Co-Founder and Executive Director, SpotCast Lebanon

Lorenzo KIHLGREN GRANDI City Diplomacy Lab and German Marshall Fund Germany

Tamar KINTSURASHVILI Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Georgian fact-checking platform Myth Detector Georgia

Georgios KOLLIARKIS Senior Advisor, Austrian Institute for European and Security Policy (AIES)

Maria-Andriani KOSTOPOULOU Chair of the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO)

Adam LABARAN Founder and Director, ENRMSC Poland

Franck LEROY President of the Région Grand Est France

Marília MACIEL Director of Digital Trade & Economic Security, DiploFoundation Brazil

Richard MAKON Sub-Regional Director for Central and East Africa, Foundation for Innovation in Democracy in Africa

Nsah MALA Next Generation Foresight Practitioner (NGFP), Coordinator of the UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES Global Coalition hub for Planetary Wellbeing

Soraya MARTINEZ FERRADA (online) Mayor of Montréal Canada

Rodrigo MAYORGA Chief Executive Officer, Momento Ciudadano Chile

David MEKKAOUI CEO of ALL Digital Belgium

Ambassador Sandy MOSS Permanent Representation of the United Kingdom to the Council of Europe United Kingdom

Emma NELSON Journalist, broadcaster and presenter

Thibilisse NKURUNZIZA Founder and Editor in Chief, Shikiriza

Prof. Aoife NOLAN President of the Council of Europe European Committee of Social Rights

Eric NUSSBAUMER Former President of the National Council of Switzerland Switzerland

Adam NYMAN HelloFuture Founder, citizen insight expert

George PAPANDREOU General Rapporteur on Democracy, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

Mark PEARSON Acting OECD Director for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs

Aikaterini POLYZOU Chair of the Steering Committee on Media and Information Society (CDMSI)

Jonathan REYES GONZALEZ Head of Design, Democratic Society Ireland

Marja RUOTANEN Director General of Democracy and Human Dignity, Council of Europe

Guy RYDER UN Under-Secretary General for Policy

Julia SAMTLEBEN Mayor of the Stockelsdorf Germany

Mohamed El-Amine SOUEF Special Representative for Central Africa and Head of UNOCA

Georgios STAMATIS General Rapporteur on Roma and Travellers, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Greece

Lucia ŠTASSELOVA Member of the City Council of Bratislava Slovak Republic

Frixos STEFANIDIS Policy Officer, Oxygen for Democracy Cyprus

Svetlana STEFANOVIC Executive Director at Foundation BFPE for a Responsible Society

Ambassador Alexandre STUTZMANN Head of the EU Delegation to the Council of Europe

Jaana TAPANAINEN-THEISS Expert on democratic foresight, Finnish Prime Minister’s Office Finland

Massimiliano TARANTINO Director of Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli and Corporate Communications and Sustainability Director of the Feltrinelli Group Italy