Ms. Lalla Soumia Bouhamidi currently serves as Acting President of the Executive Committee of the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe and took up her duties as Consul General of the Kingdom of Morocco in Strasbourg in October 2025. Ms. Bouhamidi has built an extensive diplomatic career having previously served as Acting Director of the African Affairs Department at the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Consul General in Montpellier, and Deputy Ambassador in London, among other key positions. Ms. Bouhamidi's expertise encompasses international diplomacy, conflict resolution, peace and security, human rights, and the foreign policy of Morocco. She holds a Master’s degree in International Studies and Diplomacy and a degree in International Economic Relations.

M. Claus Neukirch a pris ses fonctions de directeur de la coordination des programmes au Conseil de l'Europe le 1er novembre 2022. Avant cette nomination, il a occupé les fonctions de chef de la Mission de l’OSCE en Moldavie et de chef du Bureau du Conseil de l’Europe à Tirana. Au cours de sa carrière dans la diplomatie multilatérale, M. Neukirch a par ailleurs travaillé au sein de la délégation allemande auprès de l’OSCE lors de la présidence allemande de l’OSCE en 2016, au Secrétariat de l’OSCE et au sein de la Mission de l’OSCE en Moldavie. Il est titulaire d’un doctorat en sciences politiques de l’Université de Hambourg.

Sandra Monteiro is the Editor-in-Chief of Le Monde diplomatique – Portuguese edition since February 2005; she has worked at the newspaper since 1999 and previously served as Deputy Editor-in-Chief. She is a founding member and board member of the cultural cooperative Outro Modo, established in 2006, which has since published the Portuguese edition of Le Monde diplomatique. She holds a degree in History (1988–1992) from the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa (FCSH-UNL).

Mr Rami Abou Jamous is a Palestinian war correspondent based in Gaza, whose reporting provides a firsthand account of daily life under bombardment and displacement. As the founder of Gaza Press and the author of two books, he is widely recognised for his strong commitment to press freedom in a highly challenging and volatile reporting environment. His work highlights both the urgent need to ensure the safety of journalists and the extremely
perilous conditions in which media professionals operate in Gaza and the West Bank.

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Born in Donetsk in 1984, Serhii Stukanov graduated from the Faculty of History at Donetsk National University where he completed postgraduate studies in the philosophy of history. Mr Stukanov is the co-founder of the Donetsk youth organization “Poshtovkh” and founder of the Ukrainian Speaking Club in Donetsk.

Since 2001, Mr Stukanov has been active in journalism, working with outlets including the national newspaper “Den,” the news agency “Gal-info,” and Hromadske Radio. In 2018, Mr Stukanov became Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Ukrainian Radio (Suspilne Public Broadcasting) and is a co-author of the “Founding Fathers” projects. He also serves as Head of the Analytical Department at the Center for Content Analysis since 2019.

Most recently, in 2026, Mr Stukanov co-founded and became the Head of the NGO “Unity Institute”.

Antoine Bernard, a lawyer, is the Director, Advocacy and Assistance of Reporters Without Borders (RSF). He joined RSF in 2017 and has been leading RSF global advocacy, strategic litigation, assistance and digital operations. A recognized practitioner of human rights, international justice and NGOs, Antoine is also co-director of the Science Po (PSIA) Master on Human Rights and Humanitarian Action. Previously Director General of the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (FIDH), associate researcher at the Institute of Advanced Judicial Studies (IHEJ), also jury member of the Simone Veil Prize of the French Republic for gender equality and member of the World Movement for Democracy Steering Committee.

Pa Louis Thomasi is the Director of the Africa Office of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Head of the Secretariat of the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ) based in Dakar, Senegal.  He also served as the Chairperson of the Digital Platform on the Safety of Journalists in Africa after its launching in 2021 until 2024.

Over the past two decades, Mr. Thomasi has worked as a journalists’ trainer in various projects and programmes across Africa, namely on the media, democracy and human rights, freedom of association and labour rights, access to information, trade union development, election reporting, climate change reporting and Just Transition and the safety of journalists and media workers. As a trade unionist, Mr. Thomasi has also been instrumental in the IFJ and FAJ programmes that are designed to recruit young journalists especially those working online into the unions and associations across the continent.

Sérgio Gomes da Silva is the Coordinator for the Portuguese National Plan for the Safety of Journalists and National Plan for Media Literacy. Since September 2024, he has served as Director of the #PortugalMediaLab (Task Force for Media Public Policies)  with the mission of coordinating and monitoring public policies related to media by supporting the design and implementation of a Media Action Plan. He was previously Director of International Relations and Communications at the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.

Mr Gomes da Silva is a board member of the Protocol Centre for Professional Training for Journalists (CENJOR) and serves as member of the Executive Committee of OberCom – the Communications Observatory.

George Katrougalos is professor of public law at Democritus University of Thrace, former foreign minister of Greece. He is Vice-President of the International Association of Constitutional Law (IACL), with expertise on Human Rights, Comparative Constitutional Law, Democracy, Social Rights and Social Policy.

Katrougalos completed his law degree in Athens Law Faculty and his Master’s degree and Ph.D. in Paris I, Pantheon Sorbonne. He has taught at many universities in Europe, USA and Asia. He has been Emil Noel Fellow and Senior Emile Noel at New York University (2007 and 2012) and visiting professor at Roskilde University (1994-1995), as a fellow of the Danish Academy of Science. He has practiced in international tribunals, advised governments and the Council of Europe and worked on institution building in many countries in Europe and Asia. He has published extensively in Greek, American and European legal reviews.

Katrougalos served as member of the European and the Greek Parliament, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece, State Minister for European Affairs, Minister of Labor and Social Solidarity and State Minister for Administrative Reforms. He was President of the Unified European Left at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and President of the Sub-Committee on the Arab World and the Middle East of PACE.