Speakers

Keynote Speakers:

Russell Hardin,  Distinguished Professor of Politics at New York University and Stanford University.  He has authored many books on ethics and social theory, such as Indeterminacy and Society. Princeton University Press, 2003. Trust and Trustworthiness. Russell Sage Foundation, 2002. Liberalism, Constitutionalism, and Democracy. Oxford University Press, 1999 One for All: The Logic of Group Conflict. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 1995. He was a Rhodes Scholar, a Guggenheim Fellow, and he has been honored by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences.

Amina Wadud, Professor of Islamic Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, USA, is a Islamic feminist and scholar, whose work is well-known iaround the world. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, but studied also Arabic in Egypt at the American University in Cairo, Cairo University, and Al-Azhar University. Her research specialities include gender and Qur'anic studies.  Her books Qur'an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman's Perspective (1992) and Inside the Gender Jihad: Women's Reform in Islam (2006) are ‘classics’ in the area. She was one of the founders of Sisters of Islam in Malaysia, and she has actively promoted gender equality in both academic and non-academic contexts all over the world for many years. In 2007 she received the Danish Democracy Prize.

Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, Professor for psychology at the University of Cape Town, and Senior Consultant for the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation in Cape Town. Between 1998 and 2001 she was a research fellow at Harvard University affiliated with the Radcliff Institute for Advanced Research, the Women and Public Policy Program, the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, and Harvard Divinity School. During this time, she taught at Wellesley College, Brandeis University, and Tufts University. She is a founder member of Women Waging Peace, a global initiative for women headquartered in Cambridge Massachusetts, whose members work in regions with a history of past and continuing conflict.

Ron Pundak, Historian, Director General of the Peres Center for Peace, Tel Aviv. Dr. Pundak played a decisive role in creating the secret track of the unofficial Oslo negotiations at the beginning of 1993 and contributed significantly to the Camp David II and Taba Negotiations. In parallel, and on an ongoing basis since then, Dr. Pundak has led and participated in numerous Israeli-Palestinian track two activities and served as a member of the Steering Committee of the Geneva Initiative. He is involved in various peace-related initiatives such as think tanks, working groups, and advisory committees. Leading and overseeing all aspects of the Peres Center's activities he serves as an essential link between the grass-roots sector and key policy makers.

Plenary, Semi-Plenary, and Session Speakers*: 

Karen Abi-Ezzi, Assoc. Professor at the Department for Peace Studies at the University of Bradford, England, has as her main research interest are in theories of conflict resolution, in particular the application of discourse analysis to the study of mediation processes, as well as the study of NGO work for reconciliation. Her main geographic area of research is the Middle East, in particular Israel/Palestine and Lebanon.

Mark Addis, Reader in Philosophy and Cultural Theory at Birmingham City University. He researches in Wittgenstein and the philosophies of language, mind, and religion. His interests cover the connections between culture, rationality, and epistemology, as well as the facilitation of intercultural communication by the use of new technologies. He has been a Visiting Scholar at the Department of Philosophy at Georgia State University and is currently a Visiting Professor at the Institute for Philosophy and History of Ideas at Aarhus University.

Safet Bektovic, Adjunct Professor at the Center for European Islamic Thought at the  University of Copenhagen, specializing in traditional and modern Islamic philosophy,   interreligious dialogue, the History of Ideas at Balkan, and more recently contemporary Islamic ethics in a pluralistic world. Recent publications pertain to a comparative study of the passion of faith in Kierkegaard and the Sufism of Ibn Arabi, but also on identity constructions among Christian and Muslim Youth in Denmark. He furthers--in his research and practically--the interreligious dialogue in Denmark.

Reinhold Bernhardt, Professor for Systematic Theology, University of Basel, Swizzerland, focuses in his research on the pluralistic theology of the religions. Recently he published The End of Dialogue? The Encounter of Religions and Their Theological Reflection, TVZ Zürich 2006.

Thomas Brudholm,  Researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, Copenhagen. Specializes in philosophy of genocide and the ethics of resentment, forgiveness and reconciliation. Currently focusing on the role of religious ideas and actors in responses to mass atrocity. Most recent publication: Resentment's Virtue: Jean Améry and the Refusal to Forgive (Temple University Press, Feb 2008).

Gordon Burt, Director of the Mathematical Social Science Programme, Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University, London. Among many other topics in mathematical social science he specializes in the modelling on social conflicts.

Peter T. Coleman, Director of the International Center for Cooperation and Confict Resolution, Columbia University, USA.  He is Professor of Psychology and Education and has conducted research on social entitivity processes (ingroup/outgroup formation), the mediation of inter-ethnic conflict, and on the conditions and processes which foster the constructive use of social power.  He is the editor of the Handbook of Conflict Resolution and published extensively on the modeling of intractable conflicts in dynamic systems theory and complexity theory.

Daniel Druckman, Professor in the Department of Public and International Affairs at George Mason University, USA, and Australian Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Queensland. International lead figure in the interdisciplinary research field of CA&I (Conflict Analysis and Intervention). Main recent publications: Doing Research: Methods of Inquiry for Conflict Analysis, Sage, 2005, Handbook for Conflict Resolution (ed., six volumes) 2006.

Douglas P. Fry, teaches in the Faculty of Social and Caring Sciences at Abo Akademi University in Finland and is an adjunct research scientist in the Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology at the University of Arizona. A renowned anthropologist and a leading authority on aggression, conflict, and conflict resolution, he has worked in this field for over twenty-five years and has published many articles and books on this subject; see his recent Beyond War: The Human Potential for Peace, 2007.

Marc Gopin, Director of the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution, George Mason University, USA. Besides researching on values dilemmas as they apply to international problems of globalization, clash of cultures, development, social justice and conflict, Professor Gopin engages in practical training and back channel diplomacy. He is the author of Between Eden and Armageddon: The Future of World Religions, Violence and Peacemaking (2000), Holy War, Holy Peace: How Religion Can Bring Peace to the Middle East (2002), and, Healing the Heart of Conflict (2004).  He was ordained as a rabbi at Yeshiva University in 1983.

Chris Groves, Research Associate at the Centre for Business Relationships, Accountability, Sustainability and Society (BRASS) at Cardiff University, GB. He investigates new conceptual approaches to a social theory of the future, focusing on the theme of time and responsibility.  

Sohail Hashmi (Plenary or Semi-Plenary), Professor for International Relations, Mount Holyoke College, USA, focuses in his research publications on the issues of religion and politics, particularly on the role of Islam in domestic and international relations, and on comparative ethics of war and peace. His recent book Islamic Political Science (2005) is widely used. 

Nevad Kahteran, Professor of History of Eastern Philosophy & Comparative Philosophy, at the Philosophical Faculty, University of Sarajevo, and Visiting Professor of Islamic Philosophy at the Philosophical Faculty of Society of Jesus, University of Zagreb, Croatia. He specializes in research in Islamic Theology, Intercultural History of Ideas and Worldphilosophy. Most recent publications are Comparative Philosophy, Sarajevo, 2008; Situating the Bosnian Paradigm (2008).

Dominique-Sila Khan, Institute of Rajasthan Studies. Jaipur, India, obtained her first doctorate in literature and another in anthropology, both from the Sorbonne University, Paris. She specialises in the study of Hindu-Muslim interactions in South Asia, particularly the study of obscure branches of Nizari Ismailis in India. More recently she has explored the issue of religious identities in South Asia (North India) in Conversions and Shifting Identities: Ramdev Pir and the Ismailis in Rajasthan (1997) and Crossing the Threshold: Understanding Religious Identities in South Asia, (2004).

Iris Luarasi, Associate professor at Tirana University, Department of Journalism. She has been President of the South East Europe Network of Association of Private Broadcasters SEENAPB and is the Executive Director of Counseling Center for Women and Girls, where she works on post-war trauma and conflict mitigation.

Christopher Mitchell, Professor emitus at the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University. An economist and historian, he was part of the pioneering research team at University College, London which, under the leadership of Dr John Burton, developed in 1960 the basic ideas of conflict resolution, which he applied in practical work on conflicts. He published the Handbook of Conflict Resolution: The Analytical Problem-Solving Approach (1996) and more recently Gestures of Conciliation : Factors Contributing to Successful Olive Branches (2000) discussing from a theoretical point of view practical measures for sustaining the process of peacemaking in intractable conflicts.

Jan Øberg Director of the Transnational Foundation for Future and Peace Research, former director of the Lund University Peace Research Institute (LUPRI);  former member of the Danish government's Committee on security and disarmament.  He has written extensively, both as scholar and columnist, on aspects of peace work.

Michiaki Okuyama, Professor in the Faculty of the Humanities at Nanzan University, Japan, and permanent research fellow at the Nanzan Institute for Religions and Culture, visiting positions in Berkeley, CA, Emory University in Atlanta, and Princeton University. His research focus is on Eastern and Western approaches to the History of Religions, Muslim and Buddhist communities in the U.S, and interreligious communication and symbol transfer.

Fernando Rendon, Columbian Poet and Director of the International Poetry Festival at Medellin, Columbia, the world's largest convention of poet since 1991, where poets from 140 countries gather  to support the peace effort in Columbia and to endorse a cultural movement towards solidarity and enlightened humanity.  In 2006 he received the Alternative  Nobel Prize  for Peace by the Swedish Parliament.

Marc Howard Ross, Professor at Bryan Mawr College, specializes on conflict theory, conflict management, and the politics of conflict, with a particular focus on the role of culture in ethnic conflict. His recent publications include The Culture of Conflict: Interpretations and Interests in Comparative Perspective and The Managements of Conflict: Interpretations and Interests in Comparative Perspective, as well as Theory and Practice in Ethnic Conflict Management: Theorizing Success and Failure.

Dorothee Schlenke, Professor for Protestant Theology/Religious Pedagogy, University of Education, Freiburg. Her research interest focuses on the fundamental relationship between religion, Christian theology and the question of education, including religious learning, gender perspectives, and the possibility of interreligious dialogue.

Robin Schott, Research Professor at the School of Education, University of Aarhus.  She specializes in feminist philosophy, ethics, and social and political philosophy and has directed several research projects on conflict-related issues, also in educational contexts.  Her recent publications include Evil, Terrorism, and Gender (2007), Feminist Philosophy and the Problem of Evil (2007).

Augustine Shutte, Department of Philosophy, University of Cape Town.  His main areas of interest are philosophy of religion, philosophical anthropology, ethics and contemporary Thomist philosophy. Among his recent publications are: The Mystery of Humanity (1993);  Philosophy for Africa (1995);  Ubuntu: An ethic for a new South Africa (1998);  The Quest for Humanity in Science and Religion (2002).

Ervin Staub, professor emeritus of psychology at Univ. of Massachusetts, Director of the Psychology of Peace & Violence research unit undertaking research in the US and in over a dozen countries including Albania, Argentina, Burundi, Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Rwanda, South Africa, and Spain. Dr. Staub’s researhc interests include helping behavior and altruism, passivity of bystanders, the roots and prevention of violence between groups, especially mass killings, genocide and terrorism, as well as reconciliation after violence. He has applied his work in real world settings to reduce police violence, and promote healing and reconciliation in Rwanda. Recent publications include: The Roots of Evil: On the Origins of Genocide (1992). The Psychology of Good and Evil: Why Children, Adults, and Groups Help and Harm Others (2003).

Swee Hin Toh, Professor and Foundation Director of the Multi-Faith Centre, Griffith University, Australia; Laureate, UNESCO Prize for Peace Education 2000; contributed to the UNESCO Culture of Peace Program and Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding; former Director of the Centre of Education for International Development, University of Alberta, Canada. He promoted peace education in various North and South contexts with extensive cooperative links with numerous NGOs and civil society organizations in peace, human rights, social justice and interfaith dialogue. The Multi-Faith Centre offers education in multi-faith dialogue and promotes research on religious pluralism and coorperation.  

Levent Tezcan, Professor at the Faculty of Humanities, University of Tilburg, Babylon Centre for the Study of Multicultural Societies.  He specializes in research on collective identities among migrants, interreligious conflicts and interfaith communication from a sociological point of view.

Søren Viemose, Director of the Kaløvig Center, one of Denmark's leading consultants in conflict management and negotiation.  The Kaløvig Center is currently used as venue for conferences, workshops, and training  seminars on conflict management, but will soon also serve as thinktank on conflict research for Danish and international researchers.

Vibeke Vindelov, Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, University of Copenhagen. Danish Representative at the World Mediation Forum.  Actively involved in the implementation of conflict resolution centers in Albania. Her recent publications include Mediation--A Non-Model, 2007.

*Please note that this document is still under revision; some confirmations of our speakers are still pending.