Claudia Turbay Quintero is a Colombian diplomat and journalist with a distinguished career in international relations. She has served as Colombia’s Ambassador to Switzerland, Uruguay, and, since 2013, Ghana, with concurrent accreditation to several West African countries. Turbay has also represented Colombia at the Latin American Integration Association in Montevideo and held leadership roles at Proexport, including President. She studied Humanities and Journalism at Fordham University and holds a Master’s in Latin American and Caribbean Studies from New York University. Daughter of former President Julio César Turbay Ayala, she is recognised for her expertise in diplomacy and international trade.

Kojo Yankah is a renowned Ghanaian journalist, author, politician, and cultural activist. He served as a Member of Parliament and Minister of State under the Rawlings government, and later founded the African University College of Communications. As President of the World Museum of Pan-African Heritage, he champions the preservation and celebration of African history and culture. Yankah's career spans leadership in media, education, and public service, including roles as editor of the Daily Graphic and director of the Ghana Institute of Journalism. His lifelong dedication has shaped policies, inspired generations, and promoted African heritage globally.

Guiomar Alonso is an anthropologist with 30 years of international experience in culture, education, and sustainable development. She has led multidisciplinary teams and designed innovative strategies in technical cooperation, institutional strengthening, and public policy advisory across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Her work has been instrumental in promoting culture as a driver of development, consolidating approaches that integrate tangible and intangible heritage, traditional knowledge, and biocultural diversity into models of sustainability and resilience. Throughout her career, she has championed the systematisation, recognition, and protection of local and Indigenous knowledge, as well as intangible heritage. She has explored new methods of knowledge transmission in educational settings and fostered dialogue between empirical and modern science to co-create sustainable and resilient development models. Alonso has also spearheaded pioneering initiatives to assign quantitative values to intangible aspects of culture, such as the Culture for Development Indicators (CDIS)—a tool that has enabled measurement of culture’s contribution to development in over 35 countries. Since 1994, she has held various roles within UNESCO’s Culture Sector, including her tenure as Regional Culture Advisor at the UNESCO Office for West Africa/Sahel (2012–2022), where she led large-scale heritage protection projects and socio- economic development initiatives for local communities. Since 2022, as Head of the UNESCO Office in Peru, she has led efforts to bridge educational gaps in Amazonian regions, safeguard cultural and natural heritage, and revitalise local and Indigenous knowledge through innovative strategies for biodiversity management and preservation.

Kofi Asare Opoku, chairman of the Council of Elders of the Pan African Heritage Museum, was formerly Founding chairman of the Kwabena Nketia Centre for Africana Studies, AUCC, and Associate Professor of Religion and Ethics at the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana, Legon; he is an authority on traditional African religion, and retired Professor of Religious Studies at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania.
His books include: West African Traditional Religion; Speak to the Winds- Proverbs from Africa; Healing for God’s World. At 92, he is currently spending more time on his Herbal Plant Farm and his 3-acre Forest in the Eastern Region of Ghana.

Luis Bolaño Nolavita is an indigenous representative in the municipal cabinet of Ciénaga, Magdalena (2024-2027). He is a community leader committed to protecting the rights of indigenous populations and implementing inclusive public policies. He works for sustainable development that respects ancestral traditions and promotes social equity in the Magdalena region, contributing to the "Ciénaga Más Social, Sostenible y Productiva" (More Social, Sustainable and Productive Ciénaga) Plan.

Juan Conchacala Dingula, a Kogui mama, was born in Colombia's Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta's Maldamaxe basin. Trained for over 25 years, including 12 years in the darkness of Magutama caves, he became a spiritual leader of the Kogui people. He was instrumental in establishing the Kogui Reserve and Gonawindúa Tayrona Organisation (OGT), and founded the Kogui village of Zhinkuameldo in the Río Ancho Basin. Conchacala initiated and led the audiovisual documentation resulting in the film "The Spirit of the Festival".

Parfait DIHOUKAMBA, a national of the Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), is a prominent advocate for the rights of Indigenous Peoples in Central Africa. He serves as the National Coordinator of REPALEAC-Congo and is the founding president of APADEFC and former coordinator of RENAPAC. Actively engaged in regional and international arenas, including the International Forum of Indigenous Peoples of Central Africa (FIPAC), he works to ensure the recognition of Indigenous Peoples in public policy and reforestation programs, and strongly supports the establishment and implementation of national and international legal frameworks for Indigenous rights.

Alberto Gómez Mejía is a Colombian lawyer, ecologist, and environmental leader, founder and president of the Quindío Botanical Garden, and president of the National Network of Botanical Gardens of Colombia since 1996. With over 50 years dedicated to nature conservation, he has participated in the redacion of some key environmental laws and advised national and international bodies. Honoured with a Doctorate honoris causa and the Whitley Award, he is a reference in biodiversity and environmental policy in Colombia.

Laurence is the newly elected President of ENERGIES 2050 and a committed human rights and climate justice defender. A historian and lifelong educator, she has devoted her career to building bridges between generations and cultures. For her, memory and understanding are essential to restoring dignity and protecting ancestral heritage. She believes that knowing history and past realities is vital to restoring rights and recognition. Since 2017, she has led ART’S PLANET, an artistic and grassroots initiative within ENERGIES 2050, mobilizing artists, Indigenous voices, and citizens around the SDGs through a humanistic vision rooted in education, creativity, and cultural dialogue.

Arhuaca Indigenous Member of SNSM. Bacteriologist from Universidad San Buenaventura, Cartagena. Doctor in Environmental Toxicology, University of Cartagena. Member of the Research Group at the Arhuaca Cultural Teaching Center, Swaka, located in Jimain, César. Research focused on environmental impact assessments and health effects of anthropogenic activities. Contributions to promoting Arhuaca culture, particularly female attire, food security, and environmental conservation

Born in the Kalungu camp, Bushushu, in South Kivu (DR Congo), Justin is a determined leader and activist of the Indigenous Pygmy Peoples (PAP). As founder of ADELIPO -an organization created, led, and governed by PAP communities- he defends human rights and fights for the dignity, recognition, and self-determination of Indigenous Peoples. His work spans the promotion of ancestral knowledge, forest and biodiversity protection, and climate justice. Active across five provinces of the DRC and in Malawi, ADELIPO stands as a grassroots voice for justice, resilience, and the rights of those too often excluded from decision-making.

Human rights and environmental defense lawyer, Master's in Government and Public Policy, researcher in peace pedagogies, socio-ecological conflicts, environmental justice, climate justice and related fields. Member of CLACSO's Southern Political Ecologies Working Group of Abya Yala, Vamos Por los Derechos Collective, and Abya Yala Collective.

Cultural anthropologist and Doctor in Sustainability for Colombia's Caribbean region, with extensive experience as an international consultant on indigenous affairs and projects involving science, innovation, and technology at GATEWAY.IT. She has worked in Colombia, Spain, and Mexico safeguarding the Intangible Cultural Heritage of indigenous communities such as Inkal-Awa (Nariño), Embera-Katios, Zenúes (Córdoba), and Zapotecs (Oaxaca). From 2014 to 2021, she coordinated the Intangible Cultural Heritage line at the UNESCO Chair in Sustainability. A university lecturer and researcher, she has integrated applied research across humanities, environmental studies, and technology. She currently leads a project promoting ecological and cultural resilience among the Zenú people through Nature-Based Solutions in response to climate droughts in Córdoba.

Stéphane is the founder of ENERGIES 2050, an international network active for over 25 years, and a lifelong advocate for climate and social justice. With over 35 years of experience and projects in more than 100 countries, he promotes systemic approaches that connect local realities with transformative, just solutions serving the global good. For him, no lasting change is possible without deep understanding and acceptance. He fights the violence endured by Indigenous Peoples as a brutal reminder of our dehumanized world that continues to exhaust our planet. Through ENERGIES 2050 and ART’S PLANET, he envisions a future rooted in dignity, memory, solidarity, and hope.

Graduated in Cultural Management from the University of Cartagena; Professional in Literary Studies from the Autonomous University of Bucaramanga; Magister in e-Learning and social networks from the Universidad Internacional de la Rioja (UNIR), Spain and Magister in Creative Writing at the University of Salamanca, Spain. Worked for more than ten years in the tourism sector, later served as Manager of El Colegio del Cuerpo de Cartagena, was Director of the Summer School and the Internationalization Area at the Universidad Tecnológica de Bolívar and Director of Media Relations at the University Jorge Tadeo Lozano sectional of the Caribbean. Teacher of oral and written communication at the Colegio Mayor de Bolívar and columnist for the newspaper El Universal de Cartagena, de El Espectador and the Semana magazine

Dieter Rudolph leads Earth Island Institute's "Stop Fish Bombing USA" project. An ocean NGO veteran, he tackled climate change as President/CEO. Commercially, he managed contracts for military and energy clients. As Director for Arctic Military Environmental Cooperation, he supported Defence leadership in this £32M UK-Norway-Russia-US initiative developing non-proliferation tech for Russian environmental issues. Captain Rudolph served as Deputy Oceanographer of the Navy, commanding three Naval Oceanographic Commands. Honours include the Defence Superior Service Medal and two Legions of Merit.