KaleidHERscope speaks with photojournalist/ documentary maker Fiona Lloyd-Davies and human rights lawyer Emine Colak about the necessity of documenting the stories of human rights abuses in conflict zones, especially the women’s stories.

Asma Khan, one of the UK's most prominent #female #chefs, owner of #DarjeelingExpress restaurant and one of the keynote speakers of #CyprusForum2023 speaks to #KaleidHERscope about #equality, about walking the talk of social change in the food industry and about modernising the structure of the kitchen rather than the cuisine

On KaleidHERscope, Frozan Nawadi, a former Afghan diplomat who was forced out of Afghanistan following the fall of Kabul on the 15 August 2021 speaks about the despair she feels having left her life behind, the challenges within Afghanistan today, including lack of security, poverty and decreasing women’s rights, the anguish of the refugees and what the international community needs to do to help..

Oksana Potapova, a Ukrainian Women Peace and Security activist and a feminist researcher, speaks on kaleidHERscope about being forced to leave Ukraine following the invasion by Russia, displacement and those that stayed behind, accessing emergency funds and about feminists sharing spaces and transnational solidarity

Milica Pejanović-Djurišić, Permanent Representative of Montenegro to UN speaks on #HerStories about being part of the process to rebuild the state of Montenegro following the collapse of the former Yugoslavia and during the Bosnian war, while keeping civil society fully engaged, and of her role in fostering the digital transformation of Montenegro and the region.

Israeli diplomat, senior analyst, and deputy DG for African Affairs Eynat Schlein speaks on #HerStories of being a career diplomat in the Foreign Service, of speaking fluent Arabic and why it is important, of specializing in the Middle East region, the Israeli-Arab relations and American  affairs, and promoting dialog and understanding in the region and of her posting in Jordan.

Emerita Professor at the Middle East Technical University, Ankara and holder of international positions & HR mandates, Yakin Ertürk speaks on #HerStories of her experience as a member of commissions of inquiry on human rights violations in two major conflict zones, viz the Republic of Kyrgyzstan and the Syrian Arab Republic; of being on the Peace Train to Beijing in 1995 and also on the need to carefully unpack the words mediation and negotiation.

Political Affairs Officer and Gender Focal Point at the Department of Political & Peacebuilding Affairs at UN Secretariat HQ Laura Bologna speaks on #HerStories of her over 20 years of experience in diplomacy, international relations in the field of peace and security, intergovernmental processes, mediation, elections and gender and her wide network of contacts especially in Africa. She spoke of her time in Sudan in the Office of the Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel for the Sudan Referenda, and in Nicosia in the Office of the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Cyprus where she assisted during the negotiations in 2016.

Gender focal point & director of programmes at Elcano Royal Institute, Maria Solanas speaks on #HerStories of her political experience as a senior adviser on International Affairs at the Spanish Prime Minister Office responsible for Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa. Maria also speaks of her involvement in several negotiations within the governmental framework, as she has actively participated in the preparation of the II National Action Plan on WPS.

VP for International Relations & Assistant Professor at the Arab American University in Palestine, Dalal Iriqat speaks passionately on #HerStories about bringing change into Palestinian society through education, and about improving Palestinian Diplomacy and better branding Palestine. Being a strong believer in the individual role in bringing change and being very passionate about bringing change through education and especially through her background in conflict resolution, mediation and diplomacy, she speaks of the resilience and creativity of the Palestinian women.

Retired Associate Professor from the University of Cyprus, a feminist, a conflict resolution expert & a gender & peace activist Maria Hadjipavlou speaks on #HerStories of conducting trainings in conflict resolution and gender-awareness building especially in conflict situations in several countries.  She speaks of her activist work and especially about the “Gender Advisory Team” which worked exclusively on implementing and integrating UNSC Resolution 1325 in the Cypriot negotiations. She also speaks of being appointed a member of the Technical Committee on Gender Equality advising peace negotiators on gender equality provisions and of the challenges and opportunities this presented.

Vesna Skare Ozbolt, a lawyer and active member of the political scene in Croatia speaks on #HerStories of her experience as the leading negotiator with the rebel Serbs in the war-affected areas, as the Deputy Special Envoy to the Croatian-Serbian Peace Talks and as a member of the Croatian delegation in the Bosnia and Herzegovina peace process. She spoke of being pregnant during some of these tough times and participating the implementation of a peaceful reintegration of the Eastern part of Croatia, of the local elections and amnesty and of coordinating activities between the UNTAES, Croatian refugees, representatives of international organizations (UNHCR, OESS, IOM, etc.) and rebel Serbs amongst other things.

With ten years’ experience with International Non-Governmental Organisations in Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Darfur, supporting peace and reconciliation processes through humanitarian interventions Anna Cervi, an Italian International Humanitarian Officer speaks passionately on #HerStories about dealing with the immediate basic needs on the ground of IDP’s and refugees, while at the same time having to connect to local, national, regional and international bodies. She also speaks of her hopes to further contribute to playing an active and transformative role on gender equality, peace and security.

Algerian Senator and an active member of several regional networks Hafida Benchehida discusses her dedication to the political participation of women and in peace processes on #HerStories and about the value of mediation and negotiation in her region and how the best bridge towards peace is speaking to people in their language or listening to their stories.

Katerina Kresal is President and Founder of the European Centre for Dispute Resolution, a regional institutional provider of alternative dispute resolution procedures and consulting institution for the Rule of Law projects, based in Ljubljana. She speaks on #HerStories about her engagement in various international projects as international consultant and about her specific expertise as Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) expert, in designing mediation systems and various ADR schemes. Apart from her extensive legal career, she talks about her time as Minister of the Interior, member of the National Assembly (MP), and President of the Slovenian parliamentary party Liberal Democracy.

Former International Affairs and Relations Advisor to former PM of Lebanon Saad Hariri, Karma Ekmekji speaks on #HerStories about the need to connect all the dots (the local, national, regional, global and diplomatic), stemming from a strong interest in empowering women in the field of diplomacy, peace-making, mediation and negotiation. In addition to that, she speaks about #Diplowomen,  a physical and digital platform that she recently founded in order to empower women through knowledge sharing, mentoring and networking. 

International Relations scholar and Africanist based at the Department of Political Studies of NOVA University of Lisbon Alexandra Magnolia Dias speaks on #HerStories of her several research projects on Conflict, Peace and Security in Africa with fieldwork experience in the Horn of Africa; of mediation across divides: societal, civilizational and gender-based ones; and of the similarities and differences between what she knew of the Horn of Africa and what she saw when she visited Cyprus.

As a member of several cross-community dialogue groups for reconciliation and reunification focusing on tangible ways to resolve the frozen conflict, Turkish Cypriot lawyer/barrister, Emine Çolak speaks on #HerStories of coordinating committees negotiating laws attached to the Annan Plan in 2004; a comprehensive peace solution proposal. As a co-founder and head of the Turkish Cypriot Human Rights Foundation for 10 years, she also speaks of working to elevate the standard of human rights in her community through awareness raising, reporting and legal challenges also contributing to the formation of the Immoveable Property Commission to solve property disputes pending a solution.