Scholars, journalists, politicians and diplomats. Who's Who at OBC 2013 International Conference
Panel 1 - Activism against the war in the Balkans
LUISA CHIODI, Scientific Director of Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso
PhD in Political and Social Sciences at Istituto Universitario Europeo in Fiesole (Florence), has been the scientific director of Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso since 2006. From 2003 to 2008 she has taught courses of History and Institutions of Eastern Europe at the Faculty of Political Science, University of Bologna as well as many other university courses in Italy and abroad. She has edited several publications and coordinated numerous research projects. Her research interests focus on civil society and transnational social dynamics of the post-communist era.
ANDREA VALESINI, editor in chief of L'Eco di Bergamo
Professional journalist since 1998, he has worked on the domestic and foreign news for L'Eco di Bergamo, first as deputy head of department, then as a correspondent, authoring reports from the Balkans, the Middle East and Latin America. He is currently editor in chief of the dayly newspaper and editor of section called Quadrante, devoted to those regions of the world usually overlooked by the news.
MARCO ABRAM, Researcher at Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso
PhD in History at the University of Udine. His research work is mainly focused on the national issue in Yugoslavia. For around two years, he conducted field research in Serbia and other countries of the former Yugoslavia. Since 2009 he has been a member of the editorial board of the history online magazine Diacronie: Studi di storia contemporanea, and has contributed to several historical and dissemination projects. He is currently working on a OBC research project aimed at studying activism of the Italian civil society during the Yugoslav wars of the Nineties.
VESNA JANKOVIĆ, Researcher at the University of Zagreb
PhD candidate in Sociology at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, she teaches Sociology at the University of Zagreb. Co-founder of the organisations Svarun (1986), Anti -War Campaign of Croatia (1991), Centre for Women War Victims (1993) and Autonomous Culture Factory - Attack (1997). Co-founder and editor in chief of the pacifist magazine ARKzin. She translated and edited various books, including: Antiratna kampanja 1991-2011: Neispričana povijest (2011, Documenta); Resisting the Evil: [Post-]Yugoslav Anti-war Contention (Nomos Publishers, 2012).
Panel 2 - EU enlargement: open questions
STEFANIA GANDOLFI, Associate Professor and Head of the UNESCO Chair at the University of Bergamo
Professor of Comparative Education, Educational Systems in Latin America, education systems in sub-Saharan Africa and Pedagogy of Human Rights at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Bergamo. Since 2004 she has been coordinator of the Scientific Committee of the UNESCO Chair "Human Rights and Ethics of International Cooperation", that she directs from this year. Her research topics include inter-cultural and citizenship education as well as the role of education in divided societies.
IOANNA KUÇURADI, Professor, UNESCO Chair at the University of Maltepe, Turkey
She founded and directed the Department of Philosophy at Hacettepe University in Ankara, where she also taught. In 1997 she founded the Centre for Research and Application of the Philosophy of Human Rights at the Hacettepe University, which managed until 2005. Since 1998 she has held the UNESCO Chair of Philosophy at the University of Maltepe where she has taught since 2006. Professor Kuçuradi also manages the Centrer for Research and application of human rights and received various international awards, including two honorary degrees.
TIM JUDAH, Political analyst at The Economist
For more than a decade he dealt with the conflict in the former Yugoslavia, and from 1990 to 1995 he lived in Belgrade where he reported about the Yugoslav dissolution wars for The Times and The Economist. During the war in Kosovo has worked for The Observer and many other newspapers. He is the author of the award-winning book The Serbs: History , Myth and the Destruction of Yugoslavia (Yale University Press, 1997), and of Kosovo: War and Revenge (Yale University Press, 2000), Kosovo: What everyone needs to know (Oxford University Press, 2008).
ANDREA LORENZO CAPUSSELA, Economist and Counsellor for the European Union
PhD on the cross-border aspects of competition policy, he has worked in the private sector until 2008. He lived in Kosovo, where he held the position of Director of the economic unit of the International Civilian Office (ICO). He currently works in Moldova, where he works for the European Union as adviser to the Minister of Economy for the country's integration in the European Economic Area and for its structural reforms.
Roundtable: The missing Europe
GIGI RIVA, Foreign editor in chief of L'Espresso
He directed Il giornale di Vicenza and worked for various newspaper, including Il Giorno, for which he reported on the Yugoslav dissolution wars in the Nineties. On this subject he wrote the script and the screenplay of the movies: Il Carniere (1997), Nema problema (2004) e Il sorriso del capo (2011). He also co-authored the books: Jugoslavia, il nuovo Medioevo (Mursia, 1992) with Marco Ventura; L'Onu è morta a Sarajevo (Il Saggiatore, 1995) with Zlatko Dizdarević, and I muri del pianto (UTET-De Agostini, 2006).
PIA LOCATELLI, Italian Member of Parliament and President of the Foundation Zaninoni
She was a teacher of English language and literature and later general manager of the family business. She is the president of the Foundation A.J. Zaninoni, established in 2000 in memory of her husband. From 1992 to 1994 she was deputy-president of the Socialist International Women and its president from 2003 to 2012. Today she is the honorary president. Member of European Parliament from 2004 to 2009, she was part of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality and of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy. Since 2013 she has been Member of the Italian Parliament, being part of the socialist wing in the mixed group.
ETTORE SEQUI, Ambassador of the European Union in Albania
He began his diplomatic career in 1985. In 1988 is the Italian Consul in Tehran, later Counsellor at the Italian Permanent Representation to the UN in New York and Counsellor at the Office of the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs. In Albania from July 2000 to December 2004 he held the position of Deputy Chief of Mission at the Italian Embassy in Tirana. He was appointed Head of the EU Delegation to Albania in September 2010.
ALEKSANDRA MIJALKOVIĆ, Journalist at daily “Politika”, Belgrade
Co-founder and editor of the Belgrade centre for European integration (BeCEI), co-editor of “Evropski forum” (European forum), BeCEI's monthly magazine covering EU politics and regional cooperation in South-East Europe. She writes for Politika, one of the main Serbian dailies and cooperates with many other media, among them Osservatorio Balcanie Caucaso.
MICHELE NARDELLI, President of the Trentino Forum for Peace and Human Rights
He was Director of the Autonomous Province of Trento. He has always combined the political action with the research on issues of international cooperation, elaboration of conflicts and inter-cultural education. He is one of the founders of the Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso (OBC) and among the leaders of several projects of decentralized cooperation and people’s diplomacy in the Balkans, including: the Association of Project Prijedor, Trentino with Kosovo and Tavolo Trentino con Kraljevo. As part of its international commitment he is one of the promoters of the network for responsible tourism in the Balkans. In relation to his studies and commitment on issues of international cooperation, he wrote numerous essays. He is also the co-author of the book Darsi il tempo. Idee e pratiche per una nuova cooperazione internazionale. (EMI editrice)
MICHELE BRUNELLI, Associate Professor and Member of the Scientific Committee of the UNESCO Chair, University of Bergamo
Professor of History of Afro-Asian countries as part of the Master of Science in "Human Rights and the Ethics of International Cooperation" of the University of Bergamo, and Member of the Scientific Committee of the UNESCO Chair , for which keeps the relations with the Chairs in Turkey and the Islamic Republic of Iran. He makes research in the security field, with particular reference to human security, stability and area of cross-border crime, especially concerning the diffusion and protection of human rights. He collaborates with various international magazines, including Jane's Intelligence Review.
GIAN GABRIELE VERTOVA, Deputy Chairman of the Fondazione Serughetti Centro Studi e Documentazione La Porta
He has been teacher of Literature (Italian and Latin) at the Liceo Classico Statale "P. Sarpi " in Bergamo until 2009. He also worked on several projects of provincial-level teacher training. Town councillor of the Municipality of Bergamo for three terms, in 1995-1999 he held the position of deputy mayor, city councillor responsible for culture, educational and youth policies. He is a member of the national executive board of "Biblia" and supervisor of the project "Bible at School". He edited the publication of the books Il libro assente (Marietti: 1993) e Bibbia Cultura Scuola (Carocci:2011).
