Tania Pariona is a passionate advocate for the rights of Indigenous Peoples, women, youth, and girls. She served as a member of the Peruvian Congress representing the Ayacucho region from 2016 to 2019. During her tenure, she tirelessly championed the rights of Indigenous communities in Peru, including advocating for prior consultation, land titling, and reparations for victims of the internal armed conflict. In 2018, she was elected president of the Women and Family Committee in Congress, where she made significant contributions to the passage of laws against gender-based violence, the promotion of gender equality, and the advancement of women’s political participation.
Tania is a prominent member of the Continental Link of Indigenous Women of the Americas (ECMIA) and a co-founder of several organisations dedicated to empowering Indigenous children and youth at local, regional, national, and international levels. She has actively participated in international forums, including as a representative of the Global Indigenous Youth Caucus within the Global Indigenous Coordinating Committee for the 2014 World Conference on Indigenous Peoples.
Tania holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Work from the Universidad Nacional de San Cristóbal de Huamanga – UNSCH and a master’s degree in Human Development from the Universidad Católica de Peru. In 2009, she was honoured as a Fellow of the Human Rights Program for Indigenous Leaders, a collaborative initiative between the University of Deusto (Bilbao, Spain) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
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Gabriela Warkentin is a distinguished communicator, academic, and businesswoman. Since 2016, she has directed and hosted the popular morning news programme “Así las cosas” on W Radio in Mexico. She is also the host and producer of “Al Habla… con Warkentin,” a weekly interview podcast on El País, where she fosters constructive and grounded conversations on the challenges facing Mexico. In addition to her broadcasting roles, Gabriela serves as a columnist for the newspaper Reforma.
A founding member of the IFIT Mexico Brain Trust, Gabriela is a professor at the Universidad Iberoamericana and a founding partner of Tridente Aceleradora. From 2002 to 2011, she served as the director of the Department of Communication at the Universidad Iberoamericana. During this period, she also played a pivotal role as the creator and director of the radio station Ibero 90.9 and later as the director of W Radio from 2013 to 2017.
Gabriela holds memberships in various influential organisations, including the Council of Article 19, the Council of OXFAM Mexico, the Governing Council of Mexican Transparency, and the Assembly of the Information Group on Chosen Reproduction (GIRE).
Gabriela has earned recognition as one of the 50 most important women in Mexico, according to Forbes magazine, and as one of the 300 top leaders of Mexico, according to Líderes magazine. Her writings have been featured in El País, El Universal, Reforma, La Crónica de Hoy, and Rolling Stone México.
Gabriela holds a degree in communication from the Universidad Iberoamericana. She has also pursued postgraduate studies in comparative literature at UNAM and in communication at the University of Navarra. Fluent in English, German, and French, Gabriela is also a skilled translator of Spanish.
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With over 20 years of diplomatic experience, María Ángela Holguín is the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia (2010-2018). In this role, she also served as the delegate of President Juan Manuel Santos in the peace negotiations with the FARC, and was a member of the Post-Conflict Cabinet.
María Ángela has also held positions including Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Colombia to the United Nations; Ambassador of Colombia to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela; Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs; Secretary-General of the Foreign Ministry; and First Secretary of the Embassy of Colombia in Paris, overseeing commercial affairs. Her extensive professional experience also includes serving as the Private Secretary of the Attorney General and representing the Interamerican Development Bank-CAF in Argentina.
A political scientist by education, María Ángela holds specialisations in Public Administration and Administrative Institutions from the Universidad de los Andes and in Diplomacy and Strategy from the Center for Diplomatic and Strategic Studies (CEDS) in Paris, France. She authored the book “La Venezuela que Viví” and currently serves as Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations on Cyprus and sits on the Board of Directors of several companies and foundations, including: Jeronimo Martins SPGS, SA, New World Investment, Gases del Pacifico S.A.C, Gases del Norte del Perú S.A.C, Procafecol S.A Hoteles Estelar S.A., Tesicol, Tejidos Sintéticos de Colombia S.A., Fundación Corficolombiana.
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Javier Ciurlizza is Ford Foundation’s director for the Andean Region. Before joining the Foundation in 2016, Javier served as program director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the International Crisis Group. He led efforts to address armed, social, and political conflicts in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Venezuela, and Haiti. Previously, he worked as Americas director for the International Center for Transitional Justice.
Earlier, Javier served as executive secretary of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Peru, and as director of the Institute of Democracy and Human Rights at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. He was appointed the chief of cabinet to the Peruvian Ministry of Justice and served as special adviser for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He also guided truth commissions and judiciary processes in Paraguay, Kenya, Indonesia, and Liberia. He started his professional career closely linked to the Peruvian human rights movement, as assistant to the executive secretary of the National Coordinating Committee on Human Rights and later as secretary general of the Andean Commission of Jurists.
Javier has a master’s in international political economy from the University of Warwick in England and a bachelor’s in law from Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.
