Plenary speakers

Mart Susi (Estonia)
Mart Susi is professor of human rights law at Tallinn University and visiting researcher at Universidad Autónoma de Chile. He is the Action Chair of Global Digital Human Rights Network and initiator of many international research and development projects. He is the author of more than 50 articles, and in recent years has concentrated on digital human rights and new human rights. His recent publications are the Cambridge University Press monograph "Non-coherence theory of digital human rights" (2024), and edited volume as co-editor "The Cambridge Handbook of new human rights". He is a frequent speaker on international forums and guest speaker at different universities across the globe. His scientific contributions include the articulation of the Internet Balancing Formula and the decrease in universality and abstractness thesis.

Moderator/ Discussant: Stephan Parmentier, Professor of Sociology of Crime, Law and Human Rights|Head of Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, KU Leuven (Belgium)

Camilo Eduardo Umaña Hernández (Colombia) 
Camilo currently serves as Deputy Minister of Criminal Policy and Restorative Justice for the Ministry of Justice and Law of the Colombian State, leading different issues of relevance to the National Government such as the formulation of the new drug policy, the humanization of the penitentiary and prison system, the compliance of the recommendations of the truth commission on justice, among other matters. He is also a lawyer and a law professor at the Externado University in Bogotá. He holds a PhD in Criminology from the University of Ottawa; PhD in Legal Sociology from the University of the Basque Country; master in Sociology of Law from the Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law; and postgraduate diploma in Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law from the Externado de Colombia University. He worked with the Colombian Truth Commission for over a year as an expert on access to justice and impunity, and he has also been a consultant for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on transitional justice and the National Ombudsman on restorative justice. He is thus a political person with a strong academic background, who will reflect on the lessons on restorative justice and peacemaking in Colombia, making them relevant also for the European context. See blog piece by our KUL colleagues. 

Alona Horova (Ukraine)
Alona is the director of the Institute for Peace and Common Ground (IPCG), a leading Ukrainian public organization that specializes in achieving positive and sustainable changes in forming social capital and strengthening the “social fabric” of society with the help of dialogue and restorative practices. In its 25 years of activity, IPCG counts 1500 recovery programmes with more than 5000 trained participants. IPCG’s mission is to “help to understand each other in situations of conflict and decision-making”. 

Moderator/ Discussant: Simone Grigoletto, Assistant Professor in Moral Philosophy teaching Ethics for Social Work and Restorative Justice  at the University of Padova (Italy)

Adelina Tërshani (Kosovo) & Elina Khachatryan (Armenia)
Adelina is a dedicated feminist activist and the pioneering figure of slam poetry in Kosovo. She holds a degree in Journalism from Hasan Prishtina University. Elin has a Bachelor in Law and promotes dialogue and reconciliation between civil society, organisations and religious realities affected by the conflict in Armenia and Azerbaijan. They both met in Rondine Citta della Pace (Italy), where they are currently studying and living together with other 25 university students coming from conflict zones. After their 2-year studies, the Rondini d'Oro (the "golden" students who completed the programme) are expected to continue their peace work, based on dialogue and meeting the other, once they return to their home countries. Rondine advocates that all Member States dedicate a part of their military budget to educate young people in peace work. In 2015, Rondine was nominate for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Tanya Kearns (Northern Ireland) 
Tanya (Bachelor of Arts in Community Youth Work) works in the charity sector on various peacebuilding, social action and arts-based projects based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She is an activist and experienced community arts facilitator. With additional studies in restorative practises, she has a keen interest in the cross-section between restoration, empowerment and promoting positive social change through the arts. In 2023, she joined the international collective “The Encounter of the Encounters'' because of her lived experience of violence in Northern Ireland and her life's work to "make things better" as the first generation to grow up in a post-conflict society.

Imrana Alhaji Buba (Nigeria)
Imrana is the Founder of the Youth Initiative Against Terrorism, a youth-led organization working to unite youth against violent extremism in north-eastern Nigeria. Imrana has consulted for international organizations like USAID, ODI, Creative Associates International, International Alert and Mercy Corps as a youth engagement specialist, community development facilitator and conflict sensitivity expert. He is a Fellow of the US Institute of Peace (USIP), a Member of the Global Youth Sounding Board of the European Union, and a Member of the AU-EU Youth Cooperation Hub. Imrana received the 2016 Queen’s Young Leaders Award from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the 2017 JCI Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World Award in recognition of his efforts in providing education and livelihood opportunities for conflict-affected youth in Nigeria. He holds a BSc in Political Science from the University of Maiduguri and an MSc in Africa and International Development from the University of Edinburgh. He is researching civilian protection during conflicts for a PhD in Political Science at the University of Oslo.

Moderator/ Discussant: Monique Anderson, PhD candidate at LINC, her interests include sexual violence victims’ experiences, particularly minors, and RJ in such cases. She co-coordinated the RE-JUSTICE (RJ training for judges and prosecutors) and researched in RE-TREAT projects. A qualified yoga teacher, Monique worked in Youth Offending Teams and as a Prisoner Officer.

Tricia Pereira (England)
Tricia is the Strategic Director Advisor of Social Work Practice & Quality at Kent County Council in England. A qualified social worker, practice educator and best interest assessor with over 20 years’ experience spanning adults and children’s social care, and within the voluntary sector. She is an advocate of restorative practice and family group conferences with adults and has led on projects utilising these approaches. She is the Co-Chair of the UK Government Department of Health and Social Care Workforce Race Equalities Standard Advisory Group and is also committed to sector led improvement, focusing on compassionate and inclusive leadership.

James Bell (United States)
James is the Founding President of the W. Haywood Burns Institute.  The Burns Institute has worked in over 200 counties in 23 states to engage justice stakeholders and communities across the country to build equity in the administration of justice.  He has trained and addressed thousands of human services professionals and community members on race, ancestry, and inclusion as a necessary component of delivering safety for all communities. James has appeared on numerous national television shows and podcasts and written blogs and articles for various platforms. He has also authored sections of published anthologies on the intersections of justice, education, health and family disruption. He has received several awards and two honorary doctorates. He attended California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and Hastings College of Law.

Mariama Diallo (Belgium)
Mariama is the Coordinator of the Child Friendly Justice European Network (CFJ-EN), a dynamic Network based in Brussels, composed of 31 organisations, experts and academic institutions which defend the rights of children in contact with justice systems across Europe. Mariama is a French lawyer specialised in international law, with a family background from the Netherlands and Guinea. She has over 18 years of professional experience working in international cooperation across the globe. Mariama’s areas of expertise and interest include child-friendly justice and access to justice for children without discrimination, with a special attention for children in migration, LGBTI+ children and children with disabilities.

Hannah Moore (UK)
Hannah is a storyteller, facilitator and arts practitioner with a background in working with the arts for wellbeing and community building. She trained with and now teaches for the School of Storytelling, who have a particular emphasis on how traditional storytelling can be applied in the world today. Hannah’s work focuses on using the wisdom of myth and folktales for personal and professional development, with a particular emphasis on storytelling as a tool for peace and reconciliation.
Hannah trained in restorative justice with Resolve West (UK) and has volunteered as an RJ facilitator and community mediator for Restorative Gloucestershire in the UK. She also trained in Working With Stories Of Lived Experience with The Forgiveness Project and in Peace and Reconciliation Leadership with Reconcilers Together, including work as an associate facilitator for St Ethelburga’s Centre for Peace and Reconciliation and Rose Castle Foundation.
Hannah works frequently with Restorative Justice facilitators and community mediators in the UK, delivering story-based development workshops that explore the themes and experiences which restorative practitioners encounter in their work through the lens of ancient story-wisdom. 
As well as being a traditional storyteller, Hannah is a community dance artist, workshop leader and event manager. Drawing on a depth of experience in using creativity in group processes, Hannah is especially interested in how exploring the imaginative realm together can benefit our wellbeing and enable experiential learning.

Photo credits: Visit Tallinn