Baroness Emma Nicholson Member of the European Parliament for the South East region of England (June 1999) Director of Fundraising for Save the Children.

Baroness Emma Nicholson was elected as a member of the European Parliament for the South East region of England in June, 1999.  She was re-elected as MEP for the same region in June 2004. She currently serves in the European Parliament as a Vice President of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, a member in the Subcommittee on Human Rights,  a  substitute member of the Committee on Culture and Education, a Shadow Rapporteur for Romania, a member of the Delegation for Relations with Iran, a member of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly Delegation, a substitute member for the Delegation for Relations with the Mashreq Countries, and a responsible for gender mainstreaming issues for the Foreign Affairs Committee

Baroness Nicholson was created a Life Peer in 1997 and takes the Liberal Democrat Whip.  She served as a Member of the House of Commons from 1987 to 1997 and was Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party  from 1983 to 1987. Her NGO work includes the Chairmanship of The AMAR International Charitable Foundation, Presidency of the Caine Prize for African Writing and Trusteeship of the Booker Prize for English Fiction and of the Booker Prize for Russian Fiction.

Baroness Nicholson serves as World Health Organization Envoy for Health, Peace and Development. She has been appointed a member of the Prize Committee of AGFUND International Prize for Pioneering Development Projects (Arab Gulf Programme for United Nations Development Organisations).

Baroness Nicholson was granted a Doctor Honoris Causa form the University of Birmingham for her work on children's health and rights, especially in Romania and from North London University (now London Metropolitan University) for her work in the field of higher education for the disabled

Dr. Mir Asghar Husain Director Educational Policies and Strategies Division, UNESCO

Dr. Mir Asghar Husain is the Director of Education Policies and Strategies in UNESCO, Paris(1999-2006). Prior to that, he was Director for Development, Priority Africa Department, UNESCO Coordinator, and UN Special Initiative for Africa(1995-1999). Dr. Husain was a coordinator of education systems reform in the Arab region, Central Europe andAsia . He has been employed by UNESCO since 1977 for different field posts in Africa , Asia , the Arab countries and UNESCO Headquarters in Paris . He was also a lecturer in Education Planning for post-graduate students at the UniversityofParis . He has participated in renovation of rural schools, literacy, non-formal and women's education in India .

Dr. Husain holds an MS degree in Education and Development, a post graduate degree in Education Planning, and a PhD degree in Economics of Education and Human Resource Development from SorbonneUniversityinParis .

Dr. Husain is a member of the European Union's Commission on Resources for Education.

Ms. Harriet Fulbright Chairwoman, Fulbright International Center

Ms. Harriet Mayor Fulbright has spent the majority of her adult life in the fields of education and the arts.  From 1997 until 2000 she was the Executive Director of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, whose mission is to encourage partnerships between the public and private sectors in order to enhance cultural life in America.  Prior to this position she served as "Unofficial Ambassador" for the 50^th anniversary of the Fulbright Program and in that capacity she traveled to numerous countries on all five major continents and all over the United States to speak about the importance of international education exchange and the pivotal role played by the Fulbright Program.

Her teaching experience is extensive.  While living in Korea she taught English composition and creative writing at Ewha Women's University, and in Moscow taught non-English speaking first graders to speak and read English.  In the United States she taught art at several institutions. In 1980 she was elected "Teacher of the Year" at the Maret School.

Her administrative experience is also wide ranging.  She was the first Assistant Director for the Congressional Arts Caucus and was later appointed Executive Secretary of the International Congress of Art Historians at the National Gallery's Center for the Advanced Study in the Arts.  In 1987 she became the Executive Director of the Fulbright Association, where she served for 3 years. From 1990 to 1996 she was President of the Center for Arts in the Basic Curriculum, an organization which advocated education reform and conducted teacher training seminars.

Ms. Fulbright has a BA from Radcliffe College and an MFA from the George Washington University.  She has also received Honorary Degrees: a Doctorate in Law from the University of Scranton, and Doctorates in Humane Letters from Long Island University and from the Bank Street College of Education.  Panama presented her with its highest civilian award 'El Orden de Manuel Amador Guerrero' and the Republic of Hungary gave her a similar honor 'The Middle Cross of the Order of Merit'.

Ms. Fulbright also serves on a number of boards, including the Wendy and Emory Reves Center for International Studies, the International Child Arts Foundation, and the International Institute of Leadership and Public Affairs where she is chairman; the Academy of Educational Development and the National Foreign Language Center.

Ms. Fulbright shared with her late husband a dedication to the search for peaceful solutions to conflicts throughout the world.

Dr. Sheikha Al Misnad President, Qatar University

Prof. Sheikha Abdulla Al-Misnad, a leading Qatari educator for nearly three decades, has occupied numerous high-level positions in teaching, administration, and research. She assumed the presidency of the University of Qatar in 2003.

President Al-Misnad received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Education in 1977 from the University of Qatar, and subsequently a Diploma in Education in 1978. She then enrolled in a doctoral studies program at the University of Durham in the United Kingdom, where, in 1984, she was granted the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education.
The involvement of President Al-Misnad in educational reform is not limited to the University of Qatar. She continues to play a leading role in the reform of primary, secondary, and private education in Qatar. As a member of the Board of Directors of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science, and Community Development since 1999, she has been instrumental in the governance and leadership of the educational institutions constituting Education City. Prof. Al-Misnad is also considered one of the most active members of the Supreme Education Council.
At the international level, Prof. Al-Misnad is a member of several renowned bodies and delegations. Since June 2004, she has been a selected member of the United Nations University Council (UNU).

Ms. Khawla Shaheen Senior Programme Specialist, UNESCO

Ms. Khawla Shaheen holds a B.Sc. in Physical Education from Hilwan University, Cairo, Egypt (1970), an M. Sc in Higher Education  and  Ph. D  in Education from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, USA (1982 and 1987) and a diploma in Educational Planning from the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning, Paris, France (1990).

Before joining UNESCO in 1993, Ms. Shaheen worked for several years as  Inspector General for Girls School in the District of Nablus, and as a teacher for Physical Education at An-Najah National University, Nablus, before becoming coordinator of  Student Affairs in 1982 and Vice-President for Cultural Affairs and University Relations in 1987. She also taught statistics,  measurement and education courses for undergraduate and graduate student at the Faculty of Education at An-Najah National University.

Ms. Shaheen has held various positions at UNESCO.  She has served as Head of the Arab States Desk, Programme Specialist on Palestine, and since 2003 as Senior Programme Specialist in the Division of International Coordination and Monitoring for Education for All.

Ms. Shaheen has considerable experience of education in general and in particular in the Arab region.  She is active in promoting Arab-European dialogue.  She has participated in many educational and curricula reform developments in the Arab region, and regularly attends academic and political meetings at the international level. Her special interests lie in youth, gender and peace.