Dr. Amogne Asfaw Eshetu is an Associate Professor of Geography and Development Studies in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Wollo University, Ethiopia. He earned his PhD in Development Studies from Addis Ababa University, and MA in Development Studies from Mekelle University. With more than 30 years of experience in teaching, research, and academic leadership, Dr. Amogne began his professional career as a secondary school teacher and has served as a full-time academic staff at Wollo University since 2006. His research interests encompass climate change adaptation and vulnerability, conflict and peacebuilding, rural livelihoods, sustainable natural resource management, ecotourism, education, and socio-economic development. Dr. Amogne has published over 32 peer-reviewed articles in reputable international journals and has made substantial contributions to research on climate resilience, livelihood diversification, environmental sustainability, and educational development in Ethiopia. As a highly accomplished researcher, he has successfully secured, led, and completed numerous nationally and internationally funded research projects supported by organizations such as the European Union, the Global Disaster Preparedness Center, Creative Associates International, and Wollo University. His extensive experience in managing research grants, coordinating multidisciplinary teams, and delivering high-quality research outputs has established him as a respected scholar, research leader, and development practitioner.

Dr. Lona James Elia is a distinguished gender, peacebuilding, governance, and development specialist with over twenty-five years of professional experience advancing gender equality, women's empowerment, social inclusion, democratic governance, policy advocacy, research, and institutional development. A South Sudanese scholar-practitioner, she has built an extensive record of accomplishment of working with governments, United Nations agencies, international development partners, civil society organizations, and academic institutions to promote inclusive and sustainable development in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. Dr. Elia holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Peace and Development Studies from the University of Juba, where she also serves as an Assistant Professor, teaching and mentoring the next generation of peace and governance practitioners. Her academic and policy research focuses on women's political participation, women's movements, democratic transitions, peacebuilding, constitution-making processes, and elections, with a particular emphasis on South Sudan and post-conflict African contexts. She earned a Master's degree in Poverty Reduction, Conflict and Reconstruction from the University of Manchester, United Kingdom, and a Bachelor's degree in Community Development from Daystar University, Kenya. Throughout her career, she has led and contributed to high-level assignments in gender mainstreaming, Women, Peace and Security (WPS), governance reform, conflict sensitivity, climate and gender integration, programme evaluation, stakeholder engagement, and policy development. In addition to her academic role, Dr. Elia serves as a Research Fellow at the Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies and holds leadership positions within national and regional women's peace and governance networks. She is widely recognized for her commitment to advancing women's leadership, inclusive governance, peacebuilding, and transformative social change in South Sudan and beyond.

Dr. Lucy Michael Iseyen is a Nigerian Lecturer and Researcher in the Department of Performing Arts, Akwa Ibom State University, Nigeria. She obtained her PhD in Arts Management from the University of Calabar in 2022. Prior to joining Akwa Ibom State University in 2013, she taught in the Department of Theatre and Media Studies, University of Jos, from 2010 to 2013. Her research interests include arts management, audience development, theatre publicity, festival studies, indigenous performance, cultural sustainability, and peacebuilding. Her work focuses on audience engagement, cultural festivals, and the role of performance in promoting community development and social cohesion. She has published scholarly works in these areas and continues to investigate the intersections of culture, performance, identity, and community transformation. Dr. Iseyen served as Acting Head, Department of Performing Arts, Akwa Ibom State University, from 2022 to 2025 and concurrently as Festival Director of the Akwa Ibom State University Festival of Performances (AKSUFEST). In 2025, she was appointed Acting Director of the Centre for African Arts and Festival Studies. She is Director of Finance of the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP). She graduated as the best-graduating student in her undergraduate programme.

Dr. Salma K. Khatibu is a Development Studies scholar and Environmental Governance specialist with over 15 years of experience in teaching, research, consultancy, and community engagement across Tanzania and Sub-Saharan Africa. She holds a PhD in Development Studies from the University of Dodoma, where she currently serves as a Lecturer at the Institute of Development Studies. Her research focuses on environmental governance, community-based natural resource management, climate change adaptation, climate information services, conservation governance, environmental peacebuilding, and rural livelihood resilience. She has extensive experience in designing and implementing interdisciplinary research projects that examine the interactions between communities, institutions, and natural resources, with the aim of informing policy and practice. Her work employs mixed-methods approaches, integrating quantitative, qualitative, participatory, and geospatial techniques to generate evidence-based solutions to development challenges. Dr. Khatibu has led and contributed to numerous research and consultancy assignments involving climate resilience, conservation conflicts, gender dynamics, agricultural adaptation, and community development. She has published in peer-reviewed journals and collaborated with national and international partners on research and capacity-building initiatives. Through her scholarship, teaching, and mentorship, she is committed to advancing sustainable development, inclusive governance, and resilient communities across Africa.

Dr. Zainab Nuhu is a Senior Lecturer at Bayero University, Kano, and a Postdoctoral Researcher on the Prosperity and Peace Pathways Project at the Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich (UK). Based in Nigeria with the Centre for Dryland Agriculture, she recently concluded her field research component in Nigeria. She holds a PhD in Natural Resources Management and Climate Change and brings over a decade of experience in research, monitoring, and evaluation across the public and private sectors. Dr. Nuhu has collaborated with leading organizations including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the British Council, and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) on projects focused on natural resource conflicts, intergroup relations, and conflict resolution. Her research explores the intersections of natural resource management, climate change, conflict dynamics, and gender studies. She specializes in understanding how climate change and conflict disproportionately impact vulnerable populations, particularly women, youth, and people with disabilities. Dr. Nuhu is passionate about co-creating community-driven pathways to peace and designing inclusive, gender-responsive strategies that place marginalized groups at the center of peacebuilding and resource governance. She is skilled in data analysis and excels in developing participatory, community-led approaches to sustainable conflict resolution.

Dr. Deborah Odu Obor is a sociologist, peacebuilding practitioner, and researcher with over a decade of experience in conflict transformation and security studies. She holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding from Makerere University, Uganda (Rotary Peace Centre). She is currently a Research Fellow at the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), Nigeria's premier think tank on peace and security, where she conducts policy-relevant research and provides advisory support to the Nigerian government and regional stakeholders on non-violent approaches to conflict resolution and transformation. Previously, Dr. Obor served as a Lecturer and Researcher in the Department of Sociology at Bowen University, where she taught, supervised, mentored students and contributed to curriculum development. In 2024-2025, she led the Nigeria–Benin Border Communities Peace and Security Initiative at Search for Common Ground and the Sahel Conflict Economy project with the University of Greenwich's Natural Resources Institute. Her research focuses on transnational governance, conflict economies, and fragile borderlands in West Africa and the Sahel. She bridges academic scholarship with practical peacebuilding, producing evidence-based policy recommendations for sustainable peace in conflict-affected African regions.

Dr. Sabina Appiah-Boateng is a Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Peace Studies, University of Cape Coast, Ghana. Dr. Sabina Appiah-Boateng has a background in Psychology and in Peace and Development Studies. She holds a cotutelle PhD qualification in Development Studies from the University of Hildesheim, Germany and the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. She is a Fellow of the African Peacebuilding Developmental Dynamics and African Humanities Program of the American Council of Learned Societies with funding from Carnegie International. She is also a fellow of the Next Generation Social Sciences Research Council in Africa (on Peace, Security, and Development). As a budding academic, she ever yearns to remain in the love of humanities and their fulfillment in view. Her passion is to see opportunities in everyday life, tap and apply them to nurture her scholastic career, and be an authority, a major reference point in the areas of peace and conflict studies, conflict and mental health, violent extremism, gender, human rights, and other development issues. She has consulted for both local and international organizations including USAID, UNDP, WANEP, European Union, National Peace Council, and AngloGold, among others.

Dr. Nwani-Grace Ugwu is a Lecturer in the Department of English Language and Literature, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, Nigeria. She holds a PhD in English Language with specialization in Pragmatics and Discourse Studies. She has taught English to learners at different educational levels for over two decades and has published widely in both local and international journals. Her research, some of which was supported by Nigeria's Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), is published in the American Journal of Educational Research, and International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science. Her works have shed light on the complexities of gender dynamics, and language in conflict resolution as she engages critically with issues of women's agency, indigenous knowledge systems, and social justice, with particular attention to conflict dynamics in South-East Nigeria. Through her research and teaching, she aims to enhance understanding of language use in various contexts and promote effective communication strategies. Her future plans are to continue to explore new avenues for applying linguistic insights to real-life challenges and to collaborate with colleagues and administrators to support the mission and values of any institution she finds herself in order to achieve academic and policy-oriented excellence.

Dr. Franklin Pyokpung Zaure is a lecturer in the Department of Theatre and Performing Arts at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria, where he has taught for the past eight years. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Theatre and Performing Arts, a Master's degree in Arts (Graphics and Multimedia), and a PhD in Theatre and Performing Arts from the same institution. His research and teaching center on creative arts and development, exploring how artistic innovation can drive social transformation and empower communities. He is the Team Lead for the Artists Against Desolation (AAD) program, which employs diverse alternative media tools to communicate development across social and human spectrums. With over four years' experience teaching cultural and creative arts to children aged three to fifteen, Franklin envisions a society where young people harness creativity for collective progress. A transdisciplinary researcher, artist, and development communicator, Zaure is a Fulbright Visiting Research Fellow, a RiseUpTogether Fellow, and an Accountable Adaptation Fellow (African Research and Impact Network). He was also trained in the Audre Lorde Summit. He is also the founder of the Creative Arts for Development Center and ResponsiRave LTD, grassroots organizations leveraging creativity for environmental justice and social change.