Professor Feargal Cochrane was born and educated in Belfast and has been publishing and teaching on Northern Ireland and wider themes of violent political conflict and peacebuilding for 30 years.

Catherine Davidson is a nationally accredited mediator (NMAS) and IMI Certified mediator practising in Australia and internationally.

Dr Nadine Ansorg is a Senior Lecturer in International Conflict Analysis at the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Kent, and a Research Fellow at the GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies in Hamburg.

Diego Faleck is a full-time mediator, settlement counsel and a dispute systems designer established in Brazil, with a unique track record in national and international business mediation cases and disputes systems design for major national disasters and special situations.

Ian joined the British Army in 1980 and spent 37 years in uniform, retiring in 2017. He spent most of his service in the Brigade of Gurkhas, including Commanding a Gurkha Infantry Battalion, as well as in operational staff roles at every level of Command, National, Coalition and Multinational. He has served on operations on the Hong Kong-Sino Border, the Falkland Islands (post-conflict), Northern Ireland, Belize, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq.

He was the Regional Security Sector Advisor for the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue Asia Regional Office and Myanmar Team from 10 July 2017 to 1st April 2022 working on the Myanmar Peace Process, engaging with multiple actors. He then became the Regional Advisor for HD Asia-Pacific, coordinating, mediating and facilitating specific projects on Humanitarian access and human security (particularly Myanmar), but also supporting HD’s wider efforts in South East Asia, including Thailand, Bangladesh and the Philippines, as well as providing security sector advice to HD’s team globally as required. He has taught mediation and negotiation and facilitated multiple dialogues during the last 7 years plus to many conflict parties throughout South East Asia and further afield, with another 15 years negotiation and mediation practical and teaching experience in the UK Armed Forces prior to that.

He holds Master’s Degrees in Defence Studies from King’s College, London (1995), and Strategic Studies from the US Army War College (2008). He is a member, facilitator and mentor for the Centre of Competence for Humanitarian Negotiation (CCHN), which is based in Geneva. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.