Speaker InformationSpeaker Information
Abeer Muhammad
Abeer Muhammad is a development professional that has worked with a number of governmental and intergovernmental and non governmental organizations on matters of political participation, democracy building, gender initiatives, civil society development and human rights.
Anne Galand
Anne Galand has a master degree in gender and social politics from Université Toulouse Le Mirail, France. She has been working with gender equality in Norway for the past nine years, initially for a local centre for gender equality, developing methods for gender mainstreaming.
Anu Pillay
Baroness May Blood
Baroness May Blood MBE was born in Belfast and has lived for the last thirty years in the Springmartin area of West Belfast.
For 39 years she worked in a local mill as a cutter, during which time she was an active trade unionist.
Bernadette McAliskey
Since her time as an MP in the late 60s and early 70s, Bernadette McAliskey has devoted herself to the building of a successful community infrastructure in her local area of South Tyrone.
Dr Rose Gahiru
Rose is currently a principal advisor in the President of the Republic’s Cabinet in Burundi. Before this she held the position of Health Minister.
Rose is a qualified General Practitioner and has been Chief of a Health District, also having a diploma in public health and health care management.
Durga Sob
Durga is a lifelong advocate for the rights of Dalit women, she is a founding member of the Feminist Dalit Organization (FEDO), serving as the President of this organization from 1994 to the present, having the responsibility for coordinating FEDO’s programming, activities and policies as well as for organizing and attending various high level meetings, seminars, workshops and event training.
Eileen Bell
Born in Dromara and brought up in South Belfast Eileen moved to England in 1972 after being forced from South Belfast. She returned in 1978 to West Belfast but was forced out again in 1985 and moved to live in Bangor.
Evelyn Collins CBE
On leaving grammar school in Belfast in 1977, Evelyn Collins studied at Sheffield University, graduating in 1980 with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree.
Geraldine McAteer
Gillian Gibson
Gillian Gibson is the Director of Footprints Women’s Centre, located on the periphery of Outer West Belfast, and Lisburn City. Gillian celebrated 15 years working in Footprints this year.
Hlaing Sein
Janet Benshoff Esq
Janet Benshoof is an internationally recognized human rights lawyer who has established landmark legal precedents on women’s reproductive and equality rights, the right to free expression, freedom of religion, and gender crimes in transitional justice law.
Kate McCullough
Kate McCullough is Chairwoman and former employee of the Northern Ireland Women’s European Platform, an umbrella body of groups with a primary interest in matters of importance to women and aims to facilitate and increase women’s contribution to the social, economic and political agendas both domestically and internationally.
Lynda Bryans
Lynda Bryans is one of Northern Ireland’s best know, most popular and versatile news broadcasters. She boasts a list of credits covering radio and TV, the BBC and ITV, as well as local and national output. She is also an engaging public speaker.
May Da Silva
May Da Silva joined Women into Politics as its Director in June 2003. Women into Politics is a cross community organisation which practices and encourages the principles of democracy, feminism and community development.
Monica McWilliams
Professor Monica McWilliams was appointed Chief Commissioner for Human Rights in Northern Ireland in September 2006. She is currently on leave from the University of Ulster where she is Professor of Women’s Studies.
Myria Vassiliadou
Myria Vassiliadou holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Sociology and Social Research and a doctorate in Sociology from the University of Kent at Canterbury, UK. Myria is a founding Board Member of the Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies [MIGS] and served as the Director from January 2000 - September 2007.
Noelle Collins
Norma Shearer
Norma joined Training for Women Network (TWN) as its Chief Executive in December 2001. TWN is a cross community organisation which promotes women’s training and education and acts as a conduit for funding women’s training and reconciliation projects under the Programme for Peace and Reconciliation.
Nuna Zavzdic
Nuna Zvizdic, a co-founder of Medica, the center for the protection of women, raped in war and a director of Žene Ženama, a Bosnian women's center for human rights, peace and security. She holds a degree in economy from the Sarajevo University for Economics.
Patricia Lewsley
Patricia Lewsley took up post as Commissioner on 8th January, 2007. Previously Ms Lewsley was an MLA and councillor. She has a long track record of working on behalf of children and young people, which includes chairing the All-Party Assembly Groups on Children and Young People, Disability, Diabetes, Anti-Poverty, and Ethnic Minorities.
Seanna O'Hara
Séanna is 26 and is a young woman who has lived in the Short Strand area of East Belfast all her life.
She was educated at her local primary school and later at St.Louise’s College, Falls Road Belfast. From a young age she has always been interested in the development of her area and at sixteen become a senior leader at her local youth club.
Treasa Ní Mhurchú
Thérèse Murphy has served for the past 4 years as chairperson of the National Women’s Council of Ireland. The NWCI is the national co-ordination, a membership based organisation with 165 affiliates representing some 300,000 women in Ireland.