Vibha Dhawan has been associated with The Energy and Resources and Institute (TERI) since 1985, including serving as Vice-Chancellor of TERI School of Advanced Studies from 2005-2007. She is a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India.

Dhawan is actively involved in both research and policy development, at both national and international level. She is a task force member on a number of committees, including the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) and the Biotech Consortium India Limited (BCIL).

Vibha Dhawan is currently serving as Adjunct Professor to the Consul General South Asia Partnership at Michigan State University. She has successfully completed a number of international assignments, including coordinating the Asia Pacific Consortium on Agriculture Biotechnology (APCoAB), advising the Director General of The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) and the Deputy Director of research partnerships & co-ordination with the Borlaug Institute for South Asia. She has served on the boards of prestigious organisations in India and other countries, including Jawaharlal Nehru University, Ambedkar University, Ayurvet Foundation and Centre for Bioscience and Agriculture International (CABI).

As coordinator of the Fiocruz Strategy for the 2030 Agenda, Gadelha is in charge of promoting strategic engagement between Fiocruz and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). His background includes studies of the application of technology in public health, healthcare models, and enhancing Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) for the SDGs.

Gadelha served as president of Fiocruz from 2009 to 2016, leading scientific achievements in biomedical sciences, generation of scientific and technological knowledge, and health and social development promotion. Between 2016 and 2021, Dr. Gadelha was appointed by the UN Secretary-General as a member of the Technology Facilitation Mechanism (UN-TFM) ‘10-Member Group’ to provide expertise and support to the UN Inter-agency Task Team (IATT) on STI for the SDGs.

Previously, he founded and directed the “Casa de Oswaldo Cruz,” a Fiocruz institute dedicated to the sociology and history of science and health. Dr. Gadelha also served as a member of the National Health Council’s Science and Technology Intersectoral Commission. As President of the Brazilian Association of Collective Health, he chaired the 11th World Congress on Public Health. In 2017, with UN/DESA, he chaired the efforts of Fiocruz in organizing the 1st Consultation on Health and STI in the 2030 Agenda’s implementation.

In 2017, United Nations Secretary-General Guterres appointed Ambassador Peter Thomson of Fiji as his Special Envoy for the Ocean, with the aim of galvanising concerted efforts to follow up on the outcomes of the 2017 United Nations (UN) Ocean Conference. This includes maintaining the momentum for action to conserve and sustainably use oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.

Thomson leads the UN’s advocacy and public outreach efforts inside and outside of the UN system, ensuring that the many positive outcomes of the 2017 Ocean Conference, including the over 1,500 voluntary commitments, are analysed and implemented. He also works with civil society, the scientific community, the private sector and other relevant stakeholders, to coalesce and encourage their activities in support of the implementation of SDG 14.

Thomson has distinguished experience in diplomatic services and is familiar with the work of the United Nations, including from his role as Permanent Representative of Fiji to the UN and President of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly, during which time he provided visionary leadership in guiding the preparation of The 2017 Ocean Conference.

Elected President of the Assembly of the International Seabed Authority’s 2011-2012 session and President of the Council of the Authority’s 2015-2016 session, Thomson chaired the Group of 77 and China (2013) and served as President of the Executive Board of UN Development Programme/UN Population Fund/UN Office for Programme Support (UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS) from 2014 to 2015. As a civil servant in the Government of Fiji, he has devoted many years of his life to working in the fields of rural development and foreign affairs.

Hussain serves a dual role as the CEO of the American University of Sharjah Enterprises (AUSE) and as the CEO of the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park (SRTIP). Both these entities were established through royal decree by the Ruler of Sharjah, who also directly appointed Hussain to these responsibilities in order to create collaborative long-term relationships between industry, academia and the public sector, fostering an ecosystem of enterprise and innovation.

Previously, Hussain served as the Director General of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a Member of the UAE Chamber Federation, and GCC Chambers for 8 years. He was responsible for the overall management and operations of the Chamber including the provision of services to its members. In this role, he launched several strategic economic initiatives for Sharjah such as the SME Act, Sharjah Export Centre, Sharjah Commercial Arbitration Centre, and the Sharjah Business Forum.

Hussain has held leadership roles at leading regional and international companies such as the Royal Dutch Shell Group, Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), and several Dubai Holding entities. He currently serves as honorary board member of both, the Tatweer Forum and of Maastricht University in the Netherlands, and as chairman of the Emirates Business Council for Sustainable Development.

He also serves as a board member of the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa). Hussain possesses an MBA from the American University of Sharjah and a BA in Economics and Communications from Seattle Pacific University in the US.

Mohamed Alhosani is the CEO of Consultancy, Research & Innovation at Bee’ah. He is responsible for the delivery of environmental consulting services; environmental monitoring including water, soil and air monitoring; carbon footprint mapping; management of agencies; and research and development of new, innovative services. He was also appointed the CEO of Bee’ah KSA in 2021, and is leading Bee’ah’s expansion efforts in the Kingdom and oversees all of Bee’ah’s operations in KSA to ensure service excellence.

Prior to assuming his present role, Mohamed was the Managing Director of Tandeef, Bee’ah’s Waste Collection & Public Cleansing Division. In this role, he oversaw Tandeef’s operations including Collection, Public Cleansing, Commercial Operations, Fleet Management and Control, the Workshops, as well as their respective stores.

Mohamed joined Bee’ah in June 2008 as Health, Safety and Environment Manager. In 2009, he was promoted to Senior Environment Manager, before joining the Operations Department as Senior Operations Manager in 2010. After gaining extensive experience in the Operations Department, Mohamed took on a wider role as Director of Sales and New Product Development. This position included management of commercial services and material sales, as well as the waste transfer processes and disposal of waste collected in Sharjah, and the East Coast and Central Region of the emirate. His main responsibilities as Director also included future facilities planning, overseeing the operations of Sharjah’s six landfills, and the implementation of sustainable waste management practices. Following his excellent performance, he was then appointed as the Director of Waste Transfer and Disposal Technology, and subsequently as the Managing Director of Tandeef.

With over 13 years in fire safety engineering before arriving at Bee’ah, Mohamed began his career in the UAE Armed Forces, as a Fire Protection Engineer reviewing the fire safety systems and equipment. Mohamed then worked at the Sharjah Municipality where he headed the Fire Unit for the Sharjah Civil Defence.

Lazarus Chakwera is a Malawian theologian and politician who has been President of Malawi since June 2020. In addition to the Presidency, he is also self-appointed to the cabinet as Minister of Defence. Mr Chakwera has been leader of the Malawi Congress Party since 2013, and was previously Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly following highly controversial elections held on 21 May 2019, which were overturned by the Constitutional Court. He was appointed chairman of SADC on 17 August at the SADC 41st Annual Summit held on 9 August to 19 august in Lilongwe, Malawi. He was President of the Malawi Assemblies of God from 1989 to 14 May 2013.

Since September 2018, Jan Jambon has been the Minister-President of the Government of Flanders and Flemish Minister for Foreign Policy, Culture, IT and Facilities. Before that, he was a Member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Security and the Interior of Belgium.

Jan Jambon began his professional career as a Systems Engineer and Account Manager at IBM, where he worked from 1984 to 1992. He holds a master’s degree in computer science and an MBA from the University of Antwerp.

Mohammed Hassain Abdullahi is a Federal Minister of State for the Ministry of Science &Technology, Federal Republic of Nigeria. He trained as a lawyer at Usman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto, and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1991 after completing his studies at the Nigerian Law School, Lagos. He is a Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, as well as a Founding Partner of Messrs Hammart & Co, Solicitors & Advocates, Abuja.

Until his appointment in 2019 by President Muhammadu Buhari to serve in a Ministerial capacity and Cabinet-Member, Mohammed Hassain Abdullahi was the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Nasarawa State (2017-2019).

Thara has been working as an IAS Officer since 1995. She has been working in the State of Gujarat since 1997 and has a versatile experience in various cities of Gujarat such as Ahmedabad, Kheda, Rajkot, Vadodara and Surendranagar in various Departments. She has worked as a District Development Officer in the cities of Vadodara and Surendranagar for a period of 2 years in Land Revenue Management and District Administration and Development Administration. She also has experience as a Collector in Land Revenue Management & District Administration Departments in the cities of Kheda for a period of 1 year and Ahmedabad for a period of 3 years.

Thara has also worked as the Deputy Municipal Commissioner of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation for approximately 2 years. During this period, she has worked on a number of JNNURM Projects. She has been one of the pioneers of the BRTS Project which was a very essential project of the city. She has also initiated the Second Revised Draft Development Plan 2021 as Chief Executive Authority, Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA) in 2008.

During her tenure as Chief Executive Authority, AUDA, the Second Revised Draft Development Plan 2021, Ahmedabad was completed and also the First Revised Draft Development Plan of Gandhinagar as the CEA, GUDA was completed. With her focused vision and great leadership qualities, a number of new concepts and ideas were incorporated in the Second Revised Draft Development Plan 2021. Few of them included the Central Business District, Transit Oriented Zone and Residential Affordable Housing Zone and also the preparation of Local Area Plans for such projects. She has been the Chief Executive Authority of AUDA and Municipal Commissioner, Ahmedabad. During her tenure, Ahmedabad was made and executed as a Smart City. Water Management and Security was the focus area. 7.5 lac people were given surface water in one year. 4 STPs were initiated and sewage treatment gap is being completely addressed.

She was working as Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation, Gandhinagar since 24/06/2016. After that she had joined Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs as Joint Secretary on 29/07/2019.

Dumisani Mthembu has specialised in nature conservation, protected area management, biodiversity conservation management and marine resource management. In 2004, Dr Mthembu joined government in water resource management and regulation with a specific focus on commercial afforestation licensing and management and later focused on maritime and marine environmental protection. Dr Mthembu is a former Director of the Department of Environmental Affairs responsible for environmental impact management.

Since 2012, Mthembu has been employed as a Senior Specialist responsible for Multilateral Environmental Agreements and represent government in international negotiations; particularly climate change negotiations, with a specific focus on technology development and transfer. Dr Mthembu is also responsible for multilateral cooperation through engagements with various multilateral organisations.

Mthembu holds a PhD in Environmental Management, Masters degree from the University of Natal (South Africa) in Environment and Development and a Master of Management degree in Public and Development Management from the University of Witwatersrand (South Africa). Mthembu also holds a National Diploma and B Tech degree in Nature Conservation respectively.

Donovan Guttieres is a PhD researcher within the Access-To-Medicines Research Centre within the Faculty of Business & Economics at KU Leuven (Belgium), working on systems-based approaches to promoting pandemic preparedness. Donovan has a master’s degree in technology and policy from the Institute for Data, Systems and Society (IDSS) at MIT. Before that, he received a bachelor’s in biomedical engineering from Boston University. Guttieres is a member of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations’ Young Engineers / Future Leaders and currently serves as Global Public Entrepreneurial Policy Liaison on the 2021 IEEE Entrepreneurship Steering Committee.

Hussain serves a dual role as the CEO of the American University of Sharjah Enterprises (AUSE) and as the CEO of the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park (SRTIP). Both these entities were established through royal decree by the Ruler of Sharjah, who also directly appointed Hussain to these responsibilities in order to create collaborative long-term relationships between industry, academia and the public sector, fostering an ecosystem of enterprise and innovation.

Previously, Hussain served as the Director General of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a Member of the UAE Chamber Federation, and GCC Chambers for 8 years. He was responsible for the overall management and operations of the Chamber including the provision of services to its members. In this role, he launched several strategic economic initiatives for Sharjah such as the SME Act, Sharjah Export Centre, Sharjah Commercial Arbitration Centre, and the Sharjah Business Forum.

Hussain has held leadership roles at leading regional and international companies such as the Royal Dutch Shell Group, Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), and several Dubai Holding entities. He currently serves as honorary board member of both, the Tatweer Forum and of Maastricht University in the Netherlands, and as chairman of the Emirates Business Council for Sustainable Development.

He also serves as a board member of the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa). Hussain possesses an MBA from the American University of Sharjah and a BA in Economics and Communications from Seattle Pacific University in the US.

Rozita holds a Bachelors degree (B.Hons) in Journalism, Masters degree (MA) in Sustainable Development Practice and a Masters in Science (MSc) in Urban Management and Development (Netherlands Fellowship Program Scholar at Erasmus University). Prior to joining UNDP, she was working as Project Manager, Circular Economy at Royal Philips Netherlands in their Global Sustainability office.

She was a core team member in the Transformation program, leading several strategies on change management. Additionally, she worked on cross functional research projects to test circular value propositions as a Strategic Sustainability Advisor. Previously she was working as an Associate Fellow at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in New Delhi, India. At TERI, she worked on various projects that focused on planning for climate resilient cities.

She is currently leading the role of Solutions mapping at UNDP India’s Accelerator Lab which is part of the world’s largest and fastest learning network on innovations for SDGs. She is also a mentor at the online climate school- Terra Do and conducts Masterclasses on Circular Economy. Rozita is passionate about promoting composting and back in 2013, she helped in setting up the Delhi chapter of the Bangalore initiative- ‘Daily Dump- Composting at home’.

Ismail is a mid-career Palestinian professional, born and raised in East Jerusalem. He assumes the position of head of solutions mapping at UNDP’s accelerator labs. Ismail has managed a broad range of programs in various sectors including local government, civic engagement, and economic development.

In the last 7 years, he has worked primarily in systems transformation programmes that seek to introduce creative and novel pathways of change to holistically tackle constraints facing an entire system. Ismail holds an MA in History and Cultural Studies from Freie Universität Berlin and a BA in International Studies from University of Denver.

Karl Vrancken is Research Manager Sustainable Materials Management at VITO. He is responsible for the strategic management of VITO’s Materials programme. He also has a part-time position as professor at the University of Antwerp (Department of Bio-engineering), where he teaches sustainable resources management.

Karl has broad experience as a researcher and project manager in projects on sustainability assessment and transition, waste management and treatment, secondary raw materials, best available techniques (BAT) and integrated pollution prevention and control. He has also worked as a Detached National Expert with the European IPPC Bureau in Seville (Spain), where he was the author of the BAT Reference Document for the Foundries sector.

Karl is the initiator and chairman of the European Circular Economy Research Alliance (ECERA) and strategic advisor to the European Topic Centre on Waste and Materials for a Green Economy, a consortium of European organisations working in partnership with the European Environment Agency (EEA). During its start-up phase, he was interim Chief Operations Officer to the Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) EIT RawMaterials that was founded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).

He is an expert speaker on circular economy in the media and at various national and international conferences.

PACE is a global community of leaders working together to accelerate transition to a circular economy. As Knowledge Lead, Ke oversees PACE’s content development and knowledge management. She led development of the PACE Circular Economy Action Agenda, which integrates insights from over 100 organisations and is designed to be a rallying call for business, government, and civil society. Ke has also been a driving force behind mobilising the PACE community to turn calls-to-action into actual, impactful action.

Prior to joining PACE, Ke accumulated over 10 years’ experience leading interdisciplinary research and innovation teams in both public and private sectors. Her work with these included setting up large European projects such as Horizon2020 CIRCUSOL. She holds a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Stanford University and an Executive MBA from Rotterdam School of Management.

Lieze Cloots is Head of International Policy at OVAM, the Flanders region’s Public Waste Agency, for whom she has organised events such as the WRF’19 on Resources and Circular Economy held in Antwerp. Since 2017 she has been a member of the coordination group for the EU CE Stakeholder platform (ECESP), the European stakeholder network for circular economy that shares good practices, disseminates knowledge and stimulates dialogue and cooperation.

Lieze is the lead expert for Belgium on the European Circular Economy Action Plan. She has over 20 years’ experience in environment and sustainability policymaking and civil society action, at both national and international level. She has represented Belgium in UN negotiations on sustainable development, chemicals, GMOs, the Aarhus Convention and EU waste legislation.

Cloots has been legal advisor to the Belgian Federal Minister of Environment and was policy director for Bond Beter Leefmilieu, the federation of environment NGOs in Flanders. Lieze has also held board member roles for several Belgian and European organisations associated with sustainable development and is a full member of the Club of Rome EU Chapter. She holds a law degree from the Catholic University of Leuven and a master’s in EU law from the Université de Liege.

After completing her studies in Chemical Engineering in Germany, Susanne Karcher founded EnviroSense CC (an Environmental Consultancy) in Cape Town in 1999. Her company specialises in planning, development and facilitation of tailor-made governmental, industrial/commercial and residential “Integrated Resource and Waste Management” programmes ultimately geared towards pollution prevention.

Susanne is a qualified RECP (Resource Efficiency and Cleaner Production) end-use level trainer with the NCPC and a founding member of the African Circular Economy Network. She also provides voluntary mentoring services as a member of the globally operating Circular Economy Club.

As a one-woman consultancy, and in her former role as the Chair of the Southern African e-Waste Alliance, Susanne specialised in furthering collaborative, safe and inclusive WEEE management at an early point in her career. In 2014 she was appointed as part of a national task team that developed a WEEE Industrial Waste Plan, which was only this year replaced by the formulation and introduction of WEEE EPR-based regulation for South Africa.

Since her first encounter with Empa visiting South Africa (back in 2003), Susanne systematically built and cultivated strong relationships with both Empa and the World Resources Forum in the years that followed. As part of an international round table led by the WRF, she contributed to the development of various signature research publications and projects including the ISO IWA Guidance Principles, the related “Worst to Good Practices” fact sheets and the UNEP “Eco-e Manual: Electronics Supplement”. Susanne also assisted the GIZ with SRI-led training initiatives in Ghana and South Africa.

At the end of 2020, Susanne was appointed by WRF and Empa as the National Coordinator for Phase 2 of the SRI South Africa project (2020-2023).

PACE is a global community of leaders working together to accelerate transition to a circular economy. As Knowledge Lead, Ke oversees PACE’s content development and knowledge management. She led development of the PACE Circular Economy Action Agenda, which integrates insights from over 100 organisations and is designed to be a rallying call for business, government, and civil society. Ke has also been a driving force behind mobilising the PACE community to turn calls-to-action into actual, impactful action.

Prior to joining PACE, Ke accumulated over 10 years’ experience leading interdisciplinary research and innovation teams in both public and private sectors. Her work with these included setting up large European projects such as Horizon2020 CIRCUSOL. She holds a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Stanford University and an Executive MBA from Rotterdam School of Management.

Lieze Cloots is Head of International Policy at OVAM, the Flanders region’s Public Waste Agency, for whom she has organised events such as the WRF’19 on Resources and Circular Economy held in Antwerp. Since 2017 she has been a member of the coordination group for the EU CE Stakeholder platform (ECESP), the European stakeholder network for circular economy that shares good practices, disseminates knowledge and stimulates dialogue and cooperation.

Lieze is the lead expert for Belgium on the European Circular Economy Action Plan. She has over 20 years’ experience in environment and sustainability policymaking and civil society action, at both national and international level. She has represented Belgium in UN negotiations on sustainable development, chemicals, GMOs, the Aarhus Convention and EU waste legislation.

Cloots has been legal advisor to the Belgian Federal Minister of Environment and was policy director for Bond Beter Leefmilieu, the federation of environment NGOs in Flanders. Lieze has also held board member roles for several Belgian and European organisations associated with sustainable development and is a full member of the Club of Rome EU Chapter. She holds a law degree from the Catholic University of Leuven and a master’s in EU law from the Université de Liege.

After completing her studies in Chemical Engineering in Germany, Susanne Karcher founded EnviroSense CC (an Environmental Consultancy) in Cape Town in 1999. Her company specialises in planning, development and facilitation of tailor-made governmental, industrial/commercial and residential “Integrated Resource and Waste Management” programmes ultimately geared towards pollution prevention.

Susanne is a qualified RECP (Resource Efficiency and Cleaner Production) end-use level trainer with the NCPC and a founding member of the African Circular Economy Network. She also provides voluntary mentoring services as a member of the globally operating Circular Economy Club.

As a one-woman consultancy, and in her former role as the Chair of the Southern African e-Waste Alliance, Susanne specialised in furthering collaborative, safe and inclusive WEEE management at an early point in her career. In 2014 she was appointed as part of a national task team that developed a WEEE Industrial Waste Plan, which was only this year replaced by the formulation and introduction of WEEE EPR-based regulation for South Africa.

Since her first encounter with Empa visiting South Africa (back in 2003), Susanne systematically built and cultivated strong relationships with both Empa and the World Resources Forum in the years that followed. As part of an international round table led by the WRF, she contributed to the development of various signature research publications and projects including the ISO IWA Guidance Principles, the related “Worst to Good Practices” fact sheets and the UNEP “Eco-e Manual: Electronics Supplement”. Susanne also assisted the GIZ with SRI-led training initiatives in Ghana and South Africa.

At the end of 2020, Susanne was appointed by WRF and Empa as the National Coordinator for Phase 2 of the SRI South Africa project (2020-2023).

Karl Vrancken is Research Manager Sustainable Materials Management at VITO. He is responsible for the strategic management of VITO’s Materials programme. He also has a part-time position as professor at the University of Antwerp (Department of Bio-engineering), where he teaches sustainable resources management.

Karl has broad experience as a researcher and project manager in projects on sustainability assessment and transition, waste management and treatment, secondary raw materials, best available techniques (BAT) and integrated pollution prevention and control. He has also worked as a Detached National Expert with the European IPPC Bureau in Seville (Spain), where he was the author of the BAT Reference Document for the Foundries sector.

Karl is the initiator and chairman of the European Circular Economy Research Alliance (ECERA) and strategic advisor to the European Topic Centre on Waste and Materials for a Green Economy, a consortium of European organisations working in partnership with the European Environment Agency (EEA). During its start-up phase, he was interim Chief Operations Officer to the Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) EIT RawMaterials that was founded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).

He is an expert speaker on circular economy in the media and at various national and international conferences.

Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim is an environmental activist and member of Chad’s pastoralist Mbororo community, a UN Sustainable Development Goal Advocate and Conservation International Senior Fellow.

Hindou began advocating for Indigenous rights and environmental protection at age 16, founding the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad (AFPAT) to introduce new income revenue activities for women and collaborative tools such as 3D participatory mapping to build sustainable ecosystems management and reduction of nature-based resource conflicts. Her vision is to grow support for both traditional knowledge and science to improve resilience to climate change especially for rural communities.

An eco-entrepreneur, Stan’s passion for sustainability along with 20+ years of experience in the recycling industry has provided the knowledge needed to design and develop ever-innovative solutions for the recycling industry, the economy, and the environment.

Currently a professor at Qatar University’s Gas Processing Center, Muftah H. El-Naas has also served as the Center’s Director and Chair of QAFCO. His areas of expertise include CO₂ capture, water purification, biotechnology, plasma technology and membrane separation. Most of his recent research work focusses on the development of new, environmentally friendly processes for the Oil and Gas industry.

Born in Huesca (Spain) in 1977, Jorge completed his master’s degree in chemistry in 2002 and his PhD cum laude in Chemical Engineering in 2006, both at the University of Zaragoza (Spain). He was post-doc (2006 to 2009), Assistant Professor (2010 to 2012), Associate Professor (2012 to 2014) and Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Professor (2014 – 2017) of Catalysis Engineering at TUDelft (NL). Since 2017, he has been Professor of Chemical Engineering and Director at the KAUST Catalysis Center. Recently, he was appointed Lead of the KAUST Circular Carbon Initiative.

Gascon is a member of the board of the International Zeolite Association Commission on Metal Organic Frameworks. He has been the recipient of the prestigious VENI (2010), VIDI (2013) and ERC Starting (2013) personal grants and of the 2013 ExxonMobil Chemical European Science and Engineering Award. He is also a 2018 and 2019 Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited researcher. Jorge’s group at KAUST aims to develop and deploy sustainable technologies for the production of chemicals, energy carriers and new environmental applications. Process intensification, feedstock efficiency and reduction of energy usage are their main objectives. With an H-Index of 81 and over 26,000 citations, he has published over 280 journal articles, 9 patents and several book chapters.

Walter Eevers is Director of Research & Development at VITO, Belgium. After obtaining his PhD in electrically conductive polymers from Antwerp University, he joined Nitto Europe where he was responsible for R&D and business development until becoming General Manager of Techno-Marketing. Walter became involved in global technology sourcing and marketing by setting up multiple collaborations with universities and research institutes.

In 2012, Eevers helped found Nitto Denko Europe Technical Centre in Lausanne as a company dedicated to research activities for medical devices. Eevers is also an external Expert and Vice Chair for the EU Commission, Conacyt (Mexico) and the Qatar Foundation for innovation programmes and projects. He is Vice-President of CO2 Value Europe, an industry association promoting and stimulating CCU.

Eevers is also Chairman of the Board of EnergyVille, the collaboration between KU Leuven, University of Hasselt, IMEC and VITO for sustainable energy research. In his current position, he has stimulated several spinoffs from VITO and held board positions in them. As a visiting professor at University of Antwerp for polymer chemistry, he is guiding research activities in the field of biobased polymer developments.

Dirk Vangeneugden is a project and business developer at VITO for sustainable materials and chemistry. He is strongly engaged in national and international R&D projects on chemical catalysis and sorption. Fields of expertise include 3D printing, surface engineering and coating, as well as CO₂ capture and conversion. He is actively involved in technology transfers to industry and supporting spin-off initiatives.

Since September 2018, Jan Jambon has been the Minister-President of the Government of Flanders and Flemish Minister for Foreign Policy, Culture, IT and Facilities. Before that, he was a Member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Security and the Interior of Belgium.

Jan Jambon began his professional career as a Systems Engineer and Account Manager at IBM, where he worked from 1984 to 1992. He holds a master’s degree in computer science and an MBA from the University of Antwerp.

Alexander D’Hooghe is Associate Professor at MIT and Chief Strategic Officer and Founding Partner of the design agency and think tank, ORG Permanent Modernity based in Brussels and New York, which is active internationally in systems, urbanism and architecture. He has published internationally, notably with ‘the Liberal Monument’ (Princeton, Fall 2010) and with recent papers in relevant journals in Germany, Israel, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, the USA, etc. His urban designs and analyses have included sites in New York City, Shenzhen, Belgium, The Netherlands, Iceland, South-Korea, Malawi, Ghana, parts of Russia, etc.

His expertise is regularly engaged in large multi-functional infrastructure projects and masterplans such as the current resiliency plan developments with coastal design and multifunctional offshore infrastructures in the North Sea as well as new architectural typologies in the canal district of Brussels that mixes education and the arts, with manufacturing, commercial, residential and public spaces. He serves as the director of the advisory committee in Amsterdam to develop meaningful infrastructure to connect the banks of the IJ river. Additionally, he is commissioned to support long-term development plans for Malawi’s urban and rural agricultural and industrial development, focusing on land use efficiency, infrastructural connectivity, environmental sensitivity and diverse economic productivity.

Alexander was formerly the director of MIT Centre For Advanced Urbanism (CAU), which focuses on the large-scale, complex urban issues of our time. D’Hooghe obtained a PhD from the Berlage Institute in 2007with T.U. Delft, published as the book ‘The Liberal Monument’ (Princeton Press, 2010). He previously obtained a Master’s degree in Urban Design from Harvard in 2001, and a Master’s degree in Architectural Engineering from the University of Leuven in 1996. He worked with among others Rem Koolhaas and Marcel Smets.

Marcus Haward is a political scientist specialising in oceans, Antarctic governance and marine resources management at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), University of Tasmania. He is the author of over 140 research publications and several books, including Oceans Governance in the Twenty-first Century: Managing the Blue Planet (with Joanna Vince), Global Commodity Governance: State Responses to Sustainable Forest and Fisheries Certification (with Fred Gale), and Australia and the Antarctic Treaty System, (co-editor with Tom Griffiths).

He is currently working on oceans and Antarctic governance, knowledge systems in coastal management, marine biodiversity conservation in a changing climate and Australia’s regional fisheries interests.

Haward is currently editor of the Australian Journal of Maritime and Oceans Affairs published by Taylor & Francis.

Catalina Spataru is a professor of Global Energy and Resources at UCL, the founder and Head of UCL Islands Laboratory, and Deputy Director of the UCL Energy Institute. Her expertise is in the field of global energy and resources, from theoretical investigations to implementation of research and practice to support policy makers and sustainability agendas.

The Islands Laboratory at UCL is a unique initiative that aims to support island nations, helping planners and businesses develop sustainable solutions in a climate change context. It takes a nexus-informed mixed methodological approach to energy and resource use scenarios analysis.

Spataru established the “Blue-Green” artificial islands, which involved exploring future scenarios for modular floating structures/systems and symbiosis with other sectors at sea.

She currently directs the work of the Re-Energize Governance of Disasters for Sustainable Development consortium, which is the funded part of the Collaborative Research Action on Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience through the Belmont Forum. In this, her work takes a nexus-informed approach to actionable insights for climate change disasters risk reduction and resilience governance, in collaboration with partners from Qatar, Japan, USA, Mauritius, Ghana and Italy.

Catalina Spataru also directed the work on the energy markets and regulations part of the Open Piazza consortium led by Unit9. This involved several businesses from the UK and Canada coming together to develop a digital platform for helping the built environment attain sustainable energy, by assessing the benefits introduced by energy storage and generation, and the business cases needed to justify the required investments.

She has delivered several talks at events such as the Cheltenham Science Festival, the European Business Summit in Brussels, the UN Environmental Management Group Nexus Dialogues series, Friends of Governance for Sustainable Development and other international conferences.

Zinzi Reimert coordinates the North Sea Farmers’ offshore test site and is one of the project leaders of North Sea Farm #1, which will be the world’s first large-scale seaweed farm in an offshore windfarm. NSF#1 will be installed in 2022, with a first harvest in 2023.

Offshore cultivation and use of seaweed contribute broadly to priority sustainable development issues such as energy transition, sustainable food and circular economy. With these, they serve SDG3 (good health and wellbeing), SDG7 (affordable and clean energy), SDG9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure), SDG12 (responsible consumption and production), SDG 13 (climate action) and SDG 14 (life below water).

Reimert has worked as a system engineer on energy transition innovations and is widely seen as an expert in all aspects of the windfarm multi-use concept, including nature-inclusive innovations. These include the Eco-Anchor, which enables the protection of biodiversity – a requirement for scaling up sustainable offshore seaweed cultivation. Zinzi is spearheading the cross-sector team developing the Eco-Anchor. Having already developed the design based on state-of-the-art research and built a prototype, they are currently testing it in an offshore environment. An important part of Zinzi’s work is to engage the general public in the process to create awareness and goodwill.

Alexander D’Hooghe is Associate Professor at MIT and Chief Strategic Officer and Founding Partner of the design agency and think tank, ORG Permanent Modernity based in Brussels and New York, which is active internationally in systems, urbanism and architecture. He has published internationally, notably with ‘the Liberal Monument’ (Princeton, Fall 2010) and with recent papers in relevant journals in Germany, Israel, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, the USA, etc. His urban designs and analyses have included sites in New York City, Shenzhen, Belgium, The Netherlands, Iceland, South-Korea, Malawi, Ghana, parts of Russia, etc.

His expertise is regularly engaged in large multi-functional infrastructure projects and masterplans such as the current resiliency plan developments with coastal design and multifunctional offshore infrastructures in the North Sea as well as new architectural typologies in the canal district of Brussels that mixes education and the arts, with manufacturing, commercial, residential and public spaces. He serves as the director of the advisory committee in Amsterdam to develop meaningful infrastructure to connect the banks of the IJ river. Additionally, he is commissioned to support long-term development plans for Malawi’s urban and rural agricultural and industrial development, focusing on land use efficiency, infrastructural connectivity, environmental sensitivity and diverse economic productivity.

Alexander was formerly the director of MIT Centre For Advanced Urbanism (CAU), which focuses on the large-scale, complex urban issues of our time. D’Hooghe obtained a PhD from the Berlage Institute in 2007with T.U. Delft, published as the book ‘The Liberal Monument’ (Princeton Press, 2010). He previously obtained a Master’s degree in Urban Design from Harvard in 2001, and a Master’s degree in Architectural Engineering from the University of Leuven in 1996. He worked with among others Rem Koolhaas and Marcel Smets.

Marcus Haward is a political scientist specialising in oceans, Antarctic governance and marine resources management at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), University of Tasmania. He is the author of over 140 research publications and several books, including Oceans Governance in the Twenty-first Century: Managing the Blue Planet (with Joanna Vince), Global Commodity Governance: State Responses to Sustainable Forest and Fisheries Certification (with Fred Gale), and Australia and the Antarctic Treaty System, (co-editor with Tom Griffiths).

He is currently working on oceans and Antarctic governance, knowledge systems in coastal management, marine biodiversity conservation in a changing climate and Australia’s regional fisheries interests.

Haward is currently editor of the Australian Journal of Maritime and Oceans Affairs published by Taylor & Francis.

Catalina Spataru is a professor of Global Energy and Resources at UCL, the founder and Head of UCL Islands Laboratory, and Deputy Director of the UCL Energy Institute. Her expertise is in the field of global energy and resources, from theoretical investigations to implementation of research and practice to support policy makers and sustainability agendas.

The Islands Laboratory at UCL is a unique initiative that aims to support island nations, helping planners and businesses develop sustainable solutions in a climate change context. It takes a nexus-informed mixed methodological approach to energy and resource use scenarios analysis.

Spataru established the “Blue-Green” artificial islands, which involved exploring future scenarios for modular floating structures/systems and symbiosis with other sectors at sea.

She currently directs the work of the Re-Energize Governance of Disasters for Sustainable Development consortium, which is the funded part of the Collaborative Research Action on Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience through the Belmont Forum. In this, her work takes a nexus-informed approach to actionable insights for climate change disasters risk reduction and resilience governance, in collaboration with partners from Qatar, Japan, USA, Mauritius, Ghana and Italy.

Catalina Spataru also directed the work on the energy markets and regulations part of the Open Piazza consortium led by Unit9. This involved several businesses from the UK and Canada coming together to develop a digital platform for helping the built environment attain sustainable energy, by assessing the benefits introduced by energy storage and generation, and the business cases needed to justify the required investments.

She has delivered several talks at events such as the Cheltenham Science Festival, the European Business Summit in Brussels, the UN Environmental Management Group Nexus Dialogues series, Friends of Governance for Sustainable Development and other international conferences.

Zinzi Reimert coordinates the North Sea Farmers’ offshore test site and is one of the project leaders of North Sea Farm #1, which will be the world’s first large-scale seaweed farm in an offshore windfarm. NSF#1 will be installed in 2022, with a first harvest in 2023.

Offshore cultivation and use of seaweed contribute broadly to priority sustainable development issues such as energy transition, sustainable food and circular economy. With these, they serve SDG3 (good health and wellbeing), SDG7 (affordable and clean energy), SDG9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure), SDG12 (responsible consumption and production), SDG 13 (climate action) and SDG 14 (life below water).

Reimert has worked as a system engineer on energy transition innovations and is widely seen as an expert in all aspects of the windfarm multi-use concept, including nature-inclusive innovations. These include the Eco-Anchor, which enables the protection of biodiversity – a requirement for scaling up sustainable offshore seaweed cultivation. Zinzi is spearheading the cross-sector team developing the Eco-Anchor. Having already developed the design based on state-of-the-art research and built a prototype, they are currently testing it in an offshore environment. An important part of Zinzi’s work is to engage the general public in the process to create awareness and goodwill.

In 2017, United Nations Secretary-General Guterres appointed Ambassador Peter Thomson of Fiji as his Special Envoy for the Ocean, with the aim of galvanising concerted efforts to follow up on the outcomes of the 2017 United Nations (UN) Ocean Conference. This includes maintaining the momentum for action to conserve and sustainably use oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.

Thomson leads the UN’s advocacy and public outreach efforts inside and outside of the UN system, ensuring that the many positive outcomes of the 2017 Ocean Conference, including the over 1,500 voluntary commitments, are analysed and implemented. He also works with civil society, the scientific community, the private sector and other relevant stakeholders, to coalesce and encourage their activities in support of the implementation of SDG 14.

Thomson has distinguished experience in diplomatic services and is familiar with the work of the United Nations, including from his role as Permanent Representative of Fiji to the UN and President of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly, during which time he provided visionary leadership in guiding the preparation of The 2017 Ocean Conference.

Elected President of the Assembly of the International Seabed Authority’s 2011-2012 session and President of the Council of the Authority’s 2015-2016 session, Thomson chaired the Group of 77 and China (2013) and served as President of the Executive Board of UN Development Programme/UN Population Fund/UN Office for Programme Support (UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS) from 2014 to 2015. As a civil servant in the Government of Fiji, he has devoted many years of his life to working in the fields of rural development and foreign affairs.

Inge Genné is VITO’s Programme Manager for Water & Climate. Following on from a research career as a membrane technology expert, she got our industrial water management team’s activities underway by focusing on implementation of water efficiency and reuse strategies. In 2016, that team merged with the environmental modelling unit specialised in decision support tools and services. Inge Genné is now the driving force behind the expansion of VITO’s market-driven research & innovation activities under the WaterClimateHub umbrella. She also coordinates the large scale “Vlaanderen WaterProof” project, has an active role in various international networks and is a board member of Water Reuse Europe.

Griet Verstraeten works as a policy advisor on climate change adaptation in the Flemish Government Department of Environment and Spatial Development. She is also the lead expert for Belgium on the European Adaptation Strategy.

In her role as policy advisor, Griet coordinates the work on local policy for Flanders carried out by the Flemish Task Force on Climate Change Adaptation and representatives from other Flemish Government departments (including agriculture and fisheries, mobility and infrastructure, economy and innovation, health, nature and forestry, environment, water, spatial planning). She is responsible for the development and implementation of the Flemish Plan on Climate Change Adaptation and for the communication, knowledge exchange and awareness-raising associated with it.

Griet has a master’s degree in bioscience engineering (land and forest management) from KU Leuven, a master’s degree in urban planning from the University of Antwerp and over 20 years’ experience in spatial planning, environmental policy, sustainable development and international cooperation. Verstraeten is an expert in international and European policies on climate change adaptation, with specific expertise on the implementation of nature-based solutions.

Griet Verstraeten represents the Flemish Government in the Belgian national working group on climate change adaptation (under the national climate commission) and is an active member of Working Group VI, the network on climate change adaptation under DG Climate.

Joris is an expert in sustainability within the event and festival world. He’s been involved in organising Tomorrowland since the event’s early years, and founded its Love Tomorrow CSR department in 2012. Love Tomorrow has since grown into a wider-reaching platform that strives for positive impact on our society and environment in general.

Love Tomorrow initiates and develops concepts that contribute to reducing environmental impact, as well as creating awareness for circular models and value in relation to waste and water. The platform also studies and strives to influence behaviour, innovates through pilot projects and supports eco start-ups. Tomorrowland is a powerful solutions breeding and testing ground for smart resource utilisation, waste reduction and recycling, together with the associated designs, systems and communications.

Many initiatives, such as Waterville, the smart water network, Route 360, the pop-up on-site recycling system for PET bottles and aluminium cans, and Camp2Camp, which gives abandoned camping materials new life, have all been developed and optimised in interaction with the People of Tomorrow.

Alongside the classic 3 Ps of People, Planet & Prosperity, Pleasure is always at the heart of Love Tomorrow’s activations, as this is key to driving positive change when influencing behaviour. It is Love Tomorrow’s ambition to breathe life into solutions for outside the festival environment and partner with governments, universities, businesses and innovators to co-create a wholesome future for our planet.

Marjolein Weemaes was originally a researcher at Aquafin, before going on to manage its R&D department.

Aquafin was founded by the Flemish government in 1990 for the purpose of expanding, managing and prefinancing supra-municipal sewage treatment infrastructure. The company also offers its expertise to Flemish cities and municipalities, and more than 100 of these have taken up the opportunity to collaborate with Aquafin for their waste and storm water management.

Aquafin has always had a strong R&D department. In 2018, this was anchored in the new Business Development and Innovation department to help accelerate new ideas’ and concepts’ routes to market. The company’s innovation department develops new solutions for creating business opportunities and for the realisation of Aquafins mission: streams and brooks full of life, and a living environment in harmony with water.

Griet Verstraeten works as a policy advisor on climate change adaptation in the Flemish Government Department of Environment and Spatial Development. She is also the lead expert for Belgium on the European Adaptation Strategy.

In her role as policy advisor, Griet coordinates the work on local policy for Flanders carried out by the Flemish Task Force on Climate Change Adaptation and representatives from other Flemish Government departments (including agriculture and fisheries, mobility and infrastructure, economy and innovation, health, nature and forestry, environment, water, spatial planning). She is responsible for the development and implementation of the Flemish Plan on Climate Change Adaptation and for the communication, knowledge exchange and awareness-raising associated with it.

Griet has a master’s degree in bioscience engineering (land and forest management) from KU Leuven, a master’s degree in urban planning from the University of Antwerp and over 20 years’ experience in spatial planning, environmental policy, sustainable development and international cooperation. Verstraeten is an expert in international and European policies on climate change adaptation, with specific expertise on the implementation of nature-based solutions.

Griet Verstraeten represents the Flemish Government in the Belgian national working group on climate change adaptation (under the national climate commission) and is an active member of Working Group VI, the network on climate change adaptation under DG Climate.

Joris is an expert in sustainability within the event and festival world. He’s been involved in organising Tomorrowland since the event’s early years, and founded its Love Tomorrow CSR department in 2012. Love Tomorrow has since grown into a wider-reaching platform that strives for positive impact on our society and environment in general.

Love Tomorrow initiates and develops concepts that contribute to reducing environmental impact, as well as creating awareness for circular models and value in relation to waste and water. The platform also studies and strives to influence behaviour, innovates through pilot projects and supports eco start-ups. Tomorrowland is a powerful solutions breeding and testing ground for smart resource utilisation, waste reduction and recycling, together with the associated designs, systems and communications.

Many initiatives, such as Waterville, the smart water network, Route 360, the pop-up on-site recycling system for PET bottles and aluminium cans, and Camp2Camp, which gives abandoned camping materials new life, have all been developed and optimised in interaction with the People of Tomorrow.

Alongside the classic 3 Ps of People, Planet & Prosperity, Pleasure is always at the heart of Love Tomorrow’s activations, as this is key to driving positive change when influencing behaviour. It is Love Tomorrow’s ambition to breathe life into solutions for outside the festival environment and partner with governments, universities, businesses and innovators to co-create a wholesome future for our planet.

Marjolein Weemaes was originally a researcher at Aquafin, before going on to manage its R&D department.

Aquafin was founded by the Flemish government in 1990 for the purpose of expanding, managing and prefinancing supra-municipal sewage treatment infrastructure. The company also offers its expertise to Flemish cities and municipalities, and more than 100 of these have taken up the opportunity to collaborate with Aquafin for their waste and storm water management.

Aquafin has always had a strong R&D department. In 2018, this was anchored in the new Business Development and Innovation department to help accelerate new ideas’ and concepts’ routes to market. The company’s innovation department develops new solutions for creating business opportunities and for the realisation of Aquafins mission: streams and brooks full of life, and a living environment in harmony with water.

Inge Genné is VITO’s Programme Manager for Water & Climate. Following on from a research career as a membrane technology expert, she got our industrial water management team’s activities underway by focusing on implementation of water efficiency and reuse strategies. In 2016, that team merged with the environmental modelling unit specialised in decision support tools and services. Inge Genné is now the driving force behind the expansion of VITO’s market-driven research & innovation activities under the WaterClimateHub umbrella. She also coordinates the large scale “Vlaanderen WaterProof” project, has an active role in various international networks and is a board member of Water Reuse Europe.

Since September 2018, Jan Jambon has been the Minister-President of the Government of Flanders and Flemish Minister for Foreign Policy, Culture, IT and Facilities. Before that, he was a Member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Security and the Interior of Belgium.

Jan Jambon began his professional career as a Systems Engineer and Account Manager at IBM, where he worked from 1984 to 1992. He holds a master’s degree in computer science and an MBA from the University of Antwerp.