Members - Academicians

Abdesselam Cheddadi (Morocco)

Philosopher, historian and specialist in Ibn Khaldûn and Muslim historiography. Research professor at the Institute for Scientific Research at Mohammed V University in Rabat. Professor at École des hautes études en sciences sociales, Paris.

Abdolhadi Vahidi-Ferdousi (Iran)

holds a PhD in law from the University of Strasbourg 3 (2000). Member of the Scientific Department of the Faculty of Law at Strasbourg 3 University and the Faculty of Law at Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran.

Abdolrahim Gavahi (Iran)

former Secretary General of the Organisation de Coopération Economique (ECO). Ambassador of Iran in India. Author of several books, including Islamic Revolution of Iran: Conceptual Aspects and Religious Dimensions (1986), Dictionary of Religion and Mysticism (1994), An Introduction to the history of religion in Qur’an (1997) and Kawsar: Réflexions sur Qur’an (2002).

Abdou Filali-Ansary (Morocco)

Philosopher. Director of Aga Khan University of London. Founding Director of the King Adbul-Aziz Foundation for Islamic Studies and Human Sciences in Casablanca, Morocco, and Secretary-General of the Mohammed V University in Rabat where he also taught modern philosophy. Author of several books and articles on Islam’s reformist traditions: Is Islam Hostile to Secularism? and Reforming Islam: An Introduction to Contemporary Debates. In 1993, he co-founded Prologues: revue maghrébine du livre.

Abdullah Gül (Turkey)

Economist. President of the Republic of Turkey, in office since 28 August 2007.

Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri (Saudi Arabia)

Director-General of the ISECO (Islamic Organization for Education, Sciences and Culture). Director of the Islamic academic review L’Islam Aujourd’hui and the periodical AL-JAMIA. He published in Arabic the following works: Dialogue for Coexistence; On the Civilizational Edification of the Islamic World (in eight tomes); Reflections on Contemporary Issues; The Islamic World in the Era of Globalization and Ideas for the Dialogue. 

Ahmad Jalali (Iran)

Engineering and philosophy. Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Iran to UNESCO. President of the General Assembly of the World Heritage Convention and member of the Council for the United Nations University since 2001.

Ahmad Masjed-Jamei (Iran)

Reformist politician, who served as Culture Minister under President Mohammad Khatami from 2000 to 2005, and was elected a Tehran City Councillor in 2006.

Alain Roussilon (France) †

Research director for CNRS (Centre national de la recherche scientifique). Author of Identité et modernité. Voyageurs égyptiens au Japón (2005), La pensée islamique contemporaine. Acteurs et enjeux (2005), and Etre femme en Egypte, au Maroc et en Jordanie (2006).

Alain Touraine (France)

Sociologist and Director of research at École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS). After various studies on the workers movement, industrial society and social movements, in 1992 he published Crítica de la modernidad, a series of works with the aim of renewing sociological theory. His latest published books are Un nouveau paradigme (2005), Le monde des femmes (2007) and Penser autrement (2007).

Alberto da Costa e Silva (Brazil)

Diplomat, poet, essayist, historian and memorialist. Member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters. Author of several books, including As Linhas da Mão (1978), O Vício da África e Outros Vícios (1989), A Enxada e a Lança: a África antes dos Portugueses (1992-1996), As Relações entre o Brasil e a África Negra, de 1822 à 1ª Guerra Mundial (1996) and Ao Lado de Vera (1997).

Alejandro Serrano Aguilar † (Ecuador)

Civil engineer and Doctorate in philosophy from the University of Cuenca. Former Vice-President of the Republic of Ecuador. Bachelor’s degree in humanities; Dean of the University of Cuenca, professor at the University of Azuay.

Alfredo Palacio González (Ecuador)

Physician and full professor. Former President, Vice-president and Health Minister of Ecuador. Member of the New York Academy of Sciences and of the Editorial Committee of the Spanish publication Ultrasonidos.

Ali Dogramaci (Turkey) †

Dean of the Université Bilkent, in Ankara. Author of articles published in the following magazines: Operations Research, Management Science, International Journal of Production Research, Naval Research Logistics, AIIE Transactions and Administrative Science Quarterly.

Ali Harb (Lebanon)

Philosopher and Professor of philosophy in Beirut. Author (in Arabic) of The politics of thought (2001), The World and its Dilemma (2003), The man from below: religious diseases and obstacles of modernity (2005) and Times of Hypermodernity (2005).

Ali Oumlil (Morocco)

Moroccan Ambassador to Lebanon. Professor of philosophy. Member of the general-secretariat of Forum de la pensée arabe. Author (in Arabic) of Heritage and Abuse (1990), Cultural Authority and Political Authority (1996) and In the Legitimacy of Divergence (2005).

André Azoulay (Morocco)

Councilor to His Majesty, the King of Morocco. Member of the United Nations’ High Level Group for the Alliance of Civilizations, he is the Chairman of the Ana Lindt Euro-Mediterranean Foundation and Executive President of the Three Cultures and Three Religions Foundation. Member of the Royal Moroccan Academy and the Royal Spanish Academy for Economics and Financial Sciences.

Angela Martin (Romania)

Vice-President of the Romanian Cultural Foundation.

Antonio Olinto (Brazil)

Poet, novelist, writer of short stories, essayist, journalist and diplomat. Member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters and of the Pen Club. Author of several books, including Presença (1949), O Diário de André Gide (1968), A Casa da Água (1969) and O Menino e o Trem (2000).

Antonio Tabucchi (Italy)

Novelist and essayist. Professor of Portuguese Language and Literature at the University of Sienna. Translated and studied the poetry of Fernando Pessoa. Author of Notturno Indiano (1984), Piccoli equivoci senza importanza (1985), Un baule pieno di gente (1990) and Gli ultimi tre giorni di Fernando Pessoa (1994).

Ariruma Kowii (Ecuador)

Poet. Head of the Department of Indigenous Peoples and States in Latin America at Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar. Sub-secretary of Education for indigenous peoples. Author of Diccionario de Nombres Kichwas (Kichwa Shutikunamanta Shimiyuk Panka), 1998.

Aristides Pereira (Cape Verde)

Former President of the Republic of Cape Verde. Founded the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) alongside Amílcar Cabral and other revolutionaries from Guinea and Cape Verde.

Augustín Buzura (Romania)

Novelist and essayist. Member of various European cultural academies and President of the Romanian Cultural Foundation since 1990. Author of Chemin de cendres (1993) and Requiem pour salauds et fous (2001).

Augusto Roa Bastos - 1917-2005 (Paraguay)

Novelist. Winner of the Cervantes Award in 1989. Author of several books, including Fulgencio Miranda (1937), El trueno entre las hojas (1953), El baldío (1966), Hijo de hombre (1960) and Yo el Supremo (1974).

Aziz Al-Azmeh (Syria)

Professor of the Department of Medieval Studies, School of History and Interdisciplinary Historical Studies, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary. Author of Arabic Thought and Islamic Societies (1986), Ibn Khaldun: An Essay in Reinterpretation (1990), Islams and Modernities (1993), Muslim Kingship: Power and the Sacred in Muslim, Christian, and Pagan Polities (2000), and Postmodern Obscurantism (2004).

Aziza Bennani (Morocco)

Ambassador and permanent Moroccan representative at Unesco in Paris. Former President of the Unesco Executive Board. Professor at the Faculty of Literature and Humanities in Rabat. Counsellor to the United Nations High Level Group for the Alliance of Civilizations.

Basarab Nicolescu (Romania/France)

Theoretical physicist at CNRS (Centre national de la recherche scientífique) and the Nuclear Physics and High Energies Laboratory at Université Pierre and Marie Curie. Professor at the European Studies Faculty, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Member of the Scientific Council at Université Interdisciplinaire de Paris. Author of several scientific articles published in international journals and chapters in scientific books.

Bayram Balci (Azerbaijan)

Director of the French Institute on Central Asia, in Tachkent. Author of Missionnaires de l’Islam en Asie centrale, les écoles turques de Fethullah Gülen.

Beatriz Elena Paredes Rangel (Mexico)

Sociologist and Politician, she is the President of the PRI – Partido Revolucionário Institucional. She has been Representative at the XLVIII Legislature of the State of Tlaxcala and Governor of that State (1987-1992), in which she has been the first woman Governor, being the second in the country. She has been Federal Representative in several Legislatures.

Beatriz Sarlo (Argentina)

Professor of Argentinean Literature at the Faculty of Philosophy and Literature, University of Buenos Aires. Author of several works, including El imperio de los sentimientos (1985), Una modernidad periférica (1988), La imaginación técnica, sueños modernos de la cultura argentina (1992), Borges, a Writer on the Edge (1993), Escenas de la vida posmoderna; Intelectuales, arte y videocultura (1994), Instantáneas: Medios, ciudad y costumbres en el fin de siglo (1996) and La máquina cultural: Maestras, traductores y vanguardistas (1998).

Behzad Shahandeh (Iran)

PhD in political science from the University of Tehran. Director of international studies at the International Centre for Dialogue between Civilizations at Azad University, Tehran. Associate Editor of the journal Discourse. Author of several works, including Tradition and Modernization — ASEAN and Eco-Problems, Prospects and Potential Cooperation (1998), China under Den Xiaoping (2001) and Khatami’s Foreign Policy (2001).

Bella Josef (Brazil)

Emeritus Professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Historian specializing in Hispanic Latin-American literature. Author of several works, including História da Literatura Hispano-Americana (1971) and A Máscara e o Enigma — A Modernidade (2006).

Bernard Bosredon (France)

Linguist and professor. President of Université Sorbonne Nouvelle (Paris III) since 2002. President of the Commission de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la recherche scientifique du Haut Conseil de coopération internationale (HCCI). President of the Comité stratégique pour la recherche en développement. Author of Les titres de peinture (1997).

Bernardino de León Gross (Spain)

Diplomat. State Secretary for Foreign Affairs and head of the Ibero-American relations service.

Binnaz Toprak (Turkey)

Professor of political science at the Université des Bosphorus, in Istanbul Author, along with Ali Çarkoglu, of the essay Religion Society and Politics in Turkey (2007).

Boniface Alexandre (Haiti)

Politician and jurist. President of Haiti from 2002 to 2006. Former President of the Haitian Supreme Court. Professor at the University of Port-au-Prince.

Candido Mendes (Brazil)

Dean of Universidade Candido Mendes, Secretary-General of the Academy of Latinity, member of the United Nations High Level Group for the Alliance of Civilizations and of the Brazilian Academy of Letters. Author of a number of books, including Nacionalismo e Desenvolvimento (1963), Justice, faim de l’Eglise (1972), A Democracia Desperdiçada (1992), Collor — Anos-Luz, Ano-Zero (1994), A Presidência Afortunada (1999), O País da Paciência (2000), Lula: a Opção mais que o Voto (2002), Lula: entre a Impaciência e a Esperança (2004), Lula Depois de Lula (2005), Lula apesar de Lula (2006) and Le défi de la différence: Entretiens sur la latinité (2006).

Carlos A. Forment (Argentina)

Historian and researcher of political science. Professor of Political Science at the New School for Social Research and at Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Author of a number of works, including Democracy in Latin America, vol. I: Civic Selfhood and Public Life in Mexico and Peru (2002), and vol. II: Argentina and Cuba (2003).

Carlos Fuentes (Mexico)

Novelist and essayist. Author of a number of books, including La región más transparente (1959), La muerte de Artemio Cruz (1962), Zona sagrada (1967), Cambio de piel (1967), Terra nostra (1975), Cristóbal Nonato (1987) and Los años con Laura Díaz (1999).

Carlos Serrano (Brazil)

Professor at the Department of Anthropology and Vice-Director of the Centre for African Studies at the Faculty of Philosophy, Literature and Humanities, University of São Paulo. Author of Os Senhores da Terra e os Homens do Mar (1983) and Angola: Nasce Uma Nação (1988) and co-author of A Revolta dos Colonizados (2006) with Kabengele Munanga.

Catherine Walsh (Ecuador)

Professor and Director of the Doctorate programme in Latin-American cultural studies at Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar. One of her most recent publications is Pensamiento crítico y matriz (de)colonial (2005).

Celso Furtado † (Brazil)

Former Brazilian Minister of Planning and Minister of Culture. Author of Formação Econômica do Brasil (1959), Desenvolvimento e Subdesenvolvimento (1961), A Nova Dependência, Dívida Externa e Monetarismo (1982) and O Capitalismo Global (1998).

César Rojas Ríos (Bolivia)

Sociologist. Director of Fundación UNIR (Bolivia). Author of Eclipse Histórico y Ofensiva Ideológica (1989), Ángeles decapitados. La situación de los medios masivos en Bolivia (1999), Los campanarios de la ira (2001), La ciudad-vagón. Los hilos negros de la Ciudad Blanca (2001), El sacro objeto. Entretenimiento y televisión (2002) and Democracia de alta tensión. Conflictividad y cambio social en la Bolivia del siglo XXI (2007).

Cesario Melantonio Neto (Brazil)

Diplomat. Brazilian Ambassador to Ankara, Turkey.

Christian Jambet (France)

Professor of philosophy in Paris and translator of numerous works of major Islamic philosophers and poets. Author of La logique des Orientaux: Henry Corbin et la science des formes (1983), La grande résurrection d’Alamût: Les formes de la liberté dans le shi’isme ismaélien (1990), Qu’est-ce que le shî’isme?, with Mohammad-Ali Amir-Moezzi (2004), The Act of Being: The Philosophy of Revelation in Mulla Sadra (2006), and La Conférence de Ratisbonne. Enjeux et controversies (2007).

Claude Allègre (France)

Former Minister of Education, Research and Professor of Technology at the Institut Universitaire de France, Université Paris Diderot-Paris 7. Member of the French Academy of Sciences. Author of a number of works, including the following books: Géologie isotopique (2004), Introduction à une histoire naturelle (2004), Ma vérité sur la planète (2007) and De la pierre à l’étoile (2007).

Claudio Lomnitz (Chile)

Professor of anthropology and director of the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race at Columbia University, and editor of Public Culture. Author of numerous articles and books, including Exits from the Labyrinth: Culture and Ideology in the Modern Mexican National Space (1993), Deep Mexico, Silent Mexico: An Anthropology of Nationalism (2001), and Death and the Idea of Mexico (2005).

Craig Calhoun (USA)

Chairman of the Social Science Research Council since 1999 and professor of New York University. Wrote Neither Gods nor Emperors: Students and the Struggle for the Democracy in China (1994), Critical Social Theory: Culture, History and the Challenge of Difference (1995), Nationalism (1997), Understanding September 11 (2002), Lessons of Empire: Historical Contexts for Understanding America’s Global Power (2006, co-ed.), Sociology in America: A History (2007, ed.), and The Roots of Radicalism, Cosmopolitanism and Belonging, Nations Matter (2007).

Cristovam Buarque (Brazil)

Former minister of Education and Federal District governor; current senator; professor of the University of Brasilia, and member of the UNESCO Education Institute. Published and participated as co-author in several others, such as A Desordem do Progresso — O Fim da Era dos Economistas e a Construção do Futuro (1990), A Revolução nas Prioridades (1994), A Segunda Abolição (1999), Os Instrangeiros (2002), and O Berço da Desigualdade with Sebastião Salgado (2005).

Dan Haulica (Romania) †

Essayist, literary critic, arts critic and diplomat. Romanian Ambassador at Unesco from 1990 to 2001 and Vice-President of the Executive Council of Unesco. President of the International Association of Art Critics. Author of a number of published works, including Critique et culture, Géographies spirituelles, Variations sur le thème Homo faber and Anonymat du génie.

Daniel Innerarity (Spain)

Daniel Innerarity is a professor of political and social philosophy and Ikerbasque researcher at the University of the Basque Country/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea. A former fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation at the University of Munich and visiting professor at the University of Paris 1-Sorbonne. Appointed “Professor F. Braudel” at the European University Institute (Florence), Global Governance Programme of the Robert Schuman Center (2012). His latest books include Ética de la hospitalidad [The Ethics of Hospitality], La transformación de la política [The Transformation of Politics] (3rd Miguel de Unamuno Essay Prize and 2003 National Literature Prize in the Essay category), La sociedad invisible [The Invisible Society] (21st Espasa Essay Prize), El nuevo espacio público [The New Public Realm], El futuro y sus enemigos [The Future and Its Enemies] and La democracia del conocimiento [Knowledge's Democracy]. 

Daniel Vitry (France)

Professor at Université Paris-2. Head of international relations and cooperation at the National Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Research. Co-author of Economie politique (1991) with Henri Guitton and Dictionnaire des sciences économiques (2001) with other authors.

Diana Atamaint (Ecuador)

Masters in Public and Social Policies. Responsible for the technical aspects of the Project for the Development of the Indigenous and Black Peoples in Ecuador (PRODEPINE) and work done for the World Bank and other national and international bodies. Professor of the programme for rural parish boards at Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar.

Dilip Loundo (Brazil)

Sociologist. Professor of Brazilian studies at Goa University, India. Holds the Brazilian Chair instituted by the Government of Brazil to disseminate Brazilian culture in India. Author of books and articles on Brazil, India and Indo-Brazilian encounters.

Ebrahim Moosa (South Africa)

Associate professor of Islamic studies, Department of Religion, and director of the Center for the Study of Muslim Networks, Duke University. Author of Ghazali and the Poetics of Imagination (2005) and editor of the latest manuscript of Professor Fazlur Rahman’s Revival and Reform in Islam: A Study of Islamic Fundamentalism (2000).

Edgar Morin (France)

Sociologist and philosopher. Emeritus Director of Research at Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), President of the European Agency of Culture (Unesco), President of the Association pour la pensée complexe and researcher of the Centre d’études transdisciplinaires en sociologie, anthropologie et histoire (Cetsah). Author of a number of works, including La Méthode (6 volumes): La Nature de la nature (t. 1, 1977), La Vie de la vie (t. 2, 1980), La Connaissance de la connaissance (t. 3, 1986), Les Idées (t. 4, 1991), L’Humanité de l’humanité (t. 5, 2001) and L’Éthique complexe (t. 6, 2004); Le monde moderne et la question juive (2006); and L’An I de l’ère écologique, co-authored with Nicolas Hulot (2007).

Edison León (Ecuador)

Cultural studies coordinator at the Fondo Documental Afro-Andino at Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar.

Édouard Glissant (Martinique)

Poet, novelist, essayist and theatrologist. Professor of French Literature at the Municipal University of New York. In 2007, founded Institut du tout-monde. Author of a number of books, including La Terre inquiète (1955), Le Quatrième Siècle (1964), Poétique de la relation (1990), Traité du tout-monde (1997) and Une Nouvelle région du monde. Esthétique 1 (2007).

Edson Borges (Brazil)

Researcher and Assistant Professor of African history and anthropology at Cândido Mendes University. Editor of the journal Estudos Afro-Asiáticos and the book Cultura, Poder e Tecnologia: África e Ásia face à Globalização (2001).

Eduardo Lourenço (Portugal)

Philosopher, essayist and university professor. Honorary president of the Centro de Estudos Ibéricos (CEI). Author of a number of books, includingPessoa Revisitado (1973), O Espelho Imaginário (1983), Poesia e Metafísica (1983), A Europa Desencantada (1995), A Nau de Ícaro Seguido de Imagem e Miragem da Lusofonia (1999) and As Saias de Elvira (2005).

Eduardo Portella (Brazil)

Professor emeritus at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). Research director for the Colégio do Brasil. Author of Dimensões I (1958), II (1959), and III (1965); Vanguarda e Cultura de Massa (1976); O Intelectual e o Poder (1983); and Chemins de la pensée: vers de nouveau langages (2000).

Ehsan Naraghi (Iran)

Sociologist and historian, former special counsellor to the Director-General of Unesco. Author of Elite ancienne et élite nouvelle dans l’iran actuel (1957), L’Orient et la crise de l’Occident (1977), Du palais du chah aux prisons de la revolution (1992) and Islam et laïcité (1995).

El Hassan bin Talal (Jordan)

President of the Club of Rome. Chairman and patron of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies. Founding member of the Parliament of Cultures. President emeritus of the World Conference on Religion and Peace. Author of A Study on Jerusalem (1979), Palestinian Self-Determination (1981), Search for Peace (1984). Christianity in the Arab World (1994), Essere Musulmano, with Elkann Alain (2001), Continuity, Innovation and Change: Selected Essays (2001), and In Memory of Faisal I: The Iraqi Question (2003).

Enrique Ayala Mora (Ecuador)

Historian and Dean of Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar. Congressman and former Deputy Speaker of the National Congress in Ecuador. Editor of Nueva Historia del Ecuador (1988-1995). Author of books, includingHistoria de la Revolución Liberal en el Ecuador and Resumen de Historia del Ecuador.

Enrique Iglesias (Uruguay)

Secretary-General of the Ibero-American General-Secretariat. Former President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Author of several articles and texts on economics, foreign financing and multilateralism in Uruguay and Latin America.

Enrique Rodríguez Larreta (Uruguay)

Director of the Cultural Pluralism Institute, Candido Mendes University. Wrote Gold is Illusion (2003) and published Gilberto Freyre e a Sociologia Crítica (2001), Collective Imagination Limits and Beyond (2001), Identity and Difference in the Global Era (2002), Reality/Simulacra/ Artificial: Ontologies of Postmodernity (2006), and Subjectivity at the Threshold of the Digital Culture: the Self in Network (2007).

Ernesto Sábato (Argentina)

Writer, essayist and artist. Author of three novels, El túnel (1948), Sobre héroes y tumbas (1961) and Abbadón el exterminador (1974), as well as several essays on the human condition, including Entre la letra y la sangre (1988) and La Resistencia (2000).

Eusebio Leal Spengler (Cuba)

Historian of the city of Havana and Director of the programme to renovate the historic centre, which is listed as World Heritage. Congressman in the National Assembly of People’s Power in its 4th, 5th and 6th Legislatures. Goodwill Ambassador to the United Nations. Author of Detén el paso caminante (1988), Regresar en el tiempo (1995), Fundada Esperanza (2003) and Patria Amada (2006), amongst other works.

Evelyne Trouillot (Haiti)

Novelist, essayist and poet. Professor of French at Université d’État and Université Caraïbe. Author of an essay on childhood and the rule of law in Haiti called Restituer l’enfance. Her novel Rosalie l’infâme received the Prix Soroptimist de la Romancière francophone for 2004 and Le Bleu de l’île won first prize for the Prix Beaumarchais de la Caraibe in 2005.

Farideh Mahdavi-Damghani (Iran)

Holds a PhD in Literature. Translator specialized in Dante, Petrarch and other Italian authors, having received a number of international awards for translations, including Premio Internazionale Moselice Diego Valeri. Author Persian translations of anthologies of Italian poetry.

Federico Mayor Zaragoza (Spain)

Former Director-General of Unesco. Founder and Chair of the Foundation for a Culture of Peace. Co-Chair of the High Level Group for the Alliance of Civilizations. President of the Academy of Latinity. Author of A contraviento (1985), Mañana siempre es tarde (1987), Aguafuertes (1991), Memoria del futuro (1994), Science and Power (1995), La palavra y la espada (2002), La fuerza de la palabra (2005) and Un diálogo ibérico: en el marco europeo y mundial (2006).

Federico Reyes Heroles (Mexico)

Writer, political commentator and university professor. Chairman of the board and General Advisor of the magazine Este País. Tendencias y opiniones. Researcher at the Humanities department of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Member of the National Human Rights Commission. President of the Executive Committee for Mexican Transparency. His published books include Noche Tibia (1994), Sondear a México (1995), Conocer y decidir (1998), Memorial del mañana (1999), Ante los ojos de Desirée (2000) and El Abismo (2002).

Fernando Calderón (Bolivia)

Sociologist, coordinator of the Bolivian Human Development team and international advisor for human development at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Fernando Coronil (Venezuela)

Historian and anthropologist. Professor in the history and anthropology departments at Michigan University and head of the history and anthropology doctoral programmes at the same University. Head of Latin American and Caribbean Studies. Author of El Estado mágico: Naturaleza, dinero y modernidad en Venezuela (2002) and co-editor of States of Violence with Julie Skurski (2002).

Francisco Delich (Argentina)

Professor of Sociology. Former Dean of the National Universities of Buenos Aires and Cordoba. Former Director of the National Library and was a constitutional representative for the constitutional reform of Argentina. Current President of the Consejo Superior de la Facultad Latino-Americana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO). Author of La crisis en la crisis (2002).

Francisco Weffort (Brazil)

Political scientist. Former Brazilian Minister of Culture. Professor in the Department of Political Sciences at the Faculty of Philosophy, Literature and Humanities at the University of São Paulo. Researcher at Instituto de Estudos de Políticas Econômicas e Sociais (Iepes). Author of a number of works, including América Latina: ensayos de interpretación sociológico-política (1970), Populismo, marginalidad y dependencia (1974), O Populismo na Política Brasileira (1978), Por que Democracia? (1984), Os Clássicos da Política (1989) and Qual Democracia? (1992).

François d'Adesky (Ruanda/Belgium)

Graduate of political science and economics. Representative for the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). Works to strengthen the mechanisms to foster small and medium-sized businesses and policy making and strategies for the private sector. Author of several articles on African culture and development.

François Gros (France)

Biologist. Honorary Professor at Collège de France and at the Pasteur Institute. Member of the French Academy of Sciences, where he is a lifelong honorary secretary. Author of La civilisation du gene (Questions de science) (1989), L’ingenierie du vivant (1990), L’Arbre Nagalinga: Nouvelles de l’Inde du Sud (2002) and Mémoires scientifiques: Un demi-siècle de biologie (2003).

François L'Yvonnet (France)

Professor of philosophy and editor. Directed the Cahier de l’Herne dedicated to Jean Baudrillard (2005), and his following books were published by Albin Michel publishing house: D’Un millénarie à l’autre (2000, ed.), D’Un fragment à l’autre, with Jean Baudrillard (2001), L’Avenir de l’Esprit, with Thierry Gaudin (2001), Le Défi de la différence, with Candido Mendes (2006), and Simone Weil, le Grand passage (2006, ed.).

Furio Colombo (Italy)

&Journalist. Lectured in journalism and Italian studies at Columbia University, New York. Director of L’Unità, writes for L’Espresso, Director of Rivista dei Libri (Italian edition of the New York Review of Books) and Co-Director of Nuovi Argomenti.

Gaber Asfour (Egypt)

Professor of the Arab Language, Literary critic at the University of Cairo and former Director of the Supreme Council for Culture. Author of Le Temps du roman and runs the Rawdat Al Madares Al Masreya collection.

Gabriel García Márquez (Colombia)

Writer and journalist. Nobel Laureate in Literature. Author of Cien años de soledad (1967), Increíble y triste historia de la cándida Eréndira y de su abuela desalmada (1972), El otoño del patriarca (1975), Crónica de una muerte anunciada (1981), El amor en los tiempos del cólera (1985), and Memoria de mis putas tristes (2004).

Gary Ngai (Macau)

President of the Council of the Macau Association for the Promotion of Exchange between Asia Pacific and Latin America (Mapeal). Executive Director of the Macau Sino-Latin Foundation, an institution which seeks to build linguistic bridges between Asia and the Latin countries of Europe, Africa and the Americas.

George Yudice (USA)

Professor of Portuguese, Spanish and American Studies and Director of the Center for Latin American & Caribbean Studies at the University of New York. Director of cultural studies at the Inter-American Cultural Studies Network (IACSN). Author of a number of works, including The Expediency of Culture: Uses of Culture in the Global Era (Post-Contemporary Interventions) (2003) and El recurso de la cultura (2003).

Gérard Latortue (Haiti)

Lawyer and economist. Prime Minister of Haiti.

Germano de Almeida (Cape Verde)

Lawyer and novelist. Author of several books, including O Testamento do Sr. Napomuceno da Silva Araújo (1989), O meu Poeta (1990), A Ilha Fantástica (1994), A Família Trago (1998), Estórias Contadas (1998) and Dona Pura e os Camaradas de Abril (1999).

Gianni Vattimo (Italy)

Philosopher. Professor at the University of Turin. Formerly a visiting fellow at several universities in different countries. Recent works include: Nihilism and Emancipation, The Future of Religion, with R. Rorty (2006) and Ecce comu. Come si ri-diventa ciò che si era (2007).

Giuliana Turroni (Italy)

Researcher at the Faculty of Political Sciences of Turin (Italy). Published Il mondo della storia secondo Ibn Khaldûn (2002) and directed Islam laico: un paradosso possibile (2007).

Goudarz Eftekhar-Jahromi (Iran)

Legal Advisor to the President of the Republic. PhD in Law. Dean of the Law Faculty at Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran. Member of the supervisory board of the same university. President of the Iranian Lawyers Association.

Hamid Dabashi (Iran)

Professor of Iranian studies and comparative literature at Columbia University, New York. Author of Authority in Islam: From the Rise of Muhammad to the Establishment of the Umayyads (1989), Truth and Narrative: The Untimely Thoughts of ‘Ayn al-Qudat (1999), Close Up: Iranian Cinema, Past, Present and Future (2001), and Iran: A People Interrupted (2007).

Hamid Reza Asefi (Iran)

Chemist and diplomat. University Professor. Director-General responsible for provincial services on Iranian radio and television. Author of Catalyseurs d’acide, alcalis sulfides et sulfure.

Hasan Abu Nimah (Jordan)

Ambassador. Former UN permanent representative of Jordan in the United Nations. Director of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies in Amman, Jordan. Has regularly contributed articles and commentary in both English and Arabic to a number of local and international newspapers; also lectures on international relations, diplomatic practice and international law at the Jordan Institute of Diplomacy in Amman.

Hassan Hanafiy (Egypt)

Professor of philosophy and chairman of the Department of Philosophy, Cairo University; vice-president of the Federation Arab Philosophical Society; member of the Afro-Asian Solidarity Movement. Some of his publications are: Tradition and Modernism (1980), Introduction to Occidentalism (1991), From Transfer to Creativity (2000-2002, 9 vols.), Fichte, Philosopher of Resistance (2003), Roots of Authoritarianism and Horizons of Freedom (2005), and Cultures and Civilizations, Conflict or Dialogue?, vol. I: The Meridian Thought (2006), and vol. 2: Cultural Creativity & Religious Dialogue (2006).

Hassan Nafaa (Egypt)

Secretariat General of Arab Thought Forum. Professor and Head of the Department of Political Science at Cairo University (Egypt). Some of his latest publications are: The European Union: an Arab Perspective, The Reform of the United Nations, and The United Nations in Fifty Years.

Hector Aguilar Camin (Mexico)

Historian, journalist and writer. Author of the novels Morir en el golfo (1985), La guerra de Galio (1990), El error de la luna (1995), El resplandor de la madera (1999), Las mujeres de Adriano (2002) and Mandatos del corazón (2003) Has also published essays on cultural and historical topics, including La frontera nómada (1977), Saldos de la revolución (1984) and Después del milagro (1988), and books of collected short stories, including La decadencia del dragón (1983) and Historias conversadas (1991).

Hector Bianciotti (France-Argentina)

Writer and literary critic. Member of the French Academy. Author of several books, including Los desiertos dorados (1967), Detrás del rostro que nos mira (1969), La busca del jardín (1977), Sans la miséricorde du Christ (1985), Ce que la nuit raconte au jour (1992), Le Pas si lent de l’amour (1995), Comme la trace de l’oiseau dans l’air (1999), Une passion en toutes lettres (2001) and La nostalgie de la maison de Dieu (2003).

Hélé Beji (Tunisia)

Full Professor in Modern Languages. President of the International College of Tunis since 1997. Author of many articles published in Le Débat and Esprit journals and the works Le Désenchantement national (1982), Itinéraire de Paris à Tunis (1992), l’Imposture culturelle (1997) and Une force qui demeure (2006).

Helen Petrovsky (Russian Federation)

Senior research associate at the Sector of Analytical Anthropology, Institute of Philosophy, Russian Academy of Sciences. Author of Part of the World (1995), Eye’s Delight (1997), The Unapparent. Essays on the Philosophy of Photography (2002), and Anti-photography (2003). Also co-editor of Jacques Derrida in Moscow: The Deconstruction of a Travel (1993), editor and co-translator of Jean-Luc Nancy’s Corpus (1999), as well as of Gertrude Stein’s Selected Writings (2001). Editor-in-chief of the biannual theoretical journal Sinij Divan since 2002.

Hélène Carrère d'Encausse (France)

Historian specialized in Russia. President of the Scientific Council of Observatoire statistique de l’immigration et de l’intégration. Lifelong Secretary of the French Academy of Letters. Author of L’Union Soviétique de Lénine à Staline (1972), L’Empire éclaté (1978), La Gloire des nations ou La fin de l’empire soviétique (1990), La Russie inachevée (2000) and L’Empire d’Eurasie. Une histoire de la Russie de 1552 à nos jours (2005).

Helio Jaguaribe (Brazil)

Political scientist, dean of the Brazilian Institute for Political and Social Studies; member of the Brazilian Academy of Literature; former minister of Science and Technology of Brazil. Author of O Nacionalismo na Atualidade Brasileira (1959), Political Development (1968), Une étude critique de l’Histoire (2002), and La position de l’homme dans le monde (2002).

Hikmet Hadjy-Zadeh (Azerbaijan)

Political scientist, co-founder and vice-president of the FAR Center for Economic and Political Research. Published 150,000 Znakov o Demokratii (1996) and Demokratiya: Gedilesi Uzun Bir Yol (1998).

Hugo Neira (Peru)

Historian, sociologist and journalist. Director of the National Library of Peru. Author of Hacia la tercera mitad, Perú XVI-XX. Ensayos de relectura herética (1996) and Del pensar mestizo (2006).

Ihsan Dogramaci (Turkey)

Pediatric physician. President and chairman of the Board of Trustees of Bilkent University, Ankara. Honorary president of the Turkish National Committee for UNICEF. Honorary president of the International Pediatric Association. Former chairman of the UNICEF Executive Board. Co-founded the Assembly of the Parliament of Cultures together with Prince Hassan of Jordan. Author of Premature Baby Care (1954), Annenin Kitabý (1952-1999), and Governance in Higher Education (2000).

Inocência Mata (Sao Tome & Principe)

Literary Critic. Professor of African literature at the Faculty of Literature, Lisbon. Honorary member of the Angolan Writers Association. Author of several books, including Diálogo com as Ilhas: sobre Cultura e Literatura de São Tome e Príncipe (1998), Literatura Angolana: Silêncios e Falas de uma Voz Inquieta (2001) and A Suave Pátria. Reflexões Político-Culturais sobre a Sociedade São-Tomense (2004).

Ismail Serageldin (Egypt)

Director of the Library of Alexandria, also chairs the Boards of Directors for each of the BA’s affiliated research institutes and museums and is distinguished professor at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. Author of Poverty Adjustment and Growth in Africa (1989), Biotechnology and Biosafety, with Wanda Collins (1999), Bibliotheca Alexandrina: The Rebirth of the Library of Alexandria (2002), and Reflections on our Digital Future (2006).

Iván Rodríguez Chávez (Peru)

Dean of Ricardo Palma University and President of the National Assembly of Deans. Author of La ortografía poética de Vallejo (1974), Manuel González Prada en el debate de la educación nacional (1977), El derecho en el mundo es ancho y ajeno (1982), Literatura peruana-teoría-historia-pedagogía (1991), César Vallejo al pie del orbe (1996), Por la generación del relevo (1999), Introducción al derecho (2002) and Literatura y derecho (2003).

Jack Lang (France)

Politician. Member of the National Council of the French Socialist Party. President of the IMEC (Institut Mémoire de l’Édition contemporaine). Former Minister for National Education and Culture. Author of Une école élitaire pour tous (2003), Un nouveau régime politique pour la France (2004) and Nelson Mandela: Leçon de vie pour l’avenir (2005).

Javier Sanjinés C. (Bolivia)

Associate professor of the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, University of Michigan, and visiting professor of cultural studies to the Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar, Quito, Ecuador. Published Estética y carnaval. Estética y Carnaval. Ensayos de sociología de la Cultura (1984), Literatura contemporánea y grotesco social en Bolivia (1992), and Mestizaje Upside Down: Aesthetic Politics in Modern Bolivia (2004).

Jean Aubouin (France)

Geologist and Oceanographer. Emeritus Professor at Université Pierre et Marie Curie. Member of the French Academy of Sciences. Author of Géologie de la Grèce septentrionale (1959), Géosynclines (1965), Précis de géologie (1967) and Manuel de cartographie (1969) and co-author of Administrer les territoires: Nouvelles données, nouveaux enjeux with Jean-Christophe Moraud (2006).

Jean Baudrillard † (France)

Philosopher, sociologist and writer. Author of: La Société de consommation (1970), Cool Memories (1987-1990), La Transparence du mal (1990), L’Illusion de la fin (1992), Le Crime parfait (1994), A l’Ombre du millénaire (1998), and Le Pacte de lucidité ou l’intelligence du mal (2004)

Jean Casimir (Haiti)

Sociologist. Member of the Unesco Scientific Commission for writing the history of the Caribbean. Author of La Culture opprimée (1980), La Caraibe une et indivisible (1991), Ayiti Toma, Haiti Chérie (2000) and Pa bliye 1804 — Souviens-toi de 1804 (2004).

Jean-Claude Fignolé (Haiti)

Art critic, journalist, professor and novelist. Joint founder of the “Spiralist” literary movement alongside René Philoctète and Frankétienne. Author of the following works: Etzer Vilaire, ce méconnu (1970), Voeux de voyage et intention romanesque (1978) Les possédés de la pleine lune (1987) and Moi, Toussaint Louverture (2004).

Jean Daniel Bensaïd (France)

Journalist, Editor-in-Chief of Le Nouvel Observateur. Member of the French National Ethical Consulting Commission. Author of Avec Camus: Comment résister à l’air du temps (1952), De Gaulle et l’Algérie: la tragédie, le héros et le témoin (1986), Dieu est-il fanatique? Essai sur une religieuse incapacité de croire (1996) and Avec Camus: Comment résister à l’air du temps (2006).

Jean Josué Pierre (Haiti)

Philosopher and sociologist. Professor of Philosophy at École Normale Supérieure de Port-au-Prince. Researcher at CRENEL (Centre de Recherches “Normes, Echanges et Langage”) and member of the AUF “Etat de Droit Saisi par la Philosophie” network.

Jean-Michel Blanquer (France)

Associate professor of public law at the University of Paris III and director of the Institut des hautes études de l’Amérique latine in Paris. Author of Descentralización en Colombia. Estudios y propuestas (1991), Changer d’ère (1996), La responsabilité des gouvernants, with O. Beaud (1999), Les défis de l’éducation en Amérique latine, with H. Trindade (2000), and Voter dans les Amériques, with H. Quanquin, W. Sonnleitner, C. Zumello (2003).

Jérôme Bindé (France)

Assistant director-general for Social and Human Sciences and director of UNESCO’s Division of Foresight, Philosophy and Human Sciences. Secretary-General of the Council of the Future, founding member of the Academy of Latinity, member of the Club of Rome. Coordinator of the 21st Century Talks and the 21st Century Dialogues. Co-author of a forward-looking report of UNESCO.

José Antonio García Belaunde (Peru)

Lawyer, diplomat, columnist and politician. Minister of Foreign Affairs for Peru.

José Ignacio López Soría (Peru)

Philosopher and historian. Permanent representative and Regional Director of the Lima Office of the Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI). Professor in the post-graduate programme at the National Engineering University and at Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos. His latest books are Breve historia de la UNI (2003), La Sociedad de Ingenieros del Perú. Primera década: 1898-1908 (2004) and UNI: de escuela a universidad (2005).

José Jerônimo Moscardo de Souza (Brazil)

Ambassador. President of the Alexandre de Gusmão Foundation of the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

José Luís Cabaço (Mozambique)

Sociologist. Professor at Eduardo Mondlane University. Former Minister of Information for the Samora Machels government after Mozambique gained independence.

José Manuel Gonçalves (Angola)

Economist and novelist. Professor at the University of the State of Bahia and member of the Centro de Estudos da Educação e Desenvolvimento de Ondjiva, Angola. Author of Valoração da Água in Economia do Desenvolvimento (2005) and Café Gelado (2007).

José Maria Perez Gay (Mexico)

Writer, translator and diplomat. Advisor on international affairs for the local government of Mexico city. Author of La difícil costumbre de estar lejos (1984), El imperio perdido o las claves del siglo (1991), Tu nombre en el silencio (2000) and La supremacía de los Abismos (2006).

José Saramago (Portugal)

Novelist, writer of short stories and poet. Winner of the 1995 Camões Prize and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1998. Author of Os Poemas Possíveis (1966), Memorial do Convento (1982), O Ano da Morte de Ricardo Reis (1984), O Evangelho segundo Jesus Cristo (1991), Ensaio sobre a Cegueira (1995) and As Intermitências da Morte (2005).

Khalaf Khalafov (Azerbaijan)

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan.

Lale Duruiz (Turkey)

Dean of Istanbul-Bilgi University and member of the Groupe d’Helsinki “Femmes et Sciences” of the European Commission.

Laura Cavalcante Padilha (Brazil)

Associate Professor in Portuguese language and literature at Universidade Federal Fluminense, specializing in African literature. Researcher for the National Council for the Scientific and Technological Development. Author of Entre Voz and Letra — A Ancestralidade na Literatura Angolana (1995) and Novos Pactos, Outras Ficções: Ensaios sobre Literaturas Afro-Luso-Brasileiras (2001).

Layla Chahid/Leila Shahid (Palestine)

Journalist. Representative of the Palestinian Authority in France.

Leila Alieva (Azerbaijan)

Political analyst based in Baku, Azerbaijan. Directed the independent Center for Strategic and International Studies, Baku (1995-1997), and founded the Center for National and International Studies (2001). Her research on the issues of security, conflicts and politics in the region was published by the Oxford University Press, Sharpe and others.

Leonardo Fernández (Dominican Republic)

Political Scientist. President of the Dominican Republic. President of Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo. Author of Los Estados Unidos en el Caribe: de la Guerra Fría al Plan Reagan (1984) and Raíces de un poder usurpado (1991).

Leslie François Manigat (Haiti)

Professor of political science, writer and politician. Former President of Haiti. Author of l’Amérique latine au XXème siècle: 1889-1929 (1973), Une seule voix pour deux voies: un seul lit pour deux rêves (1994) and Le cas de Toussaint revisité: modernité et actualité de l’Ouverture (2001).

Lise Biconette (Italy)

Journalist, essayist and novelist. President and CEO of the Grande Bibliothèque du Québec. Member of the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of the Royal Society of Canada. Author of La passion du présent (1987), Marie suivait l'été (1992), Choses crues (1995), Quittes et doubles (1997), and Toujours la passion du présent (1999).

Luigi Berlinguer (Italy)

Professor and politician. Former Minister for Public Education. Member of the Italian Society of Legal History and the Italian History Society.

Luis Alberto Quevedo (Argentina)

First President of Guinea-Bissau (1973-1980) after its independence from Portugal. Founder of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) together with his brother, Amílcar Cabral.

Luís Cabral (Guinea-Bissau)

First President of Guinea-Bissau (1973-1980) after its independence from Portugal. Founder of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) together with his brother, Amílcar Cabral.

Luis H. Dreher (Brazil)

Professor of the Department of Religious Science at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (MG). Member of the International Committee for Lutheran-Reformed Dialogue of the Council of the Lutheran World Federation. Author of Religião, Verdade e Utopia (1993), O Método Teológico de Friedrich Schleiermacher (1995), Metaphors of Light: Philipp K. Marheineke’s Method and the Ongoing Program of Mediation Theology (1998) and A Essência Manifesta: a Fenomenologia nos Estudos Interdisciplinares da Religião (2003, org.).

Luis Macas (Ecuador)

Graduate in law, anthropology and linguistics. One of the founders and President of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE). Elected to serve as a national congressman in 1996. Minister of Agriculture during the first months of 2003 and the first Dean of Universidad Intercultural de las Nacionalidades y Pueblos Indígenas Amawtai Wasi (Casa del Saber).

Lyonel Trouillot (Haiti)

Professor of literature, poet, novelist and journalist. Author of several works, including Les enfants des héros (2002), Haïti: repenser la citoyenneté (2003), Bicentenaire (2004) and Amour avant que j’oublie (2007).

Madina Tlostanova (Russian Federation)

Professor of the Department of Theory and History of Culture, Peoples’ Friendship, University of Russia. Published The Multicultural Debate and American Fiction of the Late 20 Century (2000, in Russian), A Janus Faced Empire: Notes on the Russian Empire in Modernity Written from the Border (2003), Living Never, Writing from Nowhere: Post-Soviet Fiction and the Aesthetics of Transculturation (2004, in Russian), and The Sublime of Globalization? Sketches on Transcultural Subjectivity and Aesthetics (2005).

Magali Comeau-Denis (Haiti)

Former Minister of Culture and Communications. Actress.

Mahmoud Amin el-Alem (Egypt)

Thinker, political scientist and journalist. Editor of a 14-volume series on Islam, Qadaya Fikriyya. Author of Tawfiq Al-Hakim as an Artist Thinker.

Mahmoud Azab (Egypt)

Professor of Hebrew at Al-Azhar University, Cairo, and of Semitic and Islamic civilizations at INALCO-Paris.

Mahmoud Sarioulghalam (Iran)

Associate Professor in international relations at Behasti University. Editor of Discourse journal. Author of a number of works, including The International Dimensions of the Western Sahara (1990), The Evolution of Method and Research in International Relations (1992), Rationality and Development (1995) and Development, the Third World and the International System (1996).

Manthia Diawara (Mali-USA)

— Professor of comparative literature (African Studies Department) at New York University. Director of NYU’s Institute of Afro-American Affairs and director of the African Studies Program. Author of We Won’t Budge: African Cinema: Politics and Culture (1992), Black-American Cinema: Aesthetics and Spectatorship (1993), In Search of Africa (1998), and An African Exile in the World (2003).

Manuel Alegre (Portugal)

Poet and politician. Member of the National Committee and National Secretariat of the Portuguese Socialist Party. Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly. Member of the board of the University of Coimbra. Author of A Rosa e o Compasso (1991), A Rosa e o Compasso (1996), Senhora das Tempestades (1998) and Livro do Português Errante (2001).

Marc Fumaroli (France)

Historian and essayist. Professor at Collège de France. Member of the French Academy of Letters. Author of L’Âge de l’éloquence: rhétorique et “res literaria” de la Renaissance au seuil de l’époque classique (1980), Histoire de la rhétorique dans l’Europe moderne: 1450-1950 (1999), Chateaubriand: poésie et Terreur (2003) and Exercices de lecture: de Rabelais à Paul Valéry (2006).

Marc Guillaume (France)

Professor at Université Paris-Dauphine. Founder and director of IRIS, a research centre associated to the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS). Member of the administrative council of ANVIE and chair of its scientific council. Published L’Empire des réseaux (1999) and Virus vert (2002).

Marie Ladier-Fouladi (Iran)

Demographer, Specialist in Iranian issues. Head of research at CNRS (Centre national de la recherche scientifique) (Iranian world). Associate Researcher at INED (L’Institut national d’études démographiques). Author of Population et politique en Iran: de la monarchie à la République islamique (2003) and co-author of Famille et mutations sociopolitiques: L’approche culturaliste à l’épreuve with Azadeh Kian-Thiébaut (2005).

Marco Maciel (Brazil)

Former Vice-President of the Brazilian Republic. Senator. Member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters. Author of A University e a Caatinga (2004), Reformas e Governabilidade (2005) and Tempos de Mundialização (2006). 

Mario Soares (Portugal)

Former president of Portugal, prime minister and minister of Foreign Affairs. Was Deputy to the European Parliament. Vice-president of the Academy of Latinity. Currently dedicating his work to the Mario Soares Foundation. Author of the following, for example, Portugal Amordaçado (1972), Democratização e Descolonização (1975) and Resposta Socialista para o Mundo em Crise (1983).

Maurice Aymard (France)

Secretary-General of the Conseil International de la Philosophie et des Sciences humaines (CIPSH). Foreign member of the Russian Academy of Science. Main works include Venise, Raguse et le commerce du blé dans la seconde moitié du XVIème siècle (1966), Capitalisme hollandais et capitalisme mondial (1979, éd.), with Harbans Mukhia (eds.), French Studies in History, vol. 1: The Inheritance, vol. 2: New Departures (1988-1989), with Perry Anderson, Paul Bairoch, Walter Barberis and Carlo Ginzburg (eds.), Storia d’Europa (1993-1996), and co-author with Hélène Ahrweiler of Les Européens (2000).

Maurice Druon (France)

Former French Minister of Culture. Member of the Academy of Latinity and of the French Academy of Letters. President of the Comité pour la langue du droit européen. Author of Tistou les pouces verts (1957), Les Mémoires de Zeus (1967), Le Bonheur des uns (1967), La Parole et le Pouvoir (1974), Lettre aux Français sur leur langue et leur âme (1994) and Ordonnances pour un État malade (2002).

Maurizio Bettini (Italy)

Professor of Classical Philology. President of the Scuola Superiore di Studi Umanistici (SSSU), University of Sienna. Author of Verso um’antropologia dell’intreccio (1991), Il ritratto dell’amante (1992), I classici nell’età dell’indiscrezione (1994), Le orecchie di Hermes. Studi di antropologia e letterature classiche (2000) and Francesco Petrarca sulle arti figurative. Tra Plinio e S. Agostino (2002).

Max Hernández Camarero (Peru)

Psychoanalyst. Technical Secretary of the National Agreement of Peru. Fellow of the Art & Science World Academy and honorary member of Colégio de Sociólogos de Peru. Author of Memoria del bien perdido: Identidad, conflicto y nostalgia en el Inca Gracilazo de la Vega (1991) and ¿Es otro el rostro del Perú? Identidad, diversidad y cambio (2000).

Mehriban Aliyeva (Azerbaijan)

President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.

Mia Couto (Mozambique)

Novelist, writer of short stories, poet, journalist and biologist. Author of Vozes Anoitecidas (1986), Terra Sonâmbula (1992), A Varanda do Frangipani (1996), O Último Voo do Flamingo (2000), O Fio das Missangas (2003) and O Outro Pé da Sereia (2006).

Michel Philippe Lerebours (Haiti)

Archaeologist and art historian. Curator of the Haiti Museum of Art. Author of Haïti et ses peintres de 1804 à 1980: Souffrances et espoirs d’un peuple (1989).

Michel Wieviorka (France)

Sociologist. Director of the CADIS - Centre d’Analyse et d’Intervention Sociologique [Center for Sociological Analysis and Intervention] of the EHESS – École de Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales. Chairman of the International Association of Sociology. Co-Director (with Georges Balandier) of the Cahiers Internationaux de Sociologie. His works include: Identités Culturelles: enjeux, débats et politiques (2001); La Violence (2004); La Tentation Antisémite (2005); and Sociologie sous Tension. Entretien avec Julien Ténédos (2006). 

Miguel Trovoada (Sao Tome & Principe)

Former Prime Minister and former President of Saint Thomas and Prince. Member of the African Union’s Panel of the Wise.

Milton Guran (Brazil)

Photographer and anthropologist. Professor at the Social Communications course at Gama Filho University, Rio de Janeiro, and Associate Researcher at the Centre for Afro-Asiatic Studies at Cândido Mendes University, Rio de Janeiro. Author of Linguagem Fotográfica e Informação (1992) and Agudás: Os Brasileiros do Benin (2000).

Mircea Martín (Romania)

Literary critic and essayist. Professor of literary theory at the University of Bucharest, Editor of Cuvântul journal.

Mirko Lauer (Peru)

Journalist. Co-Director of the cultural magazine Hueso Humero. Member of the executive board and columnist for La República newspaper. Member of the editorial team of Plural TV (Canal 4). Member of the editorial board of the Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies and Heterogénesis, a journal dedicated to Latin-American culture. Vice-President of the Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS). Author of several books, including Un escándalo en Bohemia (2006), La polémica del vanguardismo (2001) and Andes imaginarios: Discursos del indigenismo (1997).

Mohammed ElHajji (Brazil)

PhD in Communication and Culture from the Graduate Program of the School of Communication of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Member of the LECC – Laboratório de Estudos em Comunicação Comunitária [Laboratory for Studies in Communitarian Communication]. Author of several articles and essays on the ethnical and cultural communitarian media. He is the author of Da Semiose Hegemônica Ocidental (2001) and co-author of Comunicação e Sociabilidade (2007). Some of his researches can be seen at the site of the Observatory under his direction: www.etnicidade.net - http://www.etni-cidade.net/

Mohammed Hassine Fantar (Tunisia)

Professor of History and Archaeology at the University of Tunis. Director of the Center for the Study of Phoenician, Punic, and Libyan Antiquities, at the National Heritage Institute, Tunis. He holds the Ben Ali Chair for the dialogue of the civilizations and religions. His works include: Eschatologie Phénicienne-Punique (1970); Kerkouane, cite punique du Cap Bon (1984-1986, 3 vol.); Carthage, la cité punique (1995); and Les Phéniciens en Méditerranée (1997). 

Mohamed Sid-Ahmed (Egypt)

Journalist and writer. Author of Al-Istesmar al-raësmali wal estëmariya fi Afriqiya (1966), Baad an taskot al-madafie (1975), Mostaqbal al-nizam al-hezbi fi Misr (1984) and Salam am Sarab? (1995).

Mohammad Khatami (Iran)

President of Iran from 1997 to 2005.

Mohammad Masjed Jamei (Iran)

Iranian Ambassador to Morocco. Former Director of Cultural Affairs at the Iranian Ministry of Cultural Affairs. Director of the Institution pour l’Islam & Future. Author of Ideology and Revolution, Transformation and Stability in the Persian Gulf and Inter-Religious Dialogue and Inter-Civilizational Dialogue.

Mohammed Arkoun (Algeria)

Philosopher and historian. Emeritus Professor in the history of Islamic thought at Sorbonne (Paris-III), lecturing in Applied Islamology. Author of La Pensée arabe (1975), Lectures du Coran (1982), Penser l’islam aujourd’hui (1993) and The Unthought in Contemporary Islamic Thought (2002), and co-authored De Manhattan à Bagdad. Au-delà du bien et du mal with Joseph Maïla (2003).

Mohsen Marzouk (Tunisia)

Sociologist. Founder and coordinator of Kawakibi Democracy Transition Center. Regional Director of Civil Society Program North Africa Freedom House.

Moustafa Bayoumi (Egypt)

Associate English professor at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York. Co-editor of The Edward Said Reader.

Mubariz Qurbanli (Azerbaijan)

Member of the Azeri Parliament and the Executive Committee of the “YAP” Party.

Najmeh Shobeyri (Iran)

Director of the Spanish Department at Azad University, Tehran. Full Professor of International Literature in Kancon. Member of the editorial board for the cultural magazines Keyhan Rarhangi and Sher. Published several books, including Introducción a la Literatura Española: Recopilación (1992).

Nasrin Mosaffa (Iran)

Professor at the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences at the University of Tehran, and Head of the University's Centre for Human Rights Studies.

Nélida Piñon (Brazil)

Novelist, writer of short stories, journalist and professor. Member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters and Academy of Philosophy. Author of Fundador (1969), A República dos Sonhos (1984), A Doce Canção de Caetana (1987), A Roda do Vento (1996) and Vozes do Deserto (2004).

Nelson Maldonado-Torres (Argentina)

Professor at the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. His main publications are: Descolonialidad del Ser y del Saber: Videos Indigenas y Los Limites Coloniales de La Izquierda En Bolivia, with Freya Schiwy (2006), and Against War: Views from the Underside of Modernity (2008).

Nelson Vallejo-Gómez (Peru)

Executive Secretary and founding member of the Academy of Latinity. Member of the Council of the Institute for High Latin American Studies, University Paris III. Vice-President of GERFLINT-Synergies.

Nestor García-Canclini (Argentina)

Anthropologist. Professor and researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, where he runs the cultural studies programme. Author of a number of books, including Culturas híbridas. Estrategias para entrar y salir de la modernidad (1990), Cultura y Comunicación: entre lo global y lo local (1997), Las industrias culturales en la integración latinoamericana (1999), Latinoamericanos buscando lugar en este siglo (2000), and Latinoamericanos buscando lugar en este siglo (2002).

Nilüfer Göle (Turkey)

Sociologist. Research director at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS). She is the author of Musulmanes et modernes — Voile et civilisation en Turquie (1993), The Forbidden Modern: Civilization and Veiling (Critical Perspectives on Women and Gender) (1997), and Interpénétrations. L’Islam et l’Europe (2005).

Omar Maani (Jordan)

Engineer. Mayor of Amman.

Osmar Chohfi (Brazil)

Brazilian Ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS).

Patricia Spyer (Netherlands)

Professor of the University of Leiden, wherein she holds the chair of “Cultural Anthropology of Contemporary Indonesia”, she is also an Emeritus Professor of the Religions & Media Center of the University of New York and of its Department of Anthropology. Her works include: The Memory of Trade: Modernity’s Entanglements on an Eastern Island (2000), Border Fetishism: Material Objects in Unstable Spaces (1998), and – in co-authorship – Handbook of Material Culture (2006).

Paulo Hilu Pinto (Brazil)

Professor of anthropology and director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies (NEOM), Fluminense Federal University (UFF), Brazil. Author of Práticas Acadêmicas e o Ensino Universitário: uma Etnografia das Formas de Consagração e Transmissão do Saber na Universidade (1999).

Pierre Buteau (Haiti)

Educator and historian. Former Minister of National Education.

Pierre Charasse (France)

French Ambassador in Peru. At the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs responsible for tackling organized crime, corruption and terrorism.

Pietro Citati (Italy)

Essayist, literary critic and novelist. Author of História Kafka (1987), La colomba pugnalata (2000), Il Male Assoluto (2000) La mente colorata (2002) and La morte della farfalla (2006).

Rafael Sanchez (Venezuela)

Professor at the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies of the University of New York. His books deal with the means of communication, the politics of populism, and spiritual mediumnity.

Rafig Aliyev (Azerbaijan)

Former chairman of the State Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan for the Work with Religious Associations.

Ramin Jahanbegloo (Iran)

Philosopher. Specialist in Gandhi. Researcher at Harvard University and Professor of political philosophy at the University of Toronto (Canada). Author of several books, including Tolérance, j’écris ton nom (1995), Les modernes (1997), Gandhi, aux sources de la non-violence (1998) and Schopenhauer et la critique de la raison kantienne (1998), and co-author of Entretiens with Isaiah Berlin (1991), George Steiner (1992) and Daryush Shayegan (1992).

Raúl Morodo (Argentina)

Jurist, politician, diplomat and professor. Professor of political and constitutional law at Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Author of Los orígenes ideológicos del franquismo: Acción Española (1985), Atando cabos: Memorias de un conspirador moderado (2001) and Fernando Pessoa y otros precursores de las revoluciones nacionales europeas (2005).

Razvan Theodorescu (Romania)

University professor and politician. Corresponding Member of the Romanian Academy. Former Minister of Culture and senator. Author of Civilizatia românilor între medieval si modern. Orizontul imaginii (1550-1800) (1992), Românii si Balcanicii în Civilizatia sud-est europeana (1999) and Constantin Brincoveanu — intre “Casa Cartilor” si “Ievropa” (2006).

Régis Debray (France)

Writer and researcher on media issues. Honorary President of the European Institute for the Sciences of Religion. Director of the Médium review. He is the author of Chroniques de l’Idiotie Triomphante, 1990-2003, terrorisme, guerres, diplomatie (2004); Un Mythe Contemporain: le dialogue des civilizations (2007); L’Obscénité Démocratique (2007); and Un Candide en Terre Sainte (2008).

Rémi Brague (France)

Professor of medieval philosophy at Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne and at Ludwig-Maximilian Universität, Munich. Author of Europe, la voie romaine (1992), La sagesse du monde. Histoire de l’expérience humaine de l’univers (1999), La loi de Dieu: Histoire philosophique d’une alliance (2005), Au moyen du Moyen Age: Philosophies médiévales en chrétienté, judaïsme et islam (2006) and Du Dieu des chrétiens et d’un ou deux autres (2008).

Richard Sennett (USA)

Professor of sociology at the London School of Economics and professor of the humanities at New York University. Founding director of the New York Institute for the Humanities. His main books include: The Conscience of the Eye: The design and social life of cities (1991), The Corrosion of Character, the Personal Consequences of Work in the New Capitalism (1998), Respect in a World of Inequality (2003), and The Craftsman (2008).

Rita de Cássia Chaves (Brazil)

Professor of African Portuguese literature at the University of São Paulo. Associate Researcher at the Centre for Afro-Asiatic Studies at Universidade Candido Mendes. Author of A Formação do Romance Angolano (1999) and Angola e Moçambique: Experiência Colonial e Territórios Literários (2005), and co-author of Boaventura Cardoso — a Escrita em Processo (2005), Marcas da Diferença: Literaturas Africanas de Língua Portuguesa (2006) and A Kinda e a Misanga: Encontros Brasileiros com a Literatura Angolana (2007).

Rossana Barragán (Bolivia)

History Professor at the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, in La Paz. Director of the La Paz Archive and president of the Bolivian Studies Association. Her recent work includes El estado pactante: gouvernement et peuples. La configuration de l’Etat et ses frontières, Bolivie (1825-1880) (2002).

Saideh Lotfian (Iran)

Associate Professor of political sciences at the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences of the University of Tehran. Director of Centre for Middle Eastern Strategic Studies, Tehran. Director of the Middle East Program at the Centre for Strategic Research.

Salah Fadl (Egypt)

Literary critic. Assistant to the Director of the Library of Alexandria. Member of the Supreme Council for Culture. Author of Malhamat Al-Maghazi Al-Muriskiyah: Dirasah Fi Al-Adab Al-Shabi Al-Muqaran (1989) and Al-Tajarub Al-Najihah: Al-Mutamar Al-Thani Lil-Islah Al-Arabi, with Muhsin D. Yusuf (2006).

Saleh Hashem (Uzbekistan)

General Secretary of the Association of Arab Universities (AARU) and Regional Chair of the International Association of University Presidents (IAUP) for the Middle East and North Africa area.

Said Yassin (Egypt)

Professor of Sociology at the National Center for Sociology and Criminal Research. Member of the Supreme Council of the Press, of the Supreme Council of the Culture, and of the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies. His works include: The Global Revolution and the Historical Consciousness (1995); Globalization and the Third World (1999); The Zionist Myth and the Palestinian Intifada (2001); and Cultural Dialogue in the Globalization Age (2002).

Samuel Huntington (USA)

Political scientist. Professor at Harvard University. His main books include The Soldier and the State: The Theory and Politics of Civil-Military Relations (1957), The Common Defense: Strategic Programs in National Politics (1961), Political Order in Changing Societies (1968), American Politics: The Promise of Disharmony (1981), The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century (1991), The Clash of Civilizations and Remaking of World Order (1996), and Who Are We? The Challenges to America’s National Identity (2004).

Samuel Pinheiro Guimarães (Brazil)

Diplomat. Secretary-General of the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Author of Quinhentos Anos de Periferia (1999), ALCA e Mercosul: Riscos e Oportunidades para o Brasil (1999) and África do Sul: Visões Brasileiras (2000).

Sayed Yassin (Egypt)

Professor of political sociology at the National Centre for Sociology and Criminological Research. Member of the Supreme Council of the Press, of the Supreme Council of Culture, and of the Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies. Author of the following books: The Global Revolution and the Historical Consciousness (1995), Globalization and the Third Way (1999), The Zionist Myth and the Palestinian Intifada (2001), and Cultural Dialogue in the Globalization Age (2002).

Sergio Paulo Rouanet (Brazil)

Diplomat, political scientist and essayist, member of the Brazilian Academy of Literature. Author of the following books, for example: As Razões do Iluminismo (1987), A Razão Nômade: Walter Benjamin e Outros Viajantes (1994), Idéias — Da Cultura Global à Universal (2003), Interrogações (2003) and Os Dez Amigos de Freud (2003).

Seyed Hossein Serajzadeh (Iran)

Professor of the University Institute of Teacher Training Tehran.

Seyed Mohammad Sadegh Kharazi (Iran)

Former Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs and former Iranian Ambassador to France. Member of the Superior Advisory Council at the University of Tehran. Member of the International Administration Council at Azad University.

Seyyed Javad Tabatabai (Iran)

Philosopher, historian and university professor. Author of Philosophical Introduction to the History of Political Thought in Iran Decline of Political Thought in Iran, Essay on Ibn Khaldun: Impossibility of Social Sciences in Islam, and Nizam al-Mulk and Iranian Political Thought: Essay on the Continuity of the Iranian Thought (all in Persian).

Souâd Ayada (Iran)

Philosophy professor. Graduated in Western and Islamic cultures. Published a presentation of the greatest Islamic philosopher, Avicenne (Avicenne, 2002). Collaborator of Esprit magazine.

Susan Buck-Morss (USA)

Professor of political philosophy and social theory, Department of Government, Cornell University. Her books include Thinking Past Terror: and The Origin of Negative Dialectics: Theodor W. Adorno, Walter Benjamin, and the Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School (1977), The Dialectics of Seeing: Walter Benjamin and the Arcades Project (1989), Dreamworld and Catastrophe: The Passing of Mass Utopia in East and West (2000), and Islamism and Critical Theory on the Left (2003).

Sybille Fischer (Germany)

Professor of Spanish and Portuguese language and literature at Columbia University. Member of the Latin American Studies Association and the Comparative Literature Association. Main research interest is the Haitian revolution, as demonstrated by her work Modernity Disavowed: Haiti and the Cultures of Slavery in the Age of Revolution (2004).

Tarcísio Meirelles Padilha (Brazil)

Professor and philosopher. President of the Brazilian society of Catholic Philosophers and Centre Dom Vital. Member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters. Director of the journals Presença Filosófica and A Ordem. Author of several books, including A Ontologia Axiológica de Louis Lavelle (1955), Philosophy, Ideologia e Realidade Brasileira (1971), Brasil em Questão (1975), Uma Philosofia da Esperança (1982), Realismo da Esperança (1996), Privilégio do Instante (1996) and Uma Ética do Cotidiano (1999).

Torcuato S. Di Tella (Argentina)

Sociologist, Emeritus Professor at the University of Buenos Aires, specialized in comparative studies of social and political structures in Latin America. Author of Sociología de los procesos políticos (1985), Historia de los partidos políticos en América Latina (1993), Historia social de la Argentina contemporánea (1998) and Perón y los sindicatos (2003), the first two of which have been translated into English: Latin American Politics (2001) and History of Political Parties in Latin America (2004).

Valentin Yves Mudimbe (Congo)

Poet, novelist and professor. PhD in philosophy. Professor at Duke University. Author of several books, including The Invention of Africa (1994) and The Idea of Africa (1994).

Vasim M. Mamedaliev (Azerbaijan)

Doctor of philological sciences. Professor of Baku State University. Dean of Faculty of Theology of Baku State University. Member of the Academy of Muslim Laws. Member of the National Academy of Science of Azerbaijan. Author, among others, of Basrian Qrammar Scool (1983), Arabic Linguistics (1985), The Categories of Tense, Person and Mood of Verb in Arabic Literary Language (1992), and The Expressing of Azeri by Arabic Graphics (2000).

Vitaly Naumkin (Russian Federation)

Political scientist. Professor at the Faculty of World Politics, State University of Moscow. President of the International Centre for Political and Strategic Studies. Director of the Middle East Centre at the Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences. Editor-in-Chief of the journal Vostok-Orients. Recently published works include Essays in the Ethnolinguistics of Soqotra, with V. Porkhomovsky (1981), Red Wolves of Yemen: The Struggle for Independence (2004) and Radical Islam in Central Asia: between Pen and Rifle (2005).

Walter D. Mignolo (Argentina)

Professor of Literature and Romance Studies Program at Duke University. Director of the Center for Global Studies and Humanities, Cornell University. Author of The Darker Side of the Renaissance: Literacy, Territoriality and Colonization (1995), Local Histories/Global Designs: Coloniality, Subaltern Knowledges and Border Thinking (2004), and The Idea of Latin America (2005).

Xavier Albó (Spain-Bolivia)

Writer, linguist, anthropologist and a Spanish Jesuit priest who became a Bolivian citizen. Co-founder of CIPCA (Centro de Investigación y Promoción del Campesinado). Author of several books about indigenous peoples in Bolivia, including Quechuas y aymaras (1998), Los pueblos indios en la política (2002), Quiénes son indígenas en los gobiernos municipales (2005) and Por una Bolivia plurinacional y intercultural con autonomías, with Franz X. Barrios (2006).

Yann Richard (France)

Professor at Université Sorbonne Nouvelle. Director of Institut d’études iraniennes. Member of the Association pour l’avancement des études iraniennes. Member of the editorial board of the journal Studia Iranica. Author of Entre l’Iran et l’Occident. Adaptation et assimilation des idées et techniques occidentales en Iran (1989), Shi’ite Islam: Polity, Ideology, and Creed (1995) and Cent mots pour dire l’Iran moderne (2003).

Zoé Petre (Romania)

Historian and political analyst. Professor of ancient history and archaeology at the University of Bucharest. Former Cultural Advisor to Romanian President Emil Constantinescu. Author of several books, including Commentaire Aux “Sept Contre Thebes” d’Eschyle (1981), Sancho Panza Al II-Lea: Roman (2000) and Dialog cu Zoé Petre, with Cecilia Carage.