Svetlana Yakimenko, Russia
Organization/Position: Newly Independent States Director, Project Kesher
Platform: Support grassroots Jewish women’s groups and multi-faith women’s coalitions; train women leaders; address relevant issues with social activism; create grassroots, pluralist and egalitarian Jewish communities; advocate for and protect women’s health and motherhood and prevent trafficking in women and domestic violence; oppose religious and national hatreds, promote tolerance, HIV/AIDS education and drug prevention along with other causes.
Ahmed Fadeel, Sudan
Organization/Position: HIV/AIDS Training Officer, United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS)
Platform: Sensitize peacekeepers to HIV/AIDS issues; broaden knowledge through exposure to the most recent and scientific technical aspects unavailable in Sudan; encourage positive changes of attitude and behavior towards sexual and reproductive health as well as HIV/AIDS on political and community levels in Sudan; work to identify positive cultural values and religious interpretations which would facilitate the promotion of human rights, including reproductive rights; bridge the gap between the sensitivity of cultural practices and religious interpretations and the issues of population and reproductive health; lead advocacy efforts and policy dialogue about population development, sexual and reproductive health rights as well as HIV/AIDS; join and establish national and regional networks and alliances in the field of population and reproductive health.
Roxana Ávila-Harper, Costa Rica
Organization/Position: Tenured Professor, Escuela de Artes Dramáticas, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro; Artistic Director and Producer, Teatro Abya Yala
Platform: Use theater and dance as active instruments in the molding of Costa Rican youth; expand the presence of the arts in diverse communities across the country; create high quality social work theater; attempt to professionalize the arts; create sustainable forums for research, reflection, information-sharing techniques and other performing-arts practitioners’ needs; implement theater as a useful tool in water conservation and recycling education; create a Central American theater network.
