Ambassador Sorin Ducaru served as Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges from 2013 to 2017. He was responsible for providing support to the North-Atlantic Council and for advising the Secretary General on the evolution of emerging security challenges, their potential impact on NATO’s security, the development of relevant policies and action plans; directing the Emerging Security Challenges Division of the NATO International Staff and coordinating NATO’s Science for Peace and Security Programme.
Prior to his appointment as ASG, Ambassador Ducaru served as Romania’s Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Council, from September 2006 to September 2013. From November 2011, Ambassador Ducaru was the Dean of the North Atlantic Council.
Ambassador Ducaru was born on 22 June 1964, in Baia-Mare, Romania. He graduated from the Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest in 1988 and the Romanian National School of Political Studies and Public Administration in 1992. He holds a MPhil Degree in International Relations from the University of Amsterdam (1993) and a PhD degree in International Economics from the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest (2005).
He joined the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1993, assuming various posts such as member of the Policy Planning team, counsellor to the Minister, spokesman of the MFA and Director for NATO and Strategic Issues. From 2001 to 2006, he served as Romania’s Ambassador to the United States of America. In 2000–2001, Ambassador Ducaru served as Permanent Representative of Romania to the United Nations, in New York.
In the year 2000 Ambassador Ducaru was awarded by the President of Romania the National Order of “Faithful Service” in rank of Commander, followed by, in 2006 the Order for “Diplomatic Merit” and in 2008 the rank of Knight of the National Order “The Star of Romania”. He received the title of “Ambassador of the Year” in 2003 and 2012, from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania...see more

Alexander Moens is a professor of Political Science at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada and a Senior Fellow in Canadian-American Relations at the Fraser Institute. Moens is the author of The Foreign Policy of George W. Bush: Values, Strategy, Loyalty (2004), and Foreign Policy Under Carter (1990) as well as editor or co-editor of Disconcerted Europe: The Search for a New Security Architecture (1994), NATO and European Security: Alliance Politics from the Cold War’s End to the Age of Terrorism (2003), and Immigration Policy and the Terrorist Threat in Canada and the United States (2008).
Moens has published in numerous journals and newspapers. Most recent publications include: “Obama’s Foreign Policy: Change Without Conviction,” in Nikolaos Tzifakis (ed.) International Politics in Times of Change, Berlin and Heidelberg, 2012; “NATO and the EU: Canada’s Security Interests in Europe and Beyond,” in David S. McDonough (ed.) Canada’s National Security in the Post-9/11 World (Toronto: Toronto University Press, 2012), “Canadian Interests in Building Cooperation Between NATO and the African Union,” with Jimmy Peterson, in Brooke Smith-Windsor (ed.) AU-NATO Collaboration: Implications and Prospects, NATO Defence College, Rome, 2013, "George W. Bush Decision Maker: Take Two," Chapter 6 in Donald R. Kelley and Todd G. Shields (eds) Taking the Measure: The Presidency of George W. Bush (College Station Texas: Texas A&M University Press, 2013), and “Ukraine, NATO and Moral Realism,” Atlantisch Perspectief, (The Hague), No. 3, Summer 2014.
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Kerry Longhurst is Senior Researcher at the College of Europe, Natolin. She has a PhD in International Relations from the University of Birmingham and an MSc in Strategic Studies from the University of Wales. Prior to coming to Natolin, Kerry held an Advanced Marie Curie Fellowship at Ifri in Paris and was also Senior Lecturer at the European Research Institute at the University of Birmingham. Kerry has published widely on European Neighbourhood issues as well as other topics in European Security.
Her publications include: 'Forging a new Ostpolitik: An Assessment of the European Union's Eastern Partnership' (2010) Studia i Analizy (Collegium Civitas). Published in Polish and English; ‘Beyond Enlargement - The European Union and its New Eastern Neighbours’ inThierry de Montbrial and Philippe Moreau Defarges (eds.) RAMSES 2010 - Crise mondiale et gouvernance globale (Dunod). (In French); ‘Recasting Relations with the Neighbours - Prospects for the Eastern Partnership’ an Ifri Europe Visions Paper written with Susanne Nies; ‘Injecting More Differentiation into European Neighbourhood Policy’ in Russia/NEI Issues.
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James H. Mackey is Head of the Office of Euro-Atlantic and Global Partnership in the Political Affairs and Security Policy Division at NATO Headquarters. In this capacity, he is responsible for overseeing NATO’s relationship with partner countries in Western Europe, the Western Balkans, the South Caucasus, Central Asia, the Asia Pacific, Africa, and Latin America. Before assuming this position in 2011, Mr. Mackey served for seven years as an officer in the Political Affairs and Security Policy Division at NATO, where he was responsible for NATO’s bilateral relations with a number of partner countries, including Georgia, Serbia, Moldova, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kyrgyzstan. In 2010, he was detailed to the Private Office of the Secretary General to conduct a reform of the NATO intelligence-sharing process. Mr. Mackey is a former Luce Scholar, and spent 2000-2001 teaching international relations theory at the Beijing Foreign Affairs College. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Politics from Princeton University and a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy...see more

Mr. Radu Magdin – analyst and consultant – leads Smartlink, a strategic communications and public affairs consultancy whose clients include the World Economic Forum, World Bank, Allegro Group, SCL Elections, and Yahoo. Mr. Radu worked previously as a Policy Manager at Google in Brussels; as a Communications Manager at EURACTIV Media; as a Press Officer for the Romanian Social-Democrat Delegation at the European Parliament; as an Editor on EU Affairs at AGERPRES, the Romanian National News Agency; and as a Diplomat at the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is passionate about political communication, is part of NATO Emerging Leaders Group since 2014 and is featuring in Forbes Romania trendsetters rankings for 2014.

Ms. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim is a Mauritian biodiversity scientist who serves as President of Mauritius. She is currently the Managing Director of CIDP Research & Innovation where she devotes her time to research the medical and nutritive implications of indigenous plants of Mauritius. Previously, she was a Professor with a personal chair in Organic Chemistry at the University of Mauritius and where she has served successively as Dean of the Faculty of Science and Pro–Vice Chancellor. She has also worked at the Mauritius Research Council as Manager for Research. She served as the Chairperson the International Council for Scientific Union – Regional Office for Africa (2011–2014). Furthermore, she is a strong supporter of education development and youth engagement on theworld stage.
Ms. Gurib-Fakim has also been the recipient of various international awards including the L'Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science (2007), Laureate for the National Economic and Social Council (2007), the CTA / NEPAD / AGRA / RUFORUM for “African Women in Science” and the African Union Award for Women in Science. She was also made Commander of the Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean (CSK) for her contribution in the education and the scientific sector. She was awarded the Order of the “Chevalier de l’Ordre des Palmes Academiques” by the Government of France in 2009. Upon becoming President, she was automatically elevated to the highest civilian award of Grand Commander of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean (GSCK)...see more

Samuel Doveri Vesterbye is Managing Director with a specialty in Turkey and the Middle East. He oversees ENC research projects and events, including Academic Council Members and regional research coordination. He has worked with EU projects related to foreign affairs and research on Turkey since 2012 through partnerships and cooperation with the European Parliament, business associations, the European External Action Service and various international think tanks. Prior to that he was a journalist in Turkey and Belgium covering Foreign Affairs, Energy and the Middle East. He graduated in Middle Eastern and Central Asian Security Studies with a focus on inter-regional trade and security from the University of St Andrews. He is fluent in English, Italian, Danish, French and Spanish...see more

Antonia Colibasanu is Partner - Regional Director for Eurasia and International Marketing at the US geopolitical analysis company Stratfor. She joined Stratfor in 2006 as a regional consultant, before joining the company's research department. Ms. Colibasanu is also an associate lecturer at the University of Bucharest, Romania having a research focus on geopolitical risk assessment, competitive intelligence and world economy. Antonia Colibasanu has a PhD in International Business and Economics from the Romanian Academy of Economic Studies and is an alumna of the Georgetown University's International Institute for Political and Economic Studies. She's also the founder of Books for Peace, an organization promoting peace through education and serves on the academic board of The International Academy for Advanced Studies (www.tiaas.org). Some of her publications are available on Real Clear World
(http://www.realclearworld.com/authors/antonia_colibasanu/) and Le Cercle - Les Echos
(http://www.lesechos.fr/idees-debats/cercle/auteurs/index.php?id=50620).
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Stefan Gänzle is Associate Professor of Political Science at the Department of Political Science and Management, University of Agder, Kristiansand (Norway). Prior to coming to Kristiansand, he worked as a Senior Researcher at the German Development Institute in Bonn from 2008-2009, and was an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia and a Research Fellow at the University of Jena, the European University Institute (EUI) as well as a researcher-in-residence at the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). His interests include the European Union, global governance, and regionalism in world politics.
He is the author of Die Europäische Union alsaußenpolitischerAkteur: EineFallstudie am Beispiel der EU-Politikgegenüber den baltischenStaaten und Russland [The European Union’s Foreign Policy in the Making: The Case of the Baltic States and Russia], Baden-Baden: Nomos, 2007 and the editor (with Allen G. Sens) of The Changing Politics of European Security: Europe Alone?, London: Palgrave, 2007. His most recent books are Adapting to European Integration? The Case of the Russian Exclave of Kaliningrad, Manchester University Press 2008 (with Guido Müntel/EvgenyVinokurov), The European Union and Global Development. An Enlightened Superpower in the Making? London: Palgrave, 2012 (with Sven Grimm and Davina Makhan) and Macro-regional Europe: Theoretical Approaches and Empirical Evidence, London: Palgrave, 2015 (with Kristine Kern).
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Laura-Maria Crăciunean is an Independent Expert in the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (OHCHR)
and an Associate Professor PhD, at "Lucian Blaga" University of Sibiu, Romania, Faculty of Law, where she teaches courses on Public International Law International Humanitarian Law and Diplomatic Law. Her research interests include economic, social and cultural rights, cultural diversity and human rights and minorities protection.
She authored and co-authored several books: Public International Law (co-authored; 2008, 2014); Handbook of Diplomatic and Consular Law (2011); The International Protection of Cultural Rights (2011); The International Protection of Cultural Diversity: "the United in Diversity" Model? (2013); International Humanitarian Law (2014);
She is a member of the European Society of International Law (since 2007) and also serves as an independent expert in the UN Human Rights Council Advisory Committee (since 2014).
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Silviu Eugen Rogobete currently returned to the position of Professor at West University of Timisoara, following a seven-years posting as Consul General of Romania in South Africa. Between 2011-2013 he was also the Dean of the Consular Corps. Dr. Rogobete joined the Diplomatic Corps of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in October 2006. During this time he completed a course on Contemporary Approaches to Global Security. Prior to that Dr. Rogobete was an Associate Professor, Head of the Department of Politics of the Faculty of Political Science, Philosophy and Communication at the West University of Timisoara, where he taught courses on Foundations and the Practice of Human Rights, Philosophical and Political Anthropology, Religion and Politics. Currently Dr. Rogobete directs the Doctoral School of the Department of Politics. In 1987 he received his first degree in science at “Traian Vuia” Polytechnic University of Timisoara. Following the fall of the communist regime in 1989, Silviu moved to study in Great Britain, obtaining a second degree in theology (BA, Brunel University, 1994) and a PhD with a thesis in theological and philosophical anthropology (PhD, Brunel University, 1998). In the summers of 2000 and 2001 he benefited of postdoctoral instruction in the area of Human Rights under Professor David Robertson at St Hugh’s College, Oxford University, where he was also admitted as a Visiting Fellow and Associate Member of the Senior Common Room. His list of publications includes: Foundations and the Practice of Human Rights, Timisoara: Ed. Universitatii de Vest, 2006); An Ontology of Love (Iasi: Polirom, 2005); coeditor of Ethnic and Religious Diversity in Europe (Amsterdam: ECPM, 2006)...see more