Conference - Creating Resilient Communities for Peace and Justice: The Roles of Business and Civil Society

Virginija Poškutė, a renowned economist and social policy expert, brings a wealth of international experience and a deep understanding of the social issues shaping our world today. As a professor at ISM University in Vilnius, Lithuania, and a former Fulbright researcher in the United States, she has dedicated her career to exploring the complexities of social policy, welfare economics, and societal resilience. In her keynote, Virginija will delve into the evolving roles of government, business, and civil society amid geopolitical uncertainties and social challenges. She will illuminate how shifting perceptions and emerging barriers impact civil society’s voice and vital contribution to peace and justice. Join us to explore pathways toward stronger, more inclusive communities grounded in collaboration and shared responsibility.

Dr. Dorothy Nyambi is a distinguished leader with over 25 years of experience in the international development, entrepreneurial, and humanitarian sectors. Her career is defined by a strong commitment to ensuring that women and girls are not left behind, particularly through her work in impact investing and blended finance. With lived experience across Africa and the Global South, Dorothy has become a champion of economic transformation, driving initiatives that create job opportunities for women and youth, particularly within agri-food systems. As CEO of MEDA, Dorothy leads the organization’s impactful work across Africa, Latin America and the Caribbeans and Southeast Asia leveraging partnerships with institutional funders, foundations, and MEDA private supporter to drive economic growth. A passionate advocate for system change, Dorothy believes in the power of entrepreneurship within market systems to alleviate poverty and promote sustainable, inclusive growth. Through her leadership, she continues to drive systemic transformation that expands youth employment by strengthening the agri-food sector. Dorothy is a founding member of Gender Summit Africa and a life member of AWID.

Raffi Feghali will offer evening theatre that prompts self- reflection, storytelling, and dialogue around the ways we might engage business and civil society in creating resilient communities for peace and justice in our conflict- affected and fractured places around the world.  As a theater maker, peacebuilder, and trainer  he‘s directed more than 40 theatrical performances since 2009 (including Theatre of the Oppressed, Playback Theater, and improvisational theatre) in various communities and has performed in more than 60 shows worldwide. More recently, he’s been in Interview the Dead directed by Bryan Reynolds. Anatomy of a Home, his second autobiographical monodrama, premiered at the Amsterdam Fringe Festival in 2022 and it has been touring since. As a peacebuilder, he specializes in Systems Thinking Conflict Analysis, conflict sensitivity, and bringing the arts, especially theater and music, to the various dimensions of peacebuilding. His experience has mostly been extensive in the Middle East; Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, and Jordan. Raffi also dabbles in audio, sound design for theatre as well as radio dramas.