As religious ideals lie at the core of most national and cultural identities, can political solutions to conflicts succeed without the religious perspective? By outlining the interplay of religious and secular perspectives, panellists in this session will assess cases of conflict resolution and prevention, offer their perspectives and recommend principles and policies for lasting, democratic solutions to contemporary conflicts.
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Moderator: Mr. Karl-Christian Hausmann, Chair, UPF Germany
Mr. Hausmann was born in Germany. He joined the Unification Movement in 1975 and has been married to his American wife, Kathy, since 1982. They have three children. A chair of the local Trade and Commerce League between 2000 and 2010, he is still involved in its local activities. After joining the Christian Democratic Party of Germany (CDU) in 1987, he became the local district Parliament leader and Speaker for his party. From 2012 to 2014 he was Assistant Chair of the CDU Stuttgart, and currently serves on the Executive Board. He has been the Chair of the Universal Peace Federation of Germany since 2000.
Speakers:
Dr. Emmanuel Dupuy, President, Institute for European Prospective Studies, France
Dr. Dupuy is President of the Institute for European Perspective & Security Studies (IPSE), a think tank focused on track two diplomacy and strategic prospective analysis with offices in Paris, France; Brussels, Belgium; and Rabat, Morocco. He is an associate Professor at the Université Paris-Sud and ILERI (Institut d’Etudes en Relations Internationales), specializing in war and security studies. Dr. Dupuy served as advisor for the French Secretary of Defense and Veterans Affairs (2008-2010), and political advisor to French military forces deployed in Afghanistan (2011).
Dr. Roman Joch, President, Civic Institute, Czech Republic
Dr. Joch is CEO of the Civic Institute, a libertarian-conservative think tank in Prague, Czech Republic. He graduated MD at the Charles University, Prague (1996); has been a fellow of the Krieble Institute, Washington, D.C. (1993), the Acton Institute, MI (2001) and the Lincoln Fellow of the Claremont Institute, CA (2007). He is an Assistant Professor at the University of Economics, Prague, and at private college Cevro Institute, Prague.
He was Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic (Human Rights and Foreign Policy, 2010-12), and Advisor to the Lord Mayor of Prague (2012-14). He is an author of several books and essays on political philosophy and public policy, columnist in and contributor to Czech and Slovak media.
Hon. Asdin El Habbassi, Member of Parliament, Austria
Asdin El Habbassi was born in Salzburg and is 29 years old. He is a member of the Austrian Parliament and a youth representative for the Austrian People's Party OVP. El Habbassi is a deputy of the party youth organisation JVP. He is focussing on education and sustainability issues, and he is a Board member of several political and non-political organisations. After his studies of business administration and information management, he worked as a trainer for communication, project management and team-building.
Edwin Shuker, Vice President of the European Jewish Council
Mr. Shuker was born in Iraq and was forced to leave with his family in 1971 and they came to the UK where he graduated from Leeds University. He is an international businessman with a wide range of communal and charitable involvement. He is the Vice-President of the European Jewish Council, a member of the Executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, President of Justice for Jews of Arab Countries and Vice President of the Sephardic Jewish Congress.