2025
Mr. Espen Barth Eide became Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs on 16 October 2023. From 14 October 2021 he was Minister of Climate and Environment. He is elected to the Norwegian Parliament as a representative from Oslo.
From 2017-2021, he was a Member of Parliament and the Norwegian Labour Party’s Climate and Energy spokesperson. He was reelected to the Parliament for the 2021-2025 legislative term, representing Oslo.
In the two Stoltenberg Governments, Mr. Eide occupied many prominent positions: Foreign Minister from 2012 to 2013, Minister of Defense from 2011 to 2012, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs from 2010 to 2011, State Secretary for Defense from 2005 to 2010 and State Secretary for Foreign Affairs from 2000-2001.
Mr. Eide was Managing Director and Member of the Managing Board of the World Economic Forum in Geneva from 2014 to 2016. Furthermore, he served as UN Under-Secretary General and the Secretary General’s Special Adviser on Cyprus (2014-2017), chairing the negotiations aiming at reunification of the divided island.
For over a decade (2001-2013), he was a Vice President of the Party of European Socialists (the association of European Social Democratic parties).
In his academic career, Mr. Eide, a political scientist, worked as a senior fellow at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) from 1993 to 2000 and again from 2002 to 2005, specializing on international security, European integration, defense and international relations. During his tenure at NUPI, he was deeply involved in several UN, EU and NATO-related processes.
Mr. Eide was acting Secretary-General of the Norwegian European Movement in 1991-1993.
Until October 2021, Mr. Eide was the Chair of the Board of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue in Geneva, a peace mediation organization, Board member of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Board member of the Norwegian Atlantic Committee, senior adviser to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington (CSIS) and a member of the European Leadership Network in London.
Philipp Blom (b. 1970) is a German historian, author, and public intellectual. He studied history, philosophy, and Jewish studies in Vienna and Oxford, earning a doctorate on nationalism. He also works a radio presenter, documentary film maker and as a public lecturer.
His books blend historical research with philosophy and literary style, covering topics like the Enlightenment, climate change, and modernity. Notable works include The Vertigo Years, Fracture, A Wicked Company, and Nature’s Mutiny. His work has been translated into 16 languages and received several international awards.
Blom also hosts a radio program on Ö1, creates documentaries, curates exhibitions, and lectures internationally. Having wanted to become a violinist early in life, Philipp also continues to make music and presents a series of concerts at the Vienna Konzerthaus.
Colombe Cahen-Salvador is a political activist and co-founder of Atlas, a global political movement uniting people for humanity's survival, with 25,000+ members in over 134 countries. She is challenging the United Nations Secretary-General selection process, for climate change, artificial intelligence, wars, dictatorships, pandemics, and poverty to finally be tackled.
She is currently a Senior Non-Resident Fellow at the Center for International Policy, looking into how to design an effective, democratic global governance system.
Previously, Colombe co-founded Volt Europa, the first pan-European political party, served as a trustee of the United Nations Association – UK, and sat on the board of the Democracy and Culture Foundation. She also lectured at Northeastern University for the Socioloy & International Relations Departments, focusing on how global governance could tackle global challenges.
Anita Pratap is an award-winning international journalist, author and documentary filmmaker, having worked in Asia, Middle East, Europe and the United States.
She was CNN’s South Asia Bureau Chief; worked for Time Magazine and leading Indian media. She is a speaker at global conferences organized by the UN, Governments, conglomerates, universities and think tanks on war, terrorism, media, politics, inequality, diversity, women, environment and democracy.
An instant bestseller, her first book “Island of Blood” released by Penguin sold out in six days, creating publishing history. She received many awards, including the coveted American George Polk Award for her coverage in CNN of Kabul’s takeover by the Taliban. She won the Chameli Devi Jain Award for her “sensitive portrayal of the human condition”. She is Contributing Editor for the "The Week" magazine, a Board Member of the Switzerland-based Women’s International Network as well as the Vienna-headquartered Women Without Borders.