Organisation: Shamwari Yemwanasikana (SYS)
Member Membership Committee

Ekenia T. Chifamba is the founding director of Shamwari Yemwanasikana (SYS), a renowned community-based organization in Zimbabwe that seeks to promote, protect and advance the rights and empowerment of the girl child in the home, school, and community, at the national level and beyond.  Ekenia is a girls’ rights activist and a motivational speaker and mentors to several young upcoming leaders. She is a former Anti-Domestic Violence Council Member, Spotlight Initiative Civil Society Reference Group member, and an Advisory Board Member for Bindura University for Combating Human Trafficking in Zimbabwe. She is a Board Member for KFM Zimbabwe, Perfection Media, and a Trustee for Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance (SAAPA) Zimbabwe. She also sits on the executive board of Tugwi Trust, a charity organization that drives social change and impact in marginalized communities. Ekenia is a member of the Executive Women`s Association and Secretary for the National Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (NANGO) Northern Region, where she leads the Child Rights Sector in the same region. She is a Fredrica Nauman Fellow, an International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) Fellow (USA), and the World’s Children’s Prize Foundation Focal Point in Zimbabwe. She is a member of the Steering Committees of Girls Not Brides Zimbabwe, and MenEngage Zimbabwe, as well as Secretary of the Child Rights Coalition convened by the Zimbabwe National Council on the Welfare of the Child (ZNCWC). Ekenia is also a former CIVICUS Alliance Membership Advisory Group Member and a current voting member.

Organisation: Peace Direct
Member Governance Committee

Dylan Mathews is CEO of Peace Direct, a UK based peacebuilding organisation that was founded in 2002 to amplify the voices of local peacebuilders around the world and shift power and resources in the peacebuilding system to locally led peacebuilding efforts. His commitment to supporting local civil society organisations in the global south spans almost twenty years, during which time he has worked for a range of peacebuilding, international development and humanitarian organisations. While working for the think tank Oxford Research Group in 1999, he authored 'War Prevention Works' which profiled the role of civil society organisations in conflict prevention and resolution - a publication that helped launch Peace Direct in 2002. He is the editor of 'Working with Conflict 2' a practical toolkit for local peacebuilders, published in 2020. While at Peace Direct, Dylan led the Decolonising work of the organisation which resulted in the report ‘Time to Decolonise Aid’ which has been read widely across the world and has been translated into 13 languages. While born in the UK, Dylan is of Sri Lankan heritage, was brought up in Zambia, has lived in the Caribbean and Sudan and has supported civil society organisations in over 20 countries.

Organisation: International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, Africa Program
Member Governance Committee

Born in Zimbabwe to parents of Greek heritage, Irene was exposed to diverse cultures and viewpoints from an early age. Her interest in human rights, political transitions and the law as an instrument of change deepened on witnessing South Africa’s first democratic elections and constitutional reform process while studying at the University of Cape Town. She later pursued post-graduate studies in transitional justice as a Chevening scholar at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies. Irene returned to Zimbabwe to practice law, mentored by human rights lawyers with distinguished track records representing both pre-Independence liberation struggle leaders, and those resisting authoritarianism in post-Independence Zimbabwe.  Irene left a lucrative practice for the challenge of institutionalizing a dedicated group of volunteer human rights lawyers. Over 16 years (8 as executive director), the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights became a trusted safety net for civil society and rights defenders, while Irene learned how essential rule of law and an independent civil society is for democracy.  Currently Irene leads the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law’s Africa program, defending and supporting civil society partners in more than 25 countries on the continent, and engaging governments, multilateral organizations and academic institutions to secure an enabling legal environment for civil society’s critical work. Irene is a recognized leader in Zimbabwe, with prior governance leadership in three major civic bodies - the Zimbabwe Election Support Network; Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum; and Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition. She also previously served various regional networks including the SADC Lawyers Association.

Organisation: Greenpeace International
Treasurer, member ExCo & Chair OpsCo

Organisation: Karapatan Alliance Philippines
Member Membership Committee

Cristina Palabay, 42, is the Secretary General of Karapatan Alliance Philippines, a national alliance of human rights organizations, desks and individual advocates working for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Philippines.  Palabay has been with KARAPATAN since 2010 and as Secretary General, she oversees the implementation of the General Program of Action of the alliance and serves as the main spokesperson/ representative of the organization. Through her years as an activist, she has faced death and rape threats, surveillance, and judicial harassment, presumably because of her staunch defense of women’s rights and people’s rights, but she continues to do her work as a human rights defender. Palabay has been a social activist since her student days and is also known for her advocacy for women’s rights as among the founders and later on the Secretary General of the Gabriela Women’s Party, during which she had campaigned for the full implementation of the Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act and for the enactment of the Magna Carta of Women. She has been likewise involved in campaigns for the enactment of legislation against torture and enforced disappearances, and for justice and reparations campaign for victims of martial law during the Marcos government.

Organisation: ArtLords and Wartists
Member Operations Committee

Omaid Sharifi is a Curator Artivist, Co-Founder and President of award-winning art for social change movement, ArtLords and Wartists. Mr. Sharifi is a fellow with Harvard University, Atlantic Council, Asia Society and American Foreign Relations Council/Rumsfeld Fellowship.

Mr. Sharifi’s work to promote and defend human rights and specially women’s rights, promote accountability and transparency, artivism and fighting the shrinking civic space in Afghanistan and South Asia in the last 20 years has been recognized by the international community. Mr. Sharifi is also a resource person and co-facilitator for the prestigious International Human Rights Training Program of Equitas in Montreal, Canada. Mr. Sharifi started as a kid selling cookies and cigarettes in the streets of Kabul, he has worked on programs funded by The World Bank Group, USAID, European Union, National Endowment for Democracy, British Council, NATO and many more. Mr. Sharifi lives and works between Kabul, Istanbul, Boston and Washington D.C.

Organisation: TECHO
Member Operations Committee

Born and raised in Cartagena Colombia, Patri moved to Miami, Florida USA 22 years ago with her family. She holds a bachelor’s in business administration and a master’s in finance. She has more the 20 years of experience in corporate finance both in the US and in Latam. Fluent in English and Spanish. Patri partially transitioned onto the nonprofit sector, five years ago by getting involved with the US chapter of Fundacion Techo International from Chile - American Friends of Un Techo para Mi Pais, a fundraising hub for Techo International. Her motivation to be part of this organization arises from a building experience with Techo with her family in her own hometown of Cartagena Colombia. Through her work and support she believes there will be a transformation so that we may live in an equitable, diverse, and inclusive world. She wants to be part of the process of transformation both in the local communities and the communities Techo supports in 18 different countries in LATAM.

Organisation: UK National Union of Students
Member Governance Committees

I am a social change strategist, campaigner and evaluator, and I hold myself accountable to the values of justice and authenticity. I am passionate about the power of movements and curious about how change happens and how it is interwoven with philosophical beliefs, culture and timing. I have worked in the not for profit sector for nearly 15 years and have supported both small and large organisations to achieve impact through learning, accountability and systems change. I am passionate about the use of evidence and learning and particularly decolonising knowledge and making knowledge practices inclusive. I started my career in journalism and campaigning. I am currently on the Independent Review Panel for Accountable Now and a Lay Director for the UK National Union of Students. I have recently completed a role at Oxfam GB, where I was responsible for leading the development of a new vision and strategy for evidence and learning. The strength I bring is as an ally. As an impact and knowledge specialist I prefer not to take up the airtime of others, but more to listen and stand in solidarity. And my skills lie in impact, accountability and how best to empower a more effective, innovative civil society. I am positive, enthusiastic and try to show up with a sense of humour and in an enabling way, prepared to work hard.

Organisation: One Future Collective
Member Membership Committee

Vandita Morarka (she/her), is a 26-year-old queer human rights activist, lawyer, facilitator and strategist from India. She holds an MA Hons. in Public Policy and is a qualified lawyer. Vandita has worked with multiple stakeholders to co-design interventions that have impacted the lives of 10,00,000+ people. She currently serves as the CEO of One Future Collective, a feminist youth led organisation she founded to answer a collective need for refocusing on social justice over social service. Her motivation to serve on the CIVICUS Board arises from a personal drive to see the world shift not just through tokenistic efforts but through a dismantling of structures of oppression that is people powered. Vandita believes CIVICUS can lead change within civil society to make it more diverse, inclusive and equitable, and advocate for such change in the spaces that we occupy, and she would like to be a part of guiding that process

Organisation: Civic House, Wingu, Donar Online, Kubadili
Member Operations Committee

Mario co-founded Civic House, an international non-profit organization as a result of +12 years of working to strengthen Civic Society and understanding that lowering entry barriers to new innovators and leaders is a key factor. As CEO, he works closely with a team of 60 full-time professionals in 4 different countries where they have a mission to provide funding, innovation, strategic advice, infrastructure, global alliances and a vibrant community of social leaders and social start-ups. Their goal is to lead a real change in Latin American inequalitarian societies. Furthermore, organisations and initiatives that Mario has co-founded or lead as Executive Director have trained +40,000 people in Latin America, leveraged civic society’s impact through innovation and technology implementations to about 2,000 non-profits, helped +1,500 non-profits to raise +$45 million dollars, reduced tons of pounds of food waste and distributed among social kitchens, received +2 millions of dollars in grants and international cooperation (Hewlett Foundation, Omidyar Network, Google.org, etc) and supported 7 different social start-ups and helped them to scale, create their own sustainability models and become self-sustainable. In addition, Mario is President of the Non-Profit Technology Civil Association in Mexico, an organisation with the accreditation of Institutionality and Transparency from CEMEFI. He is also a member of the executive committees of Fundación Casa Cívica Colombia and Res Non Verba Asociación Civil in Argentina. With his more than 12 years of experience in technology and civil society, he has travelled through Latin America and his networks and achievements prove a young profile with a trajectory and drive to carry out the transformation that we want to see in civil society. Mario is also a benchmark in innovation and technology issues and has promoted the digital transformation of thousands of social organisations in the region as well as conceptualised and promoted spaces for horizontal collaboration.

Organisation: The One Campaign
Board Secretary, member ExCo & Chair GovCo

Sonia Kwami is a Campaigner and leader in development practice, who is passionate about working with and inspiring diverse groups of people to become change agents and challenge the injustices in society. She is currently the Africa Campaigns Director for the ONE Campaign. Over the past eighteen years she has successfully managed campaigns (online and offline) and supported CSOs and teams in over 60 countries particularly in the global south (Africa, Asia, South America, Caribbean and Pacific) through various roles in ONE, Oxfam, Walk Free and GCAP after a building a strong foundation at the national level in Ghana. Sonia also passionate about mobilizating, equipping and inspiring Activists and young people to demand accountability and change from their governments and duty bearers. She also possesses first-hand experience in co-creating various initiatives, leading, organizing and actively participating in CSO engagements at high level meetings at for a such as: G7/8 and 20 Summits, AU and UN lobby meetings, World bank / IMF meetings and various engagements around MDGs and SDGs etc. Sonia is a professional teacher by training and holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree and an MA in Democracy, Governance Law and Development from the University of Cape Coast. She serves on three NGO Boards including, Board Chair of Challenging Heights, is a non-profit, Non-governmental Organization in Ghana that works to protect children’s rights and end child trafficking.

Organisation: Women Friendly, Social Good Brasil
Member Operations Committee

Ana is a professional with over 11 years’ experience in creating strategies and executing programs in the use of data, technology and innovation for incorporating inclusion and diversity in organisations. She is the Executive Director, Social Good Brasil, an NGO that fosters the use of technology and data for social change. She founded Women Friendly (www.womenfriendly.com.br), an initiative that promotes education and protocols against sexual harassment at the workplace and has impacted around 90 thousand people in different cities in Brazil, Mexico, USA and Uruguay. She has also managed a digital business accelerator that supports feminist leaders in independent media to pivot their media outlets to digital platforms. Ana is a member of DIGNA, a global group that tracks and promotes successful cases of Inclusion and Diversity within organisations. She is also an Ambassador of the Human Rights Measurement Initiative, which collects data to demonstrate the human rights situation in Brazil. Ana was recently invited as a Gender Specialist by Data Pop Alliance to support a data research on Domestic Violence in Brazil and also supported Colombia and Mexico on this. She is fluent in Spanish, Portuguese and English.

Stellah is the Co-Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Center for health systems and Gender Africa. She’s an intersectional feminist researcher, policy maker, and executive leader with over 10 years of experience working with Governments, International organizations, Multi-laterals bilaterals, Civil Society groups, grassroots in governance and leadership, social justice, and human rights as well as addressing emerging issues in development from a gendered lens. Her previous leadership positions are Co-Executive Director, UHAI EASHRI, CEO, Kenya Medical Association, Vice Chair, HIV/AIDS Tribunal of Kenya, Board Member of Carolina For Kibera, and National Gay Lesbian Human Rights Commission and currently serves as an advisory Board member of racism in Global Health.