Steering Group

Maryan Abdulkarim works in the intersections of media and culture and is interested in freedom.

Peter Arvai is a lecturer at the Budapest Business School (Budapesti Gazdasagi Egyetem) and the vice president of the Sim Shalom Progressive Jewish Congregation. From 2010 to 2014, he served as a member of the Budapest 5th District Local Government.

Maria Atanasova is a Romani activist focusing on justice, equality and antigypsyism across Europe. Maria is pursuing an MA in Political Science at Central
European University. Maria holds a BA in Midwifery, and previously worked as a volunteer and social worker in Bulgaria

Chafika Attalai holds a degree in communication and international relations. Chafika is engaged in the fight against Islamophobia through the Collective Against Islamophobia (CCIF) in France. She works on European advocacy, strategy building, action plan and networking.

Omar Ba is a historian, publicist, and a leading voice on racial and social justice in Belgium with 20 years of experience in the field. He has been involved in the founding of organisations and networks in Belgium, as well as at the EU and global level. He was also the co-founder of ENPAD and the Belgian coordinator of ENAR.

Esther Mamadou Blanco is a human rights defender and expert in forced migration. She is currently the coordinator of the Refugee Programme at Movimiento Por La Paz-MPDL in Valencia. Her experience in the fight against Anti-Black racism includes working in the UK, North Africa, and in Ecuador where she worked with Afro-Colombian refugee women until 2016. As a member of the implementation team of the International Decade for People of African Descent 2015-2024 in Spain, she provides support to efforts addressing structural and institutional racism against Africans in the diaspora.

Dinah Bons is a French/Dutch LGBTQI+ /Trans lobbyist, HIV and AIDS and sex work activist, as well as a former politician and duo chair for the black and people of colour trans organization, Trans United Europe. She is an operational board member at the International Committee on the Rights of Sex Workers Europe (ICRSE). She is a member of the H TEAM which brings together organizations involved in the prevention and treatment of HIV in Amsterdam.

Myriam Douo is a social justice activist with a degree in law and languages. Myriam currently works at an NGO fighting for climate justice.

Saraya Gomis works in victim protection and assistance. Saraya’s work as a teacher inspired her to volunteer for social and racial justice organisations. For three years, Saraya worked as an anti-discrimination commissioner for schools in Berlin.

Anass Hanafi is the founder and president of the Italian Inclusion Leaders Network (NILI), and an LL.M. student at the University of Turin and the University of Freiburg. He is a fellow of the Transatlantic Inclusion Leaders Network by the German Marshall Fund, and a member of Global Shapers Turin Hub by the World Economic Forum.

Vladimir Horvath is a lawyer and human rights activist, currently working as coordinator of the Strengthening Inter-Ethnic Political Discourse and Minority Inclusion program at the National Democratic Institute. He started his career at an international business law firm and moved on to work as an intellectual property lawyer in a bank. After this corporate experience, he worked as an intern at the European Commission’s Non-Discrimination and Roma Coordination Unit, an MP advisor, and joined the expert working group on Slovakia’s National Strategy for Human Rights Protection.

Dounia Jari is an activist, specialized in the field of sexual diversity. She is a dynamic advocate for LGBTI Muslims in the Netherlands and abroad, where she has been involved in the startup of the European Queer Muslim Network. As the co-founder and chairperson of Maruf, she is dedicated to advocating for a society where the power of diversity and intersectionality is valued. As a trainer, manager, and journalist with a passion for music and an unconditional love for (riding) motorcycles, her power source is her diverse identity.

Baila Ba Mamadou is an activist with 20 years of experience in community organising, as well as in publishing and research on immigration, diversity and racism. He is a member of the Working Group for Census 2021. He was a member of the Permanent Board of the National Commission for Equality and Against Racial Discrimination in Portugal (2015-2019).

Bulelani Mfaco Growing up in the apartheid ghetto of Khayelitsha in Cape Town, Bulelani Mfaco became involved in protests for adequate housing and access to land with Abahlali BaseMjondolo, health care in the Khayelitsha Health Forum, and improved policing in neighbourhood watches at an early age. In 2017, he claimed asylum, seeking protection from violence and targeted killings of LGBTQ+ people. He is one of the spokespersons for the Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI).

Adla is a journalist with a BA in Media and Cultural Studies and an MA in New Media Technologies. With more than 20 years experience in issues of migration, the fight against racism and xenophobia at national and European level she was representing the countries of Southern Europe in the Board of the European Network Against Racism and Xenophobia (ENAR). She is a member of the Sudanese Community in Greece and the director of the Greek Forum of Migrant’s office.