Stéphane Bern is a journalist, writer, TV presenter, radio host, producer and actor.
He is an associate editorialist for Paris Match, as well as the radio host of the program “Historiquement Votre, raconter l’histoire sans se la raconterwith Matthieu Noël on the french radio Europe 1, and a television host, where he comments on major royal events and presents “Secrets d’Histoire” prime-time programs on France Télévisions each year, as well as “Laissez-vous guider”, and “Le Village préféré des Français”… He has published about thirty books including “Sauvons notre patrimoine” (Plon), “Mon Luxembourg” (Flammarion), the collection “Secrets d’Histoire” (Albin Michel) and recently “Un Amour Souverain” co-authored with HRH the Grand Duchess for the benefit of Stand Speak Rise Up.
Since 2013, Stéphane Bern has been involved in the preservation and rehabilitation of the Royal and Military College of Thiron-Gardais (Eure et loir) in the Perche region of France, whose abbey celebrated its 900th anniversary in 2014. After three years of rehabilitation of the building, it opens for the first time in 2016 to the general public the doors of the military and royal college (museum and garden) all summer. The College remains open every summer and year-round upon request.
On the occasion of the 2017 European Heritage Days, Stéphane Bern was given a mission on heritage by the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron. He must identify the rural heritage in danger and find in a second time innovative means of financing to save them. Thanks to his action, more than 130 million euros have been collected and have allowed to save nearly 650 French monuments. His action has led to the creation of the magazine Mission Patrimoine, which honors the men and women who keep it alive.
Founder of the Stéphane Bern Foundation for History and Heritage, hosted by the Institut de France, he awards a History Prize and a Heritage Prize every year.
Chékéba Hachemi : Treasurer - President and Founder, Afghanistan Libre
French-Afghan
Born May 20, 1974 in Kabul, 1 child
Chékéba is the President and Founder of Afghanistan Libre, which advocates for the rights of women and girls in education, rural development, and health. She also co-created ROZ magazine, which caters to Afghan women.
Chékéba was not only the first woman-diplomat of the Afghan transitional government, but also the first Secretary of the Afghan embassy to the European Union. Subsequently, Chékéba was appointed by the government in Kabul to be Special Advisor to the Vice-President. After resigning from her position as Minister-Advisor to President Hamid Karzaï, Chékéba founded Epoke consulting agency as well as CH Consulting; the latter specialising in the implementation of cross-sector social projects. Additionally, the consultancies advocate for women’s opportunities in the business world.
Chékéba has spent her career focusing on gender equity, through projects such as ELLE Active for ELLE magazine. She has penned publications including the best-seller Visage volé, Avoir 20 ans à Kaboul, Pour l’amour de Massoud, L’Insolente de Kaboul, Guide des expertes 2012, 2013 et 2014, and produced the documentary Ma vie de femme d’ailleurs.
Céline Bardet: Founder, We Are NOT Weapons of War
Céline Bardet, is an international lawyer, specialized in war crimes, international crimes, post conflict justice and security who started her career at the ICTY. For almost 20 years, she worked in more than 40 countries from the Balkans to Middle East, Central and East Africa to Asia, called to provide expertise and technical advise for organisations such as the EU, INTERPOL and the UN.
Witnessing the scourge and systematic use of rape as a weapon of war in most conflict and fragile zones in the world, the lack of adequate responses to it, the large impunity and the poor services provided to survivors on the ground, she decided to move forward by founding the non-profit Start Up We Are NOT Weapons Of War (WWoW) in 2014.
Hugues Dewavrin: President of La Guilde du Raid
Hugues Dewavrin, 65 years old.
Head of Company. Was Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Pomona agri-food group (11,000 employees) for 30 years.
President of “The European Guild”, a fifty-year-old French NGO recognized as being of public utility, and Secretary General of the “Screens of Peace”. Hugues intervenes mainly in post-crisis countries to rebuild cultural facilities devastated by wars and intolerance. More specifically in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and the DRC.
Dr. Denis Mukwege: Gynecologist and women’s rights militant, Nobel Prize 2018
Dr. Denis Mukwege is a world-renowned gynaecological surgeon as well as the founder and medical director of Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Since the establishment of Panzi Hospital in 1999, he has become the world’s leading expert on “repairing” the internal physical damage caused by rape. Together with his team, he treated more than 50,000 victims in east Congo.
In 2018 he received the Nobel Peace Prize, together with Yazidi activist Nadia Murad, for his efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict.
Dr. Frédéric Tissot: Lecturer, doctor and former consul general of France (Kurdistan d’Irak)Dr. Frédéric Tissot
A general doctor and then a specialist in public health, Dr Frédéric Tissot has had two different careers: the first as a volunteer doctor in areas of poverty or war (Morocco, Afghanistan, Iran Kurdistan, Congo, Somalia…). Then, after having been charged in 1990 by the Prime Minister’s Office to receive in France several hundreds of Kurdish refugees, victims of chemical bombings in Iraq, he assumed the responsibilities of Director of the Emergency and Monitoring Unit at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then those of Advisor to the Minister of Health in France, in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2005 and in Haiti in 2006. He was the first General Consul of France appointed in Erbil, Kurdistan of Iraq, a position he held from the end of 2007 to September 2012.
He then served as Secretary General of the Regional Conference of Information, Reception and Orientation Services (SIAO), in charge of emergency accommodation in the Ile de France Region.
He is currently a lecturer at the Paris School of International Affairs at Sciencespo.
Founder, Grameen Bank: Professor Muhammad Yunus
Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus is the father of both social business and microcredit, the founder of Grameen Bank, and of more than 50 other companies in Bangladesh. For his constant innovation and enterprise, Fortune Magazine named Professor Yunus in March 2012 as “one of the greatest entrepreneurs of our time.” In 2006, Professor Yunus and Grameen Bank were jointly awarded Nobel Peace Prize. He is the recipient of 60 honorary degrees from universities across 24 countries. He has received 131 awards from 30 countries. He is one of only seven individuals to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom and the United States Congressional Gold Medal.
Pramila Patten: Honorary advisor - Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, United Nations
Under-Secretary-General Pramila Patten was appointed as the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict in April 2017. Prior to this appointment, Ms. Patten served as a member of the Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). She was the Chairperson of the Working Group on General Recommendation No. 30 on “Women in Conflict Prevention, Conflict and Post-Conflict situations; a member of several High-Level Panels; and a Commissioner of the International Commission of Inquiry into the massacre in Guinea Conakry of 2009. A national of Mauritius, she has been a practicing lawyer since 1982.
Céline Bardet, is an international lawyer, specialized in war crimes, international crimes, post conflict justice and security who started her career at the ICTY. For almost 20 years, she worked in more than 40 countries from the Balkans to Middle East, Central and East Africa to Asia, called to provide expertise and technical advise for organisations such as the EU, INTERPOL and the UN.
Dr. Denis Mukwege is a world-renowned gynaecological surgeon as well as the founder and medical director of Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Since the establishment of Panzi Hospital in 1999, he has become the world’s leading expert on “repairing” the internal physical damage caused by rape. Together with his team, he treated more than 50,000 victims in east Congo.
A general doctor and then a specialist in public health, Dr Frédéric Tissot has had two different careers: the first as a volunteer doctor in areas of poverty or war (Morocco, Afghanistan, Iran Kurdistan, Congo, Somalia…). Then, after having been charged in 1990 by the Prime Minister’s Office to receive in France several hundreds of Kurdish refugees, victims of chemical bombings in Iraq, he assumed the responsibilities of Director of the Emergency and Monitoring Unit at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then those of Advisor to the Minister of Health in France, in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2005 and in Haiti in 2006. He was the first General Consul of France appointed in Erbil, Kurdistan of Iraq, a position he held from the end of 2007 to September 2012.
Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus is the father of both social business and microcredit, the founder of Grameen Bank, and of more than 50 other companies in Bangladesh. For his constant innovation and enterprise, Fortune Magazine named Professor Yunus in March 2012 as “one of the greatest entrepreneurs of our time.” In 2006, Professor Yunus and Grameen Bank were jointly awarded Nobel Peace Prize. He is the recipient of 60 honorary degrees from universities across 24 countries. He has received 131 awards from 30 countries. He is one of only seven individuals to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom and the United States Congressional Gold Medal.
Under-Secretary-General Pramila Patten was appointed as the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict in April 2017. Prior to this appointment, Ms. Patten served as a member of the Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). She was the Chairperson of the Working Group on General Recommendation No. 30 on “Women in Conflict Prevention, Conflict and Post-Conflict situations; a member of several High-Level Panels; and a Commissioner of the International Commission of Inquiry into the massacre in Guinea Conakry of 2009. A national of Mauritius, she has been a practicing lawyer since 1982.