I am 66 years old and have been working full time since I matriculated at 16 years, studying mostly part-time or by correspondence. I have studied politics (M.A.); Library Science (diploma); and adult workplace learning (certificate).

I am an autodidact and have a lasting love, respect and allegiance for informal learning spaces, individual and group, specifically public libraries (and more recently, online resources) and the learning which occurs in social, cultural and workplace associations. I worked as a public librarian for the first decade and a half of my working life. I developed an internal training programme for rural and urban librarians, ran a youth drama group and became the trade union representative for the amenities and cemeteries sector of the municipal union.

I began working at the Trade Union Library in 1990, later to merge with the Labour Research Service in 1999, and spent the next 20 years doing information provision, research and education for trade unions and developing programmes, projects and publications.

I joined the IFWEA Executive Committee in 1996 and was elected General Secretary of IFWEA at the 20th General Conference held in Ahmedabad, India in 2007. I stood again for election at the 2011, 2015 and 2019 General Conferences. I will stand down at the upcoming General Conference in 2023 and commence my retirement.

I have loved every moment of my work for the IFWEA.

Susan J. Schurman is Distinguished Professor of Labor Studies and Employment Relations in the School of Management and Labor Relations at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey and a former Dean of the School. She also served as Dean of the Rutgers New Brunswick University College Community from 2008-2016. From 1997-2007 she served as the founding president of the National Labor College – one of the first non-profit higher education institutions in the US specifically designed to create a clear degree pathway between non-collegiate postsecondary education and training such as apprenticeship. She received B.A. and M.A. degrees from Michigan State University and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, where she served as Director of the Labor Studies Center and Research Investigator in the School of Public Health. She is a past president of the United Association for Labor Education, a former board member of the Labor and Employment Research Association and has served as president of the International Federation of Workers’ Education Associations since 2007. She has served on numerous non-profit boards and government commissions. Her research and teaching focus on labor union effectiveness and leadership education as well as constructive labor-management relations. She is also an expert on workplace safety and health – especially on the effects of occupational stress on physical and mental health. She has long been an advocate for lifelong learning for adults.

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Since 2020, Mikael Leyi is the Secretary General of SOLIDAR, a European and global network of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) working to advance social justice through a just transition in Europe and worldwide.

Prior to SOLIDAR, Mikael Leyi worked as part of the labour movement in Sweden for fifteen years, in the field of international development cooperation and youth projects, in various roles.

Academically, Mikael Leyi is a Political Scientist, with a vast professional background both in competences and geographically speaking he has worked in the 5 continents with European and international organisations of the trade union and popular education movements, as well as the institutions of the EU, OSCE and the UN. Developing an in-depth knowledge of the labour movement’s various organisations, political priorities, and activities, and the experiences of democratisation, industrialisation and welfare expansion in Sweden, Europe and internationally.

Born in 1972, Isabelle Palanchon is holder of a state degree in youth work and social development, master1 Social Economy Company Management.

She is involved in CEMEA since 2001 on projects in the field of education, social intervention, and community development. Responsible of the international department in a regional unit of CEMEA till 2013, she is now deputy director at CEMEA France, in charge of the international department.
She coordinates international projects linked with recognition on non-formal education, intercultural dialogue and capacity building of civil society. She leads a national working-group concerning the recognition of social competences and non-formal learning developed in European mobility in vocational training.

In Solidar, she is involved as chairwoman of Education pillar since 2018 and actively participates in Solidar Foundation. Moreover, she is the coordinator of the European zone of FICEMEA (International Federation of CEMEA). Her work focuses on three main issues : the recognition of non-formal education/ non formal and informal learnings, alternative social practices for empowerment and global citizenship education.

Sibonokuhle Buhlungu is the current serving Executive Director for the Feminist Movement Whispers Zimbabwe. Under her leadership the organisation has achieved various commendable milestones in the Zimbabwean Civil Society space. Whispers advocates for a governance system that is inclusive of young women and Sibonokuhle has guided the organisation in a manner that has mobilised young women in all ten provinces of the country. This organisation has yielded positive results in the grooming of other young leaders like the former child president of Zimbabwe and the current envoy to the Chairperson of the African Union.

Sibonokuhle is also one of the youngest women fighting for the end of violence against women and girls not only in Zimbabwe but the entire region and continent. Her advocacy work on issues of child marriages, violence against women and girls cannot be ignored. The impact of Sibonokuhle’ s work has has gained a global audience which has been endorsed by the United Nations Zimbabwe, United Nations Women Sweden and various other international organisations.

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Nthatisi Mota (she/her) is a dedicated member of Yoh Vote, a pioneering political matchmaking platform that empowers and educates South African youth about the political landscape. As an information curator at Yoh Vote, Nthatisi translates complex political messaging from party manifestos into accessible, digestible formats, with a primary mission to facilitate youth political engagement and voter registration.

In parallel to her engagement with Yoh Vote, Nthatisi is a master’s student at the University of Stellenbosch, specializing in Economics. Her academic journey has been shaped by a particular interest in development and behavioural economics, which she aims to delve into deeper through her research. Her master’s thesis aims to empirically investigate the determinants of motivation among South African teachers. With a particular emphasis on the decision to leave teaching motivated by comparisons with the statuses of other occupations.

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