Sustainable development in the Euro-Mediterranean – Aligning Covid-19 recovery with the 2030 Agenda

Nabil Al-Sharif is the Executive Director of the Anna Lindh Foundation for Dialogue between Cultures. He was previously Minister of Media Affairs & Government Spokesperson in The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. His extensive background in the public service also extends to the Jordanian Senate, where he was a member of the Upper House of the Parliament, as well as Jordan’s Ambassador to Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal. In addition, he previously worked as Editor-in-Chief of Ad-Dustour Arabic daily newspaper and was also the cultural editor of a local Jordanian daily where he wrote extensively both in Arabic and English on the need for enhancing inter-cultural dialogue.

Nona Deprez is Head of Unit for the Partnership Instrument for the European Commission’s Service for Foreign Policy Instrument (FPI). Alongside her current assignment, Nona Deprez has also been appointed the Equality Coordinator at the Service for Foreign Policy Instrument (FPI). She has previously served on the Election Observations Mission and the Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace at the FPI. Deprez has also experience working with the European External Action Service as she was stationed at the EU Delegation to Indonesia and Benin.

Angelo Riccaboni has dedicated much of his career to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He is a member of the leadership council of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the chair of its Mediterranean division. As chair of the ‘Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area’ (PRIMA) Foundation, Angelo Riccaboni actively contributes to PRIMA’s alignment with the Agenda 2030. Having previously held the position of rector of the University of Sienna, he is currently Professor of Governance and Management at the university.

Prior to her appointment as head of the department for Strategy and Instruments of the European Neighbourhood Policy, Anna Strzaska held a number of positions in the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the European Commission. Her work has encompassed issues such as the European Neighbourhood, Africa and the African Union as well as relations amongst the G8. Before joining the EU institutions, Strzaska served as a diplomat in the Polish Embassy in France, and worked on preparation of Poland’s accession to the EU in the Polish Ministry of Economy.

Prior to joining Friends of Europe, Dharmendra Kanani was director of policy at the European Foundation Centre (EFC). He was the England director at the Big Lottery Fund, the largest independent funder in the UK and fourth largest in the world. Dharmendra has held senior positions in the public and voluntary sectors and advisor to numerous ministerial policy initiatives across the UK.

*Consultant at Friends of Europe.