Migration and Mobility in the Africa-Europe partnership: Leading the way to the AU-EU summit

Alexander Betts is a Professor of Forced and International Affairs at the University of Oxford, where is also the Associate Head of the Social Sciences and a Senior Fellow in Politics at Brasenose College. His research examines the political economy of refugee assistance, with a focus on Africa. Alexander also currently leads the IKEA Foundation-funded Refugee Economies Programme, which undertakes participatory research on the economic lives of refugees in Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia. Prior to this, he served as director of the Refugees Studies Centre. Alexander has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Guardian and is the author of “The Wealth of Refugees: How Displaced People Can Build Economies”, which explores policy solutions for the contemporary global refugee crisis.

Bernard Gustin is a Belgian travel and transportation expert with a keen eye for development of the Africa-Europe partnership. As the former Chief Executive Officer of Brussels Airlines, he was responsible for the airline’s partnership with Lufthansa Group and its entrance into the global Star Alliance airline partnership. Prior to his appointment as CEO, he was a key figure in the initial launch of the SN Brussels Airlines in 2001 and worked on its successful merger with Virgin Express. Gustin has also served as Chairman of the Association of European Airlines and a board member of Medicins Sans Frontieres.

Following his party’s landslide victory, Kyriakos Mitsotakis became Prime Minister of Greece in 2019. Prior to this, he served as a member of the Greek Parliament’s Trade and Development, Defence and Foreign Affairs and European Affairs committees. Kyriakos is also a passionate writer for leading Greek newspapers on issues ranging from foreign policy to economic affairs. Before starting his political career, he spent a decade working in the private banking sector.

Yasmine Ouirhrane is the co-founder of We Belong, a platform and podcast that amplifies the voice of the New Daughters of Europe. She also served as an appointed expert for the European Union and the African Union and she delivered dozens of recommendations to international institutions, including the World Bank, Foreign Affairs Canada and Wilton Park UK Foreign Office. She provided workshops on access to education, equal opportunities and social entrepreneurship for Tony Blair Institute, Change.org, EM Business School and WISE Qatar, among others. She was recognised Young European of the Year 2019 by the Schwarzkopf Foundation, EDD Young Leader by the European Commission, Women Deliver Young Leader and she is a member of the Gender Innovation Agora at UN Women.