Biographies of Participants Annual Colloquium on Fundamental Rights "Tolerance and respect: preventing and combating antisemitic and anti-Muslim hatred in Europe" 01-02 October 2015 Justice and Consumers Please note that the biographies were sent by the participants. ABBAS RAZAWI Syed Ali Sayed Ali Abbas Razawi is an international scholar, with training in Islamic Sciences and degrees in History, Comparative Philosophy and Law. Sayed chairs the external-policy wiFreappng of the Shi'a Council of Scholars Europe, an umbrella organisation for European Shi'a Muslims. He also advises on policy regarding religion, integration and counter-terrorism. He was one of the cross-denominational Imams leading a 2014 media campaign against ISIS, publicised on 350+ media outlets worldwide. He is a trustee of the Maimonides Interfaith Foundation, a representative on the National Council for Imams and Rabbis, a core member of the Global Covenant of Religions, a committee member in promoting the UN International Day of Peace, a founder of the Muslim Forum in the British Armed Forces, the Director General of the Scottish Ahlul Bayt Society and faculty member for the Cambridge Coexist Leadership Programme. ABTAN Benjamin Benjamin Abtan is the founder and president of EGAM – The European Grassroots Antiracist Movement. He has been very involved in civil society activism, in particular as Member of the Board of SOS Racisme, President of the French Union of Jewish Students (UEJF) or Co-founder of the "Darfur Urgency" coalition. In the last years, he has acted as political advisor to former French Minister of Foreign Affairs Bernard Kouchner and to the current French Minister of Justice Christiane Taubira. In addition, he has been engaged in consulting activities for international public or private organizations, such as the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations or luxury brands. He graduated from Telecom Paris Engineering School and ESSEC Business School. ADAMO Chiara Chiara Adamo is the head of the "Fundamental Rights and Rights of the Child" unit in the European Commission, DG Justice, since June 2014. The unit oversees respect and promotion of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights in all EU measures. Particular attention is also devoted to the EU policy against racism, xenophobia and all other forms of intolerance, the dialogue with religions and non-confessional organisations and the promotion of the rights of the child within the EU. Between 2009 and May 2014, Chiara Adamo worked as head of the "Union Citizenship and Free Movement" Unit in DG Justice. She studied International and Diplomatic Relations in Gorizia, Italy, and in Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium. She specialised in European Law in Rome (ISTUD) and in European Political and Administrative Studies at the College of Europe, Bruges. Since joining the Commission, in 2000, she has been working in the Justice and Home Affairs area. Before joining the Commission, she has been working for civil society organisations and local administrations on cooperation developments, human rights and immigration issues and wrote several publications in these areas. ARPELS LEZER Marcus Max Arpels Lezer, born in 1936, spent the WW2-years in hiding with a family in the province of Friesland. He is the only survivor of his maternal family. The last 25 years of his career he was employed by the Netherlands Credit Insurance Comp.N.V. as manager of domestic and foreign debts recovery dept. He is still active in the following social groups: 1996: Chairman “The Hidden Child Association of the Netherlands”, 1997-2014: Vice-President World Federation Jewish Child Survivors o.t. Holocaust”. 2005: President ”European Association Jewish Survivors o.t. Holocaust”. 2007: Member Board of Directors ”Claims Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany,” inc. 2014: Executive Vice President World Federation Jewish Child Survivors o.t. Holocaust”. 2007: Arpels Lezer was granted a knighthood in the order of Oranje-Nassou by Queen Beatrix. ASADI Shams Shams Asadi is the Human Rights Commissioner of the City of Vienna. She has graduated in architecture and urban planning and has many years of practical experiences. European and international cooperations are a central focus of Asadi’s career. ASMUSSEN Dan Dan Rosenberg Asmussen, Chairman of the Jewish Community in Denmark since May 2014. Board member 2013-2014. Board of delegates 2011-2013. Civilian profession: Deputy CEO, Association of Danish Pharmacies BAKER Andrew Rabbi Andrew Baker is Director of International Jewish Affairs for the American Jewish Committee (AJC). In 2009, he was appointed Personal Representative of the OSCE Chair-in-Office on Combating Anti-Semitism and continues to serve in this position. He is an officer of the Jewish Claims Conference and has served on restitution and historical commissions in the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia. In recognition of his work in Europe he was decorated by the Presidents of Germany, Lithuania, Latvia and Romania. He is a past President of the Interfaith Conference of Washington, a former Commissioner of the District of Columbia Human Rights Commission, a past President of the Washington Board of Rabbis and a former chaplain at San Quentin Prison. BARASZ Johanna PhD in History, Johanna Barasz worked as a high school teacher in the Paris area for a few years, before entering the cabinet of the French Minister of Education, Vincent Peillon 2012-2014), where she was in charge of “societal issues” (equality policies, education in underprivileged zones, secularism, moral and civic education, collective memory…). Johanna Barasz joined the “DILCRA” (Délégation interministérielle à la lutte contre le racisme et l’antisémitisme) in january 2015 as Advisor for education matters. BATISTA João Diplomat from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Portugal, currently at the Portuguese Permanent Representation to the European Union, following Human Rights, Middle East and the Gulf and United Nations. Degree in European Studies by the Universidade Moderna, Lisbon, where he took a teaching position as university assistant before joining the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Postings at the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mexico. Assumed a position as Head of Division for South America and the Caribbean at the MFA before being posted at Buenos Aires. BAUSSAND Pierre Pierre Baussand is the Director of Social Platform, the largest civil society alliance fighting for social justice and participatory democracy in Europe. Social Platform is committed to the advancement of the principles of equality, solidarity and non-discrimination. Fundamental rights have been at the core of Social Platform’s work since its establishment in 1995, and it is currently pushing for comprehensive EU equal treatment legislation and extended EU legislation to combat all forms of bias violence through criminal law.Prior to joining Social Platform, Mr Baussand worked on human rights for the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the European Disability Forum, and in the Middle East conducting field research on human rights and migration. BENTOW Mette I am married and have 3 children age 14, 13, and 8. All children attend the Jewish school. I have been an active member of the Danish Jewish community in the past 16 years. My family were celebrating my daughter Hannah’s Bat Mizvah on 14 February 2015 at the Copenhagen synagogue, when terrorist attacked the synagogue. The Jewish security guard Dan Uzan z’l was killed, while protecting the entrance and two police officers were wounded. Meanwhile we and the remaining 44 guest, most of them children, were in hiding in a safe-room and evacuated after 3 hours. BOTONJIĆ Nermin Nermin Botonjic - Secretary of Meshihat of Islamic Community in Croatia and Head of Mufti Cabinet in Croatia. Born in Pula (Croatia) in 1985. Education: Medresa “dr. Ahmed Smajlović” Zagreb, Faculty of Islamic studies in Sarajevo, Master's degree in Democracy and Human Rights, Center for interdisciplinary postgraduate studies of University of Sarajevo. Editor of the “Minber” - official magazine of Islamic Community in Croatia, research/teaching Assistant on the Faculty of Philosophy of the Society of Jesus (Zagreb), involved in education courses (about Islam) of Croatian soldiers participating in NATO peacekeeping/building missions. Regularly participating in round tables, symposiums and interreligious dialogue process (The world Conference of Religions for peace, The spirit of Assisi). BRADEN-GOLAY Jane Jane Braden-Golay is originally from Schaffhausen, Switzerland, and studied Religious Studies, Public Law and Education at the University of Zurich. She was elected vice president of the European Union of Jewish Students and served for four years in that position. From January 2014 to September 2015, she was the president of the organization and based in Brussels, Belgium. Her intercultural activism includes the international Muslim Jewish Conference and “Europe of Diasporas”, a project bringing together Jewish, Roma and Armenian activists. She will begin graduate studies at the University of Cambridge in the fall of 2015, working on educational methods for prevention of extremism. BUTLER Israel Israel Butler is an independent researcher and analyst on human rights and EU affairs. From 2012-2015 he was senior policy analyst on fundamental rights, justice and home affairs at the Open Society European Policy Institute in Brussels. Prior to this, he worked for three years at the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights