Mainstage Speakers
Craig Murray
Craig Murray - Elected by students as rector of Dundee Uni
University of Dundee
As Britain’s outspoken Ambassador to the Central Asian Republic of Uzbekistan, Craig Murray helped expose vicious human rights abuses by the US-funded regime of Islam Karimov.
Craig is now a writer, broadcaster and prominent critic of the war on terror.
He was recently elected by students as Rector of Dundee University and has been outspoken about the university’s poor performance in People & Planet’s Green League 2007.
Craig will be the opening speaker of Shared Planet 2007.
Zoya Phan
Zoya Phan
Zoya Phan, a 26-year-old Karen refugee and inspiring human rights activist, will give first hand testimony of the Burmese regime’s ongoing military offensive against the Karen ethnic people. Twelve years ago, aged just 14 years old, the Burmese army attacked her village, and she and her family were forced to leave their home and country.
As a refugee, she lived on the Thai-Burmese border for many years and spent her teenage life in refugee camps. Now based in London, Zoya is an outspoken campaigner for human rights and democracy for her homeland with the Burma Campaign UK.
Zoya will be the closing speaker of Shared Planet 2007.
Elvis Morris Donkoh
“Under normal circumstances during our daily lives meeting a six year old girl would be a moment where smiles are raised. But the world does not always provide normal circumstances.
On realising this innocent child is HIV-positive we would find it difficult to smile. What about on the discovery that she is alone? She has no help and no support. Her future will come to a premature end with no love, care or attention that every child in the world deserves. How would or should we react to such a discovery?
Not content with being overcome by a sense of tragedy by such an encounter, I cite the experience as the moment I knew I wanted to work in the fight against HIV/AIDS. I have dedicated my career and my life to this cause and worked tirelessly to help serve people in poor communities across Ghana and other African countries.
Growing up in a broken home where I never knew my mother, and neglected by my stepmother, I had a childhood not too dissimilar to those young people I now try to help. Not knowing when my next meal would be, I was able to survive only on the generosity of neighbours and friends. The hardship I have suffered makes my story all the more remarkable, but on my own admission provides me with a source of personal motivation to improve the lives of others.
In 2000, at the age of 17, I established Alliance for Youth Development, which was formally registered as an NGO in 2003 with the aim of developing the Youth and bridging the developmental gap between more endowed communities and the lesser ones. I established the Children’s “Home of Hope” to care for orphans whose parents died from AIDS. I am also the founder of Staying Alive association, an HIV support group which also provide counselling and care to those are who infected and affected by the virus.
As one of the National Trainers on HIV/AIDS, I continue to train nurses, Community Volunteers etc in the provision of home-based care for those who are infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. I also serve as a training consultant on HIV/AIDS to many non-governmental organisations in Ghana.
With my involvement in HIV work I had an award and grant from MTV - Staying Alive Foundation in 2005 and 2006. I was also selected to sit on the Board of MTV - Staying Alive Foundation, of which the Executive Director of UNAIDS, Dr Peter Piot, is also a member.
I am also actively involved in development issues such as Trade, Aid and Debt in Ghana.
I am in the UK to attend the Board meeting of the MTV Staying Alive Foundation and am also taking the opportunity to volunteer with Leicester AIDS Support Services to share information and ideas on HIV/AIDS programmes.”
Yassir Yaghfouri
Yassir has been involved in organisations dealing with human rights and workers rights for more than 12 years. He is international campaigner and social responsibility advisor for the Union Nationale du Travail au Maroc, a Moroccan trade union defending the rights of workers in different fields including the garment industry. He has been developing networks of support in the UK to the benefit of garment workers in Morocco - the victims of unresponsible practices of some suppliers of UK based retailers.
Nazmul Islam Chowdhury
Practical Action, Bangladesh
Nazmul Islam Chowdhury
Devastating floods once again hit Bangladesh this year killing hundreds of people in the region. Climate Change means floods are becoming more frequent and severe endangering millions of lives in the country.
Nazmul Islam Chowdhury works directly with communities who are feeling the impact of climate change. He will speak first-hand about the effect climate change is having and how communities are working to cope with a phenomena fuelled by the lifestyles of rich countries.