Patrick Paul Walsh
Moderator — Ireland / Europe
- Professor of Global Affairs and Sustainable Futures, University College Dublin
- Director, UCD M.Sc. in Sustainable Development
Patrick Paul Walsh is Professor of Global Affairs and Sustainable Futures at
University College Dublin and Director of the UCD M.Sc. in Sustainable
Development, delivered with the SDG Academy. He is a member of the Leadership
team of SDSN All Ireland.
He is a former President and current Vice President of the Statistical and
Social Inquiry Society of Ireland (SSISI), where stakeholder meetings focus on
evidence-based public policy. He holds a PhD in Economics from LSE and has held
roles at Trinity College Dublin, KU Leuven, Harvard, Columbia, SDSN, the UN,
European Commission, IMF and World Bank.
Vuk Jeremić
Europe — Serbia
- Former President of the United Nations General Assembly
- Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia
- President, Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development (CIRSD)
Vuk Jeremić served as President of the 67th Session of the United
Nations General Assembly and as Serbia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs
from 2007 to 2012. During his tenure as Foreign Minister, he represented
Serbia extensively at the United Nations and in international diplomatic
forums around the world.
In 2016, Jeremić was an official candidate for Secretary-General of
the United Nations, finishing second after six rounds of Security Council
voting. He is currently President of the Center for International Relations
and Sustainable Development (CIRSD) and Editor-in-Chief of Horizons –
Journal of International Relations and Sustainable Development.
Antonio de Aguiar Patriota
Latin America — Brazil
- Ambassador of Brazil to the United Kingdom
- Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil
Antonio de Aguiar Patriota is the Ambassador of Brazil to the United
Kingdom and one of Brazil’s most experienced senior diplomats. He
served as Brazil’s Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2011 to 2013 and
subsequently as Brazil’s Permanent Representative to the United
Nations in New York.
His diplomatic career has also included service as Ambassador to the United
States, Italy and Egypt, as well as senior positions within Brazil’s
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His extensive experience at the United Nations
and across multiple major capitals gives him a particularly valuable
perspective on multilateral diplomacy, major-power relations and the
selection of the next UN Secretary-General.
Richard Gowan
UN & Multilateral Affairs — New York
- Program Director, Global Issues and Institutions, International Crisis Group
Richard Gowan is Program Director for Global Issues and Institutions at the
International Crisis Group and one of the leading analysts of the United
Nations and multilateral diplomacy. He previously served as Crisis
Group’s UN Director, overseeing its engagement with diplomats and UN
officials in New York.
Gowan has worked with the European Council on Foreign Relations, New York
University’s Center on International Cooperation and the Foreign
Policy Centre in London. He has taught at Columbia University’s
School of International and Public Affairs and Stanford in New York and has
advised organizations and governments on UN political affairs, peace and
security, migration and multilateral diplomacy.
Igor Yurgens
Russia & Eurasia
- Director, MGIMO Centre for Sustainable Development and ESG Transformation
Igor Yurgens is Director of the Centre for Sustainable Development and ESG
Transformation at MGIMO University in Moscow. An economist and prominent
Russian policy expert, he has held senior roles spanning international
affairs, business, finance and public policy.
Yurgens is also Chairman of the Board of Directors of Rating Agency Expert
RA, a member of the Management Board of the Russian Union of Industrialists
and Entrepreneurs, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Russian
International Affairs Council, and participates in international policy
institutions including the International Institute for Strategic Studies and
the Centre for European Reform. Earlier in his career, he worked with
UNESCO’s Directorate for External Relations and Cooperation.
Dr. Jean Narcisse Djaha
Africa — Côte d’Ivoire
- Chair, Reform UN Forum 2026
- President & Global Executive Chair, African Council on Foreign Relations
Dr. Jean Narcisse Djaha is an Ivorian international relations scholar,
strategic advisor and leader of the African Council on Foreign Relations
(ACFR), an organization focused on strengthening Africa’s voice in
global diplomacy and international decision-making.
His work spans international strategy, diplomacy, global governance and
technology policy, with a particular focus on strengthening African
participation in the institutions shaping the international system. Through
ACFR, he leads and supports initiatives connecting African policymakers,
scholars and institutions with counterparts across Europe, Latin America,
the Middle East and the wider international community. He also serves as
Chair of Reform UN Forum 2026.
David Gorodyansky
Host — Geneva
- Founder & Chairman, TheDiplomat.AI
David is the founder and chair of TheDiplomat AI, a Swiss non-profit
initiative focused on using AI for diplomacy. Previously David was the
co-founder and CEO of AnchorFree. David built AnchorFree into a global
leader in consumer privacy with more than 650 million user downloads
globally. AnchorFree played a role in some of the world’s most
important events protecting millions of people from security and privacy
breaches.
AnchorFree was selected by Forbes among America’s Most Promising
Companies and among the Most Important Security Start-ups by Business
Insider. FastCompany named AnchorFree as the world’s most
innovative security company. David raised $63M from Goldman Sachs and
other investors, before selling the Company for $310M. David has been
profiled among America’s Most Promising CEOs by Forbes, profiled
by Fortune and the New York Times, awarded the Ernst & Young
Entrepreneur of the Year Award and named one of the 100 Most Intriguing
Entrepreneurs by Goldman Sachs.
