Assoc. Prof. Dr. Milena Angelova is the Secretary General of AICB, a member of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) since 2007 and its Vice-Chair for the period 2018-2020. She has been Vice-Chair of SGI Europe since 2011 at the Economic Institute of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Assoc. Angelova has a number of specializations in prestigious European universities, Research Fellow 1st degree. She is a speaker on a number of topics, including policies to support small and medium-sized enterprises, investment of European structural and investment funds, combating the informal economy and undeclared work, corporate social responsibility, capital markets, the future of work, etc. He has been a member of ESC since 2006 and former chairman of the Committee on Macroeconomics, Budget and Finance of ESC.

Walter Kasempa works on migration and governance policy, with a focus on Africa and the African diaspora. He is the AU–IOM Migration Youth Ambassador for Southern Africa and a Global Youth Changemaker with IOM. He is the author of Borders to Bridges: Migration and the Dream of African Unity and regularly contributes to policy discussions on migration, Pan-Africanism, and inclusive governance. He is currently completing a Master’s degree in Human Rights, Governance and Development.

Ioannis VARDAKASTANIS is the President of the European Disability Forum (EDF), the umbrella organization representing the interests of persons with disabilities at the European level. He also serves as President of the National Confederation of Disabled People of Greece (N.C.D.P.), the leading organization of the Greek disability movement.

Born in 1957 on the Greek island of Zakynthos, Mr. Vardakastanis has dedicated his life to human rights advocacy, making significant contributions at national, European, and international levels. Since 2010, he has been a member of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), representing the N.C.D.P. in Group III. He currently serves as Vice-President of the Section for Economic and Monetary Union and Economic and Social Cohesion (ECO), one of the six specialized sections of the EESC, and as Co-Chair of the EU-Turkey Civil Society Joint Consultative Committee of the EESC. In Greece, he is also a member of the Economic and Social Council, the National Commission for Human Rights, and the National Accessibility Authority, through which he actively advocates for the rights and interests of Greek citizens with disabilities.

Kareem Hassan is an international impact-programme leader and innovation strategist with 15+ years’ experience designing and delivering sustainability and entrepreneurship initiatives across 20+ countries. He is Executive Director of the UN-ESCWA Technology Centre, leading a USD 15M+ international portfolio across 22 countries, including the Arab SMEs Summit, DEPAR (a regional digital enabling platform), and the ICC–ESCWA Centre of Entrepreneurship (with the International Chamber of Commerce), alongside multiple programmes and projects. He has mobilised USD 630M+ for SMEs and built 600+ cross-sector partnerships spanning governments, development banks, foundations, and the private sector.