THE NEXT STEP – CASSANDRA IN INDIA, SOUTH-EAST ASIA AND THE AMERICAS
5th February 2026 | 16.00 to 17.30 CET
Description
The speakers will debate how CASSANDRA is and should be in the future, extending its activities to other global regions. Members of the audience from beyond Europe and Africa will be invited to express their concerns and desires whilst learning how to join the growing family of CASSANDRA Local Climate Forums and Science Embassies.
High-level speakers, together with representatives of existing Local Climate Forums will discuss how to improve the reach and effect of CASSANDRA. The opinion of the audience will be an important component of both this session and all the sessions of CASSANDRA 2026.
Presenter:
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DR. RICHARD ELELMAN, Head of Politics, Eurecat and Leader of Cassandra
Speakers in this session:
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BIKASH RANJAN RAUTRAY, Secretary, ARASMIN
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MARWA DAOUDY, Ph.D. Associate Professor / Seif Ghobash Chair in Arab Studies. Director of Academic Programs, University of Georgetown (USA)
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EKOLLE ELLA, Director, EKCOLAB
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ARIANA ROSSEN, Investigadora senior, Instituto Nacional del Agua
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DR. M. NANDHIVARMAN, Secretary-General, APSCC
Speakers in this session

BIKASH RANJAN RAUTRAY
Secretary, ARASMIN
Born on 16th April’ 1973 in the District of Bhadrak in Odisha State of India. During the early age of my life, I was very fond of helping my friends and persons in distress. I was
also taking leadership in all welfare works and have participated in NCC, NSS and Social movements like Bhuria Committee Rally, Liquor Prohibition Rally, Land Right movement
for the underprivileged Tribal People and strongly influenced by their values and morals. I have also strongly interacted with so many eminent personalities at my College level.
Completed my Study with Master Degree in Political Science from Berhampur University, Master Degree in Rural Development from Sambalpur University and Master Degree in
Legal Law (Specialization in Corporate Law) from Berhampur University. Then, I engaged myself as an Advocate at the Judicial Court, Bhubaneswar for few years. But I
was not satisfied with this profession. Hence, living aside the Advocacy joined the NGO called “ARASMIN”. Since then, I have been working diligently and handling many more
developmental activities of National reputes.

MARWA DAOUDY
Ph.D. Associate Professor / Seif Ghobash Chair in Arab Studies. Director of Academic Programs, University of Georgetown (USA)
Marwa Daoudy is an Associate Professor of International Relations, the Seif Ghobash Chair in Arab Studies and the Director of Academic Programs at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS), Georgetown University. She was a Wilson Global Fellow (2023-2024) and a non-resident scholar (2022-2023) with the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center (Beirut, Lebanon) where she led the climate change, conflict and governance project. She has also collaborated with the UNESCO-World Water Assessment Program (WWAP), the UN-ESCWA (UN Social and Economic Commission for Western Asia, Beirut) and advised the United Nations Development Program (UNDP, Jerusalem) on Palestinian water rights in the Israel-Palestine peace and water negotiations.
Her last book, The Origins of the Syrian Conflict: Climate Change and Human Security (Cambridge University Press, 2020), received the 2020 Harold and Margaret Sprout Prize from the International Studies Association, awarded to the best book in the field of environmental studies. Her forthcoming book, Climate Justice: Rethinking Security and Vulnerability in the Arab World, is under contract with Cambridge University Press. She has published peer-reviewed articles in leading scientific journals, including The Lancet, Global Environmental Politics, International Affairs, WIREs Water, Global Sustainability, GeoForum. She has also contributed to numerous policy outlets, including Foreign Affairs, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Wilson Center New Security Beat.

EKOLLE ELLA
Director, EKCOLAB
Ekolle Eya has over 10 years of experience in water, climate and environmental problem-solving in communities in Africa and around the world. He is the founder of EKCOLAB Organisation. He has trained and mentored over 5000 youths, community members and professionals through his organisation’s training and capacity building for water and environmental education. Ekolle has employed his research and analytical skills to solve problems at the local and global scale by building confident systems in WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene), Water Scarcity and Climate Change, Environmental Pollution Control and Contamination, Community Health Impact and Risk in Zambia, Cameroon, Malawi, Nigeria, Uganda, Europe and beyond by providing data-driven decision-making for their businesses, organisations or governments.
EKCOLAB is a youth-led research-oriented movement across 6 countries in Africa with additional members from the USA, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Australia. They are geared towards an evidence-based approach in solving community problems related to SDG 6, 13, 3, 11, 4, 17.

ARIANA ROSSEN
Senior researcher at the National Water Institute in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Ariana is a biologist, graduated from the Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA). She holds a PhD and a Master’s degree in Biotechnology, both from UBA. She also completed a specialization in Innovation Management in Science and Technology at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
She is a researcher at the National Water Institute in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with 24 years of experience dedicated to the study of water resources.
She is an active member of the International Water Resource Association (IWRA) and currently coordinates the Latin American and Caribbean Chapter and the association’s Science, Technology, and Publications Committee. She is also an active member of the Society of Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology (SETAC) and serves on the SETAC Latin America Scientific Committee. Additionally, she is a member of the Environmental Risk and Toxicology group of ICCAS (Institute for Scientific Cooperation in Environment and Health) and the Women in Water group (the Latin American group of the Community of Women in Water (CWiW)).

DR. M. NANDHIVARMAN
Secretary-General, APSCC
Nandhivarman Muthu, a seasoned Senior Executive with over three decades of experience.
He holds multiple PG degrees in Science & Law, a Ph.D. in Ecology and Environmental Sciences, and Ground Water Resource Management from UNESCO-IHE, Netherlands.
Presently, he holds the positions of Secretary-General in the Association for Promoting Sustainability in Campuses and Communities; Coordinator, Office of Green Campus,
Pondicherry University; and as an Empaneled Arbitrator of Indian Council of Arbitration.
As an environmental futurist, his specialization lies in the interconnections of Water-FoodEnergy-Biodiversity-Upcycling (Climate Change Adaptation).

