Jamila Afghani is a feminist and an activist for women’s rights and education in Afghanistan. She is the founder and executive director of Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organization (NECDO). She is heading the Afghan branches of the International Women’s League for Peace and Freedom She is also an executive member of the umbrella organization, Afghan Women’s Network (AWN). She was part of the non-governmental delegation selected to meet Taliban negotiators in Doha in June 2019.

Mujib Mashal is The New York Times senior correspondent in Afghanistan. Before joining the paper, he wrote for magazines such as The Atlantic, Harper’s, Time and others.
He began his journalism career as an intern with The Times’s bureau in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2010, before moving on to work for Al Jazeera English in Doha and then pursue magazine writing. He returned to The Times as a senior correspondent in October 2016. Born in Kabul, he received a degree in history from Columbia University.

Thomas Ruttig is co-director and co-founder of the Afghanistan Analysts Network. He has a degree in Asian Studies (Afghan Studies) from Humboldt University, Berlin (Germany), a background of 12 years (1989-2000) work as a foreign news editor and free-lance journalist specialising on Afghan, Central Asian and development affairs and has spent altogether some 13 years working in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Ashley Jackson is a researcher, consultant and writer focused on conflict mediation and understanding armed groups.  She is currently a Research Associate at the Overseas Development Institute and a doctoral candidate in War Studies at King’s College London.  She has conducted dialogue with and researched 27 armed factions across 13 countries, including research with the Afghan Taliban, Al-Shabaab, various Syrian factions, Hamas and others.  She is currently based in Afghanistan, conducting doctoral research on how the Taliban governs and provides basic services, such as healthcare and education, in the areas it controls. She has been widely quoted in the media, including Foreign Policy, Al Jazeera and the New York Times, and was named a Foreign Policy Interrupted Fellow.

Hadi Marafat is the Executive Director of the Afghan Center for Memory and Dialouge. He holds a degree in Political Science and International Relations from London’s School of Economics and Political Science. He has worked as a human rights defender with various national and international organisations, including Safe the Children, the Joint Electoral Management office, United Nations Human Rights Department, the Human Rights Watch and Centre for Civilian in Warfare. He is currently in Geneva as a representative of the Afghanistan transitional justice group to the International Criminal Court.

Emran Feroz is an independent journalist and the founder of Drone Memorial, a virtual memorial for civilian drone strike victims. His work has appeared with The New York Times, Al Jazeera, The Atlantic, The Hindu, Alternet and several other media outlets. He is also a regular contributor to German-language newspapers and magazines. His upcoming book on drone warfare will be released in Germany in the fall.

Sonia Ahmadi is an Afghan-Norwegian activist who works for afghan children’s rights to education and Afghan women’s rights. She currently works as a research adviser at NTNU. As part of her activism, she lectures at various events about the plight of women and children in Afghanistan.
She shares her own life story and experiences in her lectures. She is active in two non-profit organizations; Brighter Tomorrow and Bridges for Peace, both are concerned about the Afghan children’s education. Sonia holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from NTNU and a master’s degree in entrepreneurship and technology management from NTNU’s School of Entrepreneurship.

Hasina Shirzad is an afghan journalist living in Oslo, Norway. She holds a Bachelor from the University of Kabul. She has worked as a communications advisor for Afghanistan’s electoral committee, with UNESCO in Kabul, and the Afghan journalism team and for Khurshid-TV.
After she was injured by a car bomb, she left Afghanistan for Norway in 2015. In Norway she has worked with Dagbladet, NOAS and Journalism Media International Centre. She has written for The Guardian, Aftenposten and Dagbladet, and is engaged in Norwegian and international media. She is studying for a Master of Journalism at Oslo Metropolitan University.