Conference Speakers
Bashy Quraishy
Bashy was born in India, but grew up in Pakistan. He is a member of a number of Commissions and Working Groups involved with Human Rights, Ethnic Equality issues and Anti-discrimination work, both in Denmark and abroad.
He is the Chief Editor of 'MidiaWatch', which is a quarterly magazine on media and minorities, Chair of the media monitoring organisation 'Fair Play' and member of the Advisory Council of Danish Human Rights Institute.
At international level, from 2001 - 2007, he was President of ENAR (European Network Against Racism) which is the largest EU network against racism with over 600 member organisations. In Nov 2007, he was appointed Chair of ENAR's Advisory Council. He is also Chair of the European Platform for Jewish Muslim Co-operation, member of the 'Board of Trustees' of the Dutch Foundation ' More colour in the media' and board member of the international foundation 'Education for life' based in Israel. He sat on the EU Commission's High Level Committee on the Social and Labour Market integration of disadvantaged ethnic minorities from 2005-2007.
Since 2006 he has been involved with the Jewish Information Centre in Brussels and the NILE Inter-cultural EU project based in Bonn, Germany as a consultant and contributor to develop a toolkit for inter-faith trainers and media in intercultural societies.
He is a regular contributor to the Danish and European press with essays, chronicles and TV debates as well as lectures on various issues concerning Ethnic Minorities in the EU, Islam in the Western Media, interculturalism, globalisation, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, Racism and Resistance in EU and the dilemma of integration in Europe. At present, he is working on a book dealing with the living conditions of Muslim Communities in Europe.
Philip Watt
Philip Watt is Director of the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism (NCCRI), an expert body funded by the Office for Integration and the European Union to both provide advice and to develop initiatives to address racism and to promote integration. The NCCRI is the national focal point in Ireland for data collection for the EU Fundamental Rights Agency in Vienna; the national focal point on hate crime for the OSCE and is the national coordinating body for EU Year of Intercultural Dialogue, 2008 in Ireland.
Philip Watt is a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin (BA History)) and postgraduate of the University of Ulster (M.Sc Social Policy). He has been seconded twice to the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform- in 1997 to coordinate European Year against Racism and in 2003 to draft the Irish Government's National Action Plan against Racism 2005-2008 'Planning for Diversity'. He was formerly a lecturer in a College of Further Education in Belfast and has recently been involved in providing support for the Government's forthcoming national intercultural education strategy.
Originally from North Belfast and living in Dublin since 1991, he is author/editor of a number of publications on racism and intercultural approaches integration, including 'Responding to Racism in Ireland', (2001) and 'Racism in Northern Ireland', (1991) and in 2007, a research project commissioned by the Centre for Cross Border Studies and the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister in Northern Ireland 'Improving Government Services to Minority Ethnic Groups in Northern Ireland, Ireland and Scotland'. Further information available www.nccri.ie.
Kensika Monshengwo
Kensika Monshengwo was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo and has lived in Belgium, Canada, France, Switzerland, the USA and now Ireland. Kensika holds a postgraduate degree in anthropology from the Sorbonne in Paris and presently works as Training and Resource Officer with the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism.
Kensika has extensive experience in anti-racism awareness raising in Ireland and has undertaken training with various statutory and non-statutory bodies including the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment, the Equality Authority, the Equality Tribunal, the Refugee Appeals Tribunal and a variety of health boards, hospitals and government departments.
Kensika Monshengwo is currently a board member of Calypso Theatre Company; he has been involved in various artistic projects in Ireland including features, shorts and plays.
Dr Ronit Lentin
Dr Lentin is a senior lecturer in Sociology, director of the MPhil in Ethnic and Racial Studies, and founder member of the Trinity Immigration Initiative, Trinity College Dublin. She has published numerous articles on racism in Ireland, gender, and Israel-Palestine. Her recent books include Racism and Anti-racism in Ireland (with Robbie McVeigh, 2002), Women and the Politics of Military Confrontation: Palestinian and Israeli Gendered Narratives of Dislocation (with Nahla Abdo 2002), Re-presenting the Shoah for the 21st Century (2004), After Optimism? Ireland, Globalisation and Racism (with Robbie McVeigh, 2006), Race and State (with Alana Lentin, 2006), Performing Global Networks (with Karen Fricker, 2007) and Thinking Palestine (2008).
Salome Mbugua Henry
Salome is a native of Kenya and has been living in Ireland for the last 14 years. She has over 18 years experience of working with disadvantaged and marginalised groups especially women, children and the youth, in Kenya, Uganda and Ireland. Her background is in social worker and gender equality. Salome is the founder of AkiDwA and currently its national director.
As a consultant she has developed and delivered a range of training programs targeted at both the migrant and indigenous communities in Ireland on topics such as personal and life skills, Equality and Diversity, anti racism and Inter-culturalism.
Salome work is informed by a master's degree in Equality studies and a certificate in women studies from UCD. She is newly appointed into the board of Equality Authority and also serves in the board of Crisis Pregnancy Agency, the Wheel and EAPN Ireland.
Bryan Mukandi
Bryan grew up in Harare, Zimbabwe. In 2005, he graduated from the University of Zimbabwe's medical school and proceeded to do his internship at the United Bulawayo Hospitals. By the time that was done, he had decided that he would rather work towards the improvement of health and social policy than practice hospital medicine.
He moved to Ireland towards the end of 2006 to join his wife who had completed her studies in Dublin. He worked in retail management for a short time. Almost by accident, he then began writing an occasional column for the Irish Times and then later blogging for the newspaper.
He began his postgraduate studies at the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) in early September. He hopes to receive a master's degree in Public Advocacy in the second half of next year.
Zbyszek Zalinksi
Zbyszek Zalinski was born in Lodz, Poland and is a presenter ofSpectrum on RTÉ Radio 1. The programme, which investigates Ireland'sresponse to its changing ethnic and cultural makeup, broadcasts onSaturdays from 6.00 to 7.00pm.
Zbyszek graduated with an MA in International Relations from University of Lodz and in 2004 came to Ireland to pursue a PH.D. inthe Department of Political Science in Trinity College Dublin. He's researching Irish media and political communication.
He is an avid record collector and spends a lot of free timediscovering obscure interviews of Kate Bush on YouTube!
