The Art of Peace

Dr Winnifred Bedigen is a Lecturer in International Development at the University of Leeds and a leading scholar of African Indigenous Knowledge systems, peacebuilding, and gender in post conflict societies. Her research focuses on indigeneity, decoloniality, and women’s empowerment across South Sudan, the Horn of Africa, and East Africa, grounded in nearly two decades of sustained ethnographic fieldwork.
She is the author of Indigenous Peacebuilding in South Sudan: Delivering Sustainable Peace Through Traditional Institutions, Customs and Practices (Routledge) and co editor of the forthcoming volume Decolonising Research: Indigenous Methodologies in Sub Saharan Africa. Her work has been published in leading journals, including World Development Perspectives, Peacebuilding, the Journal of the British Academy, and the Journal of Peacebuilding & Development.
Dr Bedigen has led and contributed to multiple UK Aid, Research Culture, and ESRC Impact Acceleration–funded projects, as well as community driven development initiatives in Uganda, Sudan, and Ghana, with a particular focus on WASH and context based women’s empowerment. She also collaborates with the Uganda Women Parliamentary Association (UWOPA) on policy briefs addressing sociocultural approaches to reducing structural marginalisation.
She is a Commonwealth Scholarship Adviser and an active member of the Africa Indigenous Knowledge Research Network (AIKRN) and the African Studies Association of the UK (ASAUK). She also serves on the University of Bradford Africa International Conference Steering Committee. At the University of Leeds, Dr Bedigen is a member of the LUCAS Board of Governors and coordinates the Yorkshire African Studies Network.
Her work bridges scholarship, policy, and community action, advancing decolonial and context embedded approaches to peacebuilding and gender justice.

Norbert Darabos was Austrian Minister of Defence from 2007 to 2013 and Burgenland‘s State Councillor for Social Affairs and Health from 2015 - 2019. He was a member of the Austrian Parliament for many years and in his function as Secretary of the Austrian social-democratic party (SPÖ) he led several election campaigns. As a historian, e is currently the site manager at Schlaining Castle. Since 2019 Norbert Darabos has been President of the ACP. (c) Ricardo Herrgott

Hans Peter Doskozil is the governor of Burgenland. Previously, he served as Federal Minister of Defence and Sports. Governor Doskozil's professional career was shaped by his work in the police force and at the Ministry of the Interior. His final appointment was as Provincial Police Director of Burgenland. He studied law at the University of Vienna. (c) Manfred Weis

Ursula Gamauf-Eberhardt is Senior Program Manager for Peace Education and Course Director of the Master's Program "Peace & Life Skills Pedagogy" (ACP/PH). Ursula is also curator of the exhibition "Schlaining & Frieden" (Currently not on display) in Schlaining Castle and member of the UNESCO Advisory Board on Transformative Education. Her thematic focus is on peace education and peacebuilding.

Susanne J. Györög is the Senior Project Manager of the training section of the cooperation programme with the Austrian Federal Ministry of Defence and is in charge of managing the the specialisation courses in the framework of the European Security and Defence College (ESDC). She brings 30 years of experience to the ACP, including some 20 years of field experience in humanitarian aid, post-conflict recovery, security sector reform in complex emergencies as well as peace missions with additional 10 years experience in development and conduct of specialised trainings in the framework of UN and EU peace missions.

Adham Hamed is Head of Research at the ACP. He is a diplomat and peace and conflict researcher and previously served at the German Foreign Office in Berlin, where he worked as Desk Officer for the Protection of Journalists, Media Makers and Free Speech Defenders in Crises and Conflicts.

Anna Hess Sargsyan is currently a research associate with the Geneva Graduate Institute. Over the course of her career as a peace and security expert, Anna has designed and supported several formal and informal peace processes in Eurasia and South Asia. In her most recent capacity as Head of Conflict Resolution at the Austrian Centre for Peace, Anna was leading the team`s work in dialogue and mediation processes across the Middle East, Africa, and Eurasia. Parallel to her practical work, Anna has authored several publications, among others on OSCE mediation and women`s engagement in different peace processes. Currently on a sabbatical, Anna is working on a book project focusing on the impact of geopolitical tensions on the settlement of protracted conflicts, with comparative case studies from Eurasia (Nagorno Karabakh, Ukraine) and the Middle East (Syria).

Bernadette Holzer is a human rights scholar with over 15 years of experience in peace and conflict transformation and development. Her expertise is grounded in strong academic training and long-term practical engagement, including work with international organisations, NGOs, and academia, with a particular focus on capacity development, training, and strategic programme and organisational development. At the ACP, she contributes to strategic development processes, supports programme coherence, and coordinates the Austrian Forum for Peace.

Astrid Holzinger is a Senior Project Manager at the ACP, where she leads the PeaceTech portfolio. In addition, she oversees projects in the areas of environmental peacebuilding, conflict resolution, and capacity-building. She brings more than ten years of experience in multilateral diplomacy, peacebuilding, and crisis management. In both operational and strategic roles, she has worked for the UN, the OSCE, and the EU, as well as for the Austrian Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defence. Her expertise bridges policy development at headquarters level with practical implementation of peace work in conflict and post-conflict settings.

Eva Huber is a political scientist with training in African studies and international law and has more than 15 years of work experience in UN peacekeeping missions, UN agencies, and NGOs. Her previous responsibilities have included strategic and operational functions in politically sensitive (post-)conflict contexts, as well as planning, capacity development, project management, and consulting to support peace processes. Intercultural mediation, Latin America, and canines are her favourite topics. (c) Foto Andi Bruckner

Alaa Ismail is a Sudanese peacebuilder and human rights defender working at the forefront of community-led responses in conflict settings. Her work centers on advancing Peace ,transitional justice, gender equality, and youth leadership, while directly supporting frontline initiatives that sustain communities amid crisis. She is the Founder of the Education for Peace Project , leading efforts that empower youth and strengthen women’s political participation across Sudan. In response to the ongoing conflict, she serves as a Program Coordinator with the People to People Organization and as a Project Coordinator with the Sudan Emergency Response Rooms,one of Sudan’s most impactful grassroots movements where she supports locally driven humanitarian action and community resilience. Alaa is a Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI) RLC East Africa Alumna, a UNDP Youth Leadership Alumna, and a Sudanese Youth Leadership Program (SYLP) Alumna. She is also a UN Youth Fellow and represented Sudan as part of the African United Nations Youth Delegate (AUNYD) Program, contributing to global dialogue on peace, social cohesion, and democratic transition. Bridging grassroots realities with international advocacy, Alaa’s work amplifies marginalized voices and advances locally grounded solutions, positioning her as a leading voice in reimagining peace, justice, and community resilience in Sudan.

Maximilian Lakitsch is a Senior Scientist and Lecturer at the Department of Global Governance (The Foundations of Law) at the University of Graz. He researches and teaches in the fields of peace studies and international relations. Maximilian Lakitsch is particularly interested in critical perspectives on international peace interventions and the integration of environmental and climate aspects into peace practice. His regional focus is on the Middle East and North Africa, especially Syria, Lebanon and Israel-Palestine. (c) Uni Graz

Tobias Lang is Director of the ACP. He studied political science in Vienna and primarily researches religious minorities in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. His also specialises in Austrian foreign policy in the Middle East. As a member of staff in several government offices and Executive Director of the majority faction in the Burgenland state parliament, he gained organisational and management experience at the interface between politics and administration. (c) LMS Stefan Wiesinger

Monika Psenner serves as the Head of Capacity Development at ACP, where she provides strategic and operational oversight of the organization's comprehensive training portfolio. Committed to fostering sustainable peace, Monika actively integrates Environmental Peacebuilding principles into ACP's multifaceted endeavours and advocates for the adoption of the Climate, Environment, Peace, and Security Nexus in both European and global initiatives. She is serving as the ESDC Climate Security configuration’s first chairperson. Monika's academic background encompasses international affairs as well as crisis and contingency management. Bolstered by her professional roots in development cooperation and humanitarian aid, she brings a wealth of experience in intercultural network collaboration, leadership, organizational development, project management, and training to her work.

Oliver P. Richmond is Professor in IR and Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Manchester, UK. He is also International Professor at Dublin City University, Ireland, Distinguished Visiting Professor at EWHA, Seoul, Korea, and Honorary Professor in the School of International Relations, University of St Andrews, Scotland. He is Visiting Professor at Near East Institute, Near Eastern University, Lefkosha, Cyprus. He received a Distinguished Scholar award from the ISA Peace Studies Section in 2019. His publications include The Grand Design: The Evolution of the International Peace Architecture (Oxford University Press, 2022), Peace Formation and Political Order in Conflict Affected Societies (Oxford University Press, 2016) and Failed Statebuilding (Yale University Press, 2014). He is co-editor of the Palgrave book series, Rethinking Peace and Conflict Studies and co-editor of the Journal Peacebuilding.

Sophia Stanger is Senior Project Manager and in charge of the project "Capacity Development for Humanitarian Assistance in West Africa". She is also responsible for the Environmental Peacebuilding sector. Sophia Stanger has many years of experience in NGO work, project management and team leadership, for example in the fields of education, humanitarian advocacy and volunteer missions. Her expertise also lies in the intersection of environment/climate and conflict resolution approaches. Sophia Stanger is also a qualified trainer and has completed a mediation training.

Wolfgang Weilharter is the Project Manager for the project "Communal Peace and Conflict Work in Burgenland". His focus is on the implementation of mediation and dialogue processes on the communal level, in the areas of communal politics, housing and neighbourhoods and local coexistence of people of different origins. (c) Foto Andi Bruckner