Li Lan, Director of External Relations and Partnerships of the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization (INBAR); Secretary General of China National Innovation Alliance of Bamboo and Rattan Sectors; Initiator, Founder and Secretary General of China Bamboo and Rattan Brand Cluster. She used to serve as Director of Industrial Development Department, Deputy Director of National Research Center of Bamboo and Rattan Engineering Technology, Deputy Director of Research and Education Division and Director of Training Division of the International Center for Bamboo and Rattan (ICBR) of the China National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA). Graduated from the School of Economics & Management of Beijing Forestry University with a master’s degree, Li Lan is titled Senior Engineer. In her career, Li Lan has accumulated rich experiences in the development of bamboo and rattan industries, science and technology promotion and training, targeted poverty alleviation, research management and key laboratory construction. With the sponsorship of the Chinese Government, she had led more than 10 national foreign aid projects and over 80 domestic technical training covering 30 countries and 12 provinces in China, and set up a number of pilot sites in Southwest China. She is a winner of of “Liang Xi Forestry Science and Technology Award”, “National Outstanding Worker in Forestry Science and Technology”, “Outstanding Individual in Forestry Reform” and “National Award for Outstanding Contributions to Ecological Conservation”.
 

Andre Langwost is the President of Eurosolar France, the French division of Eurosolar, the non-profit European Association for Renewable Energies.

He is also a founding partner and CDO (Chief Development Officer) of Climate Capital in Geneva, Switzerland. He is an executive advisor and former Secretary General of ESMC, the European Solar Manufacturing Council, based in Brussels, Belgium. Mr. Langwost is a special advisor to CleanTech Business Club (Abu Dhabi and Paris) and worked 25 years as a business lawyer in France and Germany, specialized in Cleantech: Renewable Energies, Energy Efficiency and sustainable Cleantech start up’s.

Mr. Langwost holds degrees in Law and History from the Universities of Goettingen, Freiburg (Germany), Montpellier (France) and Kraków (Poland), and is admitted to the German bar.

Environmental Economics (PhD.), University of St. Gallen, Switzerland She is a recognised expert in the fields of sustainable finance and sustainable development in the finance sector. Previous publications include: Environmental Business, Sustain Magazine, and FT. She is media savvy and has been asked to guest lecture at universities in France, England, Singapore and the USA. Tauni is an investment banker and has worked in Germany, Switzerland, Singapore, the USA and France for organisations such as JP Morgan and Dresdner Kleinwort Benson on the debt side and in structured finance. She became the first managing director of the DJSGI. She has worked with such organisations as WBCSD, the Global Reporting Initiative, and corporate responsibility and corporate governance ratings, and IMPACT2030. She founded and runs EcoCapital partnership, combining experience in environmental and corporate finance to create a unique solution based business in non-traditional risk assessment and investment impact in investment decisions on the forefront in investment advisement, structuring, and due diligence in climate change, impact investing, social justice and environmental asset project development. Recently she has experience in providing of common sense alternatives to the conventional technology vendors in the primary areas of waste management, renewable energy, water security, food and agriculture, with application to Government policy makers as well as corporate decision makers. She currently is the Sustainability Director at World Wide Generation (WWG). WWG is the technology partner for City of London Corporation and works with the UK Government. https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-tauni-lanier-6465394/

Pär Larshans serves as co-chair at the International Chamber of Commerce’s working group on circular economy as well as in the steering committee for UNEP Global Partnership on Nutrient Management. 

Pär is also part of the company Ragn-Sells, where he has been instrumental in transitioning the company from a traditional linear actor to circular leader. Before Ragn-Sells he began his journey in the food industry, where he championed both ethical and climate initiatives., for that his efforts have earned him international recognition.

Dr Ebenezer Laryea is a Reader (Professor) in Law at Aston University and Project Director for the Fresh Produce Impact Hub (FRESHPPACT), a research and development hub delivering practical solutions to plastic pollution within Ghana’s fresh-produce manufacturing and supply chains.

He also leads the LeatherTrace Bangladesh project, a pioneering initiative developing and piloting a digital e-traceability system which aims help  Bangladesh’s tannery sector meet international environmental and social compliance standards across global value chains.

Ebenezer's research centres on Sustainability and Sustainable Development Law - spanning areas such as plastics, traceability, human rights, climate justice, social impact, net zero, and decarbonisation - where he has produced several research and knowledge exchange outputs.

His most recent work is a researched national policy report that sets out a practical blueprint for Ghana’s transition from conventional plastic products to plastic alternatives and non-plastic substitutes, advancing sustainable industrial practice and trade in sustainable alternatives.

Shontelle Layne is an International Recording Artist and a song writer. One of the first songs Shontelle wrote was “Roll It Gal,” by Alison Hinds. The song became a Global hit. She also went on to co-write “Man Down,” the sixth single lifted from Rihanna’s fifth studio album “LOUD.” As of August 2012, “LOUD” was certified as the fifth biggest selling digital album of all time and Shontelle’s role on “Man Down” awarded her the title as a Grammy nominated songwriter.

She released two well-received albums from Universal Motown, “Shontelligence” (Andrew Frampton, Wayne Wilkins) and “No Gravity” ( Bruno Mars, Pitbull, Rodney Jerkins, R. City, The Dream, Tony Kanal).

She joined Beyonce on her “I Am. Tour” then went on to release Impossible, her biggest single to date and one of the world’s most covered songs to this day.

Ida Le Blanc is the General Secretary of the National Union of Domestic Employees (NUDE). A former 4th Vice President of the National Trade Union Centre (NATUC). At present she sits on the steering committee for Women and Work of the Economic Social and Cultural Rights Network based in New York after elected for a second term.

Ms Le Blanc has served on several National Boards and Triarpitite Committees representing the NATUC and Civil Society. A former member of the Civil Society Advisory Group to UN Women for the Caribbean and an alumnae of the Human Rights Advocate Program at the Columbia University New York. Ms Le Blanc has worked on behalf of domestic workers and low income workers at the National, Regional and International level seeking protection and equity for them using the CEDAW and ILO Convention as tools in seeking the protection they need. Ms. Le Blanc was the first Trade Unionist to bring cases before the Industrial Court of Trinidad and Tobago for violations of the Minimum Wages Order.

She was victorious in leading the campaign, advocating for the decriminalization of the Minimum Wages Act giving unions the right to hear cases of non compliance in the Industrial Court and has spearheaded many victories won on behalf of Low Income Workers in cases of Wrongful Dismissal; Retrenchment; and violations of the Maternity Protection Act and the Minimum Wages Act. Her passion does not lie only with grievance handling and advocacy but with training for low income workers in particular domestic workers.

She has coordinated many programs in collaboration with ILO, UN Women and other agencies to empower domestic workers and other low income workers by training them in grievance handling, negotiation, organizing, recruiting, and raising awareness on their rights and entitlements in the workplace.

Malou Le Graet is working for UNCTAD in Geneva with the trade facilitation team on the Empowerment Programme for National Trade Facilitation Committees. She mainly works with Africa and Central Asia on trade facilitation and gender. Also, she gained extensive experience at the UNCTAD New York office, where she previously worked on the socio-economic impact of Covid-19 and Agenda 2030. 

Malou has the French and Dutch nationality and grew up in Tunisia. In 2019, she graduated from her LL.M in international law at Leiden University and Sciences Po Paris with a focus on African Trade and the Sustainable Development Goals. After her Master, she gained experience at international law firms and worked on trade facilitation and the SDGs for a think tank in Washington. Before joining UNCTAD, she had a position in Humanitarian affairs at the European Commission for the Director-General of Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO). As a member of the UNCTAD Youth Action Hub the Netherlands, Malou is a strong advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals and equality and prosperity for all.