Michael Watkins is Director and Lead Programmer at AnimeKon Design Group, where he designs video games and platforms. He has been creating video games since the 1980s and also teaches Animation and Game Design at the CAPE level. 

Michael is mixed media professional. An industry expert for over 25 years, he had held project leads ranging from photography, lighting, sound, editing, special effects, animation and creating software and graphics to run live TV shows.

He has worked on projects for the United Nations, PAHO/WHO, Britain and Ireland’s next Top Model and the Barbados Lottery. 

Russell Watson is a lecturer in Film in the Faculty of Culture Creative and Performing Arts at UWI Cave Hill Campus

He works is a multimedia visual artist and educator. As a media professional, he has led a multimedia production studio since 2010 that offers photography, graphic design, video production and digital projection services to a broad spectrum of commercial clients.

His work in experimental and conceptual media explores the synergy between digital imaging and live performance as a way to challenge and expand the conventional audience relationships of cinema and theatre.

Steve leads Aviva Investors' Global Responsible Investment team, which is responsible for integrating environmental social and corporate governance (ESG) issues across all asset classes and regions of c£320bn of assets under management. The team has achieved an A+ ranking in governance and strategy from the UN Principles for Responsible Investment; and a Tier 1 assessment for Stewardship from the UK Financial Reporting Council (the UK's independent regulator responsible for promoting high quality corporate governance and reporting). Steve has recently been appointed to the European Commission High-Level Expert Group on sustainable finance and is also a member of the Financial Stability Board Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosure. Steve co-founded and now Chairs the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark. He also co-founded the Sustainable Stock Exchange initiative as well as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Coalition, which is aiming to catalyse a UN Convention promoting enhanced corporate transparency and integrated reporting. He is also an Ambassador for the International Integrated Reporting Council. He was a member of the UK Government delegation to the UN Rio+20 meeting in 2012, and a member of the European Commission's expert groups on corporate governance and corporate responsibility. His work became a case study in the Harvard Business School MBA in 2012. Steve has received the Leadership in Sustainability award from the Corporation of London and the British Chamber of Commerce. In 2011 he received the Yale Rising Star in Corporate Governance Award, and he was among the Financial News Top 100 Rising Stars in 2009. Steve was on the board of the UK Sustainable Investment & Finance association (UKSIF) from 2003 to 2010, serving as its Chairman from 2006. He was also part of the expert group that wrote the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment. Steve is a member of the Chartered Financial Analyst institute, with a degree in Economics and a PhD in sustainable finance. He is a faculty member at the International Corporate Governance Network as well as the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.

Isabella Weber is an Assistant Professor of Economics and the Research Leader for China of the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. 

Previously she was a Lecturer at Goldsmiths, London. She holds a Ph.D. in Development Studies from the University of Cambridge and a Ph.D. in Economics from the New School of Social Research. 

Isabella is the author of “How China Escaped Shock Therapy: The Market Reform Debate” and has written on the economics of China’s rise, neoliberalism and neoliberals in China, the US-China trade imbalance and theories of money.

Winfried Weck, M.A., born 1963 in Nuremberg/Germany, is the Director of the new Regional Programme "Alliances for Democracy and Development with Latin America" of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) based in Panama City.

Before he worked as the Coordinator on Development and Human Rights Policies and as the Head of the Team Agenda 2030 / Sustainable Development at the KAS Headquarters in Berlin. Having a scientific background as Master on Islamic Sciences and the Modern Middle East he started his professional career as advisor on development policy and international security questions at the headquarters of the Christlich-Demokratische Union CDU (Christian Democrat Party), the currently governing party in Germany.

In 1998, he changed to KAS as the political foundation of the Christian democrats in Germany, where he was sent to Lima as KAS country director to Peru until 2002. After heading the department of domestic Programs (Protocol) of KAS in Berlin, he was appointed to country director to Indonesia and East Timor (based in Jakarta) from 2006 until 2011 and to Ecuador based in Quito from 2011 until 2014.

Shamar Wedderburn is a youth leader, budding legal professional, as well as Public Speaker, and Debate Enthusiast.

At 22 years of age, He has lived a life dedicated to impacting and empowering those around him. He identifies and believes in the potential for youth training, and our personal growth and development to be key factors in nation building.

Shamar is the Founder of ‘Equipped to Speak’ -A platform where he delivers Public Speaking Coaching and Training for Working Professionals and Youth. Through this, he has spoken in front of audiences nationally, regionally and Internationally. Among Mr. Wedderburn’s roles over the past 4 years that have helped to develop his skills are: Vice-President and later President of the UWI Students’ Today, Alumni Tomorrow (STAT) Vice- Chancellor’s Ambassador Corp, Training and Development Coordinator and a Writer for the Caribbean Regional Youth Council, Advocacy and Policy member to the National Youth Council of Jamaica, Jamaican Delegate to the 6th Caribbean Youth Leaders’ Summit and Mentor in the Debate Mate Jamaica Programme. Across these experiences, Mr. Wedderburn has displayed an affinity for Leadership, Project Management, as well as Strategic Planning.

He is finalizing studies at the University of the West Indies for a Bachelor of Laws Degree. Along with being an award-winning debate speaker, He has also completed a Specialization Certificate in Dynamic Public Speaking offered by the University of Washington.

Nandalal Weerasinghe served as the Senior Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka prior to his retirement from the Central Bank in January 2021. During his 29 years of service as a central banker he held several key positions such as the Chief Economist, Director of Economic Research and Deputy Governor.

Currently he provides consultancy services to several global companies and multilateral agencies. From January 2010 to August 2012, Mr. Weerasinghe was on release to the International Monetary Fund as the Alternate Executive Director for India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Bhutan and served as a member of the Executive Board of the IMF.

Mr. Weerasinghe has a Ph.D. and a Masters' degree in Economics from the Australian National University.

Maximilian is a Consultant in the World Bank's Transport Global Practice and for UNCTAD. He focuses on decarbonizing the maritime transport sector.

Since joining the World Bank, he has worked on projects relating to energy efficiency, but also in the unit's in-country work on decarbonization strategies for shipping.

Prior to his engagement with the Bank, he gained operational shipping experience working as a seagoing Engineer Officer, serving on globally trading container vessels and passenger ships and worked in the shipbuilding industry.

Maximilian holds a BSc in Marine Engineering from the University of Applied Sciences, Wismar, Germany and a MSc in Maritime Management from Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden. He is a qualified marine engineer in accordance with the STCW convention. 

Mr Wekesa is an Environment and Natural Resource Governance Expert currently working for the Secretariat of the Organisation of African Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) based in Brussels, Belgium.

He previously served in various capacities in Kenya’s State authorities responsible for the sustainable management and conservation of marine resources. He holds a master’s degree in aquatic ecology from the University of Bremen, Germany.

Daan Wensing is the CEO and Chair of the Executive Board of IDH since 2020. Previously, he was director of global landscapes for IDH, and member of the management team of IDH.

Prior to joining IDH, Daan was the managing director of the Leaders for Nature network and head of IUCN NL’s business and biodiversity programs. Before joining IUCN NL, Daan co-founded the company Triple E and was the director of one of its business units. Daan has a MSc in Biology from Utrecht University and a Master’s in Science and Business from Utrecht University.