Born in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Prof Abbas Mirkhor attended the Kansas State University, where he received his PhD in Economics in 1969. Prof. Mirakhor was an International Monetary Fund Executive Director from 1990 to 2008. He has served as an economist in the Research Department of the IMF between 1984 and 1990 and Dean of the Executive Board of the IMF.

Prof. Dr. Shih-chung Tristan Hsieh is a well-known scholar in the field of Ethnicity, Interpretative Anthropology, Ethno-history, Anthropology of Tourism, Indigenous Culture of Taiwan, Tai Studies and Lao Studies.  He holds a BA in Thai Studies, an MA, and a PhD in Anthropology- all from the University of Washington in Seattle. He also has a BA in History, and an MA in Archeology from Tunghai University in Taiwan, and the National University of Taiwan respectively.  Over the past twenty years, Prof. Hsieh - a Fullbright Scholar - has held various postings in the Department of Anthropology at the National University of Taiwan.  He has also served as president of the Society of Chinese Ethnology, and has been a Visiting Scholar  at Harvard-Yenching Institute.  At present Prof Hseih is supervising seven PhD students at his university.  In spite of his busy schedule, he continues conducting fieldwork in both Laos and Hokkaido.  Prof. Hsieh’s academic work includes three books on indigenous people in Taiwan, and a number of scholarly articles focusing on Southeast Asia-related studies.  He has recently begun a new field in Hokkaido, focusing on the Ainu People and their culture.  Prof. Hsieh hopes to develop an explanatory system concerning the Asian ethnicity of  minority communities vis-a-vis the Nation-State.

Professor Ryoji Noyori is a 2001 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with K. Barry Sharpless and William S. Knowles for the work on chirally catalyzed reactions. Currently, he is the President of RIKEN, Japan's multi-site national research initiative and University Professor of Nagoya University, Japan.

Born in 1938, Noyori graduated from the Kyoto University, Faculty of Enginerring in 1961 with a degree in industrial chemistry. After serving as an Instructor at Kyoto University and Associate Professor at Nagoya University, Noyori went to Harvard University as a postdoctoral associate. He was appointed Professor at Nagoya University in 1972 and assumed his current positions in 2003. He has received many prestigious awards, including the Chemical Society of Japan Award (1985), the Japan Academy Prize (1995), the Order of Culture (2000), the Wolf Prize in Chemistry (2001) and the Roger Adams Award (2001).

Professor Noyori is a Member of the Pontificial Academy of Sciences and the Japan Academy, and a Foreign Member of the National Academy of Sciences in the USA and Korea, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society. He holds 10 honorary degrees and eight honorary professorships from universities around the world.

Professor Dr. Leonard Swidler is a world-renowned scholar in the area of interreligious and intercivilizational dialogue.  He holds a BA In Philosophy from St. Norbert’s College, degrees in Theology from St. Norbert’s and St. Paul’s Seminary, an MA in History from Marquette University, a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from  University of Tubingen, a degree in History and Theology from the University of Munich, and a  Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin.  He is the author of 246 articles and 69  books, among the most famous are: The Study of Religion in an Age of Global Dialogue (co-author with Paul Mojzes). Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2000;  Dialogue in  Malaysia and the Globe. Kuala Lumpur: University of Malaysia, 2004; Our Understanding  of Ultimate Reality Shapes Our Actions. Kuala Lumpur: University of Malaya, 2004;  Confucianism in Dialogue Today. West, Christianity, and Judaism. (co-edited with Shu-hsien Liu and John Berthrong), Philadelphia: Ecumenical Press, 2005.  Dr. Swidler is also the book series editor for: Religions In Dialogue, New York: Edwin Mellen Press,  (1990 - to the present). He has been a pioneering figure in the attempt to usher in an era  where dialogue and collaboration become the norms for interaction among the world’s faith communities.

Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson is a citizen of the Haida Nation from Skidegate, Haida Gwaii. She holds degrees in computer science and law from the University of British Columbia. She has practiced in the area of aboriginal-environmental law for the last 12 years, and restricts her personal law practice at   White Raven Law in this area. Terri-Lynn represented the Haida Nation at all levels of court in litigation to protect the old-growth forests of Haida Gwaii in the Haida TFL39 Case ('Council of the Haida Nation and Guujaaw, et. al.' v. 'Ministry of Forests, et. al.'), and is General Counsel for the Haida Nation.

She has published and regularly lectures internationally in aboriginal law, particularly as it relates to cultural heritage and environmental protection. She was the founding Executive Director of the charity EAGLE (Environmental-Aboriginal Guardianship through Law and Education). Terri-Lynn has volunteered for numerous organizations, including as an Advisory Council member for the Vancouver Foundation's Environment Program, as a juror for the Buffet Award for Indigenous Leadership, at Ecotrust (US) and an Executive Member for Ecotrust Canada. She is currently a board member of Earthlife Canada Foundation and Haida Gwaii Singers Society.

Terri-Lynn is devoted to perpetuating Haida culture, beginning with co-founding a children's dance group in 1978 and illustrating a children's book for the QCI Readers Series, 'Crests of Haida Gwaii'.

She creates appliqud and woven ceremonial-regalia and is an accomplished singer and dancer. Her voice has graced ceremonies and conferences throughout the BC and other exotic locations including Indonesia, Italy, Amsterdam, New York and Haida Gwaii. She has recorded for film and television, including 'I called Her Lootaas', 'Keepers of the Fire', 'Keeping the Spirit Alive', 'The Nature of Things', CBC's 'First Night', 'First Story', and 'Ravens and Eagles'. Since 2001 Terri-Lynn has been an active member of the Rainbow Creek Dancers, which travels and performs locally and internationally.

In 2008, Terri-Lynn was presented with a special honour 'Keepers of Traditions' Award from the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards for her lifetime contributions to Haida musical traditions.