Atiya Achakulwisut (Thailand)
Opinion pages editor, Bangkok Post

Ms. Atiya obtained her Bachelor's degree from the Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University, majoring in American literature. She received her Master's degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Oregon, United States. In her role as the editor of the Opinion and Analysis pages of the Bangkok Post (the leading English-language daily newspaper in Thailand), Ms. Atiya seeks to bring out diverse views about what is going on in the country and the region and attempts to present views and analysis of what these events mean and where they may be taking us. Ms. Atiya is interested in finding out what common values and interests hold the region together as China continues to rise and the United States is receding further into recession and political difficulties of its own, exacerbated by continued involvement in the Middle East and the war on terrorism. Some of the common trends being experienced across the region, she believes, include the ageing of the population and the tendency among youths to be increasingly cocooned in their individualized interests ignoring the problems of people from other backgrounds or social classes.

Jose Luis Martin C. Gascon (Philippines)
President, LIBERTAS (Lawyers' League for Liberty)

Mr. Gascon is a lawyer, political activist and social reformer. He served as the youngest member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission that drafted the Philippine Constitution and was also the Youth Sector Representative to the 8th Congress. He was the principal author of legislation that institutionalized youth participation in local governance and that introduced special protection measures for children from all forms of abuse. He was also the Undersecretary for Legal, Legislative & Special Concerns of the Department of Education and a member of the Philippine Government's negotiating panel in peace talks with the National Democratic Front. His advocacy work involves areas such as access to justice, political and electoral reform, conflict resolution and human rights, civic education, and transparency and accountability. He was also a founding trustee of the International Center for Innovation, Transformation, & Excellence in Governance, the policy group for the 'Hyatt 10' - a group of former Senior Officials of the Arroyo Government who collectively resigned in 2005. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts and Law degrees from the University of the Philippines, Diliman. He also read for a Master of Law (LL.M) degree at St. Edmund's College at the University of Cambridge.

Gu Yi An (China)
Actor, Director and Professor at the Acting Department, Shanghai Theatre Academy

Prof. Gu is well known as one of the few avant-garde directors in China. He has devoted his life and work to experimental, innovative theatre, constantly pushing the boundaries of what is or has been the norm of what is acceptable to perform on stage. He came to the Shanghai Theatre Academy as a student in the acting department in 1978. After obtaining his master's degree in acting/directing, he became a faculty member at the Academy in 1989. To increase cultural exchange between the East and the West, Prof. Gu set up the Shanghai International Performing Arts Research Centre (SIPARC) at the Academy. Through this centre he has invited many international master teachers to collaborate in his research into traditional and contemporary theatre practice and training. In 1989 he directed the play "Owls in the House" by Zhang Xian, which was performed first in Shanghai, and then participated in China's first National Experimental Theatre Festival, held in Nanjing. In 1992 he was awarded the Cultural Award for directing the play "DaQiao-Big Bridge" and in 2004 he received the Chinese Golden Lion Award for Best Director. His methodology is cross-cultural, and multinational, based on mutual understanding and acceptance. He is also mentor at the University of Theatre Nations/ International Theatre Institute/ UNESCO.

Kim Haechang (Korea)
Vice President, The Hope Institute

Mr. Kim has been a reporter for 17 years at the Kookje Daily News in Busan, Korea. He has written numerous reports and also published several books on environmental issues. With the support of the LG Press Foundation Fellowship program, Mr. Kim became a member of AMR, Japan's environmental group in Tokyo, between 1997 and 1998. In 2002, he served as a labor chairman of the Kookje Daily News. In 2003, he was awarded the Kyobo Life Security's Environmental Culture Award, Korea's renowned environmental award. Since 2007, he has held the title of vice president of the Hope Institute,\an NGO think tank in Korea. As a social designer, Mr. Kim collaborates with diverse networks and local communities. He recently finished a Doctoral program at Busan Graduate School, majoring in Environmental Economics.

Chandra Kishor Lal (Nepal)
Columnist and Commentator

Mr. Lal is a columnist for the Nepali Times newspaper and Himal Southasia magazine published in Kathmandu. He also writes regularly for the trendsetting Nepali newsmagazine Himal Khabarpatrika. He reads and writes in four languages-Maithili, Nepali, Hindi and English\and is widely read, heard, and seen by readers, listeners, and audiences of South Asian publications, radio stations and television. His notable contributions include the chapters "Imagining South Asia in an Unipolar World," "The Complexities of Border Conflicts in South Asia," "Nepal's Maobaadi," "Cultural flows across a blurred boundary and Nepal's Quest for Modernity" in different books. He has also co-edited the volume Chhapama Dalit (Dalit in Print) in Nepali. Two of his books-tentatively titled State of the State in Nepal: Retrospect and Prospect and Towards Plural Unity of South Asia: Issues of Human Rights, Democracy and Governance-are in the process of finalization for publication. He was voted the most influential columnist of Nepal. Mr. Lal would like to explore the bonds that develop under shared hardship and shape the idea of plural identity.

Prof. Sharma is currently working on the thought of Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, Tagore and Gandhi (to be published in 2009), while simultaneously working on a book exploring the life and ideas of Gandhi. He is also editing an anthology of Indian Thought. His recent publications include Hindutva: Exploring the Idea of Hindu Nationalism and Terrifying Vision: M.S. Golwalkar, the RSS and India. He has been a fellow of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies and the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, and has lectured at the universities of Baroda, Hull, Oxford, and St. Stephen's College, Delhi. He was visiting professor in democratic theory at the South Asia Institute, Ruprecht-Karls University, Heidelberg, in 2005. Prof. Sharma has been among the founders of the Kalakriti Art Gallery and the Sreenidhi International School, and has been strategic advisor to the Naandi Foundation (an organization working in the areas of malnutrition, illiteracy and water conservation). He also held senior editorial positions at the Times of India and The Hindu between 1998 and 2006. He continues to write for several newspapers and journals as a columnist and is also a trained Hindustani classical musician.