Speakers

Maria Ressa

Nobel Peace Prize 2021

Maria Ressa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021, together with Dmitry Muratov, for her fearless struggle for freedom of expression. As a journalist, Ressa works to expose abuses of power, violence and authoritarian behaviour. Maria Ressa is Professor of Professional Practice at Columbia University and co-founder and CEO of Rappler, an online news site for investigative journalism in the Philippines, well known for its documentation of how social media are being used to spread fake news, harass opponents and manipulate public discourse.

At the Nobel Peace Conference 2026, Maria Ressa will speak about “Narrative Warfare & the Breakdown of Reality”.

Juan Manuel Santos

Nobel Peace Prize 2016

Juan Manuel Santos was the President of Colombia from 2010 to 2018 and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2016 for “his resolute efforts to bring the country’s more than 50-year-long civil war to an end”. Before being President, he was Minister of Foreign Trade, Minister of Finance and Minister of Defense.

He is currently the Chairman of the Board of Compaz Foundation, which he created to contribute to peacebuilding in Colombia.

Santos is a member of the board of the International Crisis Group, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Wildlife Conservation Society, and is also a member of the Planetary Guardians and the Global Commission on Drug Policy.

In November 2024, he was appointed Chair of The Elders, the organization founded by Nelson Mandela, made up of an independent group of global leaders working for peace, justice, human rights and a sustainable planet.

At the Nobel Peace Conference 2026, he will discuss with his fellow laureate Maria Ressa how big tech affects democracy.

Ales Bialiatski

Nobel Peace Prize 2022

Ales Bialiatski was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2022, together with Memorial and the Center for Civil Liberties, for his fight for human rights, democracy, and peaceful co-existence. A writer and human rights activist from Belarus, Bialiatski has dedicated his life to fighting for democracy and the rights of political prisoners. He has been arrested a number of times for his activism, and was incarcerated during the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in December 2022. In December 2025, he was released in a prison exchange and continues his work for freedom and human rights from exile.

At the Nobel Peace Conference 2025 he will talk about the threat autocratic leaders are posing on democracy and peace.

Maria Corina Machado

Nobel Peace Prize 2025 (Digital)

Maria Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2025, “for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy”.

Maria Corina Machado leads the political party Vente in Venezuela and was the leader of the opposition ahead of the 2024 presidential election, where a broad range of parties gathered under the candidate Edmundo González Urrutia. The opposition managed to prove their win, but sitting President Nicolás Maduro nevertheless claimed victory and remained in power. Maria Corina Machado escaped Venezuela in December to attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony and has been living abroad since then.

At the Nobel Peace Conference 2026 she will share her story about the the election in 2024.

Jørgen Watne Frydnes

Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee

Jørgen Watne Frydnes is the youngest committee chair in history.

Mr. Frydnes currently serves as the Secretary-General of Norwegian PEN. He holds a degree in Political Science from the University of Oslo and a master's degree in International Politics from the University of York, England.

Following the terror attack on Utøya on July 22, 2011, he became the managing director of Utøya AS and was responsible for the reconstruction efforts of Utøya. His task was to transform a site of terror and mass murder into a center for democracy, a platform for knowledge, discussion and dialogue.

Mr. Frydnes has been a member of the Norwegian Nobel Committee since 2021.

Kjersti Fløgstad

Executive Director, Nobel Peace Center

Kjersti Fløgstad is Executive Director of the Nobel Peace Center (since February 2020). She is former secretary general of UNICEF Norway (2000-211) and has served on several boards, including a four-year stint as chair of the aid organization Care Norway. From 2012, Fløgstad worked as a business consultant and advisor, focusing of sustainability and corporate social responsibility.

Fløgstad joined the Nobel Peace Center from DNB, where she worked with corporate social responsibility linked to the bank’s sustainability and diversity programmes.

Fløgstad holds a Master of Business Administration from BI, Norwegian Business School.

Gina Romero

UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association

Gina Romero is United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association. Her mandate focuses on promoting, and ensuring respect for, the rights to freedom of assembly and of association around the world, and in identifying key areas in which the content of these rights can be progressively developed.

She teaches at the Universidad de los Andes, in Colombia.

Prior to her appointment, Ms. Romero led several initiatives for the promotion and defense of democracy and rule of law. She is one of the founders and served for nearly 10 years as Executive Director of the Latin American and Caribbean Network for Democracy, Redlad. In this position she also served as Secretariat of the Civil Society Pillar of the Community of Democracies.

At the Nobel Peace Conference 2026, Romero will present her latest report to the UN on Gen-Z Activism and the Future of Civic Space

Iva Dobichina

Senior Program Officer, Civic Engagement and Government team, Ford Foundation

Iva Dobichina is a Senior Program Officer in the Civic Engagement and Government team at the Ford Foundation, with more than two decades of experience in human rights, civic participation, and global advocacy. She is recognized as an expert in freedom of assembly, association, and the protection of activists.

Before joining Ford in 2021, she spent over 11 years at the Open Society Foundations, where she rose from program officer to division director within the Human Rights Initiative. She also served as Director of Central Asia Programs at Freedom House, managing regional democracy and human rights initiatives.

At the Nobel Peace Conference Iva Dobichina will present how the Ford Foundation work with supporting democracy.

Lisbeth Pilegaard

Lisbeth Pilegaard is a seasoned foreign affairs and democracy expert with more than 25 years of professional leadership experience from international organisations.

Ms. Pilegaard is strategic facilitator, speaker, mediator, mentor, senior adviser and board member to various international initiatives such as acting chair of the Irish democracy initiative CaraDem, Board member of the Ukrainian Housing Institute, Chair of the Board of Director at Copenhagen Hazard Mapping - a humanitarian AI led Anti-Mine organisation.

Ms. Pilegaard has been a member of the European Endowment for Democracy (EED) Board of Governors since its establishment in 2013 and has served as the chair of the Executive Committee since 2018. The EED is aEuropean grant-making organisation that supports activists, independent media and pro-democracy movements.

At the Nobel Peace Conference, Lisbeth Pilegaard will present EED’s donor practice.

Andrew Regalado

Senior Organizer with the Horizons Project

Andrew Regalado is a Senior Organizer with the Horizons Project, where he leads cross-sector initiatives that engage business leaders, faith communities, lawyers, veterans & military families, labor unions, and civic organizations to strengthen civic trust and democratic resilience across the United States. With a background in public service, policy analysis, and political campaigns, Andrew previously advised high-profile leaders in the U.S. Congress through moments of national crisis—including the aftermath of January 6th— and launched various grassroots initiatives focused on election administration, voter confidence, and public trust in democratic processes.

At the Nobel Peace Conference, Andrew Regalado will take part in a conversation with Nobel Peace Prize laureates Maria Corina Machado and Ales Bialiatski.

Haakon Gjerløw

Acting director of PRIO

Haakon Gjerløw is acting director of PRIO, the Peace Research Institute of Oslo. He was appointed in April 2026 when Director Nina Græger stepped down, and he came from the position as Deputy Director. Gjerløw holds a PhD from the University of Oslo and has been with PRIO since 2019, where his work has focused on political regimes, democracy and mass-mobilization. He has appeared in leading journals such as Comparative Political Studies, World Development and Political Research Quarterly.

At the Nobel Peace Conference, Haakon Gjerløw will take part in the solutions session where he will be the expert asking questions to the case presenters.

Ricken Patel

Cofounder and co-chair of Democracy Hub

Ricken Patel is a public entrepreneur. He is cofounder and co-chair of Democracy Hub - a leading network battling elected authoritarianism, and Climate Hub - catalyzing a new field and approach to preventing catastrophic climate change. Patel was the founding CEO of Avaaz, a global civic movement of over 70 million people which the Guardian called “the world’s largest and most powerful online activist network”.

He was voted “Ultimate game changer in politics” by the Huffington Post, named one of the world’s top 100 thinkers by Foreign Policy Magazine, and a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

At the Nobel Peace Conference, Ricken Patel will present Democracy Hub’s solutions to fight authoritarianism.

Bryan Sims

Director of Peacebuilding & Partnerships at Humanity United

Dr. Bryan Sims is Director of Peacebuilding & Partnerships at Humanity United, where he provides strategic leadership in advancing inclusive peace processes and political transitions. He brings two decades of experience guiding complex initiatives at the intersection of collective nonviolent action, democratic resilience, and philanthropy. Dr. Sims aims to support partners to anticipate emerging challenges in authoritarian and conflict-affected contexts while investing in locally led solutions. He lives in Washington DC.

Ivan Marovic

Executive Director of ICNC

Ivan Marovic is Executive Director of ICNC. He was one of the leaders of Otpor, the student resistance movement that played an important role in the downfall of Slobodan Milosevic in Serbia. After the successful democratic transition in Serbia, Marovic began consulting with various prodemocracy groups worldwide and became one of the leading practitioners in the field of strategic nonviolent conflict.

For the Nobel Peace Conference, Ivan has been organizing the workshop with the Gen Z cohort and will present the outcome of their work at the conference.

Rakshya Bam

Activist, Nepal

Rakshya Bam is a young activist and civic leader known for her role in recent youth-led political and social movements in Nepal. She is recognized for transforming questions into public pressure and dissent into democratic dialogue.

Emerging from the Nepal’s far-west yet speaking to the entire nation, she represents a generation that refuses to inherit silence. Her work lies at the intersection of street, state, and society.

She has emerged as one of the most recognizable voices of Nepal’s Gen-Z generation, demanding accountability, democratic engagement, and justice.

Wanjira Wanjiru,

Activist, Kenya

Wanjira Wanjiru is a Kenyan activist, writer with the Kenya Organic Intellectuals Network, and grassroots organizer. She is a co-founder of the Mathare Social Justice Centre and has become a leading voice in Kenya’s youth-led movements, advocating for economic democracy, social justice, and Pan-African liberation. Her work has been featured in Al Jazeera’s "Generation Change," and she authored the foreword for Oxfam’s "Resisting the Rule of the Rich." Wanjira also fuses activism and education through initiatives such as the Matigari Youth Book Club and the Liberating Minds podcast.

Ingvill Bryn Rambøl

Head of Information at the Nobel Peace Center

Ingvill Bryn Rambøl is Head of Information at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, a position she has held since 2015. She is a former journalist, with more than twenty years of experience from Norwegian media. She started her career as news reporter and news editor in Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation and has also been working as self-employed freelance journalist for many years. At the Nobel Peace Center, she is responsible for event programming as well as media outreach and public relations. Ingvill holds a Master of Arts from University of Southampton and a bachelor’s degree from University of Oslo.

At the Nobel Peace Conference, Ingvill is responsible for the program and Master of Ceremonies, together with Co Host Sree Sreenivasan. 

Sree Sreenivasan

CEO of Digimentors

Sree Sreenivasan is CEO of Digimentors, a social, digital and AI-training company in NYC. He has worked with major nonprofits, NGOs and companies on AI strategy, policy and scenario planning. His AI workshops have been taught in 16 countries and 25 cities, including in Oslo. Sree has served as a Chief Digital Officer at Columbia University, the Met Museum, and the City of New York.

He is also co-founder of SAJA, the South Asian Journalists Association and ONA, the Online Journalists Assn. In 2004, Newsweek named him one of the 20 most influential young South Asians in America, alongside director M. Knight Shyamalan, singer Norah Jones and a rising politician named Kamala Harris. He is also an independent journalist, as writer of Sree's Sunday Note on Substack for eight years and co-host of the NYT Readalong podcast for 10.

Sree will be co-hosting the Nobel Peace Conference together with Ingvill Bryn Rambøl.