Executive Director, The Afghan Songbook Project

Louise Pascale, Professor in the Creative Arts in Learning Division at Lesley University has worked for over 25 years in the field of arts and education. Louise has a great interest in exploring the impact of singing in educational settings and changing perspectives about singers and non-singers. Motivated by her interest in preserving traditional music, and her work as a Peace Corps volunteer in Afghanistan in the late 60’s, Louise has spent the last eight years as Founder & Director of the Afghan Children’s Songbook and Literacy Project. Working with Afghan musicians and poets, Louise has published and distributed two songbooks of traditional Afghan children’s songs. Due to over twenty years of war and oppression in Afghanistan, these children’s songs all but disappeared from the culture. There are currently 50,000 songbooks along with accompanying Teacher’s Guides distributed across Afghanistan. Through the project, Louise continues to witness the project and the potential music has to unify and strengthen community, improve basic literacy skills as well as bring Afghans together in a shared experience.

Chief of Staff, American University of Afghanistan; Principal, Realm Advising, LLC

Dr. Rebecca L. Miller has been involved with libraries in Afghanistan for over three years.  She is passionate about the development of Afghan libraries, archives and information centers to foster increasing literacy levels and a culture of reading and research.  She is a founding member of the revived Afghan national library association, and has worked on several consultancies and volunteer projects to educate Afghan librarians and improve the level of professional service.  Prior to moving to Afghanistan, she was an Assistant Professor at the School of Library and Information Science at the University of Kentucky, and Program Director at the School of Library and Information Management at Emporia State University.  Dr. Miller holds a MLS and PhD in Library Science from Emporia State University (Kansas, USA), and a MA in Diplomacy from the Patterson School, University of Kentucky (Kentucky, USA).

Chief Executive Officer, Aga Khan Foundation Canada

Mr. Khalil Shariff joined Aga Khan Foundation Canada as Chief Executive Officer in August 2005. He was previously with the Toronto office of McKinsey & Company, an international management consultancy, where he advised governments, financial institutions, and health care providers on strategy, organization, and operational improvement.

Khalil served on AKFC’s National Committee for five years, and has cultivated his interest in international development and conflict resolution issues through a variety of activities including as: Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Harvard Negotiation Law Review; Policy Co-ordinator and Research Associate, Harvard Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research; Legal Intern, Chambers of the Vice-President, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania; Intern, Office of Under-Secretary-General, UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations.  He was the youngest member ever elected as a School Trustee in 1993 for the Board of School Trustees in Richmond, B.C. 

Khalil holds a B.A. in International Relations and Economics from the University of British Columbia and a J.D. magna cum laude from the Harvard Law School.

Aga Khan Foundation Canada

Aga Khan Foundation Canada is a non-profit international and non-denominational agency that supports social development programs in Asia and Africa. As a member of the Aga Khan Development Network, the Foundation works to address the root causes of poverty: finding and sharing effective and lasting solutions that help improve the quality of life for poor communities. AKFC programs focus on four core areas: health, education, rural development and building the capacity of non-governmental organizations. Gender equity and protecting the environment are integrated into every program.

Award-winning Author, Journalist and Human Rights Activist

Sally Armstrong is an outstanding advocate for the empowerment of women and human rights. She is a former editor of Homemaker’s magazine, editor-at-large for Chatelaine and contributing editor at Maclean's. As a reporter, Sally provides eyewitness accounts from conflict zones in Bosnia, Somalia, Rwanda and Afghanistan. She is a three-time Amnesty International Canada award winner, a member of the Order of Canada, the holder of seven honorary degrees, a teacher, journalist and human rights activist. Sally is the bestselling author of Veiled Threat: The Hidden Power of the Women of Afghanistan (2002); Bitter Roots, Tender Shoots: The Uncertain Fate of Afghanistan’s Women (2008); and Ascent of Women (March 2013).

Deputy Director, Programs AKFC

Michelle McCombs will be a panelist for our Saturday session. She is the Deputy Director of Programs at Aga Khan Foundation Canada. In this role, she is responsible for leading on priority programmatic initiatives, general portfolio management, program planning, partnership development and cross-organizational leadership and planning. She has previously worked at the Canadian International Development Agency (now Global Affairs Canada), Amnesty International’s International Secretariat in the United Kingdom, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and the Development Support Centre in Ahmedabad, India. She holds a Master’s in International Development Management from the London School of Economics.

CW4WAfghan Country Director

Murwarid Ziayee is Country Director for CW4WAfghan and is joining us from Kabul. Murwarid is responsible for the overall human resources and program management in Afghanistan for CW4WAfghan. She leads a strong team at our country office in Kabul. Murwarid has a BA in Political Science and Law from Kabul University

Before joining CW4WAfghan as Country Director, Murwarid was a Human Rights Officer and National Gender Affairs Officer with UNAMA. Her overall responsibilities included monitoring, research and analysis of human rights and gender issues. Her career with UNAMA focused on gender mainstreaming, integration of a gender perspective in government policies and strategies, and capacity building of mission staff. Prior to working with the UN, Murwarid worked in managerial positions with different organizations including Afghan Women’s Development Center as an Executive Director responsible for overall management, planning and reporting with different donors and stakeholders. She has worked closely with the Ministry of Women's Affairs and national and international NGOs dedicated to improving the lives of women in Afghanistan.

Free Women Writers

Noorjahan Akbar is a human rights advocate from Kabul, Afghanistan. She has worked with several Afghan and international women’s organizations to fight gender-based violence and increase access to education. Noorjahan has also led many campaigns and protests in defense of women’s rights and continues to write and advocate for equality. In the summer of 2013, Noorjahan published a collection of Afghan women’s writings in a book that was distributed in several provinces in Afghanistan. Currently, Noorjahan runs Free Women Writers, a blog with more than a hundred contributors who advocate for gender equality and social justice in Afghanistan. Noorjahan is currently living in the USA, and has a BA in Sociology from Dickinson College and a Masters in Journalism and Public Affairs from American University

CW4WAfghan Programs Director

As an award winning human rights activist, Lauryn’s focus is on international development, women’s rights and education in conflict zones. She has worked with diverse organizations and agencies throughout the Muslim world on gender and human rights advocating for women’s rights, particularly in Afghanistan. She has acted as an expert consultant with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Nike Foundation, USAID, Global Rights, Medica Mondiale, Womankind Worldwide, and Transparency International, among others. She holds a PhD in language and literacy education from the University of British Columbia.

Dr. Lauryn Oates is the Programs Director for Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan. Lauryn is responsible for the overall planning, management, monitoring and evaluation of the programs in Afghanistan.