S. Gülser Corat is the Director of UNESCO's Division for Gender Equality in the Office of the Director-General.Before joining UNESCO in September 2004, she pursued a dual career in the academe and international development.Her academic work included research and teaching in the field of political economy at Carleton University and the University of Ottawa in Canada.As an international development practitioner, she was a senior international development advisor for various bilateral development agencies (Canadian International Development Agency and the International Development Research Center), for multi-lateral lending institutions (the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank), UN agencies (UNDP and UNCTAD) and for civil society organizations, especially in Asia and Africa. She also has private sector experience as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of an international consulting company (ECI Consulting, Inc.) in Canada.S.G. Corat is a graduate of the American College for Girls/Robert College in Istanbul and holds a B.A Honours degree from Bo?aziçi University (Istanbul, Turkey). She has M.A. degrees from the College of Europe (Bruges, Belgium) and the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University (Ottawa, Canada).  She pursued her doctoral studies in the Political Science Department of Carleton University.

Ms Athukorala is a multidisciplinary skilled professional, internationally recognised for her work in IWRM, gender and water.Crossing disciplinary and academic boundaries to water management from her 12 years previous experience as a university teacher in languages and cultural studies, she holds a MSc in Managing Rural Change, from the Imperial College at Wye, University of London.She has been a pioneer researcher in gender and water in Sri Lanka. She has spent a large part of the past decade in establishing and growing an array of national and international organisations related to water management including SaciWATERS (South Asia Consortium for Interdisciplinary Water Studies, Hyderabad – India); Network of Women Water Professionals, Sri Lanka (NetWwater); Global Water Partnership (GWP) and Women for Water Partnership (WfWP) Netherlands.She works as consultant and resource person with a range of national and international organisations in water management and development studies.

Ms. Corzo Perovic, a native of Peru, holds a Master of Science degree in International Development with a specialization in Population and Development from London School of Economics (LSE).  Her dissertation research was on the feminization of migration. Moreover, Ms. Corzo Perovic has obtained a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of Maryland College Park in the U.S. and studied Corporate Marketing in Peru.In her professional activities, Ms. Corzo Perovic was an advisor for a number of non-government organizations (NGOs) in Peru and has worked with a number of international development organizations in the US. She has over six years of experience in research, project implementation, and monitoring of programs in gender-related issues mainly in the Latin American and the Caribbean region. Moreover, Ms. Corzo Perovic was a contributor to the Spanish Federation Society of Sexology by providing research on global reproductive health and sexual rights for the online magazine. For several years, she has promoted an initiative on art for development.

Irene Dankelman is an ecologist by background. Already as a student she was a strong environmental activist. For over 30 years she has been active as a professional working in the area of environment and sustainable development, working with national and international NGOs, government agencies, academia and the UN(UNIFEM, UNEP).Since the Women's Conference in Nairobi in 1985 she is specifically focusing her work on gender and environment. Together with Joan Davidson she published the book "Women and Environment in the Third World" (Earthscan, 1988). From that time on she has been working as a lecturer, researcher, consultant, writer and senior advisor in the area of sustainable development and gender issues, and contributed to a wide range of publications and presentations on these subjects. Recently she authored and edited the book "Gender and Climate Change: An Introduction" (Earthscan, 2010).Irene has been coordinator of IUCN-Netherlands, co-founder of organizations such as Both ENDS (Environment and Development Services for NGOs), Women in Europe for a Common Future (WECF) and the Nature College. Most of all, she feels herself an advocate for a just and healthy planet, and enjoys working with students, local women and civil society groups. Since the preparations for the Rio Conference she has been closely involved in the work of WEDO (Women's Environment and Development Organisation) and other women's environment organisations. She acted as co-chair of the Netherlands Johannesburg Platform (WSSD). Presently she is university lecturer and consultant, and a board member of several environment and women's NGOs.People - particularly local women - nature and music, are essential sources of inspiration in Irene's work and life. She hopes to carry their messages forward.