Admiral Di Paola was appointed Defence Minister in Monti Cabinet (November 2011 – April 2013). Previously, he served as Chairman of the NATO Military Committee (June 2008- November 2011), the highest military position in the organization together with the Supreme Allied Commander. He was the second Italian to have this role after Guido Venturoni.
From 2004 to 2008 he was Chief of Defense Staff of Italy.
Andrea De Georgio is an Associate Research Fellow at ISPI. He is a freelance journalist based in Mali and covers the main countries of Western Africa. He contributed to several Italian and foreign newspapers and magazines, including il Corriere della Sera, La Stampa, Limes, CNN. De Gregorio also works with RaiNews24, Radio 24 and Radio Popolare. In 2011, he undertook a postgraduate degree in Sciences of Languages, History and Cultures of Mediterranean and Islamic Countries at the University of Naples and in 2012 he won the journalism international award “Maria Grazia Cutuli”.
Sara Cristaldi is a Senior Advisor at ISPI and the Co-Head of the ISPI Centre on Business Scenarios. She is the editorial supervisor of the Institute's "ISPI Watch" Newsletter providing in-depth analyses of Business Scenarios in different regions of the world. She also engages in journalism and writes op-ed pieces, focusing on foreign affairs, world economy and global cities. She used to work as an editor for "Il Sole 24 Ore", the leading Italian economic and financial newspaper.
Virginie Collombier is a Part-time Professor at the Middle East Directions Programme of the Robert Schuman Center for Advanced Studies. She has been a Research Fellow at the European University Institute of Florence, Italy (EUI) since September 2013.
PhD in Postcolonialisms and Global Citizenship at the University of Coimbra (Portugal). She holds a Master’s Degree in Citizenship and Human Rights: Ethics and Politics at the University of Barcelona (2010) and a European Master’s Degree in Human Rights and Democratisation at the European Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation (2005), undertaken in Italy and Denmark. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law at UB (2004). Since 2011, she is a researcher at the Centre for Social Studies (CES), University of Coimbra.
Alvin Y.H. Cheung is a J.S.D. Candidate at New York University School of Law and a Non-Resident Affiliated Scholar at NYU’s U.S.-Asia Law Institute. His doctoral project, “Abusive Legalism,” addresses the systematic abuse of sub-constitutional legal norms and institutions by authoritarian regimes. He holds degrees from NYU (LL.M. in International Legal Studies, 2014) and Cambridge (M.A. 2011), and has worked in Hong Kong as a barrister and as a lecturer in Law & Public Affairs at Hong Kong Baptist University.
Giulio Caratelli spent year 2020 in Myanmar after graduating from a Master of Science in International Relations at the Radboud University, The Netherlands. In Yangon, he first worked for the European Union Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar (EuroCham Myanmar) as Communication and Marketing Associate. At that time, he participated to interviewing chief local editors and Ambassadors. He then moved to Internews Network, INGO fostering Media Development and Freedom of Expression in developing countries. There, he performed as Communication Consultant and Project Assistant.
Maria Bombardieri, PhD in Scienze sociali: interazioni, comunicazione, costruzioni culturali - Università degli Studi di Padova, dove è docente a contratto alla Laurea magistrale in Culture, formazione e società globale. È membro del Consiglio scientifico del Centro interuniversitario Culture, Diritti e Religioni - FIDR. Tra i suoi interessi di ricerca: moschee e associazionismo islamico, radicalizzazione e ISIS, branding islamico. Ha pubblicato Donne italiane dell’Isis. Jihad, amore e potere (Guida editori, 2018), Moschee d’Italia.
Sara Bazoobandi is a Marie Curie Fellow at the GIGA Institute of Middle East Studies and Associate Research fellow, ISPI.
Ambassador Giancarlo Aragona is a member of ISPI Scientific Committee. From 2011 to 2016 he was President of ISPI. After graduating in Law at the University of Messina, he joined the Italian Diplomatic Service in 1969. In 1972 he was appointed Second Secretary at the Italian Embassy in Vienna as a press officer. In 1974, he was posted as Consul in Freiburg in Breisgau (Germany).In 1977 he was appointed Counsellor and Deputy Chief of Mission at the Italian Embassy in Lagos (Nigeria).
