GCAP Spokespersons

KUMI NAIDOO, Co-Chair, GCAP

Kumi Naidoo is the Secretary General and CEO of CIVICUS, the World Alliance for Citizen Participation, an international alliance of civil society organisations dedicated to strengthening citizen participation and civil society worldwide. He also serves as the chairperson of the Partnership for Transparency Fund, which supports civil society efforts to eradicate corruption, and is a board member of the Association for Women’s Rights in Development. An activist of the African National Congress (ANC) since a very young age, Kumi is the founding director of the South African NGO Coalition where he served on the task team to draft the new NGO legislation. He has also worked extensively in adult education and social and economic justice in South Africa. He has published several articles on NGOs, civil society, youth and resistance politics in South Africa. He was appointed by the UN Secretary General to the Panel of Eminent Persons on UN Civil Society Relations. Kumi is a Rhodes Scholar and holds a Doctorate in Political Science from Oxford University. He was a founder of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty in South Africa and has chaired GCAP through several key mobilisation moments since 2005.  Kumi is based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

SYLVIA BORREN, Co-Chair, GCAP

Sylvia Borren was elected Co-Chair of GCAP in 2007.  She joined Oxfam Novib  in 1994 as Director of the Project Department and has been serving as Executive Director since 1999. She is also chairing the New Dialogue (a Dutch platform of civil society organisations) and is a co-founder of the Dutch Social Forum. From 1980-1985, she worked for the Haarlem local government and set up programmes on physical and mental health education in schools. From1985-994, she worked as a trainer and organisational consultant at De Beuk, a foundation specialised in Civil Society and Government Consultancy in the Netherlands and abroad. She joined the Civil Servants Trade Union and the national board of the COC, the Dutch Lesbian and Gay organisation. She helped built the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA), founded the International Lesbian Information Service (ILIS) and was active in the global women’s movement. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Education and Religious Studies and a Master’s degree in Education.  Sylvia is leading a new community arts project called the Poverty Requiem which was launche din 2007 and is a new piece of choral music for which she penned the lyrics.  Her project has gorwn hugely popular and in October 2007 will be performed in a global chair of performances in over 25 countries involving thousands of singers and musicians.  Sylvia is based in The Hague, Netherlands.

IRFAN MUFTI, Campaign Manager, GCAP

Irfan Mufti has been Campaign Manager for the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) since 2007. He is responsible for shaping the campaign’s policies, organisational matters, and strengthening regional and national structures of the campaign. He has been involved in various social movements, human rights and peace coalitions in South Asia over the last two decades, working for community development and supporting hundreds of community groups and networks in their organisational planning, community development strategies and local advocacy campaigns. He was a founding member of the South Asia Partnership, a community development and advocacy consortium, where he served as Deputy Executive Director.  He has been the convener of the Pakistan chapter of the World Social Forum since 2003 and also served in various key elected positions in the Pakistan NGO Forum, where he led numerous advocacy campaigns in support of NGO friendly laws and regulations.  Irfan Mufti has a Master’s Degree in Social and Cultural Anthropology and an advanced diploma in Management, Planning and Public Policy. Irfan is based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

DENNIS HOWLETT, MPH Canada, GCAP IFT member

Dennis Howlett is currently the Coordinator of the Make Poverty History which is campaigning for more and better aid, trade justice, cancelling the debt and ending child poverty in Canada. Prior to assuming this position in August of 2006 he was the Executive Director of the National Anti-Poverty Organization for two and a half years. While at NAPO he initiated a national campaign for making the minimum wage a living wage and for action on youth poverty. For over 30 years he worked for a number of ecumenical social justice coalitions including Ten Days for Global Justice and KAIROS where he led successful campaigns for cancellation of Third World debt, fair trade coffee, and ratification of the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change. Dennis is a graduate of the University of Toronto with degrees in Masters of Education and Bachelor of Arts. He is the author of several books including Ah-hah! A New Approach to Popular Education and From Resistance to Transformation: Social Movement Coalitions in Canada, Philippines, South Africa and Mexico.

ALISON WOODHEAD, GCAP UK and GCAP IFT Member

Alison Woodhead is a campaign manager at international development agency Oxfam, where she has worked for 10 years. Previously Alison worked as a broadcast journalist making investigative documentaries. Her current campaign focus is on achieving health and education for all by securing more and better aid from rich countries.

CHRISTOPHE ZOUNGRANA, Coordinator, GCAP Africa

Christophe Zoungrana has been Coordinator for GCAP Africa since 2006. His main responsibilities include facilitating continental wide campaigning (and influencing international, continental and sub-regional bodies to adopt and implement policies aimed at poverty eradication. Christophe started his professional career as a high school teacher in a private school before joining Save the Children USA program in Burkina Faso where he helped build the CSO Education For All campaign coalition. He attended a number of key education meetings including the launch of the Global Campaign for Education and the World Education Forum in Dakar. Christophe is a founding member of the Africa Network Campaign on Education For All (ANCEFA), where he served as a Program Manager, supporting the development and capacity building of national campaign coalitions in Africa to influence education policies and practices. Christophe is based in Dakar, Senegal.

Media contact

To contact the GCAP spokespeople, please get in touch with:

Ciara O'Sullivan
Media Coordinator
Global Call to Action Against Poverty - GCAP
Spain Cel: +34 679 594 809
Spain office (CONGDE): + 34 915 23 98 65
Skype name: cmosullivan
 

Regional personal profiles

 
Some of the people taking action with GCAP