Conference Programs

June 13 Policy Day - Cannon Caucus Room, US House of Representatives

9:00 AM - Welcome by Master of Ceremonies

Speaker: Yigal Carmon - Founder and President Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) Religious Minorities Facing Existential Threat 10 Years After Rise of ISIS

Speaker: Eric  Ueland - Vice Chair, US Commission on International Religious Freedom 

Session: Overcoming Challenges: Compound Persecution of Women

• Moderator: Hulda Fahmi - International Director, Set My People Free
• Judith E. Golub - Co-Founder FoRB Women’s Alliance
• Caroline Doss JD - President, Coptic Solidarity
• Jamileh Naso - Co-founder & President, Canadian Yezidi Association
• Hilary Miller - Researcher, US Commission on International Religious Freedom

US Representative Jim McGovern (D - MA)

Speaker: Ensaf Haidar - Saudi-Canadian human rights activist, Author, Wife of former Saudi prisoner of conscience, Raif Badawi

Lunch

Coptic Solidarity Annual Leadership Award Presentation

Speaker HE Emanual Hana Shaleta, Bishop of the Chaldean Catholic Diocese of St. Peter the Apostle in West USA  will be speaking and receiving award on behalf of Chaldean Patriarch Louis Raphaël Sako

Session: Lessons in Protecting Cultural Heritage

• Moderator: Mariam Wahba - Associate Director of Communications, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
• Michael Akladios PhD - Founder & Executive Director, Egypt Migrations
• Sarah Levin – Executive Director, JIMENA
• David Daoud JD – Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies

Speaker: US Representative French Hill (R-AR)

Session: Current Dynamics: Indigenous & Religious Minorities in the Middle East

• Moderator: Raymond Ibrahim - Author, Public Speaker, Middle East and Islam specialist
• Ambassador Alberto Fernandez - Vice President, MEMRI
• Rachid Hammami - Author & Host of With Clarity Weekly TV Program
• Hussein Aboubakr Mansour - Senior Fellow at the Jerusalem Center for Foreign Affairs

Speaker: Ambassador Nathan Sales - Former acting Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights

US Representative Gus Bilirakis (R-FL)

Speaker: Lindsay Rodriguez – Director of Development & Advocacy, Coptic Solidarity
Overview of Coptic Solidarity’s Work & Closing

 

June 14 - Hotel Day at Hilton Springfield 
6550 Loisdale Rd. Springfield, VA 22150

9:30 AM - Welcome by Master of Ceremonies

Speaker Christo Heiberg - Pastor, Missionary to Africa, & Author 

Speaker Aram Suren Hamparian - Executive Director, Armenian National Committee of America

Session:  Minority Voices: 10 Years Since the Rise of ISIS

• Moderator: Magdi Khalil – Political & Strategic Analyst for International Affairs; Co-founder of Coptic Solidarity & Co-found of Middle East Freedom Forum
• Ramsin Toma - President DC Chapter, Assyrian Aid
• Nafiya Naso - Settlement Coordinator, Operation Ezra
• Gabriel Sawma JD– Attorney, Professor & Specialist in Shari'a Divorce and Finance

Speaker Raymond Ibrahim - Author, Public Speaker, and Middle East and Islam specialist

Lunch

Sarah Raviani - Fellow & Engagement Coordinator, National Union for Democracy in Iran

Coptic Solidarity Award Presentation

Speaker Tereza Haroun – Founder of The Panorama El-Barsha Troupe featured in The Brink  of Dreams which won the L’Œil d’or (Golden Eye Award) for Best Documentary at the  77th Cannes Film Festival

Break

Session & Workshop: Empowering Coptic Youth Activists

• Beshoy Botros PharmD - Candidate PhD in Government, Regent University; MA Law & Public Policy
• Fady Nakhla - Candidate MA International Affairs, concentration in Middle Eastern Studies, George Washington University; Legal Assistant, Word Organization
• Merna Nakhla - Candidate MA International Affairs, concentration in Middle Eastern Studies, George Washington University; Researcher, Word Organization