Introducing the 2022-2026 URI Global Council Trustees

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The Global Council is URI's governing board of directors. Global Council Trustees are democratically elected by the URI member groups, called Cooperation Circles, around the world. The Trustees oversee the work of URI, offer direction, and provide leadership and strategic governance. 

Please give a warm welcome to URI's newest Trustees. These new representatives from Africa, Asia, Europe, and South East Asia and the Pacific (SEAPAC) will join the Global Council as of September 2022, adding to the rich diversity of skills and experience in URI's global network.

2022-2026 URI Global Council Trustees

Hajji Katende Abdu

2022-2026 Global Council Trustee for Africa

Katende Abdu has just retired as a lecturer in the Department of Religion and Peace Studies, Makerere University where he has taught for the last 35 years in the areas of Islamic Theology, Peace Studies and Inter-religious and Intercultural Dialogue. He is also the Executive Director of the Centre for Inter-religious and Inter-cultural Dialogue (CIID). He is a Fulbright Fellow and a Peace Ambassador for the King Abdallah International Centre for Inter-religious and Inter-cultural Dialogue (KAICIID). He has over 30 years of experience in the areas of Religion, Peace and Conflict Studies.

His Grace Salika Dasa Adhikari

2022-2026 Global Council Trustee for Africa

His Grace Salika Dasa Adhikari, a Comparative Religionist,  is the Temple President of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in Jos, Plateau State. He also serves as Vice-Chairman of the National Council of the ISKCON Movement in Nigeria. A recipient of several national and international awards, His Grace has travelled widely and presented papers at local and international conferences on religion, world peace, development, and environmental degradation. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Leadership, Education and Development (CILED).  He also serves on the Governing Council of the Global Interfaith University.

Ashwani Kumar

2022-2026 Global Council Trustee for Asia

Ashwani Kumar is a born learner by nature, a student of literature, and a volunteer in social organizations. His journey brought him to serve special children. He was a founding CC of URI in 2000, and is a founding member of Patiala CC, in India. While serving the community for the welfare of the handicapped, his NGO was awarded best NGO in India for the services to the Deaf and Blind children by the President of India and a national award for Best Caretakers to the disabled children.  He joined the Special Olympics in India an international program founded by Eunice Kennedy, sister of US President John F Kennedy. In 1987, helped found the state chapter and registered thousands of special children as athletes. While working with the Special Olympics India, the registered athletes won medals in the International Special Olympics and were honored in India. For the last fifteen years, Ashwani served URI as the President of the North Zone Executive Council of URI. 

Dr. Devi Raj S

2022-2026 Global Council Trustee for Asia

Devi Raj S, is a psychologist, wellness coach, trainer, peacebuilder and entrepreneur. She is the Managing Director of Pranaah Holistic Health Care Pvt Ltd, a pioneer in the Mental Health industry in India. She is the Director of Pranaah Autism and Child Development Center & Pranaah Neuro Rehabilitation Center. She is the Founder and Secretary of the Psychological Research and Development Council, a Non-Government Organisation, which is one of the biggest platforms for Psychology & Social Work professionals. She serves as the Principal of LaaDe Institute of Social Sciences. She joined in URI movement in 2012. Since then she has been actively participating in all the programs and projects of URI including Youth camps, Zonal, National, and Asian Assemblies, Holy books conferences etc. Actively participating in the activities of URI Zero Limits CC, winner of Sahayog Samman - 2017 Her projects named Good Touch & Bad Touch-(Personal Safety Awareness), Punarjani (Suicide Prevention campaign), Teen Summit(Conference for teens), Teen Line24X7 telephonic counseling support for teenagers), Girls Summit (Conference for Girls on Girl Power) and RISE (Women Empowerment training Series):- created a great impact especially her training series on personal safety awareness reached the hearts of more than 1.5 lakhs of girls. Her awareness training named "Surakshitha Koumaram" for adolescent girls and their mothers in association with Malayala Manorama daily crossed 54 venues across the state with more than 75000 participants. She is the Master Trainer for various Government departments and their projects. She has twelve years of experience as a trainer and had conducted more than 1500 training sessions; she is a well-known parenting expert and YouTuber. She has successfully conducted parenting sessions for more than one 100000 parents. During the covid-19 pandemic, her team of psychologists conducted online tele-support for Covid patients across the country in association with local Govt. and various

Sri Chintamani Nath Yogi

2022-2026 Global Council Trustee for Asia

Dr. Chintamani Yogi is a great scholar of Nepal; a Nath Yogi, spiritual master, an educationist and peace activist. He is a founding principal of Hindu VidyaPeeth Schools based on love, peace, selfless service etc. He also established Peace Service Centre, Youth Society for Peace to help children, women, senior citizens. He runs community-based programs - Children's Peace Home – orphanage, Women's Training Program, Girls Scholarship Program, Gorakhnath Sewa Sangh and Biswa Omkar Ekata Mahabhiyan to reform society in totality. He lectures about Conflict, Peace and Development Studies, at Universities in Nepal. He lectures at Rotary, Lions, Corporate Sectors, Government Offices, Armies, Police, TVs, Radios. He is associated with many international organizations - HVP-UK, Peace Service Center-USA, Global Communities for Peace-Australia, Global Network of Religions for Children, United Religions Initiative. He has written several books and songs, won national/international awards. He conducts camps, classes to understand ''The Art of Life''

Jaume de Marcos

2022-2026 Global Council Trustee for Europe

Jaume de Marcos is a member of the Board and former President of AUDIR (UNESCO Association for Interreligious Dialogue), an NGO based in Barcelona (Spain) which is a founding member of URI and dedicated to interreligious and interconvictional dialogue. Born in Barcelona, Mr. de Marcos has a Master's degree in History of Religions and a Postgraduate degree in Religion and Human Rights. He is also a distinguished member of the Michael Servetus Institute, and of the Spanish Society for the Science of Religions (SECR). He has published 2 books and several articles on topics related to history of religion, particularly the Protestant Reformation, as well as interfaith dialogue and understanding among traditions and cultures.

Daniel Eror

Executive Committee Member; 2022-2026 Global Council Trustee for Europe

Daniel Eror was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He obtained formal education at the University of Sarajevo, Master Studies of Economy and Management, with a focus on Human Resources as well as the Master Program of Interreligious Studies and Peacebuilding at the Faculty of Catholic Theology Sarajevo, the Faculty of Islamic Studies Sarajevo, and the Faculty of Orthodox Theology Vasilije Ostroski Foča. He is a member of civil society with 14 years of progressive experience in the field of intercultural dialogue, reconciliation, and peacebuilding, mainly working with young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as abroad.

He is a founder and president of Youth for Peace, an organization which has positioned itself as one of the most prominent youth-led organizations in BiH, working in the field of peacebuilding. Daniel has been an active member of the United Religions Initiative network for several years. He has been a URI Global Council Trustee and URI Europe Treasurer since 2018. In Religions for Peace Europe,  he serves as a co-president of the Organization. He is a certified trainer for work with youth, with expertise in the field of conflict transformation, dealing with past experiences, human rights, and discrimination.

Eric Roux

Global Council Chair; Executive Committee Member; 2022-2026 Global Council Trustee for Europe

Eric Roux is currently the President of the European Interreligious Forum for Religious Freedom and the Vice-President of the European Office of the Church of Scientology for Public Affairs and Human Rights. He engaged in advocacy for religious freedom in the 2000s, and never stopped since. Writer of several books and dozens of articles, he always considered that advocacy for religious freedom should be done by multifaith coalitions. He is regularly invited as a speaker at OSCE, Council of Europe, EU Parliament, United Nations, US Capitol, etc. He also works in various interfaith platforms at the European level. He is an ordained Minister of the Church of Scientology.

Abelardo A. Moya

2022-2026 Global Council Trustee for Southeast Asia and the Pacific

Abelardo A. Moya transcends from being a political activist and revolutionary into a peacebuilder and community development expert, and a conflict transformation practitioner, who embraces the active-non-violent principle anchored in the Christian faith. With over 27 years of experience, he has built on the theory and practice of Mindanao conflict resolution processes with non-state actors: Indigenous Peoples, women, and youth. He successfully implemented 40+ peace and development projects; conducted more than five project-end external evaluations, one appraisal mission on forced internal displacement, and various technical consultancy works. Abel values unity in diversity and practices mission-based leadership and governance.

Butmao Sourn

2022-2026 Global Council Trustee for Southeast Asia and the Pacific

Butmao Sourn lives in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and has more than thirteen-year experience in the legal and human rights field including nine years with a senior management level. He is responsible for managing program development, conducting research-analysis legal and policy records, leadership, and office management. He is a fellow of KAICIID and a part-time professor teaching criminal law and technical research with Preah Sihanoukraja Buddhist University. He is the Head of the Human Rights and Land Rights Section at the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC). He is a former Executive Director of Minority Rights Organization, Project Management, and Research Advisor to Ministry of Cult and Religion, Legal Consultant for Statelessness at Jesuit Refugee Service and a Legal Assistant to Co-Civil Party Lawyers before the ECCC. Butmao has experienced presenting the report to UNHRC-UPR pre-session 3rd cycle in Geneva and UN Regional in Bangkok. 

Bishop Stephen L. Villaester

2022-2026 Global Council Trustee for Southeast Asia and the Pacific

Chairing the Interfaith Council for Peace in Mindanao, Bishop Stephen L. Villaester has been doing interfaith work for over twenty years. He knows that accomplishing the goals of URI at the local level contributes to the synergy that is created at the global level.