Speakers and moderators

Ali Al-Jaberi is a professional moderator and studio presenter of high-level events. He is a former Europe correspondent for Associated Press Television News and university lecturer of Public Policy. Ali is multiple award-winning public speaker and works on virtually any topic in public policy. See www.promoderation.nl.

Magnus Brunner is the European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, a position he holds since December 1, 2024. In this role, he is responsible for strengthening Europe's internal security, designing and implementing Migration and Asylum policies, enforcing integrated border management and leading the dialogue with religious and philosophical associations. Prior to his current role, Mr Brunner served as Austria's Federal Minister of Finance from December 2021 to November 2024. He also held the position of State Secretary in the Ministry of Climate Action, Energy, Environment, Mobility Innovation, and Technology. Earlier in his career, he was a member of the Federal Council for the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) from May 2009 to January 2020. Mr Brunner holds a Doctor of Law degree from the University of Vienna and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from King's College London. He was born and raised in the region of Vorarlberg, Austria.

Séamus Boland was elected President of the European Economic and Social Committee in October 2025. He has been an EESC Member since 2011. He has held different roles at the Committee, including President of the Civil Society Organizations' Group (2020-2025) and Vice President of the Civil Society Organisations' Group (2018-2020). His policy and political interests include the eradication of poverty, social exclusion, rural development and inequality. Séamus has been CEO of Irish Rural Link since 2001, Chair of the Peatlands Council since 2012 and a Board Member of Inland Fisheries Ireland (2018-2022). In October 2024 he was appointed to the Just Transition Commission as an independent expert by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications in Ireland. President Boland is a farmer and has worked in civil society for over 40 years, including with young people, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities and people living in rural isolation. He is a trained Speech and Drama Educator. President Boland is married to Geraldine Boland and has three children and three grandchildren.

Saber Kordestanchi,
Co-founder at Hostaway

Linkedin:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kordestanchi?trk=universal-search-cluster

Tim Versnel was a member of the municipal council in Rotterdam before becoming Vice Mayor. He used to be a member of Krimpen aan den IJssel’s municipal council, where he was responsible for Work and Income. He was also an entrepreneur. He managed the SUE Behavioural Design Academy. And he worked as a Spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense and the VVD’s parliamentary party. He wrote the 'Alles komt goed’ (Everything’s going to be fine) book together with former VVD Party Leader Klaas Dijkhoff in the Lower House of Parliament. This book was published by the publisher Prometheus in June 2021. Versnel studied political sciences in Leiden. He’s married and lives in Rotterdam.

Mette Skautrup is an elected official for the municipality of Aarhus, for over 8 years, and co-chair for the Committee of Recruitment and Affiliation of International Labour in Aarhus. Member of Aarhus City Councils Social Affairs and Employment Committee, as well as the Finance and Business Committee. Private occupation as a business consultant, in The International Employment Unit at Jobcenter Aarhus. 

Caroline Gastaud is Social Impact Leader at Ingka, the largest IKEA franchisee, where she leads the global “Fair and Equal” agenda across the company’s retail operations. With over 20 years of experience in sustainability, corporate responsibility, and inclusive employment, Caroline has held leadership roles in France, Belgium, and globally. She has spearheaded initiatives such as the “Skills for Employment” program, which supports refugees in accessing meaningful work opportunities. Caroline brings a strong track record in cross-sector collaboration, stakeholder engagement, and driving systemic change through business. She is based in Brussels and represents IKEA at the 2025 European Migration Forum to share best practices on harnessing Refugee’ skills in the EU.

Mercedes Miletti is Senior Policy Advisor on migration at the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). She graduated in Political Sciences and International Relations in Buenos Aires and later obtained a Master in Cultures and Development Studies in Belgium. Before joining ETUC in 2017, she worked at the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM). Since then, she has also been active in grassroots migrant organisations and communities. 

Aristide Bandora is a Senior Project Officer at JOBROAD Ivzw, assigned to the Refugees2Work project. 
Through this AMIF-funded project, JOBROAD connects refugees with local companies over a three-year period.

The Refugees2Work project aims to promote the integration of people seeking international protection. While waiting for a decision on their asylum application, these candidates usually reside in collective reception centers managed by Fedasil and its partners. This waiting period can be used more effectively by helping them access the labor market. Having a job not only supports better integration but also helps build social networks and improves language acquisition.

In 2021, JobRoad vzw, commissioned by Fedasil, conducted a study on activation opportunities for this target group. The study was carried out in collaboration with HIVA , the Research Institute for Work and Society at KU Leuven. In 2022, five matchmaking events were organized to connect the target group with local employers near the reception centers.

Building on this experience, the Refugees2Work project was launched. Over a period of three years, JobRoad vzw and Accent are joining forces to organize four matchmaking events per year in Belgium, starting from four reception centers located in Flanders, Brussels, or Wallonia. 

Anna works on refugee sponsorship, complementary pathways. She leads the organisation’s work on participation of persons with lived experiences. She is a European Migration Forum Bureau Member representing European civil society for the period 2024-2026. Anna has an academic background in EU Asylum and Migration Law.

She speaks English, German, French and some Spanish.

Octavio Caraballo is the Deputy Minister of the Presidency of the Government of the Canary Islands and leads IRLab, the regional government’s strategic foresight laboratory dedicated to anticipating and designing innovative responses to the environmental, social and migration challenges of the 21st century. He also coordinates the Canary Islands Agenda, the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in the Archipelago, driving a transformative vision for the future of the region. 

Jai Mexis is an award-winning architect and one of Greece's leading social innovators, driven by a profound commitment to empowering vulnerable youth.

He is the Founder of Olon Design Group, an architecture company, and the Founder and active CEO of Odyssea, a non-profit dedicated to integrating vulnerable groups into the labor market. Through tailored vocational and life-skills training, Odyssea annually equips and connects over 3,500 people with employment opportunities, helping them become self-reliant and live purposeful lives.

Since 2016, his experience includes successfully raising €11,000,000 for Odyssea and growing the organization to 53 full-time staff. Jai also serves as a Senior Advisor for NextFab Foundation, where he focuses on designing and setting up FabLabs and workforce development programs in developing countries.

His expertise lies at the critical intersection of social design and technology for the humanitarian sector. He is recognized as a mission-driven leader, an empathetic people leader, and a trusted advisor, passionately inspiring individuals to reach their full potential.

Jai Mexis introducing Odyssea: Welcome to Odyssea Academy!

Adnan Abdul Ghani is a Migration Thematic Expert, EU Project Manager, and method developer at Save the Children Sweden. He has extensive experience working on EU–funded initiatives, with a particular focus on migration, refugees and youth empowerment, and social inclusion. He has designed and implemented innovative methods to strengthen the participation of young people and migrants, ensuring that their voices are represented in policy and practice., 
 He initiated a refugee self organization movement that spread across Europe.

In addition to his role at Save the Children, he contributes to policy development at European level as a member of the European Commission’s Expert Group on the views of migrants in the field of migration, asylum and integration, advising on strategies to promote integration and inclusive communities across Europe. Additionally, on regional level Adnan serves as a Thematic Adviser for Region Västra Götaland, contributing to the regional development strategy from 2020 to 2030, and as consultant for integration strategies for Swedish municipalities.))

Clara Piras is a civil servant of the Italian Ministry of Labour and Social Policies – Directorate General for migration policies and social and labour inclusion since 2017. She deals with integrated planning, managing and monitoring projects financed by EU (AMIF, ESF+, ERDF) and national funds by the DG in the field of migrants social-labour integration policies, to tackle the labour exploitation and to promote the legal migration of citizens from third countries.

Elisabeth Verniers is Head of Public Partnerships & Advocacy at DUO for a JOB, an intergenerational mentoring program that connects young job seekers with volunteers aged 50+ to improve their employment prospects. In her role, she develops partnerships and leads advocacy efforts to promote fairer and more inclusive policies for young people with a migrant background. She also works to embed mentoring as a central tool in labour market and integration policies. Elisabeth brings over 13 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, with a strong focus on migration, integration, and labour market inclusion.

Juan Fernando López Aguilar (64) has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2009. He is the Socialist coordinator for the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO). He is Member of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), the Delegation to the Cariforum-EU Parliamentary Committee (DCAR), the Delegation to the OACPS-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (DACP) and the Delegation to the Africa-EU Parliamentary Assembly (DAFR). He is a Substitute of the Committee on Development (DEVE). From 2009 to 2014 and from 2019 to 2024 he as the Chair of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.

He served as Spanish Minister of Justice from 2004 to 2007 and was a member of the Spanish Parliament between 2000 and 2009.

He holds a Ph.D. in law from the University of Bologna (Italy) and a master's degree in law and diplomacy from Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.  López Aguilar is a professor of constitutional law at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Spain), where he was born and still lives. In his student years, he worked as newspaper caricaturist and comic-book illustrator.

Arnoldas Abramavičius has been a member of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) since 2004. His previous appointments include being Mayor and deputy Mayor of Zarasai Municipality, Lithuania. His most recent appointment was Vice-Minister of Interior of Lithuania (for Migration Affairs) from 2021 to 2024. He is currently the rapporteur on the CoR opinion, 'Union support for Asylum, Migration and Integration Managment 2028-2034'.

Ms Beate Gminder heads the DG Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME) of the European Commission as Director-General. She oversees the implementation of the European Pact for Migration and Asylum, the safeguarding of an open and fully functioning Schengen area of free movement and the further strengthening of internal security in the EU.

In her previous function as Deputy Director-General of DG HOME and as Head of the Task Force Migration Management, she has been leading the efforts of the European Commission and its agencies to support Member States operationally in migration challenges, particularly in Greece and Cyprus but also in view of the Ukrainians fleeing the war.

Ms Gminder is a career official of the European Commission, with various postings in communication and policy jobs including as spokesperson for food safety and consumer protection and adviser to Commissioners. Directly before taking on posts in DG HOME, first as Director in 2018 and then Deputy Director-General in 2020, she worked as Secretary General of the European Ombudsman.

Carlos Manuel Trindade is a Portuguese trade unionist and a member of the EESC Workers' Group, nominated by the Portuguese trade union confederation CGTP-IN (General Confederation of Portuguese Workers – National Inter-union). In the EESC, he is a member of the Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship (SOC) and the External Relations Section (REX). Since October 2025, he is the President of the EESC's Permanent Group on Immigration and Integration (IMI) and Vice-President of the EU-ACP (African Caribbean and Pacific) Follow-up Committee. He was the President of the EESC's Labour Market Observatory during the EESC's previous mandate.

He has been rapporteur of many EESC opinions covering issues such as Africa-EU Partnership, Citizenship and Residence Schemes in the EU, Action Plan for the Atlantic Strategy, Democracy in Africa, Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings and many opinions related to employment and labour market issues.

A lifelong trade unionist and activist, Mr Trindade has been a member of the Executive Commission of CGTP-IN, president of the General Assembly Bureau of STAD (the Union of Workers in Security, Surveillance, Cleaning, Domestic Work, and Various Activities), and Secretary-General of the Socialist Trade Union Current of CGTP-IN.