Higher Ground: Faith and Spirituality as Levers for Change
Speakers
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Imam, Individual Religious Leader
Imam Muhammad Hussaini Bagnya is currently a TV Presenter for the IQRA SHOW, Ghana's number one Islamic flagship show which passes on TV 3, a Ghanaian television networks for the past decade, he has honorably lead presented and interviewed a cross section of religious leaders (Christians, Muslims and traditionalist), Muslim business wo/men and entrepreneurs delving into socio – religious issues which aim to inform and educate viewers of all religious and social motivations.
In 2012, he served as a radio presenter for the Al-FIjiri Breakfast Show on Marhaba FM also in Accra, where he captivated listeners with his ability to get to the bottom of issues affecting the poor, the weak and the marginalized particularly in the "Zongos" as the predominant Muslim communities as referred to. he virtually brought God in the middle of all social equations whether he was dealing with Politics, Development, Human Rights to name a few.
From 2009 to 2012, Imam Muhammad Hussaini Bagnya served as an Imam for the Asoma Banda Mosque, a leading mosque in Accra where he led as prayer leader and conducted sermons in Arabic and English. during these times, he changed the paradigm in sermon delivery as all things contemporary were considered worthy to be sermonized.
Muhammad Hussaini Bagnya has worked as a liaison officer for the Islamic Council for Dev. & Humanitarian Services (ICODEHS) in Accra where he Organized and coordinated ICODEHS’ conferences countrywide in Ghana. He also worked for Al Rayaan International School, a UK registered school as an Administrative Manager in Accra, Ghana.
A true advocate for the rights of women and children who have spoken on several platforms in this regard. he holds an M.Phil in Governance and Leadership where his thesis focused on Islam and Women Leadership. Imam Muhammad is a strong believer in the power of sports particularly soccer, a strong supporter of Chelsea FC, married and a proud father of a daughter.
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Motivated by a passion for building resilient health systems and leaders, James Nardella serves as Chief Program Officer for Last Mile Health. He oversees the impact and quality of Last Mile Health-supported country programming across Africa and supports the development of the organization’s global initiatives in community health systems education, research, and technical advisory.
Prior to joining Last Mile Health, James served as Principal on the Portfolio & Investments Team at the Skoll Foundation. He led the Foundation’s relationship with a $40M portfolio of current Skoll Awardees and managed a team responsible for tracking the pipeline of candidates and monitoring the performance of past Skoll Awardees.
Prior to Skoll, James led the Lwala Community Alliance, a Kenyan health and development organization known for its community approach to increasing child survival, skilled delivery rates, and access to HIV care.
James holds a B.F.A. in Theatre Arts from Boston University and a M.Ed. in International Education Policy and Leadership from Peabody College at Vanderbilt University. James is married to Jena Lee Nardella, the co-founder of Blood:Water and the author of One Thousand Wells.
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Office of the President, Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
Fr. Michael Czerny S.J. entered the Society of Jesus in English Canada in 1963, and was ordained in 1973. He did graduate studies at the University of Chicago in an inter-disciplinary programme in humanities, social thought and theology and earned the doctorate in 1978.
Dr. Czerny was the founding director of the Jesuit Centre for Social Faith and Justice, Toronto (1979 – 1989). After the 1989 assassination of the Jesuits at the Central American University (UCA) in San Salvador, he became Director of its Human Rights Institute (1990 – 1991) and Vice-Rector of the UCA (1991). For 11 years Michael served as Secretary for Social Justice at the Jesuit General Curia, Rome (1992 – 2002). In 2002, he founded the African Jesuit AIDS Network (AJAN), which assists Jesuits to respond to the HIV/AIDS pandemic; he directed AJAN for 8 years.
Since 2010, Fr. Czerny has been working with Cardinal Peter Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, as advisor or counsellor in all areas of service offered by the President’s Office.
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Founder and Creative Director,
TostanMolly Melching is the Founder and Creative Director of the Non Governmental Organization, Tostan. Having lived and worked in Senegal since 1974, Molly has received international recognition for her groundbreaking educational programs in national languages. Molly’s early experiences in rural Senegal reinforced her beliefs that many development efforts were not addressing the deeper priorities of African communities. In collaboration with Senegalese villagers, she developed a new type of education program that actively involves both adults and youth in promoting positive African values and using traditional ways of learning. Their efforts grew throughout the 1980s, leading Molly to found Tostan in 1991.
Tostan’s innovative grassroots, human rights-based education model has led communities to make significant progress in the areas of health, education, governance, the environment and financial empowerment. To date, more than 8,500 communities in 8 African countries have held public declarations to abandon the practices of female genital cutting and child marriage.
Molly and Tostan have received numerous awards including the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize, UNESCO’s King Sejong Literacy Prize, the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship and the Thomas J. Dodd Award for Justice and Human Rights. Molly is also the subject of a New York Times best-selling book: “However Long the Night”, written by acclaimed author Aimee Molloy.
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Dr. Sakena Yacoobi is CEO and founder (1995) of the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL). Born in Herat, Afghanistan, she studied in the U.S., earning a degree in biological sciences from the University of the Pacific and a public health master’s degree from Loma Linda University. A university professor and health consultant for a time in the U.S., she returned in 1992 to work with her people. While training refugee teachers in Pakistan, she published eight Dari training guides. Known as “The Mother of Afghan Education”, Sakena’s innovative, community-based approach have greatly increased access to quality education and health for women and children, transforming the Afghan educational scene. A leader in providing human rights, leadership, peace and health training for women, AIL has impacted the lives of more than 17 million Afghans, 70% of whom are women. The first to offer human rights and leadership training to Afghan women, AIL also supported 80 secret home schools for 3,000 girls in Afghanistan after the Taliban closed girls’ schools. AIL was also the first organization to open Learning Centers for Afghan women. AIL now has a Legal Clinic to provide free legal services to poor Afghan women and has been hosting large scale peace conferences around Afghanistan using the poetry of the Afghan poet Rumi to teach lessons of justice, human rights, good citizenship and peace.
Besides her work with AIL, Sakena has four private schools, a private hospital and radio and TV stations. Among her awards are six honorary doctorates, Sunhak Peace Prize, WISE Prize for Education, Opus Prize, Jonathan Mann Award, Afghan National Peace Award and Sri Sathya Sai Award for Human Excellence in education. Dr. Yacoobi is a Skoll and Schwab Social Entrepreneur, an Ashoka Fellow and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. She is Vice President of Creating Hope International (CHI), Global Fund for Women former board member, a Fetzer Institute advisor, and a member of the USAWC.
