UK Forum on Cultural Diplomacy 2026
“Strengthening Democracy, Women’s Leadership, Impactful Development and Security”
(HOC, HOL, Westminster-London; January 12-15th, 2026 - The event is taking place within the framework of the Scotland Forum)
Forum Speakers
Speakers for the forum will include among others the following dignitaries:
 Tasmina Ahmed-SheikhHead of the UK Forum |
 Baroness UddinMember of the House of Lords (UK) |
 Rt Hon. Nus GhaniDeputy Speaker of the UK House of Commons |
 Lisa CameronMember of the UK Parliament 2015-2024 |
 Baroness AshtonMember of the House of Lords of the (UK); High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy 2009-2014 |
 Nihal SaadDirector of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) |
 Miguel MoratinosUnited Nations Under-Secretary-General, High-Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) |
 Irina Bokova10th Director-General of UNESCO |
 Mladen IvanicChairman of Presidency of Bosnia & Herzegovina 2014-15, 2016-17 |
 Natalia Gavrilita15th Prime Minister of Moldova 2021-2023 |
 Gjorge IvanovPresident of the Republic of Macedonia 2009-2019 |
 Toomas Hendrik IlvesPresident of Estonia 2006-2016 |
 Hassan DiabPrime Minister of Lebanon 2020-2022 |
 Mohammad ShtayyehPrime Minister of Palestine 2019-2024 |
 Alfred GusenbauerChancellor of Austria 2007-2008 |
 Yves LetermePrime Minister of Belgium 2009-2011 |
 Baroness PrasharMember of the House of Lords (UK) |
 Rt Hon. Caroline Nokes MPDeputy Speaker of the UK House of Commons |
 Jim ShannonMember of the UK Parliament |
 Baroness Laing of ElderslieMember of the House of Lords (UK) |
 Yasmin QureshiMember of the UK Parliament |
 Lord Kulveer RangerMember of the House of Lords (UK) |
 Lord Richard LayardMember of the House of Lords (UK) |
 Lord John TaylorMember of the House of Lords (UK) |
 Samina Mumtaz ZehriMember of the Senate of Pakistan |
 Sherry RehmanFormer Federal Minister of Climate Change of Pakistan |
 Quratulain MarriMember of the Senate of Pakistan |
 Marvi MemonFormer Federal Minister of Pakistan ; Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan 2008-2018 |
 Veenoo SharmaFounder and President, The Power Diaspora Forum |
 Jorik Schellekens Co-Founder at boop- Building Right-Protecting Digital and Physical Identity |
 Nathan JayCo-Founder at boop- Building Right-Protecting Digital and Physical Identity |
 Gianluca di BellaData Scientist, Entrepreneur, and Ecosystem Builder |
 Abbas HashmiProgram Leader, Family Enterprises and Wealth, Columbia Business School, New York |
 Matthew DawsonEthereum Foundation |
 Saloi BenbahaGlobal Head of XDC Network Enterprise Alliance and Ventures |
 Lavinia OsborneCEO, Women in Blockchain Talks |
 Asim RazviPresident & Director of AI Strategy, Monetisation & Enterprise Value, CoreIntel |
 Leasil BurrowAssociate Fellow, Saïd Business School |
 Vicky PryceChief Economic Adviser, Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) |
 Larisa YarovayaFintech Speaker | Blockchain & Crypto Scholar | Advisor, British Blockchain Association |
 Johan Büser Member of the Swedish Parliament |
 Ann LindeMinister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden 2019-2022 |
 Erkki TomojuaMinister of Foreign Affairs of Finland 2000-07, 2011-15 |
 Skinnari Ville Member of the Finnish Parliament; Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade 2019-2023 |
 Timo HarakkaMember of the Finnish Parliament; Minister of Transport and Communications 2019-2023 |
 Inka HopsuMember of the Parliament of Finland |
 Nasima RazmyarMember of the Parliament of Finland |
 Daniel Vencu Velasquez CastroMember of the Swedish Parliament |
 Pär StenbäckMinister of Education and Foreign Affairs of Finland 1979–83 |
 Sharon HodgsonMember of the UK Parliament |
 Rosie WintertonDeputy Speaker of the House of Commons 2017-2024 |
 Baroness BlowerMember of the House of Lords (UK) |
 Rumeysa KadakMember of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey |
 Irene CharalambidesVice-President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly; Member of the House of Representatives of Cyprus |
 Artemi Vicent Rallo Lombarte Member of the Senate of Spain |
 Yossi MekelbergSenior Consulting Fellow, MENA Programme, Chatham House |
 Fateh Ullah KhanMember of the National Assembly of Pakistan |
 Amos HaniffAssociate Executive Dean for International and Partnerships at Heriot-Watt University |
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 Syed Ayaz Ali Shah SheeraziMember of the National Assembly of Pakistan |
 Mark DonfriedInstitute for Cultural Diplomacy |
 Mohammad Haneef AtmarFormer Minister of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan |
 Ivan IvanovExecutive Chairman, International Center Alliance of Civilizations |
 Ali Ahmad JalaliFormer Minister of the Interior of Afghanistan |
Manzoor Ahmed Kakar
