Steering Committee & Advisors
Executive Steering Committee
The Executive Steering Committee consists of four persons and provides ongoing support and guidance to the Executive Office. Members must therefore not only be strongly committed to equalinrights, but also readily available and accessible to the Executive Office. A quorum of 2/3 is required for all decisions of the Executive Steering Committee. All decisions are made by consensus. The role of the Executive Steering Committee is:
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To develop and refine the strategies of equalinrights;
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To approve and participate in the elaboration of equalinrights‘ priorities and annual programme of action;
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To make all decisions concerning financial matters;
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To guide and support the conduct of equalinrights-related activities; and
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To engage their own networks to support the activities of equalinrights.
The current members of the Executive Steering Committee are:
Professor Bas de Gaay Fortman (Chairperson)
Professor Bas de Gaay Fortman is currently the Chair in Political Economy of Human Rights at the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights (SIM), Faculty of Law, University of Utrecht. He is an avid human rights supporter and has worked persistently on the realisation of human rights for many, many years. His experience is diverse, ranging from leading the Radical Party in the Dutch parliament, to living in Africa as Acting Head of the Economics Department, University of Zambia. He is also the author of a number of books and articles on issues like poverty and the realisation of economic, social and cultural rights. See more de Gaay Fortman, Professional Profile.
Dr. Irene Guijt
Irene has research, training and facilitation experience with grassroots organisations and international agencies, about which she has published widely to bridge the persistent gap between academia and practice. Her main interests lie in fostering ways to facilitate learning for critically reflective practice in organisations and among societal alliances. A key part of this lies in personal transformation and understanding how power emerges and is used in interactions. She has recently finalised her PhD at Wageningen University (the Netherlands) which examines why current perspectives on monitoring are unlikely to contribute to learning in the context of dynamic resource management partnerships that are engaged in institutional transformation. She also works as a freelance consultant, with recent work including coordinating a five country evaluation of Dutch NGO support to strengthen civil society participation and coordinating the 'Assessing Social Change' initiative, undertaken with IDS (UK).
Ms. Elizabeth Solomon
Elizabeth Solomon has a multi-disciplinary educational background and considerable experience working in the development arena - both in the private and public sector, from NGO‘s to rural community groups to international organisations at all levels. She has a bachelors degree in Mass Communications, a masters degree in International Relations, an LBB and has completed a serious of post graduate diplomas in human rights and related issues. Her skills include negotiations and problem solving in complex situations; creative conceptualising; implementation and evaluation of projects; production of all media communication strategy and proposal/report writing; legal drafting and analysing international law; advocacy and public speaking; creation of training tools; and finally, teaching and interdisciplinary training - particularly in the area of economic, social and cultural rights based work.
Mr. Pim Verhallen
Pim Verhallen is Policy Advisor and works with the human rights policy department in ICCO, drawing on significant experience acquired through leading the Latin America Department in ICCO and working extensively in Bolivia and Peru for the Dutch Foreign Ministry and local civil society organisations. His work now focuses on civil society strengthening and accountability for development, civil society movements, such as the World Social Forum, and fostering greater integration between human rights and development work.
General Steering Committee
Equalinrights also proposes to have a General Steering Committee of six persons with a strong representative basis in developing countries. To support our activities and partners, these experts should participate in annual meetings and engage actively through other channels where relevant.
The role of the General Steering Committee is:
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To develop and refine the strategies of equalinrights;
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To participate in the elaboration of equalinrights’ priorities and oversee its annual program of action;
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To provide equalinrights with a broader perspective of prominent issues confronting communities living in poverty;
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To support in the elaboration of novel and creative strategies to redress inequality and injustice;
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To support the finalisation of tools, research projects and other related equalinrights projects;
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To engage their own networks to support the activities of equalinrights.
Equalinrights is currently identifying potential members for the General Steering Committee immediate and plans to activate it in the second half of 2008.
