The IPS Board of Directors is comprised of distinguished journalists, academics, communications experts and specialists in international cooperation - chosen by the IPS International Association’s 130 members.
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Federico Mayor Zaragoza, Chair Federico Mayor Zaragoza was born in Barcelona in 1934. He obtained a doctorate in pharmacy from the Universidad Complutense of Madrid in 1958. In 1963 he became professor of biochemistry at the School of Pharmacy of the University of Granada, and in 1968 was elected Rector of the same university, a post he held until 1972. The following year he was appointed professor in biochemistry at the Universidad Autónoma of Madrid. |
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Fifi Benaboud, Vice-Chair Fifi Benaboud - Algerian. Divorced, 3 children. PhD in Political Science. Coordinator of Transmediterranean Program (”Transmed”), North-South Centre of the Council of Europe. Senior Advisor of Scientific Boards for several global organisations. Committed in International Cooperation for 30 years. In charge of cooperation and partnership between the Council of Europe and the Mediterranean region; based on political dialogue, intercultural dialogue, human rights promotion, education and communication, mainly with Maghreb and Mashrek countries. |
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Walther Lichem,Vice-Chair Walther Lichem, Head of the Department for International Organisations in the Austrian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, with studies in law (Univ. of Graz, Austria) and political science (Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna) started his professional career in 1966 at the United Nations Secretariat in New York in the field of international water resources with development cooperation missions to Ethiopia (1971), Argentina (1971-74) and to the Senegal River Development Organisation (1980). He was also Rapporteur on international river basins at the International Conference on Water Law (Caracas, 1976) and at the IVth World Water Conference (Buenos Aires, 1982). |
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Mario Lubetkin, IPS Director General Mario Lubetkin served as correspondent for several Italian and Latin American print media, and as communications adviser for several U.N. agencies and regional integration organisations such as ALADI (Latin American Integration Association), CEFIR (Training Centre for Regional Integration), ARPEL (Latin American Oil Companies Association) and also for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Development Programme (PNUD). |
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René Castro René Castro has held various positions in the Costa Rican government: Minister of Environment and Energy, deputy-minister of the Ministry of Governance, National Director of the Ministry of Transportation and Public Works, President of the San José City Council. He served as chief of Costa Rican delegations to the international conventions on Biodiversity, Climatic Change and Ozone. He holds a doctorate in Design from Harvard University, with an emphasis on Natural Resource Economics and Sustainable Development, and obtained a Master’s Degree from the same university. He graduated as a civil engineer from the University of Costa Rica. |
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Joaquín Costanzo Joaquín Costanzo was born in Uruguay, is married and has three children. In 1980 he began working as a journalist for different newspapers, radios, and TV stations in his country. He was Chief of Political and Society Information of La República and La Hora newspapers; Director of the Information Department of Radio Nacional; Director of News Programs of the TV station TevéCiudad; and Editor-in-Chief of the Uruguayan news agency Pressur. |
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Thalif Deen Thalif Deen, U.N. Bureau Chief and Regional Director, Inter Press Service (IPS) news agency, has been covering the United Nations since the late 1970s. A former deputy news editor of the Sri Lanka Daily News, he was also a senior editorial writer on the Hong Kong Standard. |
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Paula Fray Paula Fray has worked in media for over 22 years the last four in the field of media training and development. She is currently the Regional Director for IPS Africa, with management responsibilities for the news service and related media and communication projects in Africa. |
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Jos J.A.M. van Gennip Jos van Gennip has a broad and deep background in international and development cooperation and has been active in these - and other - fields and organizations. He has held leading positions at various Dutch development NGOs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Development Cooperation. He was director of the Scientific Bureau of the Netherlands Christian-Democratic Party and has a long political career within this party, amongst others as member of the Dutch Senate. During his career Jos van Gennip also acted at the international level in issues such as development, democracy promotion, peace & security and migration & refugees. |
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Halle Jorn Hanssen Halle Jorn Hanssen, 66, Norwegian. History, Sociology and Political Science make up his educational background. He is a member of the IPS International Board of Directors and the chairman of the Executive Committee. He has a long-standing relationship with IPS, dating back to 1983 when he was part of the launch of IPS in Norway. He has been a member of the Core Group representing Norway from 1984 to 1992 and also a member of other governing bodies within the IPS organisational structure. |
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Ramesh Jaura Ramesh Jaura is a member of the Board of Directors of the IPS International Association and Director of IPS-Inter Press Service Europa (IPS Europe), the news agency’s regional entity for Europe and the Mediterranean. A journalist with an experience of more than 40 years, most of which he has spent reporting on global communication and development affairs, Jaura is also tasked with the planning and implementation of IPS’s communication and outreach strategy. He is Editor-in-Chief of the bilingual KOMMUNIKATION GLOBAL - GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES, a monthly magazine for international co-operation published by IPS Europe. He is also publisher and Chief Editor of The Global South, a monthly internet publication. South Asian Outlook, IDN-InDepthNews are other internet publications he is associated with. |
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Kerry Kennedy Kerry Kennedy is the mother of three daughters, Cara, Mariah, and Michaela. After graduating from Brown University and Boston College Law School, Ms. Kennedy established the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights to ensure the protection of rights codified under the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights in 1988. The Center provides an on going base of support to leading human rights defenders around the world. |
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Govin Reddy Govin Reddy is a media consultant and Professor Extraordinaire in the Department of Journalism, Stellenbosch University. Prof. Reddy has held a number of senior management and executive positions in media organizations. These include Head of the English Service of IPS, Editor of Africa South magazine, Chief Executive of SABC Radio, Chief Executive of the Mail & Guardian newspaper and Director of the Media Leadership Institute at Rhodes University. He is a past President of the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association and serves on the Boards of a number of media organizations in South Africa. |
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Johanna Son A Philippine national, Johanna graduated with a journalism degree from the University of the Philippines, magna cum laude, and has covered the diplomatic and political beats in her country. She joined IPS as regional correspondent for the Asia-Pacific and became regional editor in 1997. She was appointed concurrent regional director in 1998, and oversaw the transfer of the regional headquarters from Manila to Bangkok in late 1999. |
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Giovanni Spinelli Giovanni Spinelli, born in 1942, is an Italian journalist. In the 1960s he was the national representative of Italian NGOs and worked as a political reporter. From 1979 to 1985 he served as Mayor of the Municipality of Historic Central Rome, and in 1980, UNFPA commissioned him to organise the First World Conference of Mayors in Rome. He also worked as a consultant for UNESCO on the creation of a Francophone African news agency. |
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