Mr. Saifuddin Abdullah, President of the Malaysian Youth Council

Mr. Abdullah is the author of the 1998 publication Strengthening Youth Agenda: Implementation through Empowerment. He is also Director/Founder of Paduan Consulting in Kuala Lumpur. He has recently been involved in a capacity building project with ESCAP designed to facilitate the regional sharing of experience on youth needs, youth policy and policy alternatives in the Asia-Pacific region. He also attended and was active at the UN World Youth Ministers Conference in Lisbon. In Malaysia, he was a member of the Second National Economic Consultative Council, and its human resource committee, whose recommendations on youth employment have been included in Malaysia’s Third Outline Perspective Plan 2001-2010 and the Eighth Malaysia Plan, 2001-2005.

Telefónica represents a global network in the telecommunications field. With the strong personal commitment of Mr. Alierta, Telefónica, particularly through its work in the Fundacion Telefónica, brings information and communications technology to young people and disadvantaged groups. Telefónica is the leading global telecommunications operator in the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking world. Telefónica operates in 46 countries on all five continents and it has over 150,000 employees. Since its creation in 1920, the IOE has been recognised at the international level as a major organisation representing the interests of business in the labour and social policy fields. Today, it consists of 132 national employer's organisations from 129 countries. Telefónica, together with the International Organization of Employers, is in a position to provide a vast network of support to the Youth Employment Network.

Dr. Cardoso is President of the "Comunidade Solidaria" programme, an organization that aims to combat poverty and social exclusion in Brazil. In 1972 she obtained a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of São Paulo and she pursued her post-doctoral studies at Columbia University, as a Fulbright Scholar. Dr. Cardoso is a member of the Board of the United Nations Foundation. She has also served on the editorial board of Novos Estudos, and was a member of the Joint Committee on Latin American Studies of the Social Science Research Council and the American Council of Learned Societies. She has held academic positions in the Graduate Political Science Programme, University of São Paulo; the City and Regional Department, University of California; and the Centre for Latin American Studies at Cambridge University. In addition, Dr. Cardoso has been both a researcher and director at the Brazilian Centre of Analysis and Planning; member of the Board of the Public Educational TV of the State of São Paulo; a counsellor at the National Council of Women's Rights; and a member of the Independent Commission on Population and Quality of Life. Dr. Cardoso is the author of several articles on urban anthropology, social movements and the tertiary sector.

As an expert on the informal sector, Mr. de Soto, as well as his Institute ILD, were ranked as one of the most important think tanks and individuals in the world by Time (May, 1999), Fortune (50th Anniversary edition), and The Economist. He continues to develop and implement strategies for bringing informal enterprises and property ownership into the mainstream which promote economic development, and raise the standard of living of people in developing economies around the world.

Dr. Gupta leads a 40 member multi-disciplinary staff as it conducts research, provides technical assistance and advocates women's full participation in economic and social development. She holds a Ph.D. in Social Psychology and is a leading expert on women and HIV/AIDS in developing countries. For over 20 years, Dr. Rao Gupta has conducted research on a variety of health-related topics including adolescent sexuality and fertility, family planning, and adolescent and maternal nutrition. Dr. Rao Gupta has authored or co-authored over a dozen research reports and articles on gender perspectives and HIV/AIDS and women and HIV/AIDS. Dr. Rao Gupta serves on many boards, including the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative and the National Council for Research on Women.

Mr. Jordan has always been a keen advocate of trade union movement as well as of training and education. He is a governor of the London School of Economics and of Ashridge Management College, a former member of National Training Task Force and of the UK Skills Council. He was President of the European Metalworkers' Federation and was Executive member of the International Metalworkers' Federation and the European Trade Union Confederation.

Former EU Director-General for Employment and Social Affairs, architect of the new EU policy on employment, former Minister of Finance of Sweden, and previously Director-General of the Swedish Labour Market Board, Mr. Larsson is currently advising the ILO on employment questions, including the ILO Global Agenda for Employment. He is a member of the OECD Round Table for Sustainable Development. He is chairman of the board of Governors of Swedish Television and chairman of the Transatlantic Dialogue on Broadcasting and Information Society.

Rick Little is president and chief executive officer of the ImagineNations Group, a global alliance of social entrepreneurs, thought leaders, investors, financial institutions, global brands, media and organizations--all working together with and for young people to inspire positive change in society.

 ImagineNations seeks to inform and influence policy and program development, particularly those related to achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

Little is also founder of the International Youth Foundation (IYF) and served as its president and CEO from 1990 to 2002. IYF currently operates in more than 60 countries to improve conditions and prospects for young people. IYF and its global network of partners invest more than $135 million annually in hundreds of projects in youth employment, education, health, micro-enterprise and bridging the digital divide. Little was chairman of the Global Alliance for Workers and Communities, a partnership of the World Bank, several global corporations, universities, NGOs and IYF, striving to improve working conditions for young people in factories in Southeast Asia. Little is also the creator of Quest International and served as its president and CEO from 1975 to 1989. Quest's programs teach life skills to young people and have been implemented in more than 30,000 schools in 38 countries. Little was selected by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, as one of the Global Leaders for Tomorrow and received the Robert Scrivner Award from the U.S. Council on Foundations.

Ms. Maria Livanos Cattaui, Secretary-General, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)

Mr. Magatte Wade, Directeur-Général, Agence d’Exécution des Travaux d’Intérêt Public contre le Sous-Emploi (AGETIP)-Sénégal

Mr. Wade is the Director General of AGETIP-Senegal, an executing agency for works of public interest for combating underemployment. He is former Regional Director of IBM in Africa and is concerned with the social responsibility of business. AGETIP-Senegal started a decade ago under his direction with World Bank and donor support, as a programme designed to provide employment opportunities to youth negatively affected by structural adjustment. Mr. Wade is well placed to link employment policy with practice and will provide a practical, operational dimension to the work of the Panel. AGETIP-Senegal is also a member of the AFRICATIP Network involving similar programmes geared toward working with urban authorities in labour-intensive urban development with youth as a key area of focus. Both World Bank and ILO have collaborated with these programmes.

Mr. Willis was an advocate for the Australian Council for Trade Unions before being elected to the House of Representatives in 1974. He was shadow Treasurer for the Australian Labor Party from 1977 to 1983. After the Labor Government was elected in 1983 he was appointed Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations. Between 1993 and 1996 he was Australian Treasurer. Since resigning from the House in 1998 he has been appointed Chairman of the building industry superannuation fund, which has about $A 3.5 billion under management and receives an additional half a billion a year for investment. He has been and remains closely personally engaged in issues of encouraging employment growth.

As a long time Director of The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups (HKFYG), the leading youth work organization in Hong Kong, Dr. Wong knows the needs of young people thoroughly. She is also the Chairman of the Education Commission of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and was a former member of the Executive Council (the cabinet of senior advisors to the Hong Kong Government.). Dr. Wong is currently the Chairman of World Vision Hong Kong and a Board Member of World Vision International. She is also Non-Executive Director of Cheung Kong Holdings and of HSBC and holds a distinguished record of public service. Dr. Wong and the Federation maintain excellent working links with youth organizations and government bodies on the Mainland.