Convenors
Richard Falk
Richard Falk is Albert G. Milbank Professor Emeritus of International Law at Princeton University, Chair of Global Law, Faculty of Law, at Queen Mary University London, and co-Director of its Centre of Environmental Justice and Crime, Research Associate the Orfalea Center of Global Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Fellow of the Tellus Institute. He directed the project on Global Climate Change, Human Security, and Democracy at UCSB and formerly was the director of the North American group in the World Order Models Project. Between 2008 and 2014, Falk served as UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Occupied Palestine. His book, (Re)Imagining Humane Global Governance (2014), proposes a value-oriented assessment of world order and future trends. His most recent books are Power Shift (2016); Revisiting the Vietnam War (2017); and On Nuclear Weapons: Denuclearization, Demilitarization and Disarmament (2019); He is the author or coauthor of other books, including Religion and Humane Global Governance (2001), Explorations at the Edge of Time (1993), Revolutionaries and Functionaries (1988), The Promise of World Order (1988), Indefensible Weapons(with Robert Jay Lifton) (1983), A Study of Future Worlds (1975), and This Endangered Planet (1972). In 2016 he published a book of poems, Waiting for Rainbows. His memoir, Public Intellectual: The Life of a Citizen Pilgrim was published in 2021 and received an award from Global Policy Institute at Loyala Marymount University as ‘the best book of 2021.’ He has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023. Falk’s most recent book, written in collaboration with John Dugard and Michael Lynk is Protecting Human Rights in Occupied Palestine: Working Through the United Nations (2022).
Currently Falk is preoccupied with his role as one of the three convenors of SHAPE, and also with a parallel effort to revive the World Order Models Project (WOMP) that had an earlier existence, 1968-1995. Both initiatives are responses to what is believed to be a defining crisis for humanity and its natural habitat. In addition, Falk is involved as co-director, with Augusto Lopez-Claro, of a project on global governance with scholars drawn from around the world.
Chandra Muzaffar
Dr. Chandra Muzaffar is the President of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST), an international NGO based in Malaysia, which seeks to critique global injustice and to develop an alternative vision of a just and compassionate civilisation guided by universal spiritual and moral values. He has published extensively on civilizational dialogue, international politics, religion, human rights and Malaysian society. The author and editor of 32 books in English and Malay, many of his writings have been translated into other languages. Among Chandra’s latest publications are, A World in Crisis: Is There a Cure? and Reflections on Malaysian Unity and Other Challenges. In l977, he founded a multi-ethnic social reform group called Aliran Kesedaran Negara (ALIRAN) which he led for 14 years. Today, apart from his role in JUST, Chandra sits on the board of a number of international NGOs concerned with social justice and civilizational dialogue.
Chandra was Professor and Director of the Centre for Civilisational Dialogue, University of Malaya (1997-1999) and Professor of Global Studies at Universiti Sains Malaysia (2007-2012). Chandra travels abroad frequently, giving lectures and speaking at seminars and conferences. He is also a regular speaker at meetings at home in Malaysia. Chandra is the recipient of a number of international awards related to his scholarship and social activism. Chandra is married to Mariam Mohd Hashim and they have two daughters.
Joseph Camilleri
Joseph Camilleri OAM is Emeritus Professor at La Trobe University in Melbourne, a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, and convener of Conversation at the Crossroads. He was born in Alexandria, Egypt where he received his early education. At the age of twelve he left Egypt with his parents who migrated to Melbourne. He began teaching in the Department of Politics at Monash University, Melbourne in 1967. He pursued his PhD studies as Buxton fellow at the London School of Economics (1969-1972). He was appointed lecturer at La Trobe University, Melbourne in 1973, where over forty years he taught some thirty-five undergraduate and postgraduate level, established the Bachelor of International Relations degree and the Master of International Policy Studies. He has supervised some 40 PhDs and mentored more than 30 scholars who now hold senior academic positions. He was the founding director of the La Trobe Centre for Dialogue, which specialised on research and training in the management of cultural, religious and political tensions within and between countries,
Joseph Camilleri has authored or edited over 30 books and written some 120 book chapters and journal articles. His research has focussed on security studies, international political economy, the foreign policies of the great powers, the international relations of the Asia-Pacific region, and the philosophy, method and practice of dialogue. Importantly he explored the complexities of governance in an era of rapid transition. Two notable works are The End of Sovereignty? (1992) and Worlds in Transition: Evolving Governance Across a Stressed Planet (2009), both co-authored with Jim Falk. Since 2000, Camilleri has convened some 20 major international dialogues and conferences, and appeared before several parliamentary and government inquiries. He serves on several advisory boards and for 20 years chaired the editorial board of the journal Global Change, Peace and Security.
He has given lectures and keynote addresses around Australia and in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Sweden, Norway, France, Italy, Japan, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, India and New Zealand. He provides regular advice and intellectual support to many governmental and community organisations, and is a regular commentator on public affairs and contributor to Pearls and Irritations. Joseph Camilleri is the recipient of several awards, including the St Michael’s Award for distinguished service to the community, the Victorian Premier’s Award for his contribution to Community Harmony, and the Order of Australia Medal for service to the community and to International Relations as scholar, educator and advocate.