Mr. Josep Mayoral served as Mayor of Granollers from 2004 to 2022. He held responsibilities in the areas of Public Works, Tourism, and Natural Spaces within the provincial government, and served as First Vice President of the Barcelona Provincial Council between 2009 and 2011. He holds a degree in Economics and worked as a teacher and director at the Municipal School of Work in Granollers. In addition, Mr Mayoral was President of the European section of Mayors for Peace, promoting peace, disarmament, and international cooperation. He is currently President of the Consortium for Health and Social Care of Catalonia and of the Carles Pi i Sunyer Foundation. He has an extensive career in public administration, which began at the Granollers City Council in 1987. During that period, he headed the departments of Citizen Relations, Public Image and Communication, and served as Deputy Mayor responsible for the Territory area until 2004, when he assumed the office of Mayor.

Mr. Oscar Escobar is the former Mayor of Palmira, Colombia (2020–2023). As mayor, he won the 2022 UCLG Peace Prize for the PAZOS (Paz y Oportunidades) strategy, which focused on preventing violence, particularly among youth, through the strategic prioritization of resources. As a result, Palmira achieved the lowest homicide rate in its history. Mr Escobar studied Economics at ICESI University, holds Master’s degrees from Universidad de los Andes and the Harvard Kennedy School. Prior to becoming mayor, he worked at the National Planning Department and served as an economic advisor to Senator Claudia López. He is co-author of the book Goodbye to the FARC! And now that? and currently serves as Regional Coordinator for Claudia López’s presidential campaign and as a member of the Board of Directors of Fundación Sidoc.

Prof. Dr. Janne Nijman is the chairperson of the Executive Board and Academic Director of the Asser Institute. She also serves as Professor of History and Theory of International law at the University of Amsterdam and Professor of International Law at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID) in Geneva. Nijman is a member of the Supervisory Board of PAX for Peace and an internationally leading author on cities and international law and governance.