MUNNISA Guest Speakers
2023-2024
Ronny Lindstrom
UNFPA Representative for Kazakhstan and Country Director for Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan
Mr Ronny Lindstrom has officially assumed his role as UNFPA Representative for Kazakhstan, and Country Director for Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan in March, 2022.
Before joining the EECA region, Mr Lidstrom had been working as a Representative in Timor-Leste since January 2018.
Mr Ronny Lindstrom started his career with UNFPA in Central Asia as Programme Officer covering the Central Asian Republics based in Uzbekistan. He also worked in the Asia and Pacific Division and the Division of Management Services, where among other duties, he served as the secretary of the Contracts Review Committee. He then worked as UNFPA Deputy Representative in China and was then seconded to the CEB Secretariat under the office of the Secretary General in Geneva before returning to UNFPA in Dili, Timor Leste.
Originally from Sweden, Mr Lindstrom holds Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and History from Delta State University (USA), MA in Political Science from Mississippi State University (USA), MSc degree in Political Science from University of California (USA), and PhD in Political Science from University of California, Riverside (USA).
Nikita Shabayev
UN Volunteers Country Coordinator in Kazakhstan
Nikita Shabayev has solid experience of more than 15 years of practical experience in development with public sectors, NGOs, and UN.
Nikita worked in different UN projects from 2015:
— UN EXPO-2017: led the team of 50 UN EXPO
Volunteers for UN Agencies,
— UNDP Projects:
o on PVE in Central Asia,
o Social Inclusion,
o Youth development,
o Optimizing civil service in Kazakhstan,
— as a UN Volunteer developed Corporate Volunteerism schemes in the South of Kazakhstan.
Prior to UN he worked for the “Samruk-Kazyna” National Welfare Fund, was a Volunteers’ Coordinator at the 7th Asian Winter Games, co-founded the Best for Kids
Public Foundation.
Nikita holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration (Nazarbayev University) with the majors in Philology and Law.
Brian Brackrog
Director of International Programmes at Erudito Licėjus
Mr. Brian is an equity-focused educator and social scientist with over two decades of international experience teaching and leading teams of teachers in exploring the many opportunities schools encounter as they answer some of the wicked questions of education. He has a MA in Education, BA in Social Science and a certificated teacher qualification from California. Mr. Brian is passionate about economics, design and the vital role that academic institutions play in helping to foster independent, resilient and adaptable learners empowered to shape the positive change they wish to see in the world. He has spent the last 15 years working in Rome, Berlin and London and is excited to begin a new journey in Vilnius with Erudito Licėjus.
Lidiya Beisembayeva
UNICEF's National Consultant
Lidiya Beisembayeva is UNICEF’s National Consultant on digital skills and online protection of children in Kazakhstan. In the past year, Lidiya has been involved in creating a digital public good (DPG) course for parents and teachers to elevate their digital literacy, and in conducting a Kazakh Kids Online national research that provides data in understanding how children use the internet and how they handle online risks. Additionally, Lidiya is a mental health specialist who works closely with children and parents to handle questions of anxiety and stress, and issues of friendship and loneliness.
Erik VanIngen
Innovations Specialist on Digital Agriculture at FAO
Erik VanIngen works as an innovations specialist on digital agriculture through frontier technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, data analytics, IoT and remote sensing in the FAO Office of Innovation. He drives the blockchain community of practice in FAO in collaboration with other UN entities such as IFAD, WFP and UNIN. Erik has a special interest in digital sustainability for the agrifood valuechain on topics such as climate and child labor in collaboration with the private sector. Before joining FAO, he worked for 10 years in the private sector in the Netherlands and Sweden as a software architect and project leader. Erik holds a bachelor in Telematics and obtained in 2020 a master’s degree at the Open University in the Netherlands in Business Process Management and IT.
Dr. Rustam Atadjanov
Associate Dean of the School of Law and Chair of the KIMEP Academic Council
Dr. Rustam Atadjanov studied law in Uzbekistan (Karakalpak State University, 1999-2003), the United States (University of Connecticut School of Law, 2005-2006), and Germany (the University of Hamburg, 2014-2018). From 2007 to 2014, he held various positions at the Regional Delegation in Central Asia of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) including the post of Legal Adviser. Dr. Atadjanov is actively involved in academic research and publishes with a number of European and Asian academic journals on Central Asian law and practices, public international law, international criminal law, international humanitarian law, human rights law, legal theory, constitutional law, criminal law, and diplomatic law. Furthermore, Rustam is an editor and co-editor in several academic periodicals including the Central Asian Yearbook of International Law and International Relations and Ukrainian Law Review, and he is also a member of a number of international law associations and societies. At KIMEP School of Law, Rustam teaches a variety of courses for undergraduate and graduate students; simultaneously, he works as Associate Dean of the School of Law and Chair of the KIMEP Academic Council.
Courses taught at the School of Law:
– Theory of State and Law;
– Constitutional Law of Kazakhstan;
– Criminal Law of RK: General Part;
– Criminal Law of RK: Special Part;
– Law of International Treaties;
– Public International Law;
– International Human Rights Law;
– International Criminal Law;
– International Humanitarian Law;
– Diplomatic and Consular Law;
– History of International Law.
2022-2023
Silviu Pirvu
Chief Technology Officer
Silviu Pirvu is a Chief Technology Officer and urbanist focused on developing planetary intelligence companions that help greenify the world and create healthy and prosperous places on Earth and beyond. His ‘Symbiotic Intelligence’ approach uses harmonious integration of Nature with Artificial and Human Cognition systems for optimal decision-making to thrive in dynamic environments, especially in megacities, space, and extreme conditions.
Known for his dedication to preparing humans for life beyond Earth, he is a recurrent speaker at urban innovation, cognition, healthcare and space-related events across the globe. He has over 20 years of combined experience in city planning, Earth observation, space expansion, digital innovation, TV/radio and extreme performances.
Silviu Pirvu is a London-based Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufacture and Commerce, a Member of the European Centre for Space Economy and Commerce and an experienced domain expert and mentor for tens of SpaceTech, DeepTech and ClimateTech initiatives across Europe, Asia, MENA and Americas.
Raushan Kuanysheva
MUNNISA Secretary General 2021-2022
Raushan Kuanysheva is very passionate about MUN. As a former student of Nazarbayev Intellectual School of Chemistry and Biology in Aktau, she was active in MUNNISA for many years. She participated as an international delegate in both the International Lyon Model United Nations (France) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Model United Nations (USA). In 2020-2021 she was selected as a chairperson for the MUN conference in Taldykorgan and MUNNISA. During her final year as a NIS student, she was chosen to lead MUNNISA as the Secretary-General where she excelled at leadership. She continued her MUN journey last summer by participating in the VMUNI. She is currently serving as the co-advisor of MUNNISA. She studies Economics at Nazarbayev University in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Justin Rashid
Security Advisor for the United Nations in Kazakhstan
Mr. Justin Rashid is the Security Advisor for the United Nations in Kazakhstan since May 2021. Justin joined the UN in 2015 as Field Security Advisor for UNICEF in Yemen, where he worked for three years. After an interval with the World Food Programme in Nigeria, he moved to UNDSS Jordan in 2019, where he served as Security Advisor and became a key figure in the UN’s COVID-19 response. Prior to joining the UN, Justin was a civil servant in the UK. His subsequent international experience includes several years in the Middle East in the private security industry. Justin graduated from the University of Exeter in the UK with a BSc. in Psychology and went on to Master’s degrees from Cornell (Psychology), the University of Westminster (Diplomacy), and the University of Southern California (Communications).
Dr. Rustam Atadjanov
KIMEP School of Law Associate Dean
Dr. Rustam Atadjanov studied law in Uzbekistan (Karakalpak State University, 1999-2003), the United States (University of Connecticut School of Law, 2005-2006), and Germany (the University of Hamburg, 2014-2018). From 2007 to 2014, he held various positions at the Regional Delegation in Central Asia of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) including the post of Legal Adviser. Dr. Atadjanov is actively involved in academic research and publishes with a number of European and Asian academic journals on Central Asian law and practices, public international law, international criminal law, international humanitarian law, human rights law, legal theory, constitutional law, criminal law, and diplomatic law. Furthermore, Rustam is an editor and co-editor in several academic periodicals including the Central Asian Yearbook of International Law and International Relations and Ukrainian Law Review, and he is also a member of a number of international law associations and societies. At KIMEP School of Law, Rustam teaches a variety of courses for undergraduate and graduate students; simultaneously, he works as Associate Dean of the School of Law and Chair of the KIMEP Academic Council.
Courses taught at the School of Law:
– Theory of State and Law;
– Constitutional Law of Kazakhstan;
– Criminal Law of RK: General Part;
– Criminal Law of RK: Special Part;
– Law of International Treaties;
– Public International Law;
– International Human Rights Law;
– International Criminal Law;
– International Humanitarian Law;
– Diplomatic and Consular Law;
– History of International Law.
Dr. Lisa Brown
New Zealand-trained General and Hepatobiliary Surgeon
Lisa Brown is a New Zealand-trained General and Hepatobiliary Surgeon currently working at The Royal Melbourne Hospital in Australia. Lisa has pursued training and research in Aerospace Medicine throughout her Surgical training. She was the Aerospace Medicine Research Fellow at The University of Oxford, has completed an internship at DLR, and has undertaken the UTMB Principles of Aerospace Medicine Short Course. Lisa currently sits on multiple Aviation and Aerospace Medicine councils internationally and in New Zealand and is in the early stages of the development of the New Zealand Space Health Research Center.
Cezar Rujan
Member of the European Centre for Space Economy and Commerce
Cezar Rujan is a serial entrepreneur with extensive experience in Space applications for Earth, Space economy, and decision intelligence for urban development and precision agriculture powered by AI and satellites. He is experienced in leading projects supported by space agencies and developing multi-generational plans for the sustainable use of space assets for interplanetary economies.
Cezar is a Member of the European Centre for Space Economy and Commerce, focused on developing globally-scalable geo-intelligence companions, working with government agencies, international NGOs, R&D, and private organizations especially from the United Kingdom, USA, Nordics, CEE, MENA, Australia, India, East, and Southeast Asia.
2021-2022
Vlastimil Samek
Representative of the UN Department of Global Communications
Mr. Vlastimil Samek is the Representative of the United Nations Department of Global Communications and the Head of the United Nations Information Office in Kazakhstan. Prior to that he worked for the United Nations as the Representative of the United Nations Department of Public Information and Head of the United Nations Information Office in the Republic of Kazakhstan; Director of the United Nations Information Centre in Indonesia and Director of the United Nations Information Centre in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Has more than 30 years of extensive experience in international affairs, diplomacy, economic diplomacy, communications, advocacy and public relations. He joined the United Nations after serving his country in various senior positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, including long-term assignments as Head of Diplomatic Missions in Myanmar and Mongolia.
Nurbek Teleshaliyev
UNESCO Programme Specialist (Education)
Nurbek Teleshaliyev joined UNESCO as an Education Programme Specialist in February 2022. Previously, he worked for UNICEF for six years, in Lesotho and Kyrgyzstan, as an Education and Early Childhood Care and Education specialist. He has also worked for the Open Society Foundations Education and Early Childhood Programmes in Bishkek and London to support advocacy and programs advancing the right to quality education and early childhood programmes. Nurbek has consulted for NORRAG, Teachers’ College at Columbia University, the International Step By Step Association, Save The Children Federation, Every Child and the UNICEF Europe and Central Asia regional office. Nurbek holds a PhD in Education from Cambridge University. He explored the role of non-positional leadership by teachers in schools and in relation to teacher policy in Kyrgyzstan.
Michaela Friberg-Storey
United Nations Resident Coordinator for Kazakhstan
Ms. Friberg-Storey brings over 20 years of experience working with peace, security and development to this position.
Most recently, she has worked on strategic leadership of humanitarian operations and diplomacy for the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement through the Swedish Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). She also served as Head of the Security Sector Reform Division of the Agency for Peace, Security and Development (FBA) of the Swedish Government and worked at the Security Policy Department of the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
Under the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), Ms. Friberg-Storey also headed the Election Field Operations of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), held the position of Director of European Union Integration Office, and served the United Nations Special Envoy for Kosovo. She started her international career with Médecins Sans Frontières.
Ms. Friberg-Storey holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Stockholm University and completed a post-graduate degree on master’s level in Humanitarian Assistance at Uppsala University.
Kuralay Sanat
MUNNISA Secretary General 2020-2021
Kuralay Sanat served as the Secretary General of MUNNISA from 2020-2021. She has extensive experience in MUN including participating as an ILYMUN delegate in Lyon, France in 2020. She currently studies Economics at Nazarbayev University in Astana, Kazakhstan. She enjoys helping others and being a leader at her university and in her community.
Kairat Nazhmidenov
UN FAO Representative in Kazakhstan
Mr. Kairat Nazhmidenov represents the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Kazakhstan and is heading the FAO’s Liaison and Partnership Office in Kazakhstan in Nur-Sultan since 2017. As an outposted FAO HQ’s Economist he also coordinates investment support to the member countries and International Financial Institutions in Europe and Central Asia.
Mr. Nazhmidenov acquires more than 20 years of professional experience in the agriculture and food industries analysis, market and economic research, financial and economic analysis, project costing, agricultural policy, and rural development. Previously, he worked as an economist at World Bank and Asian Development Bank, and as an international expert on economics and investment at FAO headquarters (Rome, Italy) and the FAO Regional office for Europe and Central Asia (Budapest, Hungary).
He has internationally proven working experience in 18 countries around the world, including in Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Northern Macedonia, Serbia), Eastern Europe (Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine), South Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia), Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan) and Southeast Asia (the Philippines).
Hanifa Karimi
UNHCR Protection Officer for MCO Kazakhstan
Hanifa Karimi is a national of Ukraine and has been appointed as a Protection Officer of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at the MCO office in Almaty, Kazakhstan as of December 2021. Since joining UNHCR in 2004, Ms. Karimi worked in refugee protection, local integration, Refugee Status Determination and durable solutions with UNHCR operations in Ukraine, Iraq and Jordan. Ms. Karimi, holds a BA in economy and law and MA in Philology. She speaks fluently four languages including Russian.
2020-2021
Vlastimil Samek
Representative of the UN Department of Global Communications
Mr. Vlastimil Samek is the Representative of the United Nations Department of Global Communications and the Head of the United Nations Information Office in Kazakhstan. Prior to that he worked for the United Nations as the Representative of the United Nations Department of Public Information and Head of the United Nations Information Office in the Republic of Kazakhstan; Director of the United Nations Information Centre in Indonesia and Director of the United Nations Information Centre in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Has more than 30 years of extensive experience in international affairs, diplomacy, economic diplomacy, communications, advocacy and public relations. He joined the United Nations after serving his country in various senior positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, including long-term assignments as Head of Diplomatic Missions in Myanmar and Mongolia.
Vitalina Kyrylovska
Regional Protection Officer of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Kazakhstan
Vitalina Kyrylovska has been appointed as Regional Protection Officer of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in RO Kazakhstan as of January 2019. Since joining UNHCR in 2007, Vitalina worked in refugee protection, registration, refugee status determination and resettlement with UNHCR operations in the Southern Caucasus, Ethiopia, Syria, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey. She advocates for access of refugees to the national asylum procedures and basic services, and works towards strengthening national asylum legislations and practices. Vitalina graduated from the Law Faculty of Jagiellonian University, Krakow (Poland) and Taras Shevchenko University, Kiev (Ukraine).
Nazym Zhussupova
Project Manager at the UN WOMEN in Kazakhstan
Nazym Zhussupova is Project Manager at the UN Women Kazakhstan and works on elimination of gender-based inequalities and improve the status of women in Kazakhstan.
Being a Supreme Court of the RK / Union of Judges / Ministry of Internal Affairs National Expert / Coordinator with an outstanding record of success in major international not-for-profit operations gained over the last 11 years. Nazym combines excellent organizational and people skills with the highest standards and thoroughly reliable professional performance.
Nazym graduated from Riga Graduate School of Law, Kazakh American University and Almaty University of Power Energy and Telecommunications. She advanced her educational background at OSCE Academy in Bishkek and Moscow Business School. She has a Master Degrees in Business Administration / Engineering / European Law and Economics, and her early career was as an IT specialist and in financial administration.
She previously served at UNDP implementing a range of projects where she coordinated legal, finance and operations within the framework of government co-shared grants projects, established and supported good communications with stakeholders, provided support to the Governance and Local Development Unit Programme Management, and made important contributions to the introduction of technologies to the Persons with Disabilities.
Being National Project Manager, she operated as project executive and team manager, and played a pivotal role in the exceptional contribution the EU project, EUCJ “Enhancing Criminal Justice in Kazakhstan”, accomplished in its three year funding period from 2015 to 2018.
Nazym contributed to the strategic modernization of organizations in the public services sector, introduced best IT integration and engineering management approach on all stages, managed procedures and operations, provided facilitation and training. Nazym advanced her crisis management skills taking leading role in management and coordination of the project activities on vital, critical stages.
She is passionate about making a difference to people, institutions, Kazakhstan and beyond.
Naweed Riaz
Head of UNODC Programme Office in Kazakhstan
Since 2011, Mr. Naweed Riaz has served as the International Law Enforcement Advisor and Head of the UNODC Programme in Kazakhstan and the CARICC project, comprising of memberships of Central Asin States, Azerbaijan, and the Russian Federation. He was the UN Under Secretary General for expansion of the UNODC Programming in West and Central regions and for the development of Counter Narcotics and Terrorism International Maritime Exercise in the Arabian Sea.
