France Speakers 2017

Catherine Cullen was Deputy Mayor for Culture for the City of Lille, France, from 2001 to 2014. In 2008, she also became councillor in charge of Culture for the Métropole Européenne de Lille (MEL). For over ten years she was a board member of the Culture Committee of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), its President for three years (2012-2015), and she is presently its Special Advisor on Culture in Sustainable Cities. She is also an independent international consultant in culture and sustainable development, a subject she teaches at the Political Science Institute of Lille.

Diana Skelton has been Deputy Director General of All Together in Dignity/ATD Fourth World since 2008, and part of its full-time Volunteer Corps since 1986. Over the years, she has lived and worked in low-income communities in Madagascar, the US, and France, and has represented ATD at the United Nations and UNICEF. Her current responsibility involves supporting ATD Fourth World’s members in the Central African Republic, Haiti, the Philippines, Ireland, and 30 other countries.In 2004, Skelton edited How Poverty Separates Parents and Children: A Challenge to Human Rights, a study, carried out in six countries, with a foreword by UNICEF. In 2014, Skelton published the first volume of Artisans of Peace Overcoming Poverty. The second and third volumes of this book were published in 2015 and 2016. Skelton’s degree is in history from Cornell University, and she has a background in youth work and in journalism

Naima Korchi, a Moroccan and French citizen, is an international lawyer. She is a former United Nations staff member and now an international consultant. She is advocating as NGO leader for women’s rights and as such, she is a regular speaker at international conferences all around the world. Among other humanitarian activities, she recently founded the Africa Women’s Forum to enhance the Africa women leadership and promote their visibility internationally. The Forum gather each year key leaders from all field in Africa and beyond. She also advocate for a leadership taking a better consideration of people culture and identity. She also directed workshop for top officials on women capacity in key positions. Then she is among the first one to manage, in North Africa, seminars on women and peace building. As an international strategic Manager, she advices administrations, NGO’s, international firms on legal issues and international development. Naima speaks four languages.

After modern literature studies, Marie-France Cardonna-Duréault worked as a French literature teacher. Then she joined the National Institute of Pedagogic Research in Paris in which she was an editor in the "Revue française de Pédagogie" and she made investigations on the European Research in Education Sciences for the European Council. Then she made a thesis in Education Sciences on the subject :"Teachers and Innovation" and she became interested in the education of immigrant children of the second generation. She carried on with her career in the "Chambre Régionale des Comptes du Nord-Pas-De-Calais" in charge of Documentation Studies. Then she joined the French Ministry of Culture in which for 10 years she ran the Documentation Centre of the French Museums and the Documentation of the International ICOM as well. At present though she has retired she carries on activities for the ICOM. She is particularly interested in new technologies and their implication in the development of a more inclusive society.

Her Philosophy & Psychology academic study has led her to specialize in the field of the unconscious & soul, particularly in Dream Analysis, Awaken Dream and Quantum Guidance. Trained in Facilitated Communication (helping autistic & speech-impaired individuals to express themselves), council member of the Francophone Confederation, secretary of the Paris` Association and volunteer in workshops, she translated Mary Craig*`s book, Voices from Silence. After a diploma in Anthropology of the First Nations and ethnomedecine -with a research work on mental illness, its causes and its different ways of healing in the world-, she was eager to deepen what the so-called ‘crazy people’ had to say about themselves. She is now preparing a book about the Wisdom of the Fools, interviewing schizophrenics, voice hearers, paranoiacs, handicapped and autistic people who have found a path to healing and have a multitude of wisdom to share with us. Her travels throughout the world have shown her the importance of preserving the knowledge of the tribal Elders who have shared with her. Her visits to the Native America have conducted her to direct a documentary about the fight of the Lakotas Siou

It is in 2012 that the women’s rights issue is invited in my life when I did my first film, a short film as a fake documentary, based on the observation that for 2000 years, women rule the world, and featuring a journalist going to meet three men: a bimbo, a man at home, and a religious man. After screenings in Paris, a selection of the Cannes Short Film Corner and Germany, my desire for equality required a more concrete transmission, far from fiction. In September 2014, after a communication conversion, I decided to create a women’s committee to build a professional network. The idea for the magazine was born a few months later. Women Side seeks to highlight what women bring to the world, in all fields, as well as actors equality who help them.

Beco Lichtman, a Paris-based marketing consultant, specializes in lifestyle brands targeting middle-market and luxury consumers. His approach is practical, his process efficient and the results lasting. Armed with experience in both marketing and education, and an MBA, Beco provides brand-driven solutions that drive growth, fuel enthusiasm and build long-lasting relationships with your target customers. Beco has lived and worked in several countries, including the United States, England, France and Spain. Each of these countries has presented him with vastly different lenses with which to view marketing and consumer behavior. Today, he lives on the Left Bank of Paris and continues to educate organizations on marketing and consumer behavior around the globe.

Senegal born Parisian Founder of Biokidé Fatimata Kane, 31 years old is adamant about developing products true to her roots and principles: natural, carefully made, and indigenous to Africa. Biokidé is a beauty company whose vision stems from the concerns of each one of us—wellness and health. Biokidé produces a wide range of products—cosmetic, personal care and nutritional. From honey shea butter, shampoo, exfoliating bars, oils, and lip balms— handmade with integrity, these products contain ingredients that are very rich and help both the hair and skin—even the sensitive ones

Claire is passionate about creating connections, generating success and goodwill… A multicultural background taught her to appreciate diverse styles and viewpoints, and facilitated her education at Cambridge and INSEAD.An early career in fashion and retail across Asia helped to develop her sensitivity to talent, and everything she has done since is linked to people. From headhunting, through cross-cultural training, to coaching, she helps people to capture the abundant gifts they have inside, and to create their own success.Claire writes articles on talent, and is the author of “Your First Graduate Programme”, to support recent graduates through their job search. Another book follows, called “Disrupt Your Career”.She lives in France, with the younger two of her four children, and enjoys skiing in the nearby Pyrenees and scuba diving in tropical waters when she gets the chance! She welcomes the opportunity to use her eight languages, and is available for projects and speaking engagements worldwide.