Dr Oleg Manyuta is the Co-Founder and Director of Research of the Swiss Institute of Cultural Diplomacy (SICD). He is an international lawyer and legal advisor specialising in financial law, digital governance and sovereignty theory.He graduated from Odessa I. I. Mechnikov National University (Ukraine), Faculty of Law (LLM), and completed doctoral studies in law through an international doctoral programme associated with the International Open University.Dr Manyuta has more than twenty years of professional experience as an international legal and financial advisor working with clients and projects across Europe, including Ukraine, USA, Austria, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
His academic and research interests focus on international law, digital sovereignty, extraterritorial governance and blockchain-based institutions. He has conducted research on the international legal status of the Sovereign Order of Malta and the evolution of sovereignty beyond the traditional territorial state.Dr Manyuta has contributed to academic programmes, lectures and research initiatives in cooperation with several universities and international educational institutions.In 2006 he founded the Ukrainian Maecenas International Charitable Foundation, a cultural and philanthropic initiative aimed at promoting dialogue and cooperation between Eastern and Western societies.
Karina Andronikof( Princess Bagration), PhD, is the Lifetime Rector and Co- Founder of Swiss Institute of Cultural Diplomacy. With more than 20 years of teaching and scientific experience at university level, Karina has made a name for herself in the field of humanities. The Rector is a CELTA Cambridge University (United Kingdom of Great Britain) and Taras Shevchenko Kiev National University (Ukraine) graduate. She also attended Nice Summer University (France) and holds Longman and British Council diplomas. Karina actively contributes to the development of British, American and Swiss cross - cultural projects. In addition, she has contributed to numerous philanthropic pursuits connecting the world of sport and school education, including the Special Olympics. She also developed the Peace and Sport Educational Kit project concept, (Peace and Sport International Organization, Monaco), Karina is also the author of the "Olympic Games Workbook" (an innovative English Grammar and Vocabulary Project) Which gradually grew into a sustainable humanitarian project helping to develop education, peaceful dialogue and cultural diplomacy. She also designed a set of educational workshops involving the peaceful legacy of the London Marathon for young language learners in Donbass region of Ukraine. Karina is a member of the Bagrationi Descendants Association (since 2017 y. ) and is the President and Founder of the Princess Carina Organization (Swiss based NGO, Under Patronage of Geneva Canton and United Nations partner). The Princess is a board member of Global Process Magazine ( World Diplomacy and Politics), an Honorary Member of The Diplomatic Society of St. Gabriel ( the fraternity of international Diplomats) and is permanent PR advisor and volunteer to the Diplomatic Mission Embassy of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta in Ukraine. At present he is also our Scientific Philanthropist.
H.E. Rainer Ruge (MBA, Germany, Switzerland) is a Swiss Institute of Cultural Diplomacy Co-Founder and Advisor.Rainer is an advisor on EU affairs and an expert on Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus. His Excellency has more than 15 years of administrative experience at the Council of the European Union General Secretariat DG.E.IX –( Civilian Crisis Management, Directorate General for External and Politico-Military Affairs). Since his retirement, His Excellency continues his public diplomacy projects within the EU, UN and OSCE. He also actively contributes to the USA think tanks such as The Harriman Institute (Columbia University, USA) and has supported democracy development as a STO OSCE election observer. He is the author of numerous articles and EU training courses including “European Settlement of Conflicts: Instruments and Approach by Example of Crisis in Ukraine”. Currently, His Excellency is developing several cultural diplomacy projects in Germany, France, Switzerland and Austria. At present he is also our Scientific Philanthropist.
Mr. Huib Wursten (MBA, Netherlands) had been a Swiss Institute of Cultural Diplomacy Academic and Research Advisor from 2019 till 2021. He also had been our Scientific Philanthropist. Huib is an internationally recognized expert in how to align international teams. His (2020) book “The 7 Mental images of National Culture: Leading and Managing in a Globalized World” was highly appreciated by international businesses. Since 1989 Huib has been working in this field with Fortune top 1000 companies and private organizations in 85 countries on all continents. He did this in the business sector with companies such as IBM, 3M, McCain, Quest, Texaco, Vodafone, ABN AMRO, JP MorganChase, Nike and Unilever. In the public sector he has consulted the IMF in Washington D.C, The World Bank Group in Washington D.C, the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Europol, UNDP, Council of Europe and the Dutch peacekeeping forces. In his work with worldwide organizations, Huib has developed a tool to differentiate seven fundamentally different cultural “grammar systems” with different preferences for political behaviour, societal arrangements, educational systems, leadership styles, business approaches, and even different approaches to sports. He has published 25 well respected argumentative and innovative papers on international cooperation. One is the award winning: “Mental Images. The influence of culture on (economic) policies” (1997).
Dr. Yevgenia Chvertko (PhD, Ukraine), Deputy Dean, Welding Faculty Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. For more than 20 years Yevgenia has been coordinating the training process for foreign students (application, documents, individual plans, diploma issuing, cross- cultural conflict resolution), powering the credit mobility and Double Diploma agreements in partnership with Brazilian and German universities (comparison of curriculum, development of individual learning plans, coordination of distance learning activities including exams and Master's thesis presentations, etc.). Yevgenia has also developed and performed various training courses, including lectures, practical work, laboratory work, course projects, etc. in accordance with the National Qualification Framework and to the National standard of higher education for BAs, MBAs and, PhDs.
H.E. Mohamed El Kouhene ( PhD in International Law /University of Nice Sophia Antipolis, France, B.A. of Political Science). He is successfully trained in Humanitarian Law (Geneva, Switzerland, March 1982), Instruments of Human Rights at the Institute of Human Rights, Council of Europe, Strasbourg, France (July 1981) Management and Strategic Development. Mohamed is a former member of the Independent Commission for International Humanitarian Questions Secretariat (Geneva, Switzerland). Some of his activities were connected with the Aga Khan Foundation. He also conducted various studies on human rights, global governance and international relations such as Winning the Human Race, Rapport de la Commission Indépendante sur les Questions Humanitaires Internationales, Berger Levrault, Zed Books, Paris / Londres 1988 Co-éditeur de Modern Wars, Le défi humanitaire, B.Levrault / Zed Books, Paris / Londres, 1986, préface de Pierre Graber, président de la Confédération suisse. Les conflits armés et les droits de l'homme, Studia Diplomatica, Bruxelles, 1984/2 Les disparitions et les droits de l'enfant, Forum UNICEF, numéro 22,1985 / 3. At present he is also our Scientific Philanthropist.
