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FALL 2025: Saji Prelis, Hanna Song

FALL 2025

Saji Prelis, Search for Common Ground

September 8-12, 2025

Saji Prelis has over 25 years of experience working with youth movements, governments, amd partners to build intergenerational trust and collaboration in over 35 countries. As the Co-Chair of the Global Coalition on Youth, Peace, and Security, he co-led successful advocacy for the UN Security Council Resolutions , , and . He also leads the Global Community of Practice on YPS National Action Plans.

Saji is the Director of Children & Youth Programs at , an international conflict transformation organization. Before that, he was the founding director of the Peacebuilding & Development Institute at American University in Washington, DC. Over 11 years at the university resulted in him co-developing over 150 training curricula exploring the nexus of peacebuilding with development from a human-centered perspective.

Saji received the distinguished for Outstanding Achievements in Peace Support. He obtained his Master’s degree in International Peace & Conflict Resolution from American University. 

Hanna Song, Database Center for North Korean Human Rights

November 10-14, 2025

Hanna Song is a researcher, activist and documenter of human rights violations in North Korea. Hanna is currently the Executive Director of the , based in Seoul, South Korea. NKDB built and maintains the largest repository in the world of human rights violations against North Koreans after interviewing over 20,000 escapees. This database is used to raise global awareness, conduct advocacy, and recommend policy with United Nations bodies, governments, INGOs, and international press. NKDB also conducts research and publishes reports, and provides counseling and social resettlement assistance to North Korean escapees. 

Hanna was appointed Executive Director of the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights in 2024 after over 9 years as a researcher, where she contributed to the repository, published reports on human rights conditions in the military, humanitarian assistance sent to North Korea, and North Korea’s obligations under United Nations mechanisms. Hanna also served as Director of International Cooperation within NKDB, briefing diplomats, policy makers and the news media on human rights in North Korea and managing international partnerships.

Hanna holds a Master’s degree in International Human Rights Law from the University of Oxford and a Bachelor’s from University College Utrecht in the Netherlands.